More than anything, Joey Bart was happy his friends and family didn't have to wait too long.
"There's horror stories of some people not even getting drafted, so it went very smoothly and it will always be a day I remember," Bart said last week in a phone interview with NBC Sports Bay Area.
One year ago, on June 4, 2018, Bart was selected by the Giants with the No. 2 pick in the MLB draft. He was surrounded by his family, friends, Georgia Tech coaches and teammates at his family's Georgia home. When MLB commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement that San Francisco had selected him, he immediately hugged his coaches on the couch before a clearly emotional Bart embraced his parents.
Bart entered his junior season for Georgia Tech extremely motivated after breaking his thumb the year before and was coming off a summer where he was cut by the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. The catcher started off the 2018 season on a tear before finishing the year with a .359 batting average and 16 home runs. Halfway through the season, going No. 2 to the Giants started to seem like an actual possibility.
It all started on a golf course, too.
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During a Georgia Tech golf outing, then Giants area scout Luke Murton - who now works for the Padres - dug deep to learn more about Bart. Murton spoke with the coaching staff and some of Bart's teammate before bullpen catcher Johnathan Langley let him what was going on.
"He came up and was like, ‘Hey man, I think these guys are pretty serious,'" Bart said. "I was just like, ‘Are you for real? Are you serious right here?' Just to be mentioned that high was a pretty cool thing. I didn't take it too serious and just kept playing hard for the rest of the season."
While Bart tried his best to overlook the day, he admits now that the closer the draft was on the calendar, there were times when he had to balance just playing college baseball and thinking about the big day.
"We're all human," he says. "I think I blocked it out pretty good, but once it gets pretty close and people want to start meeting with you, then obviously you're going to think about it a little bit."
Taking in the draft with so many loved ones was a special day he'll never forget. Bart, however, wishes baseball emulated basketball or football in how much attention the sports gives its draft.
For instance, this year only four prospects were in attendance at the draft in Secaucus, NJ, in the MLB Network studios. Brett Baty was the first of the four to hear his name called, and that wasn't until the Mets drafted him with the No. 12 pick. Brennan Malone was the last of the group to be selected with the No. 33 pick by the Diamondbacks. Some college players competing in Regionals even had to find out they were drafted in the middle of their playoff game, trying to keep their season alive.
Bart believes one solution could be moving the draft back a bit. After being picked by the Giants last year, he only played six games in the Arizona Rookie League. He believes losing a week or two at the low level is well worth baseball baseball calling more attention to its draft.
"They can make it a bigger deal and a more special moment for those guys," Bart said. "Not that it wasn't, but if we're basing this on baseball vs. the NFL or NBA, it definitely has some work to do compared to those two."
The moment had to be special for Hunter Bishop, the Arizona State center fielder who the Giants took with the No. 10 pick this year. As a Palo Alto native and Serra High School graduate, Bishop has a chance to play in the Bay Area again for the team he grew up rooting for. Prior to the draft, Bart offered some sage advice to the latest Giants top pick.
"Just enjoy it. It goes by so fast. Thinking to now over the last year, I know it's gone by fast," Bart said. "Even those few weeks from the draft to reporting, I think it was a week and a half or two weeks until I reported to Arizona. Just enjoy it.
"But once it's over, it's over. It's time to get back to the game and play ball. Bring your A game, bring your work ethic. Like I said, make sure you enjoy it. Cherish it, enjoy it, take a little time to enjoy it with your family and friends. That's something I did and I felt that was really cool."
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Looking back, June 4 of last year to this year has flown by for Bart. It not only marks his draft day anniversary, but this time, the date represents his first game back for the San Jose Giants after missing over 40 with a fractured left hand.
Bart is the future of the Giants, and should have a short road to San Francisco. There's no telling what this day will have in store for him next year.
