Below is an article that appeared today on news.com.au. Brandon Stenhouse son of Dave and brother of Matt (both of whom play at springvale) has just signed a professional contract.
From News.com.au..
A MELBOURNE teenager has hit a home run by signing a lucrative professional contract with the New York Yankees that will make him a millionaire before he can legally drive.
Mordialloc school boy Brandon Stenhouse has realised a childhood dream, inking a six-figure deal with the most famous baseball team in the world.
Stenhouse, 17, could go from suburban pitcher to global star after signing the deal this week with US scouts who flew to Australia to see him play.
“It’s still sinking in and I was a bit nervous signing the contract but it is a dream come true,” he said.
“I was never sure it was going to happen.”
Stenhouse started playing tee-ball aged four and caught the eye of scouts in the past two years by consistently clocking pitching speeds approaching 150kph.
With at least two other Major League Baseball clubs circling, Yankees scouts gave Stenhouse his ticket to the big time on Monday along with an educational scholarship and a bag of merchandise including the club’s famous NY cap.
Proud dad Dave Stenhouse said the sky was the limit.
“It’s a good opportunity but I don’t think it will hit him until he gets over there,” he said.
“He got a big bag full of stuff which I think made him the happiest and mum and dad are happy too since we don’t have to pay for anything anymore.”
Stenhouse will report to Yankees spring training camp in Florida in April for two weeks of orientation before returning to Melbourne to complete his VCE.
He will then move to the US full-time to live his dream.
The teen sensation, who plays in the Victorian league for Cheltenham Rustlers, was signed by the most successful and well known club in the US after a standout performance at the Under 18 National championships in Canberra.
Yankee’s Australian scout John Wadsworth said the young gun would be given “every opportunity” to become a Major League star.
“I have been waiting for many years to see if Brandon Stenhouse had the physical and mental makeup to be considered as a possible Yankee.,” he said.
“I am pleased to see just how far this young man has progressed and his future is exciting to us all.”
Stenhouse will join fellow Victorian player Adam Silva on the Yankees’s books this year.
The original story is avaialble here: