Calgary Hopes for Winner
Elwood Hope
The Marauders already have a pimp at catcher. But the team is already looking towards the future with their first round selection in the 1995 draft. With the 18th overall pick, Calgary selected Vernal Utah native, Elwood Hope. Overlooked by many other teams, Hope was passed over for many reasons. "He's too tall," said one high ranking scout. Other complaints ranged from the realistic:
"He'll never be able to throw (out baserunners) and he's not mobile behind home plate."
"He's got a long and gangling body that looks like it's running in molasses." In fact, he has been mistakenly branded as lazy because he does look like he is not giving maximum effort. But Elwood has always been a very smart and decent worker.
And the ridiculous:
"He's not fast," Elwood's High school coach once said. "In fact, his younger brother raced him out of the womb and won." OK, sometimes they are not the brightest in backwater Utah towns.
Which led to another ridiculous knock on Elwood. "I don't think they raise smart people in the back waters of Utah," said one major league coach. Smart? Hope speaks four languages and graduated from college a year early while taking correspondence courses in rural Uruguay. Which was the bottom-line issue with Elwoods dramatic drop in the draft - Baseball scouts like to see with their own eyes. Baseball scouts like dedication solely to the game of baseball. And Elwood is finishing up his mission with the church of later day saints after skipping his final season of college ball to study abroad and spread his religion.
Baseball scouts still haven't come to terms with how to treat players who fit outside the baseball mold. And Elwood Hope does anything but fit the baseball mold.
