Chris was the 5th pick in the MLB draft in 2003, always wanted to begin his professional career out of high school, so opted out of his NLT with the Seminoles. He earned All-Star honors at every level of professional baseball he competed at including Triple A in 2010 but injuries in 2009 and 2010 (not career-ending but terrible timing as he was on the brink of a MLB callup each year), regime change in Kansas City in 2006, and some less-than-ideal choices (agents) we may have made as a family squashed the dreams of an MLB career. In addition to his signing bonus, he did negotiate a generous college scholarship package, and he is now a full-time student at Villanova University and an Associate Scout witht he Philadelphia Phillies; Chris had opportunity to return to MLB-affiliated ball in 2012 having been approached as late as January of that year, but decided that, at least as an active player, the business of baseball wasn't for him any longer. And yes, it does make me cringe when I see players in the big leagues taking PED's; I'm fairly certain that Chris was as clean as you could be as an athlete after being raised to take no shortcuts but get there through hard work, sacrifice, and production alone. Some may thinks that was stupid, may have cost him an MLB career since he was neve willing to cross that line, but we all have are own values and must live with our conscience. I'm just a crazy biased parent like many others, but I think he would have been a heck of an MLB role model.
I'll keep my mouth shut now.