On the eve of his Baltimore debut as a major leaguer, St. Joe grad Gavin Floyd chats with friends at Oriole Park.
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by Joe DiBlasi

See below for exclusive video interviews

As a senior at Mount St. Joseph in the spring of 2001, Gavin Floyd was 8-2 with a 1.11 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 10 games.
Last Saturday he was on the mound for the Chicage White Sox at U.S.Cellular Field and he carried a no-hitter into the
eighth inning and was five outs away from history, when the Tigers' Edgar Renteria got a single. Floyd would leave the game
at that point, and the Sox, who currently lead the American League Central, would go on to win 7-0. 

A first round draft pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2001, the 25 year old right-hander will start for Sox manager Ozzie Guillen tonight night at Oriole Park.  "He has the tools to be real good," said Guillen, who led the White Sox to a World Series Championship
in 2005.

The Sox swept the Houston Astros in four straight  that year behind Freddy Garcia, who threw seven scoreless in game four, but it was Garcia that the Sox traded to the Phillies in December of 2006 in exchange for Floyd.

"He's a treemndous competitor, and he never gives up," said Dave Norton, Floyd's high school coach. Norton has been the
varsity coach at the Mount for 26 years and he's exteremely proud of Gavin's development.  "He always had the tools, but 
what set him apart was his tremendous work ethic," added the Gaels skipper.

Floyd is 2-0 so far this year and when he takes the mound on tonight, he won't be a stranger to Oriole manager Dave Trembley.  Trembley is very familiar with Gavin, having managed against him at the Double-A level. Moreover, Trembley was
actually Gavin's manager in a Double-A All-Star game in the minors.

"I'm very happy for him," said the Oriole skipper.  "Gavin has lots of  ability.  His hard work has allowed him to make it to the top of his profession."  

"I'm excited about the chance to pitch here," said the big riighty, when interviewed in the Chicago dugout prior to last night's Orioles/White Sox contest.  "I always wanted to be a major league baseball player, and to be able to take the mound against my hometown team will be very special."

Floyd will take a 1.71 ERA into the game against the Orioles and there will be lots of family and friends at the park to watch.

"If I saw someone working hard, I tried my best to outwork them." said Gavin.  That's good advise for every prospective high school player who aspires to succeed in life.

Tonight, lots of Baltimoreans will have mxed emotions as to who to root for when Floyd takes the hill.  One thing is certain; Gavin Floyd will be working as hard as he can to win for the White Sox. That's the same thing he did at St. Joe.