After their successes in the 2016 baseball season, Thunderbirds Alex Webb, Curtis Taylor and Bruce Yari have received drafts by Major League Baseball (MLB).
Taylor was the first of the three to receive his draft, landing with the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth round. The third-year pitcher’s selection into the MLB was the second highest of any player in UBC history. The highest was UBC Baseball legend Jeff Francis who was ninth pick overall in 2002.
“It’s been the best experience in my life by far … The day was crazy and it was the happiest I’ve ever been,” said Taylor.
On the same day that Taylor received news of his draft, fellow pitcher Webb received his entry to the Cincinnati Reds as a ninth-round pick. It wasn't long before Yari found out he would be joining his UBC teammate with the Reds.
“I was hoping this year that I would get drafted in the top ten rounds and I was able to do that, so I’m pretty happy with where I ended up,” said Webb, who is a right-handed pitcher for the 'Birds.
Yari and Webb got their first taste of professional baseball at training camp with the Arizona League Reds — a minor league affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Having spent their varsity careers in temperate Vancouver, both have had to adjust to the dry desert heat of the region. Taylor is yet to find out which team he will be practicing with at this time.
As Webb, Taylor and Yari move on to their professional careers, it would come time for them to bid farewell with the T-Birds. They all agreed that playing for UBC was an unforgettable experience.
“I’m just really thankful for my teammates and my coaching staff for everything they’ve done for me to get me from an average high school player into a pro player. It was the time of my life. I’m going to cherish it forever,” said Webb.
For Webb — who completed his four-year eligibility at the end of the 2015-16 season — his draft into the Reds was the second one that he had received. Webb’s previous MLB draft came the year before with the San Diego Padres, but he declined it to play his senior year at UBC. Taylor and Yari have another year of eligibility remaining with the T-Birds.
“Choosing to go to UBC was probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life … but I’m very excited to get to move with the new chapter started in my career,” said Yari, who averaged .400 all season.
As the players part ways with the T-Birds, they hope that their varsity team will be able succeed without them. Webb and Taylor combined for some exceptional pitching performance the entire season, averaging ERAs of 1.38 and 1.96 respectively.
“I feel like the coaching staff and the incoming pitchers and the guys that are still there will do a more than adequate job to fill our shoes,” said Taylor.