Throwback Thursday: The Orioles draft a wimpy Jayson Werth

We have countless awesome sports photos in the archives here at The Baltimore Sun, and I have decided to share one with you each week in a regular feature called "Throwback Thursday." The MLB draft is next week, so I decided to search for ridiculous photos of old Orioles draft picks.

Mission accomplished, thanks to Jayson Werth.

The Orioles selected Werth, a wimpy-looking catcher from Glenwood High School in Chatham, Ill., with the 22nd pick of the 1997 amateur draft. He looked so awkward back then, he made Matt Hobgood look like A.C. Slater. Just look at the above AP file photo of Werth and his mother, Kim Schofield Werth, reacting to the news that he had just been drafted by the Baltimore Orioles, who were actually contenders back then.

Of course, Werth never made it to Camden Yards. He was acquired by Toronto and he made his major-league debut for the Blue Jays in 2002. After two years north of the border and two years in Los Angeles (not Anaheim), he became a star in Philadelphia and earned a monster payday down the Beltway in Washington, D.C.

Don't worry, though. We'll always have this photo, Orioles fans.

Bonus:

I have tickets to an upcoming Bayhawks game for whoever comes up with the best caption for this photo.

Throwback Thursday: The Orioles draft a wimpy Jayson Werth

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