Good topic. I think the biggest surprise was the first day of spring practice during my son’s senior year of high school. I always attended practices and since it was the first practice I arrived about 30 minutes early and noticed a congregation of people in the school parking lot. I asked the head coach what was going on and he informed me the scouts had come to see my son. I thought he was joking but he wasn’t. I think there were 12 or 15 at the first practice. It never stopped. I wish I had been more prepared. I felt as if the scouting would start when the games started but it was really non stop from the first day of practice. I (and my son) never had a chance to get organized. I felt as if the pressure got to him with all the questionnaires and interviews.
He had already committed to a college but wanted to play professionally. I did all the negotiations and while it came down to a dollar amount to forgo college, I never revealed that dollar amount but did specify a round. We (the MLB club and I) pretty much agreed to a $$ amount prior to the draft and then it seems as if things changed on their end after the draft. We did have and advisor but the advisor is just that...an advisor. He was drafted in the 5th out of high school but went to college.
He was drafted again after his junior year of college and had an agent in place. His agent did all the negotiations and hammered out the contract. All I had to do this year was sign the contract and Fed Ex it back to the MLB club because my son had not turned 21. As I look back, the negotiations out of high school were a little messy but not any different than most business negotiations. This year was uneventful except .... The contract I signed and “overnighted” to Florida arrived at the Toronto Blue Jay’s office unsealed and empty. In looking back the only thing I would do differently is lick the envelope.
Fungo