Shocker third baseman plays the waiting game

WICHITA, Kansas, July 8, 2008 -- Conor Gillaspie's never been one to jump in line for interviews, but the second week of June he kept especially to himself. Gillaspie refused to talk about the disappointment of draft day and the Shockers exit from the Super Regional.


Now he's broken his silence to talk about both, along with his baseball future.

"I felt it a little bit after the last game,” said Gillaspie. �oeI tried to not let everyone see that I was emotional, but I was."

He was also coping with the letdown of going later than expected just three days earlier in the major league baseball draft. Gillaspie was projected to be drafted among the top twenty. Instead, he was selected 37th overall by San Francisco.

"That's the way the draft is,” he says. �oeThat's the way life is."

Gillaspie now bounces between Wichita and his hometown of Omaha, waiting for the San Francisco Giants to make the next move. He hopes to sign for more than the $830,000 slotted for the 37th pick.

In the meantime, he's turned his frustration into motivation. He works out and hits in the cage at WSU as he waits for the next opportunity to prove somebody wrong.

"At every level I've ever been at I've done better than people expected me to do,” said Gillaspie.. Why would I want anything different?"

Gillaspie will likely wait until early August until a deal is done with the Giants. The deadline to return to school is August 15.

• KSN sports