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Red Sox draft Tom MacLane in Round 19
By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer Just when it looked as if the county would be shut out on the draft's first day, former Ridgewood pitcher Tom MacLane was taken in the 19th round by the Red Sox. It's a perfect match for the 22-year-old MacLane, who grew up a Red Sox fan in Rhode Island and had been drafted twice before. MacLane, now at Florida Atlantic University, was preparing for the school's first NCAA super-regional appearance this week when his coach found out. "I called him over, made him think he was in trouble for something, but once I told him, he was really happy," FAU coach Kevin Cooney said. It's been a long road. MacLane was a four-year starter for the Rams before playing two years at St. Petersburg College. He was drafted by the Rockies in Round 34 in 1999 and the Blue Jays in Round 40 in 2000. "I've been drafted before, but this, by far, is the most exciting," said MacLane, who grew up within blocks of the Red Sox' top farm club in Pawtucket. MacLane was two months removed from Tommy John surgery the last time he was drafted, and he opted instead to sign with South Carolina. He pitched sparingly there and decided to transfer to FAU. He's found success in Boca Raton as both a starter and reliever, going 4-2 with a 3.51 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 48 innings. His best performance came over the weekend during NCAA regional competition in a long relief outing against Auburn, one that Cooney called "the best relief performance in school history." FAU had taken a 10-0 lead in the first, only to see the game tied 10-10 in the third. MacLane came in to pitch six innings of one-run relief for the victory, keeping alive his team's playoff run, which continues Friday against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Ridgewood coach Larry Beets said he remembered MacLane as an energetic player who always had a strong outfield arm and transferred that to the mound his senior year. "I told him just to pitch like you're throwing from the outfield, because he had set a team record for outfield assists," Beets said. "He was a tremendous competitor, always a little wired. If you had an exercise workout that called for 10 reps of four exercises, he'd do 100 reps of 10 exercises if he thought it'd make him better." No county high school seniors were selected, but Pasco's Lee Cruz, Ridgewood's Ronny Lowe and others should see their waiting end when the 50-round draft finishes today beginning with Round 23. SHAUN WHO?: The county may have another draft pick after a confusing selection in the 22nd round. The Marlins used the 653rd pick to select 6-foot-10 right-handed pitcher Shaun O'Connor, who the team listed as playing at Pasco-Hernando Community College. But PHCC coach Steve Winterling, who was was surprised to learn of this supposed player, has never heard of O'Connor. "I was sitting here and I heard it," Winterling said. "I'm stumped. It's good PR for PHCC, though." A player with matching height and birthdate was selected by the New York Yankees in the 27th round of the 2000 draft. According to the Marlins, the school is not a typo. They say O'Connor, formerly of Navarro College in Texas, enrolled at PHCC but never played there. - Staff writer Steve Lee contributed to this report.
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From today's Pasco Times Letters |
