Dylan Bundy will have a choice to make: Sign with the Baltimore Orioles or go to the University of Texas and wait three more years to be drafted again.
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There was a bit of a crack there, a jagged fissure running down that granite veneer
Dylan Bundy likes to carry around. The iron jaw dipped slightly, and his deep-set eyes glistened with moisture for a nanosecond when he heard the first name called in slow motion: "D … y … l … a … n" followed by a slight pause, and then "B … u … n… d … y."
It struck the usually stoic
Owasso (Okla.) right-handed pitcher – the first high school player taken in the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and fourth overall, selected by the Baltimore Orioles. It struck him almost like one of his 100 mph fireballs thuds into a catcher's mitt.
Dylan Bundy got emotional – or what would be deemed emotional for him.
All the toil, the early morning workouts, all the time and dedication and stubborn stick-to-it moments meant something. It paid off. He was rewarded for honing a rare ability and making it into something worthwhile. And it struck him like he never expected it would when his name was called fourth by Major League Commissioner Bud Selig on June 6 at the Major League draft.
But his emotional cord wasn't pulled by that. It yanked at him for another reason.
"It did catch me, I'll admit it, I got emotional, I kind of got red faced and teary eyed, I'll be honest," said Bundy, who was wearing his college destination, a burnt orange Texas Longhorns shirt, the night of the draft. "I didn't cry, I didn't cry. I want to make sure I get that across. But it makes all the hard work mean something, and above everything else, it means the ultimate dream that can come true, pitching in the Major Leagues with my brother, Bobby [who was an eighth-round selection by Baltimore in the 2008 draft].
Dylan Bundy dreams of playing withhis brother Bobby in the Major Leagues.
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"That's what I think got me the most about hearing my name Monday night. That would be the ultimate goal, playing with Bobby in the majors. It's something we spoke about a lot, and it's something that could happen. My brother is there with the Orioles [with their Class A Frederick affiliation] and that's a big deal for me, the possibility of playing with my brother. But a few things need to happen first."
Like hammering out a deal. Bundy is scheduled to report to Texas, where he has a baseball scholarship, on Aug. 15. He said he hopes to sit down with his family over the next few weeks and see what is best for him.
"Any way you look at it, it is a win-win for me," Bundy said. "If we don't come to an agreement with the Orioles, I have Texas to fall back on and we can try it again in three years. It is my goal, the ultimate dream to pitch in the majors, so I'm confident something can be worked out. But I have a great backup plan playing college baseball for a great school. It's a great place to be."
As it was for Bundy on Monday night, sitting next to buddy Archie Bradley from nearby Broken Arrow High, who was selected seventh overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks. They had a crowd of about 200 people, family and friends all congregated at the Renaissance Hotel in Tulsa, Okla.
"When it happened and [Selig] called my name, I didn't believe it, until I heard my last name," Bundy said. "It stuns you at first, but it really didn't sink in until I went to bed Monday night. I woke up Tuesday and it was back to doing the same things, the baseball camp I work at and keeping up with my workouts."
Ahhh the workouts.
Bundy created a slight stir before the draft when he reportedly told a number of teams that were selecting early not to take him because they wouldn't allow him to continue his long-toss throwing program. Bundy swears by it, and he makes a valid point that his workout routine, a combination of what Bobby has learned at the professional level intertwined with what his father Denver has had Dylan doing since his early teens, that's enabled him to reach this lofty point.
"Why give it up now?" Dylan said. "My workout program is what got me selected fourth overall. I want to keep the same routine as far as working out and long toss. I'll talk to the Orioles and see what they think and I'll be able to compromise with them, and they'll be able to compromise with me.
"The reason why I think I was picked fourth overall was because of the workouts I put myself through. I think what a player does to get where they are is important to who you are. My work ethic and my routine are very important to me. It's something I've been doing the last four or five years and it's obviously worked. I wouldn't be in this position without that routine. That's my routine. A lot of time was put into it. It's what my brother Bobby and my father worked on."
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Bundy finished an amazing senior season in which he went 11-0 with one save, posting a 0.20 ERA, registering 158 strikeouts over 71 innings pitched, yielding just 20 hits and two earned runs while giving up a mere five walks.
He possesses wisdom beyond his years on and off the mound. Talking to him, you sense a young Southern sage who absorbed everything ever told to him about pitching. Bundy knows that if he does make the move and signs with Baltimore, his approach and maturity will be tested. Bundy will be facing players who are grown men, and surely some who would more than love taking a first-round draft choice deep, especially someone just out of high school.
It's been a while since Bundy has experienced failure. How will he respond? How quickly can he bounce back? Will he learn from it? Orioles' brass will unquestionably be looking closely for those answers, if Bundy signs.
"I'm definitely going to face adversity, I know it, at the higher level, whether it's in the majors or in college," Bundy said. "A good batter fails seven out of every 10 times. I'm going to fail every now and then and that's what drives me to succeed, and that's failure. I haven't faced failure in a while. What I'll focus on is just continuing to go about the game and continue to get better along the way. I need to learn the times I do fail. But one of the things I think I have going for me is that I don't dwell on things. I think I can push things aside."
One thing Bundy can't brush aside is his high school experience. The Sperry, Okla., resident received amazing support from his community. He knows he has a following now, whether they become Texas Longhorn fans or Baltimore Orioles fans.
Bundy didn't feel any different the day after the draft Tuesday afternoon. He went through his usual routine, working the Owasso camp, working out. But he's going to miss something. A new chapter in his life is about to take place, and a few more people outside of Owasso are going to find out who Dylan Bundy is. Though he'll carry the memory of the guys he played with at Owasso and the coaches he played for.
"It's probably what I'm going to miss the most," Bundy said. "The coaches at Owasso, my teammates, it was a great atmosphere in high school. It's like you have a relationship with everyone in the stands. I don't think I'll ever experience that again. No matter how good or bad you did, they always supported you, and you'll never have those same fans again. Wherever I go, Texas or sign with Baltimore, it's a game to me. I know I'm entering the business end of it now, but I'm always going to remind myself that it will always be a game."
