Time sure does fly. It was almost ten years ago that 12 year old Jeffrey Maier interfered with a deep fly ball hit by Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter. Had Maier not deflected the ball, Oriole outfielder Tony Tarasco would have made the catch and Baltimore would have won game one of the 1996 American League Championship Series. The rest, as they say, is history.
Oriole fans have cursed the name Jeffrey Maier ever since. In a very interesting twist of fate, Maier is now 22 years old and a first-team all-NESCAC selection at Wesleyan University. He's Wesleyan's career hits leader and hoping to be drafted in next week's Major League Baseball amateur draft. This is where things get interesting.
The Washington Post reports that Baltimore is considering drafting Maier. Orioles owner Peter Angelos said "I wouldn't be at all opposed to [drafting Maier]. In fact, I'd say it's a very interesting development. You can say the Orioles are very seriously considering him. I know this much: I was at that game, and he certainly did seem to be a heck of an outfielder. Sure, we'd take him. In fact, I like the idea more and more, the more I think about it."
What's next? The Cubs drafting Steve Bartman?
