by Creg Jantz

Case Western Reserve University third baseman Eric Macha from Export, Pa., became the first baseball player in CWRU history to be drafted in the Major League Baseball draft.

Eric Macha

Macha was selected by the Oakland Athletics as the 992nd overall pick (33rd round) in day two of the draft.

Contacted on his way to a Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox doubleheader in his native Pennsylvania shortly after he was selected, Macha said, "It is something you always dream about, but it hasn't really set in yet because it just happened a few hours ago."

The 6-foot-4, 205 pound third baseman, who hit .365 this past season for the Spartans, received a degree in computer engineering from CWRU last month.

He hit .341 both his freshman and sophomore seasons and a whopping .430 his junior year.

Eric's father, Ken, just so happens to be the manager of the Oakland As. The elder Macha was named the As' skipper this past off-season after serving as the club's bench coach for the past four years. He has spent the past three decades in the majors as a professional player, coach and minor league manager.

"It was funny. I was at the gym working out, and when I got home, there were a hundred messages from my dad telling me to go to mlb.com," said Macha. "It was pretty neat to see my name and to see CWRU represented. I'm just glad to be playing baseball this summer."

 

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