@RJM posted:From having been through the journey as a player and twice as a parent from what I’ve seen and been told it’s not uncommon for a player at the back of the roster not to get a reasonable chance.
A friend’s son played for a mid major. On Sunday of opening weekend the kid hit a game winning pinch hit double against a ranked program. He didn’t see the field again for ten games. By the end of freshman year he was 4-10 with four RBI’s. He was stuck behind a 1B/DH and a 1B/DH/P. Soph year he went 4-10 again. The kid offered to try LF. The coach turned him down.
The other two 1B hit .220 for two years. But they were getting baseball money. They played and played on. The third year they started showing something.
Opening Day Eve of his junior year the kid was told his services were no longer needed. He spent two years as insurance/3rd string 1B. He was the best high school defensive 1B I’ve ever seen. He wasn’t even used as late innings defense.
The kid crushed the ball in BP. Teammates were shocked when he wasn’t rostered. He wasn’t offered baseball money. He was insurance. By the third year he was no longer needed.
This was a kid who was three time all conference at large classification high school. He ran a 6.9 sixty. Measuring exit velocity wasn’t a big thing ten years ago. But, this kid hit the ball as hard as anyone I saw in high school.
Thanks for sharing your insights.