http://baledger.com/sports/bradley-s-mlb-draft-wait-over/article_f06a90e2-90a5-11e0-a993-001cc4c002e0.html
Bradley's MLB draft wait over
DOUG QUINN/BA LEDGER A DIAMONDBACK —
Posted: Monday, June 6, 2011 8:31 pm | Updated: 8:34 pm, Mon Jun 6, 2011.
By Doug Quinn
Sports Editor
[email protected]
Archie Bradley said it seemed "like an eternity" Monday before his named was called in the Major League Baseball draft.
At 6:42 p.m. CDT, Bradley's wait was over when the Broken Arrow High School right-hander was the seventh pick, chosen by the Arizona Diamonbacks.
It came came less than an hour after the proceedings began and only 18 minutes after Owasso's Dylan Bundy was taken fourth by the Baltimore Orioles.
The two hard-throwing right-handers, who are competitors, close friend and workout partners, shared the spotlight – with nearly 200 friends, family, media-types and the Henry P. Iba Awards crowd – at the Renaissance Hotel Convention Center.
"When it happened, when I saw my name on the screen, it was a great moment," said a beaming Bradley. "That moment was bigger and greater than I had expected."
Bradley, who was 12-1 and a major component of BAHS's Class 6A state championship this spring, is the second Broken Arrow product signed by the Diamondbacks. In 1996, Brad Penny was a fifth round choice before Arizona even played in the National League. Today, Penny pitches for the Detroit Tigers.
With the draft completed, contract negations begin. He said his parents, Charles and Pam Bradley, will be heavily involved in those dealings "to get what is best for the family."
When Bud Selig announced Bradley's selection to a nationally televised audience on MLB Network, all the commissioner needed say was "Archie." The room erupted into cheers and high-fives, drowning out the last name.
"I kept telling myself I wasn't going to cry," Bradley said. "But, I kinda teared up. All of a sudden, it became real."
Pam Bradley was misty-eyed as she watched her son and Bundy side-by-side during an interview with MLB Network.
"I am just so elated for Archie," said Pam Bradley, principal at Broken Arrow's Haskell Middle School.
Being taken by the Diamondbacks struck an emotional chord. Pam Bradley was born in Casa Grande, Ariz., on a Navaho Reservation. "I'm happy Archie is going to my birth state," Pam Bradley said.
Alex Bradley, a sophomore linebacker at BAHS, couldn't stop gazing at his older brother.
"I am so proud because what kind of brother Archie has been to me," Alex Bradley said. "He's a man of God who shows where hard work can get you. Arch's been through a lot lately and he never quit being a brother to me."
Father, Charles Bradley, recalled friends in Muskogee predicting Archie Bradley's success.
"When he was 9 years old, people kept saying 'Archie's going to be in the big leagues some day,'" Charles Bradley said. "I would say, 'Oh, yea.' Now, today, he was a seventh round draft choice. We're real happy."
BAHS coaches and players toasted Bradley's high draft selection.
"This is outstanding for Archie," BAHS head coach Shannon Dobson said. "He was a joy to coach and just an outstanding kid."
Jimmy Ashley, who coached first base for the Tigers, admired Bradley's humility through a lengthy scouting process.
"If you didn't know Archie, or had been around all the scouts and attention, you would have never known what was going on," Ashley said. "Archie was very humble through it all."
Ashley concurred with Dobson on Bradley's coachablity.
"As a junior, Archie didn't hit very well and we worked on a few things," Ashley said. "He made the changes and got better. That happened because he's so coachable."
Bradley, mostly as a designated hitter, led the Tigers in home runs (9) and batted .395, while striking out 137 batters and carrying a 0.29 earned run average.
Mason Hope, another Tiger pitcher who could be drafted high, called Bradley "one of my best friends and I couldn't be happier for anybody."
(sorry it kind of lumped the story together when I copy pasted...but you can still make sense of it)