Q.U.’s Josh Rabe Discusses What MLB Draft Day is All About

Sunday is the eve of the Major League Baseball Draft and hundreds of collegiate and high school baseball players around the country will go to bed that night as amateurs and wake up with anticipation of being selected Monday by a Major League franchise. Such was the case for now Quincy University Head Baseball Coach Josh Rabe back in 2000. Rabe was a standout athlete for Unity High School in Mendon in football, basketball and baseball and was pursued by several colleges and universities for football and basketball. Quincy University was the only school wanting him to play baseball. His love for baseball led him to become a Hawk and it turned out to be the right decision.

Rabe ended his playing days with 212 hits, 48 doubles and 170 runs scored. He was also the Great Lakes Conference Freshman of the Year in 1998 and was named the GLVC Player of the Year in 1999. In June of 2000, Rabe was selected in the 11th round in the Major League Baseball Draft by the Minnesota Twins.

After stints with the Elizabethton Twins, the Quad Cities River Bandits, the Ft. Myers Miracle, the New Britain Rock Cats and the Triple A Rochester Red Wings, Rabe got the call to join the Twins on July 17, 2006. For his short stay with the Twins that season Rabe hit .286 with 3 home runs and 7 RBI's. The following year, Rabe suffered a shoulder injury and was eventually released by Minnesota.

Last year, I took the opportunity to talk to Coach Rabe about what it is like to wait for draft day to arrive for a young player hoping to continue their dream of playing professional baseball.