Baseball a welcome distraction

Petaluma’s Spencer Torkelson was drafted with the No. 1 pick in the MLB draft. We could all use some good news right about now.|

Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffy Jr., Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, and Gerrit Cole are all current or former Major League Baseball stars that were selected with the No. 1 overall pick. Now we can add to that list Petaluma’s Spencer Torkelson.

At a time with a lot of bad news — the coronavirus outbreak, racial tensions, police brutality, an early start to fire season — we finally have some good news to report.

On Wednesday, the Detroit Tigers said in essence that Torkelson was the best amateur baseball player, selecting him with the first pick in the MLB draft televised on ESPN. The best amateur baseball player in the country is a graduate of Casa Grande High School, who came up through the Petaluma Little League system.

There are still several hurdles in Torkelson’s way to become a professional baseball player and ultimately make the Major Leagues, and there have been plenty of No. 1 draft picks that are not household names, but he has a strong chance to have a successful Big League career.

He stands to make $8.4 million just by signing with the Tigers. He will still have to work his way through the Minor Leagues to earn a roster spot on the Tigers, and Minor League ball has been canceled this year due to the coronavirus. Even a Major League season is not guaranteed this year.

Torkelson excelled at Casa Grande, which has a history of producing baseball talent. Brothers Joey and Jonny Gomes played high school ball at Casa. Joey Gomes played in the Minor Leagues and Jonny Gomes had a successful career with seven Big League teams, winning a World Series with the Red Sox. Pitching phenom Phil Lowery was drafted out of Casa Grande and went on to play in college and the Minors before an arm injury cut his career short.

At Arizona State, he shattered records, including Barry Bonds’ record for most home runs by a freshman, 11 (Torkelson had 25). A power hitter, Torkelson will be fun to watch hitting the deep ball in the pros.

With sports still on pause, a lasting casualty of the pandemic, league drafts have become major entertainment. There was little drama last Wednesday, though, as most analysts had the Tigers taking Torkelson at No. 1.

Still, there was elation in Torkelson’s Petaluma home, which ESPN cut to after Commissioner Bob Manfred read his name. Friends and family gathered with the start to watch the draft cheered along with the rest of his hometown.

Even though his professional baseball journey is just beginning, by earning the No. 1 draft pick, Torkelson has already made Petaluma proud.

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