‘Dream come true’ for 810th overall pick by WILLIAM MONTGOMERY Published: 2:00 AM – 07/17/11
FISHKILL — as his senior year at Florida Atlantic University was winding down this spring, Raymond Church’s parents kept asking him, “What if the draft doesn’t go your way? What’s your backup plan?”
Church, a 22-year-old second baseman from West Palm Beach, graduated with a business degree but knew it was going to be professional baseball or bust.
“I kept telling them, until the draft is over, I’m not having a backup plan,” Church said last week at Dutchess Stadium. “My dream is to be here playing professional baseball.”
Hometown: West Palm Beach, Fla.
Drafted: 810th overall in the 26th round
Palm Beach State College: Batted over .340 in two seasons (2008-09), totalled 12 doubles, three triples and 43 RBI.
Florida Atlantic University: started all 57 games his senior season (2011), batted .351 with six home runs, 15 doubles and 32 RBI…started 115 straight games at second base over two years…tied school record with a 24-game hitting streak…drew 45 walks in 2010, the most of any player in the Sun Belt Conference…had nine RBI in one Sun Belt tournament game in 2010, named to Sun Belt All-Tournament and Gainesville All-Regional teams that season.
Valley League: Played in 40 games with Winchester in 2010, batted .314 with four home runs and 34 RBI.
Monday: vs. Connecticut, 11 a.m. (Early bird game)
Tuesday: vs. Staten Island, 7:05 p.m. (Irish night)
Wednesday: vs. Staten Island, 7:05 p.m. (American heroes)
Thursday: at Staten Island, 7:00 p.m.
Friday: at Staten Island, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday: vs. Mahoning Valley, 7:05 p.m. (Postgame fireworks)
Sunday: vs. Mahoning Valley, 5:05 p.m. (Replica jersey to first 1,000 fans 12-and-under)
Unlike some of his Hudson Valley Renegades teammates, Church wasn’t a can’t-miss prospect in high school. he played two years of junior college baseball at Palm Beach State College, batting more than .340 in both seasons there. Church then landed at Florida Atlantic University, where he started 60 games, hit .329 with 10 home runs and 46 RBI his junior year. this spring, he batted .351 in 57 starts, turned 33 double plays and had a .974 fielding percentage, leading his coaches to believe he likely would be taken in the 2011 first-year player draft.
“But with the draft, you never know,” Church said. “You absolutely don’t have any clue. you really don’t know until they finally call your name. I had a feeling, I had a good feeling, and I thought I would at least get some type of shot. the Rays took a chance, and I’m going to make the best of it.”
Church waited through each agonizing round, finally hearing his name called when Tampa Bay picked him 810th overall in the 26th round.
“I graduated with a business degree, but honestly, I didn’t know what I was going to do with it,” he said. “I really didn’t — God’s honest truth — I didn’t want to think about it until my draft dreams, until my major league baseball dreams, end. To this day, I’m still not. … Until somebody tells me I can’t play baseball anymore, I’m going to keep playing. That’s all I’ve come to know.”
Assigned to Hudson Valley, Church has stepped right in as the everyday second baseman. He’s batting .243 with five doubles in 19 games played, but has really taken off in July. After hitting .194 in June, Church was batting .294 in July through Friday’s game.
Church is adjusting to living on his own in a new place, something he did for the first time last summer when he played for the Winchester (Va.) Royals of the Valley League and lived with a host family. he had lived at home through his four years of college.
He’ll get a taste of home in early August, as his parents plan to visit Fishkill for a Renegades homestand. In February, he won’t be too far from home, as the Rays’ spring training facility in Port Charlotte, Fla. is about three hours from his family’s home.
For now, Church is just happy to get a chance to play every day for the Renegades. After all, getting drafted allowed him to postpone the thoughts of what he’s going to do with the rest of his life.
“It was a dream come true. the feeling I got was unlike any other,” he said of being selected. “It shows that hard work, most of the time, can get you where you want to be.”
wmontgomery@th-record.com
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<a href="http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110717/SPORTS14/107170342/-1/SITEMAPtag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110717/SPORTS14/107170342/-1/SITEMAPSun, 17 Jul 2011 06:16:15 GMT 00:00″>Renegades’ Church making strides in pro career