“It was just hard to even think at that moment with everything happening,” Morabito mentioned. “It was pretty surreal.”
For so long as he had to wait — into Round 2C, a compensatory spherical simply earlier than the third full spherical — Morabito was surrounded by family and friends. His household is aware of the world of baseball nicely and was key to Morabito changing into a Day 1 choice.
His father, Brian, performed for James Madison in faculty. His uncle John — additionally Morabito’s hitting coach — competed at Wake Forest earlier than being drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1987. And his brother, Chris, put the ending touches on his junior season with their hometown McLean High.
“Those guys are my backbone. They’re who I rely on, not just baseball-wise but mentally,” Morabito mentioned. “They’ve been with me this whole journey.”
Morabito mentioned having his household so concerned in his baseball profession confirmed him what it’s like to love the sport.
It all got here to fruition this week. According to Morabito, the Mets despatched his agent an preliminary provide that he turned down, however a brand new provide a number of picks later had Morabito prepared to go.
Morabito informed The Post he plans to signal, and in doing so, he’ll forgo his dedication to Virginia Tech. The slot worth for the seventy fifth general decide is $873,300.
Morabito, at 5-foot-11 and 185 kilos, shot up draft boards this previous spring after a giant senior 12 months with Gonzaga, the place he led the staff to Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and D.C. State Athletic Association titles. After the DCSAA victory, Morabito rushed to the airport; he had a exercise with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field the following day.
Scouts additionally got here to the D.C. space see him, together with the Mets’ Joe Raccuia, with whom Morabito mentioned he had a robust relationship. Morabito knew the staff simply up Interstate-95 was excessive on his skill as a plus runner with the potential to hit for energy.
After batting .545 with 12 dwelling runs and 52 stolen bases, Morabito was named D.C. Gatorade Player of the Year and earned First Team All-Met honors. An invite to the mix in San Diego and exercises in a handful of main league parks had Morabito considering “there’s a chance this might be able to happen.”
Going into the draft, his defensive place was up for query, as he performed most of his senior season within the outfield however had loads of reps within the center infield. In a Zoom name Sunday night time, the Mets mentioned they need Morabito to play heart subject.
At the top of the week, Morabito will head to the Mets’ rookie amenities in St. Lucie, Fla. He mentioned he’s excited to get the following stage of his baseball profession going.