GLENDALE — The three-day Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft came and went last week with Brian Bistagne not being picked.
Bistagne figured he would have been selected by one of the 30 major league clubs, but it didn’t come to pass. The disappointment turned to jubilation less than a week later.
Bistagne, a former standout at St. Francis High and Glendale Community College, signed a free-agent contract with the Minnesota Twins on Monday.
The Glendale resident boarded a flight Tuesday from Los Angeles to Fort Myers, Fla. to report to the Gulf Coast League Twins rookie-ball team with the organizations’ other free-agent signings and draft picks. Fort Myers will begin its season Tuesday.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet, but I’m pumped up to get this opportunity,” said Bistagne, who recently graduated from Lee University in Tennessee. “I like baseball and want to be on the field.
“I figured that last week was my last chance to be drafted, and from what I heard, I was on numerous draft boards. So, I thought I had a shot. It’s disappointing that I hadn’t been drafted because I feel like my goal slipped by. I wasn’t going to quit.”
Bistagne, a former All-Western State Conference pick at Glendale college, who helped Lee (53-14) reach the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics World Series in Lewiston, Idaho in May, found out that he was signed by the Twins on Monday morning after he received a call from Minnesota Scout Jack Powell.
Bistagne, who was asleep when his phone rang, recalled what Powell told him.
“He said, ‘I have some bad news for you in that I have to ship you out of California to Florida as soon as possible,’” Bistagne said. “I was so excited when he said that because an opportunity had come for me to continue playing baseball.
“[Powell] prepped me how to handle not being drafted. He thought he might have a spot on the Florida team on Sunday, and he said he’d get back to me on Monday. I knew when he called that he would either say yes or no. He thinks I can have a long career with Minnesota.”
Bistagne, a shortstop, batted .364 (84 for 231) with seven home runs and 42 runs batted in this season. He collected 18 doubles, three triples and was hit 16 times by a pitch. Bistagne, 21, walked 38 times, registered a .481 on-base percentage and had a .558 slugging percentage.
