If patience was ever a virtue, then it was certainly a blessing for former Crimson Tide baseball player Brett Booth. On June 8, the catcher/infielder was nervously biding his time during the final day of the Major League Baseball Draft, anxious for the long-awaited phone call.
“I had been talking to a couple of teams,” Booth said. “They asked me if I would be fine if they drafted me the next day. That was the night of the first round (on June 6). The Mets and Astros asked me if I would sign if they drafted me the next day, but nothing ever happened.”
As the next day came and went, Booth was still keeping a close eye on his phone. Teams still called intermittently, shoring up his confidence, assuring the Alabama athlete of his place on their draft board.
Booth, however, wasn’t so sure.
“They just kept telling me they would take me soon,” he said. “I didn’t really know at that point if something would ever happen.”
The third and final day of the draft presented itself, and Booth needed a stress reliever. Familiar places often bring comfort, which is why Booth decided to nab a few hours of hitting practice at Tuscaloosa County High School with a friend. A standout multi-sport athlete at County High, Booth went on to lead the Crimson Tide in batting average his senior year at .290. He also hit a career-high six home runs and threw out over 47 percent of would-be base stealers in 2013.
After Booth put in a few cracks of the bat on his old stomping grounds, he made his way to his girlfriend’s apartment. That’s when he got the call.
“The Astros called me up and said they were going to draft me,” Booth said. “It was just a big relief. [I was] like, finally.”
Houston’s 34th round pickup made Booth the 41st Alabama baseball player drafted since 2005, and the school’s fifth catcher selected in nine years. He also joined fellow Tide pitcher Charley Sullivan, who was snatched up in the 29th round by the Detroit Tigers.
“It’s always good to have someone else that you played with for so long to get a chance at the next level too,” Booth said. “Getting an opportunity to play at the next level is always special.”
Booth finished his career at the Capstone with a .263 batting average. He appeared in 206 games, hitting 13 career home runs and adding 111 RBIs.
As of June 14, Booth was preparing for an 8-10 day mini-camp in Orlando, Fla., with the Gulf Coast League Astros, a minor-league affiliate with Houston. Though he has played many different positions in his 205 starts with the Crimson Tide, Booth said the “main thing is going to be be catching.”
