Outfielder Scott Bandura, former Taney Dragon, drafted by San Francisco Giants
Bandura hit .363 with 12 homers and 45 RBIs this season at Princeton as an All-Ivy performer.
Scott Bandura, nearly a decade after playing on a Little League baseball team that took the city by storm and even outdrew the Phillies one night, will soon begin his professional career after being selected Monday by San Francisco in the seventh round of the Major League Baseball draft.
Bandura was Mo’ne Davis’ catcher on the Taney Dragons, who reached the U.S. semifinal of the 2014 Little League World Series. Their third game in Williamsport, Pa., drew 34,128 fans while the Phillies played that night in front of 25,157 at Citizens Bank Park.
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He hit .363 with 12 homers and 45 RBIs this season at Princeton as a junior outfielder. Bandura, who grew up in Mount Airy and went to high school at Springside-Chestnut Hill, set the Tigers record for total bases (121) and was named first-team All Ivy League.
Bandura’s father, Steve, started the Anderson Monarchs in the 1990s at the Marian Anderson Recreation Center in Point Breeze. The program traveled around the country on a 1947 bus without air-conditioning and became one of the area’s top programs. The same group of kids played baseball in the spring and summer, soccer in the fall, and basketball in the winter. It has been that way for nearly 30 years.
Bandura and most of his Little League World Series teammates were also Monarchs. They were eliminated two nights after outdrawing the Phillies but they were honored with a parade down Broad Street and a night at the ballpark. And now their catcher has a chance to play there as a pro.
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