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| Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Pine-Richland High School catcher Neil Walker wears his new team's cap after being selected by the Pirates in the first round of yesterday's Major League Baseball draft. Click photo for larger image. 
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"I've always been a Pirates fan, and if I'm lucky maybe I'll wear a Pirates uniform someday," Walker said, looking toward Littlefield.
Walker laughed a little after the statement. But yesterday, the thought of being a Pirate became reality and it brought Walker to tears.
The Pirates selected Walker in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. A senior catcher at Pine-Richland High School, Walker was the 11th pick overall. It is the first time the Pirates have selected a high school player from the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League in the first round. Walker also is only the fourth high school player from the WPIAL to go in the first round and the first since Tim Conroy of Gateway High was chosen by Oakland in 1978.
Shortly before 1:30 p.m. yesterday, there was a loud roar from the family home in Richland when the Pirates selected Walker. Some 200 family members, friends and teammates were inside, listening to the draft live on the Internet. Three computers were set up around the house.
A huge crowd was packed into the family room. When Walker's name was called, he hugged his mother and then was mobbed by friends and teammates. "I must have been on the bottom of the pile for about five seconds," he said.
When he got up, he couldn't hold back his emotions.
"I have to admit, I had tears in my eyes," Walker said. "Just the way it worked out, getting picked by the Pirates ... it was something."
It was something he didn't think would happen, despite the words to Littlefield at the Dapper Dan.
"I really didn't think much about saying that back then," Walker said. "It was kind of just a dream then. But now look where we are. The dream has come true."
All at once, the hometown boy got picked by the hometown team and became a future millionaire. Walker will give up a scholarship to Clemson and sign with the Pirates once Pine-Richland's season ends. The No. 11 pick in last year's draft, Tulane University first baseman Robert Aubrey, got a $2,010,000 signing bonus from the Cleveland Indians.
After signing, Walker will report to the Pirates' Rookie League team in Florida. Walker said his goal is to be with the Pirates in four years.
Although Walker is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound switch-hitting catcher, there is a possibility he could play another position with the Pirates. When Walker attended a workout with the Pirates on Memorial Day, the team had him field some ground balls at third base. Walker regularly practices at third with Pine-Richland.
"I'll play wherever I can get into the lineup every day," Walker said.
Walker already was a bit of a celebrity in the Pine-Richland district, regularly signing autographs for students and fans. But his celebrity status grew greatly after the Pirates picked him. A man walked into the Pine-Richland athletic office after the draft with a new baseball in a glass case. He asked athletic secretary Lynn Campbell if Walker would sign the ball. He would come back in a day or two to pick it up.
"I know he's going to be a great one," the man said.
Last night, Pine-Richland played Peters Township in the first round of the PIAA playoffs at Falconi Field in Washington, Pa. The crowd of about 2,000 had to be a record for a first-round game. Many were there simply to see Walker. Many approached him for autographs before the game. About half the crowd gave him a standing ovation in pregame introductions.
When Pine-Richland got off the team bus before the game, Walker was greeted by a Pine-Richland classmate wearing a Pirates jersey with the name "Walker" stitched on the back. Walker seemed amazed.
"How'd you get that done so fast?" he asked.
Other fans came wearing Pirates jerseys with "Walker" taped on the back.
Walker didn't disappoint the fans, either, hitting a home run over the right-field fence in his first at-bat.
Earlier in the day at the Walker home, the family had three jerseys packed in a bag for the draft -- the Pirates, Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles. Those were the three teams that had shown the most interest in him. The Indians picked sixth and the Orioles eighth, and both passed on Walker.
"When the Orioles didn't pick him, I just gave out a big 'Yeah,' " said Walker's father, Tom.
Before each pick, the home would get quiet. The noise came after the Pirates pick.
"Our home just erupted when we heard it," Tom Walker said. "If the doors weren't open, it would've blown them off."
Carolyn Walker, Neil's mother, was in tears after her son was selected.
"The whole thing is just surreal," she said.
Tom Walker, Neil's father, is a former major-league pitcher.
"I'm a big man, but I sure did cry," Tom Walker said. "To see your son just get drafted in the first round and then by the Pirates. It was just an emotional thing."
Pine-Richland Coach Jeff Rojik was at the Walker home.
"Next to my marriage and the birth of our child, this might have been the most memorable moment in my life," he said.
After the draft, Walker held a news conference at Pine-Richland's football stadium. He then walked to Pine-Richland's gymnasium, where the team was taking batting practice. Walker stood outside the gym in socks and shorts, acting like an 18-year-old.
"I'm waiting for my sister," he said. "I forgot my shoes and my jersey. She's bringing them. Lucky my head's attached or I might have forgotten that."
