Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 3, 1994 TAG: 9406030040
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I was projected as a late-first or second-round pick," said Buchanan, who set seven batting records at Virginia this season as a junior. "I was banking on the second and anything else was a bonus."
Buchanan got his bonus _ and he'll get a bonus - after the New York Yankees selected him with the 24th pick in the first round.
A second UVa player, right-handed pitcher Yates Hall, was drafted in the fourth round by the St. Louis Cardinals. Hall, a junior from Front Royal, was 6-4 this season and ranked second in Division I with 104 strikeouts in 72 2/3 innings.
Buchanan, earlier named first-team All-American by Baseball America, became the first UVa baseball player to be selected in the first round. Ex-Cavalier Mike Cubbage was taken by Washington in the second round in 1971.
"When I got the call, my dad had the video camera out and filmed the whole thing," said Buchanan, a Fairfax High School graduate. "My mom was jumping up and down. You couldn't knock the smile off my face."
It is almost certain Buchanan will forgo his senior year at Virginia, although he has not yet hired an agent and will be represented by his parents until negotiations reach the contract stage.
"I've been a Yankees fan for most of my life, them and the Orioles," said Buchanan, who batted .396 this past season and set UVa records with 22 home runs and 66 runs batted in. "The Yankees are at the top of my list now."
Buchanan spent most of his season in the outfield for the Cavaliers, who lost 23 of 25 ACC games and were 20-34 overall, but most of his experience has been at first base. New York's first baseman and captain is Don Mattingly.
"I look at Mattingly and he's a great player," Buchanan said, "but I don't know if I want to model myself after him. I wouldn't mind having the career he's had, though."
by CNB