FAU's Ozga refused to believe he'd been drafted
By MinorLeagueDugout.
The MLB draft is always full of fun and interesting stories, like
this one about the Angels drafting Muhammad Ali's son in the 40th round. It better be, anyway. If nothing fun comes out of a 50-round, three-day affair, you're probably at a non-alcoholic beer distributor's convention.
Florida Atlantic offered its own piece of fun on Thursday. Tired of sitting by the computer waiting for his name to be announced, Travis Ozga (photo, batting) decided to head over to campus for a diversion.
By the time he walked into coach John McCormack's office the draft was close to winding down. McCormack was listening to the draft and told Ozga that it had passed the 40th round. Ozga, already fearing that he might not get drafted, was starting to believe the worst.
Then McCormack looked up and told Ozga his name had just been
called by the Mets in the 41st round. Ozga's reaction?
"I thought he was joking with me at first and I about slapped him," Ozga said. "He was like, no serious come look."
Ozga was so staunch in his disbelief that McCormack finally started to call the new Met's dad to tell him the good news.
"It took like five picks for him to come around my side of the desk and believe me," McCormack said.
Shortly thereafter Ozga received the phone call from a New York scout welcoming hm to the organization.
"It was exciting stuff," Ozga said. "It was just out of nowhere."
Ozga and Alex Pepe, who was drafted in the 36th round by Toronto, will likely sign their contracts in the coming days and find out when they will report to camp. Make sure to check
FAUOwlAccess.com for updates.