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Frederick High graduate and former West Virginia University pitcher Billy Gross signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles Tuesday.
He is scheduled to report to the organization's Gulf Coast League affiliate in Sarasota, Fla. Wednesday.
"It's definitely exciting," Gross said.
A redshirt senior, Gross will forgo his final year of athletic eligibility at WVU to pursue a career in professional baseball. He picked up the phone Tuesday morning a Mountaineer and hung it up an Oriole. He's scheduled to and plans on graduating with a degree in physical education teaching in December.
"Earlier today I was a college student and now I'm a professional athlete," Gross said. "It's kind of crazy."
This nearly didn't happen. About two weeks ago, Gross was home in Frederick when he called roommate and teammate Austin Markel about upcoming plans. Markel informed Gross that he planned on attending an open tryout at Hampton, Va.'s War Memorial Stadium on June 23. Gross hadn't thought about it or picked up a ball for weeks. Figuring there was nothing to lose, he and his father, packed their bags and headed south.
"I figured the worst case scenario was they'd just tell me to leave," Gross said. "But I threw really well."
Major League Baseball open tryouts are staged throughout the country during the summer. Players 16 years and older are eligible to attend.
Gross said he was one of 200 hopefuls, showcasing his talent in front of scouts from all 30 MLB franchises. After an impressive showing, he was considered one of the top 20 or so prospects at the workout, which resulted in a report sent to every team.
After strength and conditioning session in Morgantown, W.Va. Monday, Gross got a call from Brunswick High and Brunswick Orioles' head coach Roger Dawson, who serves as a territorial scout for Baltimore. They worked together before as Gross had taken the mound for the Blue Ridge Adult Wooden Bat League team in early June.
Although his final appearance ended in a loss, Dawson liked what he saw and recommended Gross to his superiors.
"He looked good, and he's been throwing as high as 94 miles per hour," Dawson said.
Leaving campus in haste, Gross arrived at Glen Burnie's Bachman Stadium Monday evening for an individual tryout. It was his most stressful stint on the mound, but also most fruitful as he got an offer less than 24 hours later.
"The whole ride back my heart was pounding, Gross said. "Honestly I didn't think I threw well."
Gross credits Dawson for much of his success saying he's helped out tremendously.
During three seasons in Morgantown, Gross accumulated a 18-7 record. He was named as the team's Most Valuable Player in 2008 and earned spots on the Athletic Director's Academic Honor Roll and Big East Academic All-Star teams. At Frederick High he was a first-team All-Gazette and Team Maryland selection.
"I can't complain about today," Gross said.
