With the 20th pick in the 2015 Major League Draft, the Oakland Athletics select, shortstop, Richie Martin, Florida”
The words that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred uttered will forever be engrained in Martin’s mind and have forever changed his life.
“It was an awesome feeling,” he said on Tuesday morning. “I’m still kind of lost for words. It’s a long process, but at the end it all pays off and that feels great.”
It’s a good thing that Martin and his family had the television turned on to hear the news. Friends and family surrounded Martin, who traveled back to his parent’s home in Brandon, watching the first round unfold. His phone was buzzing. Teams were reaching out to him and friends were texting words of support, which is nice and all, but it did, however, cause him to miss the biggest phone call of his life.
“I missed the phone call,” he said. “My phone was going crazy. Billy Beane actually called my agent and he was talking to him. I was supposed to answer a call after I got picked, and I couldn’t because my phone was getting all these texts and calls and nothing was coming through.”
Beane left a voicemail — one Martin won’t be deleting any time soon — and the newest Oakland A made sure to get right back to his new ball club’s general manager.
The youngest four-year draft eligible player in 2015, Martin was projected to be picked somewhere in the late first round, or a compensation pick in the 30’s. Martins age (he’s only 20) along with the improvements he’s made to his game this past year made him a player the A’s felt was too good to pass up on.
“Very excited for him, I think the A’s made a great pick,” Florida Gators manager Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I think his best days are ahead of him. Like I said, he’s still only 20 years old. He’s as good a defensive shortstop as I’ve ever coached.”
Martin is thrilled to be selected but relieved that the waiting is over. The Florida Gators season is not over, as the team prepares to travel to Omaha for the College World Series on Thursday night. That is where his focus remains and will remain until he plays his final game in Orange and Blue.
“I’ve said it before that this year is the closest team that I’ve been on,” he said. “When the freshmen came in, not only were they good but they’re good kids. When you have that and older kids who care and younger kids who care, it comes together and makes a great team.”
Martin will sign a professional contract soon enough. He’ll make a lot of money to play a kid’s game in a league that he grew up dreaming of being a part of. As far as his new ball club, a Florida native, Martin isn’t too familiar with the Bay area or the A’s. But he has seen the movie “Moneyball”, an adaptation of the book by Michael Lewis that chronicled how Billy Beane used new metrics to build the Oakland Athletics, while being hampered by a low payroll.
In the movie, Beane is shown wheeling and dealing players, making trades for players that he thought fit the style of baseball that he wanted his ball club to play.
“I liked the movie,” Martin said. “Hopefully I don’t get traded.”