Baltimore's love affair with the Flacco family may have gotten larger today when the Baltimore Orioles selected third baseman Mike Flacco, younger brother of Ravens quarterback **Joe**, 926th overall in the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
The Orioles had expressed an interest in Flacco, and he had pointed to Baltimore as his ideal destination. Orioles scout Dean Albany said the team would place him on their draft board where they believe he should go. As it turned out, the fifth pick of the 31st round was Mike Flacco's spot.
Though both he and his brother wish he had been selected earlier, Flacco is bent on proving he belongs in the majors.
"I have to prove to [the Orioles] that I was a better pick than where they took me," he told the Baltimore Sun.
As a freshmen at Catonsville Community College, the younger Flacco hit .399, 14 home runs and 51 RBIs after a three year hiatus as a result of a back injury.
"I've got no timetable," Flacco noted, referring to when he hopes to play for Baltimore. "I'll take things one day at a time and just try to get the barrel of the bat on the ball."
Mike Flacco knows he has a big shadow from which to emerge, but if he wasn't already, playing for the O's will "definitely ensure that Joe will be an Orioles fan for the next couple of years," as he put it. And the selection also ensures that Baltimore will continue to be a fan of the Flaccos, as well.
