Johanna Wagner, a lifelong baseball fan, is the only woman to go to all 30 MLB stadiums in one season, alone, for her book The View from the Stands.

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With the MLB draft finishing up last week, I thought it might be a great time to talk to a player about his experience being drafted. The Detroit Tigers drafted Dallas Trahern, pitcher for the Albuquerque Isotopes, in the 34th round in 2004. Last off-season he was traded by the Tigers to the Marlins, along with Mike Rabelo, Andrew Miller, Burke Badenhop, Eulogio de la Cruz and Cameron Maybin for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera. I caught up with Dallas prior to Monday's game against the Round Rock Express to hear a few of his memories of being drafted, and to talk about what it felt like to be traded. Here is that interview.

JW: Can you talk a little about the beginning of your time being scouted, how did you become aware that scouts were looking at you? How did that process start?

DT:Well, I went to "Area Code" [Baseball camp] in California when I was a sophomore and when I was a junior [in high school] and that was sort of a big thing to sort of put me on the map. I just really had a good tournament both years there and that really opened up the eyes of the college scouts, at least in my mind. I kept having some good seasons in high school and some pro scouts started showing up when I was a senior. They started to talking to me, taking video that sort of thing. That all started happening towards the end of my senior year quite a bit.

JW: Now I know you originally had interest in going to the University of Oklahoma. How did that affect your conversations with scouts, did they know right away that college was your goal?

DT:They didn't know, I kept it kind of hidden. My goal was to play professional baseball, but I also got a full scholarship to Oklahoma so I wasn't going to throw away that opportunity either. I wanted a fair pro deal in order to get me to turn down a full ride scholarship. Oklahoma was a great school to go with, but really the whole situation was probably the reason I ended up signing with the Tigers.

JW: My understanding is that your interest in college may have been the reason you fell to a later round, is that right?

DT: I don't know exactly what happened there, for some reason money talk came out, some one said I wouldn't sign for under $1 million, which obviously wasn't true. [He laughs.] I think through all of that I did slide some, because of concern over signability issues.

JW: So, after the scouts have come and taken video, and have spoken to you, do they next come and talk with your family?

DT: We had a lot of scouts come to the house and meet with us and try to get a sense of the money range and try to work something out. We really just said give us a fair offer for the round you draft us, and it will probably work out. It was all really exciting.

JW:So, you ended up being drafted by the Tigers. Did you have a preference for who drafted you? Were the Tigers a surprise?

DT: It wasn't a surprise at all. I was close with the Tigers scout so I knew that he liked me. I also knew that he liked me as a pitcher. Probably half the teams, maybe more liked me as a shortstop. He liked me as a pitcher the whole way, and he knew he was pretty high on me so I knew the Tigers were probably one of the front-runners. Ideally, I probably would have went to the Braves because that was the team I loved growing up and I knew they had a good system from the minor leagues on up. That would have been ideal for me, but once I got to the Tigers, I loved the Tigers organization. I had a great time there. Their coaching staff, the scouting staff, player development was just really good there.

JW: Who were your favorite players growing up?

DT: Chipper Jones. All Chipper Jones. The guys like Smoltz and Maddux and Glavine when they were all there, they were just great guys to watch.

JW: So then were you more interested in being drafted as a infielder a pitcher?

DT: My first thought was definitely infield. But it was one of those things where I kind of felt that pitching might be a faster road to the big leagues for me. I just couldn't make the decision, so I just told scouts that whatever team drafted me could make the decision.

JW:So you had success at each level as you progressed through the Tiger's system, then this past off-season you were traded. How has the transition been to the Marlins system? What were the changes you had to go through?

DT: The changes have been pretty easy. I think one of the things that made it so easy was just that there were six players also traded with me so I knew five guys when I walked into camp right away. The transition to new teammates was easy. It also seemed like the way the Marlins work that a third of big league camp is all news guys so everyone was getting to know everyone, so getting to know your teammates was made really easily. Also, the coaching staff was very qualified here, so I had a good time learning the philosophy of the Marlins. There are definitely some differences here, it's definitely a different organization. The Tigers have been around for 100 years, so obviously there are going to be some differences. There is a lot more history, and, I would say, a lot more pride, in the Tigers organization, and this organization is new and really trying to make a name for itself. They have obviously won two World Series, but I feel like they still have to prove themselves every year since their philosophy is based around bringing in new [and young] guys. It's really a neat opportunity.

JW: How did you first learn about the trade?

DT: I was watching Pardon the Interruption. I saw that there was a big Tiger's trade, and I just had a feeling it was me. They didn't say my name, just mentioned three minor league prospects. I just kind of had that feeling it was me, then my phone was just ringing for 48 hours straight with media calling. It was almost 24 hours before I heard from either organization, but they aren't allowed to call me until it was finalized. I finally got a call from the Tiger's first, they mentioned that I was traded and that they were sorry to see me go. Soon after I got a call from the Marlins.

JW:Do you think that being traded to the Marlins might mean a quicker road to the majors?

DT: I think either organization I was right there. With the Tigers I felt like I was close, and here I feel like I'm close. There are a lot of good prospects here, a lot of good pitchers here, and so either way you have to prove yourself.

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