Rockies manager Walt Weiss tells a fantastic story from the day he was drafted

Denver – Colorado Rockies manager Walt Weiss was drafted twice. Once out of high school in the 10th round by Baltimore, the second time in the first round (11th overall) by the Oakland Athletics. However, back in 1985 when the then switch-hitting college shortstop out of North Carolina was taken, he didn’t realize he had been drafted by the A’s. This is how the All-Star shortstop remembers his draft day:

It was a lot different than it is today. I got drafted in the tenth round by the Orioles out of high school, opted to go to college. First round out of college, but it was weird we didn’t get information like the kids get now. I thought I got drafted by the Dodgers. I was a Dodger for about two hours, at least I thought I was. All the draft forecasts had me going to the Dodgers, who picked tenth. The A’s picked eleventh and I had never spoken to one Oakland A’s scout the entire year. So I got information saying I got picked either tenth or eleventh, it was real sketchy back then. So I said ‘okay I’m a Dodger.’ So I called all my relatives and told them I got drafted by the Dodgers then a couple hours later the A’s called me and I asked the guy if he was sure that they drafted me.

It’s very different than what the kids are going to experience today, because the access to information. That was a sign of the times, we tried to get information over the AP Wire. You’re checking the wire, we knew somebody who had a connection to the inner circle but his information was wrong. It was very different back then.