When Penn baseball player Russ Brocato was growing up, he used to go to Baltimore Oriole games at Camden Yards, located just 40 minutes from his Maryland home.
As he watched his favorite team from the stands, the soon-to-be Quakers senior hoped to one day see the ballpark from a very different perspective -- from the pitcher's mound.
Almost every young boy has a similar dream -- a desire to one day play for their favorite team.
On Wednesday, however, Brocato took a giant leap towards a career that, as a kid, he could only imagine. The Penn pitcher was selected in the 29th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Orioles.
"It's the team I always used to go watch," Brocato said. "It's definitely a dream come true."
For three Quakers -- Ben Krantz, Andrew McCreery and Brocato -- Wednesday marked the first major step in a journey towards achieving their lifelong goal, as all three were drafted by Major League organizations.
While Brocato will be vying for a spot in the Orioles franchise, Krantz and McCreery will both be headed to the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.
Brocato, who recorded 42 strikeouts with a 7.32 Earned Run Average this past season, has yet to commit to the Orioles franchise.
"It depends on what happens," he said. "I hope to play in the minor league this summer and come to school in the fall. Then, when next spring starts, I'll join the team for spring training, and I'll finish at Penn the following fall. So I'll end up graduating a semester late."
If the Orioles approve of Brocato's plans, he'll most likely head to the rookie league to play for one of the Orioles' rookie clubs in Bluefield, West Virginia or Sarasota, Florida.
Nevertheless, Brocato -- who thought he would be drafted by the Phillies, Red Sox, or Pirates -- says that Wednesday was one of the most exciting days of his life.
"I was following the draft on the internet," he said. "The problem was that they don't update the site until the round is completed, so I found out when some guy called from the Orioles. I was just sitting by myself, and I was going to work when he called. Then I just kept getting one phone call after another from all my friends and family. It was just great."
McCreery, who spent the morning with the people closest to him. had a similar reaction when his name was called in the 32nd round.
"It was complete euphoria," he said. "We were listening to MLB radio. My mother burst into tears. It was just total jubilation."
The Ivy League Player of the Year is now off to Yakima, Washington for five or six days of instruction camp. Then it's off to the rookie league's Missoula Osprey in Missoula, Montana where McCreery will room with Krantz, his Penn teammate.
For the Quakers, McCreery -- who also was heavily scouted by the Mets -- pitched and played the field, but for the Diamondbacks he will concentrate on third base.
"I slipped a little bit, but I'm still really happy," he said. "It's the team I wanted to get picked by."
McCreery is also excited to be staying the United States.
If he wasn't drafted, the recent graduate was planning on playing in Sweden.
"I'm pretty excited that I don't have to go all the way to Sweden," he said.
Krantz was the first Penn player to be drafted on the day when he was selected in the 15th round.
The Toronto, Ontario native landed a spot on the All-Ivy squad this season, going 4-3 with a 4.88 ERA.
Penn baseball coach Bob Seddon was extremely proud of his three players.
"I am so very happy for them," he said. "I've had many players drafted throughout my career but never three in the same year. That's something that will be very difficult to duplicate."
While Seddon realizes that the trio has a long way to go before they reach the big leagues, he noted that his players have already taken the most difficult step.
"The biggest thing is getting a chance," he said.
Seddon was upset that Penn's all-time hits leader, Nick Italiano, was not selected, but he noted that Italiano has a very good chance of signing with a franchise as a free agent.
