John Gavin waited his entire life to be drafted into the MLB. Every practice, every game, every long bullpen session was building to this moment. He would have been happy regardless of where he had been drafted, but one team in particular had something that the other 29 could not offer. If that team drafted him, it would be almost too good to be true. It be the perfect ending to his amateur career.
That team would be the San Francisco Giants. His hometown team that he spent his entire life cheering for.
“I have been a Giants fan my entire life. I remember crying after the loss in the 2002 World Series,” Gavin said.
Gavin is a fifth generation San Franciscan. His entire family was born and raised in the Bay Area. All of them cheer for the Giants.
When Gavin went away to school at Cal State Fullerton in Southern California, he remembers being the only Giants fan on his team when they won the World Series in 2012. The rest of the team, Dodgers fans.
“When they got the final out, you could hear a pin drop in the room. Besides for me screaming and jumping around,” Gavin said.
As the draft started to approach, Gavin had conversations with scouts from different MLB teams. He did get to speak with the Giants area scout, but only once.
“I pretty much fanboyed him,” Gavin said. “I told him how I went to ten games a year and grew up a massive Giants fan.”
Gavin didn’t believe that conversation helped him much. The scout didn’t seemed to care much about his fandom. Once draft day came around, he had no idea where he was going.
He had just gotten done with practice, when his teammate texted him and told him he had been drafted in the 8th round by the Texas Rangers.
Gavin made a conscious effort all day to stay away from the draft. He did not want to deal with the stress that waiting on draft day can provide. Once he knew it was the 8th round, the curiosity got the best of him and he turned on the draft.
He sat underneath his Giants blanket as the picks went by. The walls around him were covered in Giants memorabilia, including the 2012 World Series Champions newspaper and a Willie Mays Plaza plaque that hangs over the door.
Then it happened.
He first got a text from an assistant coach with some insider information saying “Giants” with about forty exclamation points.
Gavin then looked up at his television screen to see the Giants had the next pick. He assumed another teammate must have been drafted.
Then he got another text saying “Congrats man” from another friend.
Then Gavin looked up at the television to see “The San Francisco Giants select John Gavin.”
“I was in a euphoric state, I just started crying and screaming,” Gavin said.
The celebration went all night long as the San Francisco native would have a chance to one day return home.
Now for Gavin, the next dream will be wearing the orange and black while pitching at AT&T Park.
Until then, he still can’t really believe he is playing in the Giants organization. His dream became a reality with one selection by his hometown team in 8th round of 2017 draft.
Joe Laurendi 