Dan McGrath was just four years old when he watched the Boston Red Sox break an 86-year drought to win the 2004 World Series and now, as a 17-year-old, the promising Australian baseballer has signed a six-figure deal with the famous MLB club.
Growing up in a fanatical baseball family from Melbourne, McGrath has been a Red Sox fan all his life.
The promising young pitcher is currently preparing to help the Melbourne Aces progress past Perth in the Australian Baseball League championship series beginning on Friday, but now has a much bigger goal for 2013 and beyond.
A product of the MLB Australian Academy on the Gold Coast, McGrath will finish year 12 and complete his VCE at Whitefriars College in Melbourne in November before fully turning his attention to baseball.
McGrath was at home on Tuesday night when the family received the call from Red Sox Australian scout and Australian national coach Jon Deeble.
He’s already been to Boston several times to watch the Red Sox play as a spectator, and McGrath didn’t hesitate in leaping at a chance to one day take the mound at the fabled Fenway Park.
“It was an easy decision in the end. Jon Deeble called us and mum said we’d let him know within ten minutes and she called him back twenty seconds later,” McGrath said.
“It was pretty unbelievable actually, it’s always been a childhood dream to play for the Boston Red Sox.”
McGrath is planning on heading to the Red Sox spring training facility at Fort Myers, Florida in April for three weeks to get a taste of what to expect in 2013.
However, the MLB Australian Academy has already given him a fair idea as it’s modelled on what it’s like to be a minor league player in the United States.
Spending a couple of months at the facility each year for the past three years, McGrath would train in the morning, play a match in the afternoon and then complete his school work in the evening for six days straight each week.
The director of Major League Baseball International in Australia, Tom Nicholson believes the rigorous schedule has prepared McGrath well for the next phase of his career.
“He’s actually our 171st graduate that has come out of the MLB academy and to be able to have such numbers at that level validates what we’re doing in this territory,” Nicholson said.
“By the end of the season they’ll have a 45-50 game schedule completed … it’s taxing.
“These guys are pushed to the limit but they also get a taste of what professional ball is all about.
“I know his family are huge Red Sox fans, so this is like all their Christmases come at once.”
