Damien High School senior Grant Hockin will spend a good part of this evening waiting by the phone. He has spent more than half his life playing baseball, so it’s a day he always hoped would come.
The Major League Baseball Amateur Draft gets underway with two rounds today and the third through seventh rounds on Friday. Hockin, a 6-foot-1 right-handed pitcher, will likely be the first local player selected.
“I’m excited, a littler nervous. Every emotion you can think of,” he said. “I worked hard and I am hoping that all pays off.”
Hockin, 18, is in a no-lose situation. He already has signed with UCLA and can go that rout if he isn’t satisfied with where he is selected or the contract negotiations that follow.