B.C. to induct Waldron into Hall of Fame

When Jeff Waldron was a kid playing pickup baseball with his buddies behind the old city-owned nursing home on Tower Hill in Lynn, thoughts of playing professional baseball were the furthest thing from his mind.?It?s just one of those things. I just bounced around, had fun. I never focused on playing in college, or playing professionally. The focus was always just to keep playing and to play as long as I could,” Waldron said.Waldron will be inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame tonight in a ceremony at Conte Forum. He and the other nine members of the “Class of 2014″ will also be recognized at halftime of the Eagles? football game against Clemson on Saturday.?It?s a very nice honor,” the former Classical High and BC High catcher said. “I enjoyed my time at BC very much. I certainly never thought of things like the Hall of Fame at the time. It was a great school. I had great teammates. It fit me perfectly.”Waldron, currently the assistant baseball coach at Classical, had a baseball career that took him from West Lynn American Little League?s Flynn Field to Babe Ruth (where as a 15-year-old his team won the state title) to St. Mary?s High (he played two years under coach Jim Tgettis), and on to Classical, where he played his final two years for coach Dick Maag.Boston College came knocking and Waldron, who also played football and basketball in high school, was off to The Heights. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals as a junior, but decided to finish up at BC. Waldron was drafted by the Red Sox coming out of college in 1999 and as part of the organization, he played for the Lowell Spinners, the Sarasota Red Sox and the Augusta Green Jackets.He was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001. That ride lasted four years and landed him on the Lancaster (CA) Jet Hawks (A+) of the California League; the El Paso Diablos (AA) of the Texas League and the Tucson Sidewinders (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League. From there it was on to the Texas Rangers organization and stints with the Oklahoma Red Hawks (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League and the Frisco Rough Riders (AA) of the Texas League in 2004. He spent a season in Edmonton of the Northern League before wrapping up his career.Waldron?s post-baseball career took him back to school, only this time as a teacher. Both his parents, Gerry and Doris Waldron, were in the schools. His father was a guidance counselor and his mother was a teacher. Waldron majored in psychology at Boston College and these days, he?s a school psychologist at Masconomet Regional High School.Baseball is still a passion, but now he?s on the coaching side. He?s been involved in the Classical High program for nine years, most of them with head coach Mike Zukowski. He also managed the North Shore Navigators for two years.Waldron will have plenty of family on hand at tonight?s induction. In addition to his parents, siblings and uncle, he?ll be joined by his wife, Heather (Pellegrini) Waldron. The two tied the knot this summer.?You don?t make it though any level with supportive people behind you. I?ve been fortunate to have great parents and a great family. They?ve probably seen more games than anyone on the planet,” Waldron joked.