THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 3, 1994 TAG: 9406030916
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940603 LENGTH: Medium
Anderson learned of his fate Thursday afternoon when the Pirates drafted the lefthanded pitcher from Western Branch in the ninth round of baseball's annual amateur draft.
{REST} ``We're very honored to get picked in the top 10 rounds being he's a high school baseball player,'' said Anderson's father, Jim Sr.
In other local draft news, Old Dominion University junior righthanded reliever Denis McLaughlin went to the Boston Red Sox in the seventh round and Bethel High lefthander Chris Ochsenfeld was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth round.
Baseball America had projected Anderson as a third-round or fourth-round pick and he went into draft day expecting to be selected in the first three rounds.
But a telephone call at the beginning of the second round may have precipitated Anderson's slide.
A Pirates scout called Anderson's father at approximately 1:30, some 20 minutes after the completion of the opening round and discussed money.
Jim Anderson balked at the offer and the phone didn't ring again until three hours later.
``They tried to get us for a steal early,'' Jimmy Anderson said as he prepared for Thursday evening's Eastern Region championship game. ``Their front office came back knowing what we want.''
Anderson's father said before the draft that his son would be looking for a six-figure signing bonus as well as college tuition.
Anderson, 9-0 with a 0.09 ERA, said he will sit down with representatives of the Pirates Monday night.
If there is a gleaming positive about the Pirates, Anderson said it is that their network of minor league teams is based in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Salem (Va.) Buccaneers play in the Class-A Carolina League and the Carolina Mudcats (Zebulon, N.C.) in the Double-A Southern League.
``They're close and that's good,'' Anderson said.
Anderson surmised that his draft value dropped due to concerns about his size. Although his fastball has been clocked in the 90s, he is only 6-foot and 180 pounds.
Still, his confidence was shining.
``We made the Pittsburgh Pirates lucky today,'' Anderson said.
McLaughlin celebrated his selection by going out to a mall to buy a Red Sox cap.
McLaughlin, like Anderson, hoped to be picked higher.
``We were expecting third through fifth, but the seventh round isn't too shabby,'' McLaughlin's father, Joe, said from their Warwick, N.Y., home.
The McLaughlin plan to huddle with the Red Sox on Sunday or Monday to discuss a contract.
``We're going to sign,'' Joe McLaughlin said. by CNB