Mike Flacco was happy the Orioles drafted him yesterday, though it rankled the 22-year-old slugger that he lasted until the 31st round.
"Yeah, I was disappointed that I didn't go sooner," said Flacco, the CCBC-Catonsville third baseman and brother of Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. "I thought I did pretty well at my workout at Camden Yards last week. Joe was pretty mad, too. But being ticked off is good motivation.
"Now I have to prove to [the Orioles] that I was a better pick than where they took me."
The Orioles were one of several teams interested in Flacco, who, as a freshman, hit .399 with 14 home runs and 51 RBIs for Catonsville. Big league scouts took notice, though this was the first time in three years Flacco had picked up a bat after suffering a back injury playing football.
The Orioles were his team of choice, and Flacco's selection will certainly create a buzz for the club given his brother's success as the Ravens' starting quarterback.
Reached yesterday in his hometown of Audubon, N.J., Mike Flacco said he had received cyber congratulations via text messages from a couple of dozen friends in the first hour after learning his baseball future.
"I was laying on the living room floor when my mom got on the computer and saw my name on mlb.com," he said. Orioles scout "Dean Albany called a couple of minutes later. He said they were happy to get me, that they like my athleticism - and for me to show them now what I can do."
Flacco's response: "I'm ready."
"I've got no timetable" for progress, he said. "I'll take things one day at a time and just try to get the barrel of the bat on the ball."
But playing "what-if" can be tantalizing, he said.
"Playing at Camden Yards would be awesome. If I were to get up there, I think a lot of people would show up just because I'm Joe's brother," Flacco said.
"Who knows, if I make it, maybe Joe and I can live [in Baltimore] together. Maybe we could get a mansion - though Joe would have to foot the bill for a while."
Said Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan: "He was out at the workout [on Saturday], and he is a good-looking kid. Good size, he ran [well]. He actually hit the ball out of the ballpark. He has got some things that, with professional instruction, we can help him."
At the very least, Mike Flacco said, his selection "definitely ensures that Joe will be an Orioles fan for the next couple of years."
