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sports:
baseball
Crosby drafted
in first round by A's
By Mike Haubrich
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
Long Beach State
baseball player Bobby Crosby was chosen in the first round
of the Major League Baseball free-agent draft by the Oakland
Athletics Tuesday.
The junior shortstop
has garnered many accolades in his Forty-Niner career, including
Big West Conference Player of the Year honors in 2001 and
being named third-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball,
also in 2001.
Crosby, who was
the second shortstop taken overall when selected with the
25th pick, was one of five LBSU players selected on the first
day of the draft, which continued through Wednesday and will
conclude today.
"I was surprised
when I found out it was Oakland," Crosby said. "Niall
Adler, [CSULB assistant director of media relations], called
first to say I had been taken by Oakland, and my agent called
about two minutes later."
Crosby was one
of the most talked about players entering the draft following
a breakthrough 2001 season that saw him hit .353 with nine
home runs and 39 RBIs. His first-round selection didn't catch
Dirtbag Head Coach Dave Snow off guard.
"I'm not surprised,"
Snow said. "[Crosby's] an exceptional player and we're
thrilled for him. Oakland got a great player."
Other LBSU players
picked Tuesday were left-handed pitcher Russel Rohlicek by
the Houston Astros (6th round, 176th pick overall); left-handed
pitcher Chad Bentz by the Montreal Expos (7th round,
203rd pick overall); infielder Kaulana Kuhaulua by the Minnesota
Twins (12th round, 347th pick overall); and right-handed
pitcher Josh Alliston by the New York Mets (19th round, 583rd
pick overall).
"I'm so happy
for those guys," Crosby said. "I'll always be rooting
for my teammates."
The A's are rooting
for Crosby to have the same success as another Long Beach
State alumnus drafted almost 10 years ago. Former Dirtbag
Jason Giambi was chosen by the A's in the second round of
the 1992 draft and is the reigning American League MVP while
hitting over .350 this year. Coincidentally, Crosby's father
Ed, then a scout for Oakland, was responsible for signing
Giambi.
"I met [Giambi]
at the [CSULB] alumni game," Crosby said, "and I
hope to meet him again soon."
Four of the five
LBSU players chosen Tuesday have been drafted before—Crosby
in the 34th Round of the 1998 draft by the Anaheim Angels;
Rohlicek in the 16th Round in 1998 by the Pittsburgh Pirates;
Bentz in the 34th Round in 1999 by the New York Yankees; and
Kuhaulua twice, in the 39th round by the Detroit Tigers in
1999 and in the 17th round by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2000.
As underclassmen - Crosby, Rohlicek, Kuhaulua and Alliston
are juniors, and Bentz is a sophomore - some of the players
could spurn the contract offers and come back to play for
the Dirtbags next season. All of them remain undecided.
Snow will keep
a wait-and-see attitude on the subject.
"Time will
tell," Snow said. "We'll have to see how the negotiations
go with their teams."
Meanwhile, Crosby
and his 49er teammates will soak in the moment. Crosby's feelings
probably echo those of his teammates.
"My family
and I have been nothing but excited since this morning,"
he said.
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