This is an article about a young man from my high school. For every one player that makes it, there are a 100 guys like this. The article came out on august 25th and should be up for at least a few weeks, after which the website may file it and block access.

http://www2.townonline.com/lexington/schoolSports/view.bg?articleid=310877

YUP pretty accurate about life in the minors. But the real minor league life is way more entertaining

I wonder if he gave back the $22,500 bonus when he quit?

Well, i have yet to experience the long bus trips, but so far for me minor league ball isnt bad at all. Its a lot of fun,and the guys i have talked to from upper levels said it isnt that bad at all. But i'll just have to wait and find out next year i guess.

Wow...Only $22,500.00 for an 8th rounder a couple of years ago?

Flophouses and "meal" (only can afford McDonald's and Burger King with what they give you in the low minors) money...is what I remember, too.

Sounds like he made a wise decision.

Been, He was a Senior sign. a junior in that round would recieve about $75,000.

we've often heard the phrase "chasing a dream"

when a kid gets into pro ball, he soon realizes that the "corporation" he works for is "strictly business" in their operation

especially if he's a college guy he'll be likely to also quickly realize the importance of using that same "business sense" to evaluate his career path with that "employer" in comparison to other career options available to him

it then becomes a matter of him just looking at the numbers and making the smart business decision

No offense, but wasn't the $22,500 for a signing bonus. He gave it a shot for two years, it didn't work out for him. Why would he even consider giving it back? At $850 (now $1100 or whatever it is) a month, I would think the A's got their money's worth.

Quitting is not the decision I would have made, but I'm not in his shoes. I wish him the best in his future endeavors. Sounds like something Billy Beane once did.

Actually, he played pro ball for 7 months. 2 months in 03 and 5 months in 04. Counting the bonus and salary, he made about $29,200 for his short time in pro ball.If the kid had made the big leagues, the A's would have had a great bargin. as it was, they just threw $29,200 down the drain.

Billy Beane played 10 years of pro ball, with parts of 6 seasons in the big leagues. He gave it a good shot at being the best he could be.

quote:

If the kid had made the big leagues, the A's would have had a great bargin. as it was, they just threw $29,200 down the drain.

Agreed. That's why the draft (for the most part) IMHO is a c rapshoot. Based on the bargain vs loss, I don't see where the player should give his bonus back. I'm sure the A's wouldn't have minded getting the bargain.

And using your scenario with the player, Beane didn't play near 10 years.

reality
once the kid had lost confidence in the "development track", or percieved lack of one, that the employer/A's had for him

pursuing a Cornell MBA with a starting salary of $160,000 and another $60-$80K in signing/incentive bonus's from employers who are competing for his services probably seemed pretty attractive

Frank, The scenario that I used for Beane was that he did not go out for a year and a half and then quit. He battled for 10 seasons and then took a scouting job.

What I should have said was that the scout covering Richmond did not do his homework very well.

Chairman, That starting salary is almost as good as the $317,000 starting salary in the big leagues with the license money of about $45,000 and the pension that starts up the day you arrive. The make up that you need to succeed as a big leaguer is very similar to the make up you need to succeed in the business world or any other profession. Guys with weak make ups have a tendency to fail or quit at what they are doing.

bbscout
Can you discribe the kind of make up a player needs to make it to the big league?

njbb, Tunnel vision, desire, confidence, mental toughness. The ability to be able to lie to yourself.......go 0-4 with 3 punchouts and within an hour, you are thinking about how you are going to hang out 3 line drives tomorrow.
Within a month of playing, the player will know who the guys are that are the best workers and prospects.......hang out with them. He will also know who the guys are that are just playing and having some fun until they have to get a real job......stay away from them.

I have a feeling that your young man already has all of the above.

Thank you, moms need mental toughness also... for those 0 for 4 nights

bbscout

That sounds like me playing golf. No matter how bad I play, I think I am going to do good the next time out. It hasn't happend yet but I know it will.

I am pretty dissapointed in the resentment some of you have displayed against this young man for his decision.

Does someone who graduated from a very strong 4-year college while also playing 4 years of varsity baseball at a very high level while pursuing his education have a weak make-up?

The bottom line is playing minor league baseball does not offer these players a chance to even earn a living. They earn 800 a month (pre expenses) for 6 months, then go home and have to work odd jobs to survive till next season.

My cousin signed after college as a free agent 3 years ago and was given a 500 dollar bonus and a plane ticket to spokane washington. He spent 2 years in the minors and quickly realized that who moves up and down and plays is largely political and dicated not by actual performance but by what the parent team wants. He had no bonus money to fall back on as well.

While there is an end of the rainbow for a few lucky players, there are thousands of players that toil in the minor leagues, some of whom gave up a college education, and by the time they see the writing on the wall they are 25 or 26 dead broke with no educatin, no job experience, and no job skills. You don't see these guys on TV, you only see Pedro Martinez complaining the red sox only offered him 38 million dollars after paying him 90 million.

We live in a society where people always encourage education and because someone gave up on one dream to pursue another he is called weak and a quitter????

is there an acceptable number of years someone is supposed to toil in the minors before they quit? If I play 12 years in the minors and finally quit am I a quitter?

ghouse,

Well said.

Now if we only had a two thumbs up Instant Graemlin I'd give it to you.

ghouse, Other than myself, I don't think anyone else said anything that could be considered negative.

As I mentioned in a prior post, the scout who covered Richmond did not do his homework very well.

As far as the young man goes, it is obvious that he did not have the desire to stick it out and try to be a big leaguer. He did not get released, he just quit.

The guys who start are the guys who are judged to have the most potential. The guys who are signed as fillers as your cousin was also get a chance, and when they do, they better produce or they will get sent home. The politics you mentioned is nonsense. If your cousin hit .300, he would then be a prospect. Marvin Benard was the last guy picked in the draft by the Giants and made 12 million in the game. Bill Mueller signed for $2000 with the Giants and has won a MLB batting title and made many millions. They both had the right make up to succeed in baseball.They were not starters in their first minor league seasons, but they were in their second seasons, because when they got their chance, they produced. They believed they could be big leaguers and they were right.

This young man might be the sweetest, brightest kid around, but he did not have the make up to succeed in baseball......and that is what I am talking about. He could have a Doctors degree from Stanford, but it won't help him make the big leagues.

I have stayed at almost every hotel you can think of in these leagues and none of them are fleabags. If anyone has seen the ballparks in the NOrthwest League where this young man played, they would be impressed. Most of the parks in the Midwest League where he also played are also good, with the exception of CLinton, which was not his home park anyway.

The guy who is afraid to chase the rainbow sure won't be a big leaguer.

There is a rainbow for a few lucky businessmen as well, but the top dogs all have the same make ups that the top ballplayers do.

Well I think anyone would love to have the opportunity that this young man had. H.S. College, and then a shot to play Pro ball! I am sure as the years go by those memories will be good ones. He will have some stories to tell his grandchildren one day. My son read this and he can't wait if given that opportunity!