Texas Rangers first round draft pick Blake Beavan spent the day on the golf course with his family, one day after signing a contract to pitch for the team.
Ranger’s fans were told of Beavan's signing during the eight inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Royals.
“Thank heaven for Blake Beavan. That's what rangers fans are hoping to say in x-number of years,” said Rangers Announcer Josh Lewin.
“It feels great,” says Beavan. “I'm so glad it’s out of the way. It took the stress off me, time to go play ball, get down to business and do what I've always wanted to do.”
Beavan is a recent graduate of Irving High School and pitched a perfect game in March against Irving MacArthur. His new contract with the Rangers includes a 1.5-million dollar signing bonus, and came just 25-hours before a signing deadline.
“Now the work begins,” said his Father Bill. “I'm not going to lie, he dedicated his whole life to baseball, and he did it at his own choice, and all we did is equip him as a family.”
After he was drafted, Beavan was the center of criticism for being too brash during a radio interview. His parents helped set him straight.
“They guided me,” says Beavan, “And the Hendrick brothers (his agents) helped me out with that stuff, and friends and family. I got advice from all over, kind of brought that into one kind of source, let it sink in, and you know talked the way I was supposed to. I made a mistake and realized what happened in heat of the moment kind of stuff, its good now.”
“Everybody that knows him, loves him,” says Michele, Beavan’s Mother. “The ones that don’t don't quite get it sometimes, but they get to it, once they sit with him a little bit, he's pretty interesting.”
Beavan is headed to Arizona to start his strength and conditioning program. He'll be part of the Arizona instructional league, but he's not scheduled to pitch in the Rangers organization until next year. He grew up in nearby Irving, Texas and has been cheering for the Rangers for as long as he can remember.
As a senior at Irving High School, Beavan threw 66 innings with 124 strikeouts and a 0.23 ERA. He was the 17th overall pick in the June 2007 Amateur Draft.
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