LeDarious Clark has been waiting to hear his name called for two years.    

    And when the second day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft begins today at 11 a.m., Clark’s wait should also soon end. The Southeast Lauderdale star is projected to get picked between rounds 8-13. After Round 1 was finished Monday, Rounds 2-15 will be held today with the final 25 rounds conducted Wednesday.     

    “I’m just waiting on my name to be called,” Clark said Monday. “I’ve been waiting on it for a couple years.”    

    But he has done more than just wait. After an all-state season in which he posted a .443 average with seven home runs, 32 RBIs and 36 runs during the regular season as a junior, Clark earned his third straight Mississippi Association of Coaches all-state selection. In helping lead the Tigers to their first state championship since 1966, Clark hit .492 with five home runs, 13 doubles, 31 RBIs, 46 runs and 29 stolen bases during the regular season. He also was one of Southeast’s top pitchers both years.    

    “His work ethic is second to none,” said Eric Johnson, Southeast’s former pitching coach and currently a scout with Perfect Game. “I’ve had four kids that have been drafted in my 12 years coaching and his work ethic really is second to none. He is constantly hitting in the cage. After games he’ll come back and go to work in the cage. The game means so much to him.    

    “Whoever gets him is getting a steal. They really are. He has so much ability. He really is a five-tool player.”    

    And that talent has MLB teams ready to add him to their system. At the Crossroads Diamond Club All-Star game at Trustmark Park on Saturday, Clark talked with a scout from Toronto. The 5-10, 180-pounder has also had contact recently with Kansas City and the Los Angeles Dodgers.    

    “It doesn’t really matter,” Clark said about which franchise takes him, adding that the Dodgers have discussed switch-hitting with him. “I just want to play ball.”    

    And that is something Johnson noted as well. While Clark also excelled on the football field and also started for Southeast’s basketball team, baseball is his sport.    

    “He’s a pure baseball player,” Johnson said. “Everybody thinks about him and football, and he enjoys football. But baseball is his first love.”    

    That does create one problem, though, as far as Johnson is concerned. Clark loves the game so much and wants to succeed so badly, that he takes failure hard. Too hard.    

    “He is a competitor and he loves to compete, but he doesn’t accept failure and losses well,” Johnson said. “That’s something I’ve tried to talk to him a lot about these past two years is that he has to accept failure. Baseball is a game of failure and it will eat you up if you don’t learn to accept it. So accept it and use it because failure only makes you better.”    

    That mantra, though, may not be carried straight into a professional career. Even if he is drafted today, though, as expected, it isn’t a certainty that Clark will bypass college entirely. After just ending his high school career, Clark is waiting to see what he is offered after being drafted before planning his future. A change in the latest MLB collective bargaining agreement also will play a factor.    

    While teams were allowed to spend freely on draft picks in prior seasons – spending more on bonuses than what MLB suggested for that draft slot – the new CBA imposed a signing bonus pool which equals “the sum of the values of that club’s selections in the first 10 rounds of the Draft.” So the more picks and the higher the draft spot a team has, the larger the pool. And the pool covers the bonuses given to those selections in the first 10 rounds and any bonus greater than $100,000 for players drafted after the 10th round. Teams exceeding their allotted pool will be taxed and could face forfeiture of future draft picks.    

    So, depending on where he is selected and what that amount is, Clark said he may opt to head to college, most likely playing at East Mississippi Community College.    

    “One thing we’re looking at is for the right amount,” he said. “I won’t just go for anything because I can still go to college and get drafted again.”    

    But the business side of it can take a cue from Clark, and wait. All he is worried about right now is that moment when he can finally hear his name called and that his wait is over.

    “It’s a dream come true,” he said. “Coach EJ has been working with me for awhile now and for it to finally be here and happening, it’s pretty big.    

    “Everybody dreams of being drafted. Now it’s my time and I can’t wait to hear my name called.”