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 Keep Your Eye on the Dream.... ........................

2/29/2008
By Don Leypoldt

.....We’ve all seen the bumper stickers that conveyed this theme: Why couldn’t life’s problems hit me when I was a teenager and knew everything?

.....Fairfield Stag and Manchester Silkworm signee Mike Bourdon has a different take on that. What if you are 18 years old- and faced with a monumental, life changing decision?

.....The freshman catcher is good at baseball. Very good. Good enough to be the Boston Red Sox’ 41st round selection in this past June’s amateur draft.

.....But is that prize worth passing up a college education?

.....You know that going to college is a “smart” thing to do. The social merits of a higher education are indisputable. The financial merits of attending college are supported by study after study.

.....Your left brain says go to college.

.....But your right brain really loves baseball. And you are given an opportunity that has previously played out in only your wildest dreams.

.....Besides, you live in suburban Hartford- the epicenter of a Yankees-Red Sox rivalry where being neutral is not an option- and you’ve been a Red Sox fan since birth. So has your whole family. The chance to play with your beloved hometown team is almost too good to be true.

.....“Obviously my goal is to play in the minors,” Bourdon says. “If I felt I was ready to do that, I would have gone (pro). Being a three sport athlete in high school, I’ve only dedicated one-third of the year to baseball. I feel that I’m extremely raw and that I still have a lot of stuff to improve on. So another three to four years in college will hopefully really help to get me drafted again.”

.....He continues, “This is my first year only playing just one sport. It’s been an interesting experience for me in terms of concentrating on one thing.”

.....You are already 6’3 and 215 pounds- bigger than Yankee backstop Jorge Posada- and likely to fill out even more. You were an all-state quarterback at Northwest Catholic High School, and you got serious looks by college football recruiters. You also made first team all-state as a catcher, batting .390, driving in over a run per game, not allowing a single passed ball and leading your team to the state finals during your senior year.

.....You have the size and athleticism to succeed in baseball. Boston Red Sox area scout Ray Fagnant publicly said that you have the chance to be a big league catcher. And Fagnant is one of the most respected baseball men in the area.

.....So what do you do?

....."I wanted to play a sport at a collegiate level and baseball has always been my favorite sport,” says Bourdon. “It has always come naturally to me, but so was football. It was a tough decision trying to decide which one I wanted to play.

.....“Once I started getting talked to by the scouts and college coaches for baseball, I realized that I could really have a future in baseball and I should stick to my guns with that.”

.....There were approximately 1.6 million American males who graduated from high school in 2007. Bourdon was among the 476 of them who were selected in the latest Major League Baseball draft. The Simsbury, Connecticut native may not be one in a million…but statistically, he is 1 in 3,400. It’s an opportunity that so many dream about; and so few will ever earn.

.....“I knew there was the possibility of my getting selected but I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high,” Bourdon recalls Draft Day. “I was on my way to a dinner at Northwest Catholic when I got a call from my younger brother who was following the draft on the Internet. He told me that I was drafted and I was in disbelief. I actually called him back two or three more times to make sure he wasn’t messing around with me!

.....“I couldn’t really believe it at first. It was literally a dream come true and probably one of the biggest feelings of accomplishment that I’ve felt.”

.....The draft process revealed Bourdon’s maturity and wisdom beyond his years. Prep draftees are very raw baseball prospects and Bourdon knows that he will need to focus on the sport full time in order to improve his chances of making the majors. He is slated to platoon as Fairfield’s starting catcher with incumbent senior Mike Weinar; this will give Bourdon the experience he needs.

.....Bourdon’s multi-sport career also helps to explain how he ended up at Fairfield. He recalls, “I had never been to a showcase because of my football workouts and summer Legion commitments, so I wasn’t really exposed to the bigger college coaches. It was mostly the Division I schools from the Northeast (who showed interest).

.....“I liked how they were small and that I would have the chance to play right away. I’m happy that I ended up at Fairfield and I think it’s a good situation for me.”

.....The NECBL is another good situation for Bourdon. He will be playing catcher for the Manchester Silkworms in the summer of 2008, giving him his first experience with wooden bats.

.....“I’m very excited and I’ve only heard good things about playing in Manchester”, he says.

.....The Silkworms’ 2006 catchers- Matt Cooney and Jon Fixler- are both with major league organizations. Manchester’s 2007 catcher, Ryan Lavarnway, is a pre-season collegiate All-American. The Silkworms had a lot of good choices available to fill their reputable catcher position. Like Bourdon, it looks as if they chose wisely.

Don Leypoldt is on the sports information staff of the Manchester Silkworms. The Silkworms are a proud member of the NECBL; over 30 former Silkworms have been drafted by Major League Baseball.