Two members of Dartmouths baseball team were selected in Major League Baseballs first year player draft on Friday, June 6. The San Francisco Giants selected centerfielder Damon Wright '08 in the 25th round, and pitcher Russell Young '08 was picked by the Cleveland Indians in the 28th round.
Wright was the first Big Green baseball player drafted since Will Bashelor '06 was selected by the New York Mets in 2006.
Wright is coming off of a career year in centerfield for the Big Green. He led Dartmouth with a .397 batting average, hit nine home runs and had 39 runs batted in. He was named the Big Green's most valuable player and was selected to the All-Ivy first team.
Young was chosen as the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year after earning four wins during the Ivy League season and finishing the year with a 5-4 overall record. His 4.55 earned run average was tops among Dartmouth's starting pitchers and was second on the team among all Big Green pitchers. He struck out 55 batters in his 65.1 innings pitched this year.
Young found out he had been drafted when a scout from the Indians called to congratulate him.
"I was blown away and so excited that my dreams of professional baseball had come true," Young said in an email message. "I am waiting to hear where and when the Indians want me to report, but my guess is in the next few days I will be leaving for either their spring training complex or one of their minor league teams."
Young and Wright are the 13th and 14th Big Green players that have been drafted by MLB teams since 2000.
Also drafted was incoming freshman Kyle Hendricks '12. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim took him in the 39th round of the two-day draft.
Hendricks is the second Dartmouth recruit to be selected in two years. Last year the Oakland Athletics took Trevor Cahill '11 in the second round. Cahill signed a professional contract and never played for the Big Green.
Hendricks could not be reached for comment.
