South Jersey’s Logan Dawson is a diehard Phillies fan and can’t believe they drafted him
The Phillies drafted Dawson, a shortstop for Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, in the 16th round of the MLB draft. "It’s just incredible," he said.
Logan Dawson has already played for the Phillies, hit 500 home runs, and had a spectacular career. But that was in a video game. And now the kid from South Jersey, who created himself in MLB The Show, turned down the difficulty settings, and mashed buttons for the virtual Phillies, has the chance to do the real thing.
The Phillies drafted Dawson — “I’m a diehard fan,” he said — in the 16th round of Monday’s MLB draft. The shortstop will soon decide between turning pro or attending Boston College on a baseball scholarship.
“Every kid who is a Phillies fan says, ‘Ah, I want to be a Phillie one day,’” said Dawson, who grew up in Audubon and attended Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees. “Well, it actually happened. It’s just incredible. I can’t believe it.”
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Dawson’s favorite player was Ryan Howard and his family has videos of him celebrating the 2008 World Series title even though he was just 2 years old. He turned 4 and requested a Wiffle ball birthday party in his yard so his parents built a field with a home-run fence. Dawson didn’t watch cartoons as a kid. His mother said he watched MLB Network’s highlight show every morning. It was always baseball.
“I just looked through my camera roll and I have photos of him going back to a baby,” said his mother, Jen. “I think he has a Phillies shirt or jersey on in every picture. He had a glove everywhere we went. He had a bat everywhere we went. He never got enough. It was baseball, baseball, baseball. We were along for the ride. We drove him or packed him food and followed his path.”
Dawson hit .318 this season for Eastern, according to statistics compiled by NJ.com. He also played quarterback for the Vikings. He is a smooth defender with a nice left-handed swing. But it’s his mentality, he said, that sets him apart.
“I have that sixth tool,” Dawson said. “I have that intensity, competitiveness. All I want to do is win games. If I go to college or I go to the Phils, I’m going to want to win games. That’s what helps me be the player that I am.”
When his son was 5, Dave Dawson asked Eastern High what the Vikings were doing with the old batting cage they were replacing. It was trash, they said. Dawson, who teaches business at the school and is an assistant softball coach, offered to make the cage “disappear.”
“So we made it disappear,” Dawson said.
It somehow made its way to Dawson’s yard in Audubon. Joe Flacco’s family had an old net and dropped it off. A future MLB draft pick suddenly had a place to hit every day.
His dad threw him batting practice after school. One hundred swings. Two hundred swings. Three hundred swings. It was never enough. Logan Dawson told his father that he heard Bryce Harper’s dad threw him 500 pitches every day. He wanted the same.
“The arm is hanging now at 48 years old,” Dave Dawson said. “But this makes it all worth it. To get drafted by any of the 30 teams is a dream come true, but to have your hometown team pick you? You couldn’t ask for anything better.
“You go through it as a parent. You watch him play Little League and travel ball and high school. You see the college coaches come through. Last summer, the pro scouts are coming through. ‘Man, what is going on here?’”
Logan Dawson was at Citizens Bank Park last week to work out for the Phillies. He took batting practice on the field while his father watched in the stands. Dave Dawson used to take his son to South Philly to watch the Phils. Last week, Dawson drove him there to play.
“He’s a huge Phillies fan and we’re a fan of his, obviously,” said Brian Barber, the Phillies’ assistant general manager and amateur scouting director. “He’s a kid with potential to be a really good player. A local kid who is a superfan of the Phillies seems to have a nice ring to it.”
The parents drove to Boston College on Monday as they hoped Logan would be drafted. Negotiations were back and forth throughout the day before the Phillies drafted him 491st overall. He was in freshman orientation and his parents were at dinner. They weren’t together but that was OK.
“At least, we’re in the same city,” Jen Dawson said.
They FaceTimed and shared the moment before meeting up after orientation finished. Logan Dawson could one day be the real-life video game character he used to play as. And it still feels like a dream.
“I told him, ‘Listen, if you ever play at Citizens Bank Park, I’m going to sit there and have a beer when I watch you play,’” Dave Dawson said. “I’m just going to enjoy it.”