I went to the Bob Feller museum in Van Meter Iowa this year, I was surprised to hear that his 2 best seasons were the 1 before the went to war and the 1 after he came back. Imagine how many wins and strikeouts he would have if he had those 4 years back.

Rapid Rob!!!

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quote:

Imagine how many wins and strikeouts he would have if he had those 4 years back.

Indeed spinedoc I am guessing about 100 more wins and at least 1000 more strikeouts.

its - you are the undisputed king of the autographed memorabillia collection

cd -

I got a whole bunch of Yankees too. But most were made out to my younger brother - because I used to refuse them - being an avid Mets fan. LOL

(I kid you not - a few times - my dad freaked out because I showed a hint of disdain for the Yankees - in person LOL).

The only ones I ever willingly got were Bobby Richardson, Yogi Berra, Willie Randolph, Joe Pepitone, Dave Winfield and Derek Jeter.

P.S. - You should see my football and hockey collection!

Have a great New Year.

I work in Bellevue NE, and I know that Bob Gibson lives about 5 blocks from my office, but it is kind of understood to leave him alone. Too many people have showed up at his door with 3 balls for him to sign for their "kids"

quote:

Originally posted by spinedoc:
I work in Bellevue NE, and I know that Bob Gibson lives about 5 blocks from my office, but it is kind of understood to leave him alone. Too many people have showed up at his door with 3 balls for him to sign for their "kids"

About 5 years ago he cornered some guy who cut him off in traffic and beat him up. I'd leave him along too.

quote:

Originally posted by theEH: This Thread did truely deserve Golden Thread Status.


As a parent are whole goal was to see how far baseball could take are Son.
And to take advantage of everything that the sport had to Offer.

It is a Personel Decision that a Young Drafted player need's to think about before they go one way are the other(College vs. Pro).
When do you as a Player Feel you have the best chance of Succeeding in Pro Ball. After HS are After College.

I believe that if it is meant to be it will happen one way are another. EH

**** this is a great thread except for the one derailment****about BG

What criteria, set of circumstances would lead you to guide your son to sign out of high school, or concur with his decision to sign and forego college baseball ? When I mean "you", I mean in your individual experience or potential one, not a laundry list of pro/con factors.

"What criteria, set of circumstances would lead you to guide your son to sign out of high school, or concur with his decision to sign and forego college baseball ? When I mean "you", I mean in your individual experience or potential one, not a laundry list of pro/con factors."

We are possibly facing this choice too. Would appreciate hearing how others have counseled their sons with the choice if it presented itself. Our son has made a verbal committment with a good program/good school but has pro-ball as his goal.

From someone who went thru this many years ago. At first I was settled in to the idea of heading to college - a top program. As Spring baseball season started the hype began with all the Pro guys, coming to games, practice, calling on the phone. It was always my goal to play pro too while it was my parents goal to send me off to school. I started to think go pro and forego college after a good spring. When draft day came and my name was not called as high as I hoped, that had to have been the biggest "downer" day of my life. It takes the wind out of your sail when you get your mind set for something that doesn't happen.
My advise is to be aware that it may happen to your son and talk about all the possibilities that "might" happen prior to draft day. The bottom line, it is impossible to guess what might happen as far as the draft and it could lead to some big dissapointment that you will need to deal with later.
Brn2hit - great post.

OS8

quote:

What criteria, set of circumstances would lead you to guide your son to sign out of high school, or concur with his decision to sign and forego college baseball ? When I mean "you", I mean in your individual experience or potential one, not a laundry list of pro/con factors.

Well my son made the decision.
But it was the right decision for him.

I think the Main reason for going to D1 college rather then Juco/Minor league's DNF.
Is the fact that my son was not physically or mentally ready for the rigger's of pro ball.
And if he was ever going to get a college education?
He's at the right school for him.
The support factor was huge in his decision.
EH

quote:

What criteria, set of circumstances would lead you to guide your son to sign out of high school

His physical stature and mental state(Maturity).
Would guide me?
He's a late bloomer and could use the extra time to get stronger both Mentally and Physically?

I could give you a list of individual concerns I had and concerns my son had about turning pro out of high school but I think most players and parents have the same concerns. Some people address those concerns and find a solution and some chose to ignore them (not good) and suffer the consequences. Like most players, those concerns in my son's case would have been coped with had the money been right. We discussed “what ifs” at length before and after he was drafted. I kept asking myself four questions over and over and weighing the pros and cons:
1. “What does HE stand to lose if he goes to college?”
2. “What does HE stand to gain if he goes to college?”
3. “What does HE stand to lose if he turns pro out of high school?”
4. “What does HE stand to gain if he turns pro out of high school?”

If you ask yourself those questions I think you will be better able to advise your son. He may ignore your advice but that's another topic!
Fungo

My son went pro out of high school, (it is alot like throwing them in the deep end to teach them how to swim) It was what he wanted to do and our family supports his decision. His father was "drafted" out of high school and they sent him to Vietnam, that kind of put things in perspective.

With the elimination of the draft and follow rule, this years draft should be much different than drafts of the past. You're either in...or out, especially HS fence-sitters who have their eyes set toward the Major Leagues. What's more important to the player is even a better question to ask this year. Pro or College?


Longtime Player and now Longtime Observer

quote:

PopTime, with all due respect, I wonder how much you know about life in the minor leagues. Quite clearly my comments were not directed toward those players who are set from the time they sign their contract and receive the draft bonus. It focused, as Dad04 confirmed, on the other 90% of those in minor leauge baseball. Playing professional baseball, even in the minors, is the dream of so many. What you, at some point, find out is what you thought of as a game is really a business. The business is both physically and mentally demanding as well mentally and emotionally exhausting. Minor league players are not protected the collective bargainning agreement. Again, with all due respect, confusing the "riches" of those at the major league level with the process in the minor leagues that "might" get a player to that level isn't reality, but it might be a bit "silly."
I wonder which jobs you think are MUCH worse. Through A ball, the minor league players get paid either $1,150 or $1,350 per month. They play 29 days per month. With bus travel, which is extensive, they average a 12 hour work day. That ends up around $4.50 per hour for their work. From that, they pay room/board etc to live, they pay the locker room attendant, fines, etc. What is a job that, just from a pay perspective, is MUCH worse than that?

Sounds like a high school teacher who coaches baseball - the ones who take it seriuosly and not the ones who use it for a check.

I went way back in time to get this post - I think it is the second one from this topic. I just started reading it today.

I have a daughter and son in law who are teachers that also coach and a son in the minors ... the 2 jobs are nothing alike.
I don't know if any one has mentioned that players don't get paid during spring training, instructional league or winter work outs.. that takes up about 3 1/2 mos. so their only paid for 5 1/2 mos.
Players have the choice and they are doing what theywant to do.. But its not a glamorous life style.
The posters who have sons in the minors are only trying to give the other members a realistic idea what life is like in the minors.

Let's see....

I leave my house at 7:30 am everyday - teach six classes and during my "free" period I coach my players in a PE class.

I get out of school at 2:45 and have about 15 minutes before practice / game.

If it's practice I get done by 5:30 and get home around 7 if I am lucky - I have to make sure my field is in good shape before I leave and make sure all my players have rides before I leave. Nothing like the parent who won't pick their kid up after practice because they have something else to do and never consider to have another plan ready for their kid.

If we have a game at home I get to the field by 3:15 for batting practice and usually throw it. While they are stretching I then have to chalk the field and get everthing ready. Start the game at 5:00 and it's over by 7:30 usually. Then I have to stay for the JV game. It's over at 9:00ish and once again I have to make sure the field is ready for the next day. I get home between 10:00 - 10:30.

If it is an away game we leave the school at 3:00 and drive at least an hour to our closest game - by the way I am driving the bus (for free). We get to the field by 4:00 and have an hour to warm up and start at 5:00. Same thing with the JV game. I have to stop somewhere and feed the guys (and yes some of them don't have money so I pay for their meal too). We get to the school around 10:00 and once again I have to wait on kids to get a ride. If I get home at 11:00 I am VERY lucky.

Then I get to get up and do it again the next day.

Other things to consider...

Teachers happen to be one of the lowest paid professions there are and baseball coaches happen to be one of the lowest paid coaches in schools. I work 185 days during the school year and that is what I am paid for. So those summer months well the crazy thing is I am not paid for them.

I was actually paid more to be an asst. football coach than to be head baseball coach - figure that one out.

I have to make sure we have enough money for our sport and organize the fundraisers and get the guys to do them.

I have to deal with parents of kids who think they happen to be better than what they really are. In the best of times they drag my name through the mud because "I don't know what I am doing" - although I have more district champions in 7 years than the other coaches had in 33 years.

In the fall I deal with scheduling and off season workouts. I have to make contact with college coaches to try and get my guys into school - yes I have some really good players who can play college ball. In 7 years I have sent 8 guys to college to play.

What I took from your post - please correct me if I am wrong - if you love baseball and CHOOSE it to be what you spend your life doing you HAVE to make sacrifices and put up with a lot of stuff. I knew going in how much work I would have to do and how little I would be paid. I don't complain and I hope my previous post isn't taken that way. I was going with the angle that if you love BASEBALL the game you have to make those sacrifices and put up with that stuff. I was just trying to sympathize.

Oh by the way - about the "business" side of coaching high school baseball. If I don't win then I get "relieved" of my coaching duties.

I wonder if that is a euphanism for getting fired??

Also, if you LOVE the game of baseball you accept the bad with the good. You don't do it because someone "makes it fun". Trust me it's not fun working that hard - I don't go out and celebrate the fact I will spend a couple of hours with a rake in my hand. I do it because the two hours I spend in practice or game is awesome. It drives me to do what I do - that is passion. I have fun in a difficult situation because I LOVE baseball and will do whatever it takes to be in the game. I know if I got the opportunity to play minor league baseball that is what would drive me - LOVE of baseball. I would have "fun" becuase I was given the opportunity to catch a groundball or take batting practice and then play a game.

I was lucky enough to play college baseball and I really wasn't that good. I made the team because I worked my butt off in practice and the offseason. At any time I could have been cut from the team so I had that hanging over my head. I chose to put myself in that position because I LOVE the game of baseball. Did I get paid? No - I played for free because I didn't get any scholarship money. Did I enjoy working out that hard and that long? No but the fact I got to spend time playing baseball was worth it - once again I chose to do this because I LOVE the game.

The point I am trying to make is that if you choose baseball as your life you are going to work your butt off and be a second class sport. Only major leaguers "have it good". Everyone below major leaguers face hardship and obstacles. They still do it because they LOVE the game. How much you work, how little you get paid or whether someone can / will take the game away from you is something you have to do because you LOVE the game and want to be there. Minor leaguers don't have a monopoly on hardships and LOVE for the game - if you play / coach this game you will have it tough in some sort of way.

If your daughter and son in law don't have to go through what I go through to coach baseball tell to never leave that school. Most schools - especially in a rural area - go through what I go through in order to coach baseball. If they don't they are VERY lucky and should not leave - then again if they don't win they will probably get fired.

I wish I could trade places with any minor leaguer because as much as I LOVE coaching I want to play the game even more. I hate seeing kids and young men in college and the minors take their talent for granted and not enjoy being on the field. If you don't love the game then don't play it because the hard work that goes with it is not worth it. That goes with anything you do. If it's worth having and doing you MUST work for it. Why do you think people who are millionaires from creating a business and seeing it grow keep their money more than people who win a lottery who are usually broke after a couple of years? It has to do with hard work - they achieved success from putting up with a lot of stuff. Same with baseball players - if they want to be "millionaires" they have to put up with the stuff that is hard to do.

I know I am probably rambling in what I have just put but as soon as I read both of your responses there were a million things that went through my head. I am glad you have sons who play minor leage ball - I would LOVE to do what they are doing but I am not good enough. But that doesn't mean I have it easy because I don't play minor league baseball. Get off your high horse and realize everyone has to work hard to achieve something.

"I am glad you have sons who play minor leage ball - I would LOVE to do what they are doing but I am not good enough. But that doesn't mean I have it easy because I don't play minor league baseball. Get off your high horse and realize everyone has to work hard to achieve something."

Coach, sorry you were offended by my comments describing some of the experiences about the business side of life in the minor leagues. Sounds like you work very hard and love the game a lot. My efforts to describe that life were not meant, in anyway, to comment on the devotion of others in the path they have chosen for their life. Good luck to you.