By Dylan Butler and Marc Raimondi
But working on no sleep after returning home with his St. John's teammates from Corvallis, Ore. at around 2 a.m., the Red Storm closer wasn't his usual calm and collected self as he watched the start of the MLB First Year Player Draft with friends and family at his parents' Glen Cove, L.I. home.About 10 hours after Hansen returned home from Oregon, at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, he was selected with the 26th pick in the draft by the Boston Red Sox – an interesting notion given the team and the selection.Hansen, who grew up a Yankees fan, had been projected to go as high as No. 1 and few expected him to go as late as 26.”When the draft came and the picks kept on going, I just kept getting nervous,” said Hansen, clad in a relaxed Cape Cod Baseball League t-shirt, jeans and a newly donned Red Sox cap. “I was trying to hide it (though).”Although he was projected to be a top-10 pick by Baseball America, Hansen dropping to No. 26 could be because he is represented by Scott Boras.”Some teams are somewhat scared off by Scott,” said Jason McLeod, the Red Sox director of amateur scouting. “He was the highest rated kid we had on the board. We wanted to acquire that talent. That's why we selected him.”Hansen is one of five St. John's players picked on the first day of the draft. Ace Anthony Varvaro, who will undergo Tommy John surgery in the next few weeks to repair a torn MCL in his pitching elbow, was selected in the 12th round by the Seattle Mariners, centerfielder Greg Thomson was picked by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 15th round, shortstop P.J. Antoniato was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies also in the 15th round and Joe Burke was taken in the 18th round by the Yankees.Like Hansen, Mike Baxter knew he was going to get drafted Tuesday afternoon. It was just a question of what round. The Whitestone native heard he'd be picked anywhere in the top 10 rounds but was still ecstatic when the San Diego Padres took him in the fourth round.”It's something I've been waiting for my entire life,” Baxter said, while enjoying a barbecue with family and friends at his parents home in Whitestone. “This year it finally came true and it's really, really a great feeling.”Baxter, who enjoyed two solid seasons at perennial powerhouse Vanderbilt after transferring from Columbia following his freshman year, will likely be moved into the outfield when he reports to one of San Diego's minor league affiliates.He led Vanderbilt in virtually every offensive category, including home runs and stolen bases.”Looking at the top five rounds, you hope you can get picked there,” said Baxter, who speaks with a tinge of a Southern twang. “But the fourth round is a really nice round. I like it a lot.”Baxter is believed to be the highest former Archbishop Molloy player selected since Ed Kurpiel went eighth overall to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1971.”I think it's great,” said legendary Molloy coach Jack Curran. “He can hit and he can run, so he has a chance. And he's got a lot stronger.”Jonathan Lewis was watching the draft on his computer in his parents' Jamaica Estates home but after the first eight rounds he decided to go outside and shoot some hoops. And then the phone call he's been waiting his entire life for finally came. It was from the Florida Marlins, who picked him in the 16th round.”I'm just happy it's over,” Lewis said. “I'm looking to move on now. It's a great feeling.”Lewis went through the disappointment of watching last year's draft and not getting picked. But he returned to Stony Brook and closed out his collegiate career as one of the top pitchers in school history.He pitched at Fenway Park in front of Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and also was invited to workouts for the Phillies and the Mets. But it was the Marlins who made Lewis' dream come true and he celebrated with a sirloin steak at Applebee's in Fresh Meadows.”It still hasn't hit me yet,” he said.
