quote:Number one is that at least that phone call wasn't about him being released! He's still wanted somewhere. A lot of kids get that "see you later" phone call and that's the end of the road.
Poptime,
I think that is exactly right.
I talked with the player and his parents on Sunday night and they expressed the same point of view...now that they were through the intial reactions.
I read an article on Milb last week that drastically reshaped my thinking on professional baseball. The commentator was summarizing an interview of a player who is a very top prospect but is lacking defensively. The player was pretty down because he is in an organization loaded with young prospects in the outfield and already on the major league team. What really opened my eyes was the comment about reminding the player that when you play minor league baseball, you play for 30 teams, not one.
It is a philosphy so foreign to everything we experience in baseball below the professional level.
The more I have thought about it, it seems to be the right mental approach for professional baseball. The trade of a minor leaguer is a reflection of the fact that there are 30 teams, anyone can trade for you, anyone can pick you in the Rule 5 draft if you are not protected, any one can sign you if you are released, and if that occurs, you are going where somebody wants you and thinks they have a need you might fill.