2013 Vero Beach High School Graduate Christian Williams

WELL ON HIS WAY, CHRISTIAN WILLIAMS’ DESIRE IS TO “MAKE IT INTO THE BIG LEAGUES AND PLAY FOR 22 YEARS.”

He was the 16th round 2015 draft pick by the Toronto Blue Jays.  There are 40 rounds in the draft and each of the 30 teams in the major leagues gets one pick each round.

“There’s no pain that amounts to the pain you feel when someone else’s name is called in the spot a team tells you they’re going to pick you,” tweeted Christian Williams, on the second day of the draft.

Williams eventually heard his name in the 16th round, when the Blue Jays selected the Gulf Coast Community College graduate.

He should have been picked sooner.  In 37 games for the Gulf Coast League Community College he hit .398 had 32 RBI’s and scored 26 runs.

Regardless, on November 27, 2015 Jays Journal, the Toronto Blue Jays News and opinion site posted the headline: “Christian Williams, considered the best power hitter selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2015 draft by Baseball America.”

“The best power hitter selected by the Toronto Blue Jays.”

Christian’s father was a major influence on him becoming enchanted with baseball.  While his dad played baseball in college, Christian’s experience with him was watching him coach little league baseball and travel teams.

“By growing up with my dad I fell in love with it and just kept wanting more of it.

Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves was my idol.  I remember being glued to the TV just watching and hoping I could be like Chipper Jones.

I loved how he played the game, how hard he played and how he carried himself.”

Chipper Jones was # 10.  That’s why Christian has a 10 in his email address.

Larry Wayne “Chipper” Jones, Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman who spent his entire 19-year MLB career playing for the Atlanta Braves, and all 23 years as a professional baseball player in the Atlanta organization.

Maybe that’s why Christian said he wants to play in the major leagues for 22 years.  It’s close enough.

Jones ended his career in 2012 with a .304 career batting average, with 468 home runs, 1,512 walks, and 1,623 RBI in 2,499 games with 8,984 at bats.

Christian Williams hit .398 in 37 games for the Gulf Coast League Community College.

The structure of minor league baseball consists of six levels: 1) Rookie; 2) Short-Season A; 3) A; 4) Advanced A; 5) AA and 6) AAA (triple A).

After bring drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays, Christian played ball with the Bluefield Blue Jays, a rookie minor league baseball team affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays in Bluefield, West Virginia.

Based on his performance with the Bluefield Blue Jays, Christian has jumped from the rookie minor league to Class A, where he will be joining the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Class A Florida State League, the spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays.  Everyone from the Blue Jays organization will be participating. Spring training will begin in February.

From the Dunedin Blue Jays we would hope Christian will advance to the Buffalo Bisons, based in Buffalo, New York, the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 2012, Forbes listed the Bisons as the 13th most valuable franchise in all of Minor League Baseball.

 

Then what?  Christian Williams will have made “it into the big leagues and play for 22 years.”

Christian Williams