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Independence, MO —
As former Blue Springs South High School pitcher Stuart Pudenz drives from a Dallas suburb to his parent’s home in Houston, he tries to grasp the reality of a lifelong dream coming true.
Pudenz, a right-handed reliever from Division I Dallas Baptist University, was taken in the 13th round (409th overall pick) of Major League Baseball’s first-year player draft by the Oakland A’s.
“To be honest with you, it hasn’t hit me yet,” said Pudenz, who was 5-1 with a 1.58 ERA and 50 strikeouts in just 40 innings of relief work this past season. The junior standout did not allow a home run and recorded eight saves.
He received the phone call from the A’s while he was with his teammates at their coach’s home for a postseason barbecue.
“The draft was on the TV, but I wasn’t paying any attention to it,” said Pudenz, who was 3-3-1 with a 1.44 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings his senior year at South. “In fact, I was trying to keep my mind off the draft. Everyone wanted to talk about it, but I just wanted to wait and see what happened.”
Even though he was expecting a call, he thought his parents were on the line when he was handed the phone.
“I thought it was my parents, and it was someone from the A’s organization,” said Pudenz, a 2009 South grad.
“I got pretty excited when I heard him say congratulations. But like I said earlier, it still hasn’t really hit me.”
It’s hit Ben Baier, his baseball coach at South, who said, “I’m really proud of Stuart. Not only was he a great player for our program, but he was also a solid young man who is going to do a lot of great things in the future. I know I speak for all of our coaching staff when I say that we are very happy for him.”
Baier said Pudenz has maintained his South ties and came to the team’s winter workouts.
“It was really cool to see him talking to our guys about what it takes to be successful at the next level,” Baier said. “I hope they were paying attention.”
Pudenz went to Dallas Baptist as a starter, but was soon converted into a reliever.
“I really like relieving,” the 6-foot-5, 215-pounder said. “In high school, I got to play every day. When you start in college, you pitch every fifth day or so. When you’re a reliever, you can be in there every day, and I really like that.”
Pudenz and his family have talked with the A’s and they will meet a representative from the team this afternoon.
“If it all goes like we think it will, I’m going to sign and will be in Arizona in a few days then it’s off to A ball in Vermont,” he said. “You know, when you say that, you know it’s all real. When I was a little kid playing baseball, I dreamed of being in the big leagues.
“Now, I’m a step closer to that dream. And it feels good.”
As former Blue Springs South High School pitcher Stuart Pudenz drives from a Dallas suburb to his parent’s home in Houston, he tries to grasp the reality of a lifelong dream coming true.
Pudenz, a right-handed reliever from Division I Dallas Baptist University, was taken in the 13th round (409th overall pick) of Major League Baseball’s first-year player draft by the Oakland A’s.
“To be honest with you, it hasn’t hit me yet,” said Pudenz, who was 5-1 with a 1.58 ERA and 50 strikeouts in just 40 innings of relief work this past season. The junior standout did not allow a home run and recorded eight saves.
He received the phone call from the A’s while he was with his teammates at their coach’s home for a postseason barbecue.
“The draft was on the TV, but I wasn’t paying any attention to it,” said Pudenz, who was 3-3-1 with a 1.44 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings his senior year at South. “In fact, I was trying to keep my mind off the draft. Everyone wanted to talk about it, but I just wanted to wait and see what happened.”
Even though he was expecting a call, he thought his parents were on the line when he was handed the phone.
“I thought it was my parents, and it was someone from the A’s organization,” said Pudenz, a 2009 South grad.
“I got pretty excited when I heard him say congratulations. But like I said earlier, it still hasn’t really hit me.”
It’s hit Ben Baier, his baseball coach at South, who said, “I’m really proud of Stuart. Not only was he a great player for our program, but he was also a solid young man who is going to do a lot of great things in the future. I know I speak for all of our coaching staff when I say that we are very happy for him.”
Baier said Pudenz has maintained his South ties and came to the team’s winter workouts.
“It was really cool to see him talking to our guys about what it takes to be successful at the next level,” Baier said. “I hope they were paying attention.”
Pudenz went to Dallas Baptist as a starter, but was soon converted into a reliever.
“I really like relieving,” the 6-foot-5, 215-pounder said. “In high school, I got to play every day. When you start in college, you pitch every fifth day or so. When you’re a reliever, you can be in there every day, and I really like that.”
Pudenz and his family have talked with the A’s and they will meet a representative from the team this afternoon.
“If it all goes like we think it will, I’m going to sign and will be in Arizona in a few days then it’s off to A ball in Vermont,” he said. “You know, when you say that, you know it’s all real. When I was a little kid playing baseball, I dreamed of being in the big leagues.
“Now, I’m a step closer to that dream. And it feels good.”
