Brewers, Cubs among teams drafting managers' sons
Ron Roenicke of the Brewers and Dale Sveum of the Chicago Cubs got to show some parental pride before their teams met on the field Wednesday: The managers' sons were taken by their respective teams on the final day of Major League Baseball's first-year player draft.
The Brewers took Lance Roenicke, an outfielder from UC Santa Barbara, in the 25th round.
''He's fired up,'' Roenicke said. ''He was happy when he got the call.''
The Cubs took Rustin Sveum, an infielder who also did some pitching at Desert Mountain High School in Arizona, in the 39th round.
Sveum said his son will go to college instead of turning professional - ''He'd better go to college,'' Sveum said - but was honored by the move.
''Whatever happens in the next four years, he'll always be able to say he got drafted by the Chicago Cubs,'' Sveum said.
The St. Louis Cardinals drafted manager Mike Matheny's son, Tate Matheny, in the 23rd round, and Eduardo Oquendo, son of third base coach Jose Oquendo, in the 32nd round.
The younger Matheny is a center fielder for Westminster Christian Academy in Chesterfield, Mo. Oquendo is a shortstop at Olney Central College in Illinois.
And the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted Cam Gibson, the son of manager Kirk Gibson, in the 38th round. Cam Gibson is an outfielder from Grosse Pointe South High School in Michigan, but his father said he plans to play at Michigan State and hold off playing professionally.
''He's going to go to college, but it's cool, though,'' Kirk Gibson said. ''I think he'd like to go to school, develop, see how good he can be. He's got ability and has drive and determination. He'll be tested. He's got to mature and grow up a little bit, just like the rest of us. He has a dream to be a major leaguer someday.''