The Atlanta Braves drafted former St. Albert baseball player Eric Hartman in the 20th round of the Major League Baseball draft last week.
The Braves took Hartman, who moved to Okotoks when he was 16, with the 611th pick. Hartman was shocked when the Braves selected him.
"It was pretty surreal. I couldn't wrap my head around it, I was super grateful, and it was a feeling I can't describe," Hartman said. "It was a dream come true."
Hartman, who played minor baseball in St. Albert, now plays for the Okotoks Dawgs Academy. He also played on the Canadian Junior National Team, where he said the MLB interest started.
"After one of my Team Canada trips in Florida," Hartman said. "That's when I started getting some interest from teams."
"Some teams were pretty serious, but it was still just, 'wait and see, and hopefully a team calls.'"
Hartman is committed to play for the University of Michigan next spring. However, in baseball, a player who has been drafted can choose to forgo their college eligibility and play professionally, or they can choose to attend college, which would forfeit the MLB rights a team has to that player. They can be drafted again in later years, but nothing is ever guaranteed.
Hartman has not made a final decision on where he will play next year.
