GRIFFIN, Ga. (AP) – Tim Beckham had his head down as commissioner Bud Selig announced the top pick of the Major League Baseball draft, and then the Griffin High School shortstop was engulfed in a circle of bear hugs from his family.
Thursday’s televised announcement was only a formality. Beckham already had a Tampa Bay Rays No. 1 jersey, complete with his name, on the back of his chair. He put on the jersey and a Rays cap as a room full of friends and relatives continued to cheer.
“I found out this morning when they gave me a call,” Beckham said. “It was crazy. I was about to do a back flip in my room.”
Beckham became the first player from a Georgia school to be selected No. 1 since Mike Ivie was picked from Atlanta’s old Walker High School in 1970.
With the status of being the No. 1 pick comes high expectations, which Beckham eagerly embraced.
“I hope to become an All-Star and after that I want to become a Hall of Famer,” he said.
Tampa Bay also strongly considered another product of a Georgia high school, Florida State’s Buster Posey from Lee County High. Posey was selected by San Francisco with the No. 5 overall pick.
University of Georgia shortstop Gordon Beckham – who is not related to Tim – was the No. 8 pick by the Chicago White Sox, giving the state three of the first eight selections.
Two more Georgia players were drafted in the first round. Stephens County High School third baseman Ethan Martin was picked by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the No. 15 pick. University of Georgia closer Joshua Fields was the No. 20 pick by Seattle.
Tim Beckham was listed among the top prospects in the draft for weeks, but confirmation that he would be the top pick came in a morning call from Tampa Bay scouting director R.J. Harrison.
Rays scout Milton Hill, who attended Beckham’s draft party, said his confirmation came in a delivery package Thursday morning which contained the No. 1 jersey.
Hill said he first scouted Beckham as a sophomore.
“I think everybody saw him take a step forward last summer,” Hill said. “He raised his game as part of the process of maturing.”
Beckham, 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, has a strong arm, good power and speed.
“We’re going to give Tim every opportunity to go out and play shortstop in the major leagues,” Hill said. “So many shortstops end up being quality big league players at other positions.”
Beckham established himself as one of the top prep prospects in the nation with solid performances at last summer’s high school showcase events. He hit .500 with five homers, 31 RBIs and 16 stolen bases this season as Griffin High advanced to the state finals.
Beckham has signed with Southern California but Hill said the Rays hope Beckham agrees to a professional contract and reports to the club’s rookie league team in Princeton, W.Va., as soon as possible.
“We’d like to have him signed tomorrow,” Hill said.
Beckham’s older brother, Jeremy, who just completed his senior season as a second baseman at Georgia Southern, also hopes to be drafted. The brothers’ shared dream was to be drafted by the same team.
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