TUCSON, Arizona — As Zach Hartje steps into the batter’s box and gestures toward the camera he knows is watching, it’s easy to see the joyful personality his father and coach, Bob Hartje, has known for years.
“Zach doesn’t have enemies,” Bob says. “He likes everybody. He doesn’t look at the bad in anybody. Everybody has good.”
It’s a mindset that feels almost miraculous given the long road Zach has traveled. Born prematurely at just 27 weeks and weighing under two pounds, doctors gave the newborn a grim prognosis in those first critical 72 hours.
“They said he’ll probably never talk. He’s going to need a trach. He will never be able to breathe on his own. He will never be able to do anything,” Bob recalls.
But Zach fought. He spent months in the hospital listening to the radio to drown out the constant noise of medical equipment. His favorite artist? Toby Keith.
“He pretty much fought through it,” Bob said. “He learned how to talk. He learned how to walk.”And then, he learned how to play.Zach excelled in softball and became a Special Olympian. In those early years, when he still needed supplemental oxygen, his dad would run the bases right behind him, carrying the oxygen tank.
Today, at 32 years old, Zach is still swinging the bat — this time with the Northwest Tucson Thunder, now representing the state as Team Arizona. The squad is preparing for the Special Olympics USA Games next month in Minnesota.
“That's going to be something special,” Zach said.
His teammates, many of whom have been with him for years, continue to lift each other up.“Just being around my teammates, cheering them on, seeing my teammates get a hit,” Zach said when asked what he loves most about the game.
Bob, who helps coach the team, beams with pride.
“It doesn’t get any better than that. That’s why I do what I do.”
While winning a medal in Minnesota would be the “icing on twenty sticks,” as Zach puts it, both father and son say the journey matters more than the final result.
“Do what got you there,” Bob advises the team. “Your character, respect, dignity. That’s what got ‘em here. Respect, dignity… that’s what’s going to move them on in the games and in life.”
As Zach practices at Freedom Park, fully aware of how far he’s come, the lyrics of that baby hospital favorite come back to him.“How do you like me now?” he says with a grin, echoing Toby Keith. “Now that I’m on my way!”
