NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. (WHDH) - A local high school senior got the surprise of a lifetime when he was called up to the big leagues Wednesday.
The Boston Red Sox selected 18-year-old North Andover High School pitcher Sebastian Keane in the 11th round of the Major League Baseball Draft. Keane was drafted at number 347 overall.
“My agent called me a few minutes before the draft and was like, ‘I think the Red Sox are going to draft you,” Keane said. ‘I just went crazy and then eventually, I was just watching the draft live and then they just dropped my name and I went nuts.”
Keane, who can throw 90 plus miles per hour has dominated this year with a 9-1 record and 98 strikeouts in just 51 innings.
“We were real excited,” Tom Keane, Sebastian’s father, said. “We were thrilled about it and I’m not even from around here. I’m from New York and I am a Yankee fan. But, we were still thrilled that he was drafted by the Red Sox.”
When asked how proud she was of her son, Marie Dahlen Keane smiled and said, “I am very proud. He has been working very hard for this.”
While Keane could sign with the Sox this year, he says he plans to attend Northeastern University on a baseball scholarship.
He hopes he will be able to sign with the Sox or another pro-team when he is draft eligible again, after his junior year.
“I think if he gets his shot, I think he will make some team happy and he’ll work really hard for them,” Keane’s coach said.
Keane is not the first player that has made it to the big leagues, 12 years ago, Mike Hashem was drafted by the Atlanta Braves.
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