I have picked out a favorite this year.  He is 11th round pick, David Williams a catcher out of Crowder College.  What makes him my favorite?  First of all, he comes with a nickname in place.  Bubby!  That is a good solid nickname that yells well from the bleachers.

Then you get the stories of how proud everyone is of him:

“He’s a one-of-a-kind kid who I always knew would make it,” said Blue Springs (High) assistant coach Tim McElligott.  “I’m as thrilled as if he were my own son.”

So is former Wildcats coach Brad Mayfield, who has been unlocking the batting cage at the high school so Williams can get in some licks at the plate.

I bet Bubby’s like a kid in the candy store,” Mayfield said. “I’m so excited for him. This has been his dream for as long as I’ve known him. And he’s worked so hard. You don’t get drafted in the 11th round unless you work hard, and no one has worked harder than Bubby.”

Then you learn about the family.

“I hope that Bubby has a baseball card some day, because I want to get one,” the 12-year-old (little brother Dyllon) said late Thursday afternoon after his brother…  “All my friends will be asking me for his autograph. It will be so cool.”

And you hear what Momma has to say about him.

“Ever since Bubby was 4, he said he wanted to play baseball,” said Bubby’s mother, Toni. “And now, to see a dream come true – well, I just want to cry. I’m so proud of him, so happy for him.
“His father (David) and I told him, the one thing we want to make sure of is that he never changes. Now that he has some money, we want him to be the same person he’s always been.”

Then you read he was found by accident.

Ironically, (Astros scout Jim)Stevenson didn’t go to Crowder College in Neosho, Mo., to scout Williams.
“But when I saw him, I knew he was something special,” the veteran scout said. “I kind of came across Bubby by accident, but when I saw him, something just jumped out at me.

Then you read the kid has been taught to say the right things to the paper.

“I just know that I’m going to have the chance to play professional baseball. That’s all I ever wanted – a chance.”

and

“I wish it started tomorrow. I can hardly wait.”

Bubby has signed and his slated to begin his pro career in Greeneville, where Dyllon will be happy to know that one of the first things they will do is take Bubby’s picture for the program and his very first baseball card.