On the eve of the 2016 MLB Draft, Rockies manager Walt Weiss recalled the day he was selected by an MLB franchise.
The year was 1985, and Weiss was a shortstop coming out of North Carolina. He believed the Dodgers were going to select him at No. 10. All the forecasts Weiss read leading up to the draft had him going there.
Weiss’ suspicions were confirmed when someone he knew with access to the Associated Press wire told him that the Dodgers had indeed selected him. So Weiss did what most ball players in 1985 when they got good news: Called friends and family to share the news.
But a couple hours later, Weiss got a call from someone associated with the Oakland Athletics organizations. The man told Weiss the A’s had picked him at No. 11 — one spot after the Dodgers.
“I asked the guy if he was sure if they drafted me,” Weiss said.
The man was sure.
Weiss ended up playing for the A’s from 1987-1999.
“We tried to get information over the AP wire,” he said. “You’re checking the wire. We knew somebody who had a connection to the inner circle, but his information was wrong. … So yeah, very different than what kids are going to experience today because of access to information.”
