Chicago White Sox Sign Indy Speedster Darian Sandford

Darian Sandford, who was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 47th round of the 2010 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Park University, signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox. 

In all the years baseball has been around and everything that has been read and written, it takes something awe inspiring to impress people today. While this signing will be on the transaction wire with multiple other transactions, Sandford’s name will be etched in the Independent record books in 2012. 

Sandford stole 71 bases in 94 games for the Southern Illinois Minors and Washington Wild Things resulting in a Frontier League single-season record. He batted .250 with one home run, 25 RBI with six doubles and six triples (courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com). 

It’s obvious that speed is highly regarded by the White Sox, who purchased Sandford's contract from the Wild Things last week, according to the press release issued by the Frontier League and confirmed by bench coach Bart Zeller:

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Darian caught the attention of White Sox personnel because of his speed and his ability to play the outfield as well as second or third base, thus increasing his value.  He has been working very hard this winter and his efforts were rewarded.

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Wild Things Assistant GM Steven Zavacky had nothing but good things to say about Sandford and his progress:

“Although we are going to miss his speed on the base paths, we are happy that Darian is getting another shot with an affiliated organization and we wish him nothing but the best.” 

Sandford, who spent two years in the Royals organization, used a record-setting year to get back with an MLB organization. Again, this is another reason why the Indy League’s are so good for players of all backgrounds and skill-sets. 

Players are released for a variety of reasons and some never get that second chance. Sandford has proven again that Indy baseball can vault you to the next level and confirmed that eyes are always watching you, regardless of where you play.

Devon can be reached at [e-mail]. You can follow the GM's Perspective on Twitter and Facebook. His full bio can be seen here.