2007 MLB Draft.....SOON!

Are Macfarland and Crosby going to get enough money to forego those valuable college years?

Baseball39,

That's a great question. As my family will never be faced with this decision it is easy. Can you really replace a 3 or 4 year college experience with anything else? Probably not. But for many, there is a number where the dream of playing professionally becomes the number one priority. Good luck to those lucky ones who get to make this decision. A very excting time for them and their families.

Some kids don't want to go to college.

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Some kids don't want to go to college

40 Year olds can go to college. You can always go to college if that is what you want to do.

This debate isn't go to college vs go to pro baseball.

This debate is play college baseball vs play pro baseball...seems like a no brainer to me.

Blazer...

Are you saying it is a no-brainer deciding between College or Pro Ball? Which answer is the no-brainer?

I think you will find people on both sides of that fence in terms of making it in the pros.

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Originally posted by blazer25:

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Some kids don't want to go to college

40 Year olds can go to college. You can always go to college if that is what you want to do.

This debate isn't go to college vs go to pro baseball.

This debate is play college baseball vs play pro baseball...seems like a no brainer to me.

Hardly a no brainer. Weighing the value of a particular colleges degree vs. the offer to play pro baseball is not an easy equation. Just the same way the value for each college degree and education is different, so are the offers and interest by different teams and by position.

Pro baseball also weighs its options and tries not only to figure out its interest level in a particular player, but what it might cost them to entice that player away from the endeavors he has on his plate.

Maybe my brain is just too small, but my son and I have had some pretty involved conversations about the topic, so it wasn't and isn't a no brainer for us.

It depends on how good are their grades, how will they perform academically at college, what schools have offered schollies, what % have they offered, what round are they drafted and what type of offer is made after being drafted.

It's a checks and balance type of system and decided on an individual basis for each kid as one decision is best for one is worse for another. Some are better off signing a pro contract, some are better off going to JUCO, and some are better off going to 4 year school.

While I'm biased, if I had a son in that situation about a month from now, I would weigh all options.

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Weighing the value of a particular colleges degree vs. the offer to play pro baseball is not an easy equation.

I think many people make it too difficult.

If you are committed to going to college and getting a particular degree, that option will always be there.

You won't always have the option to be a pro baseball player in the prime of your youth.

If you are drafted and given the value ($) you expect, and money that can be used later on college, it really comes down to playing college baseball vs. playing pro baseball. Which in my mind is a no brainer...I take pro 10/10.

The education can come at any time. Many people want to make the argument, "pro baseball rather than an education".

That argument couldn't be further from the truth. You can always become an accountant if you want...you can't always play pro ball.

I understand where you are coming from Blazer, however it seems like you are over simplifying the going back to college. If you go to the draft that is great, but I think you then have to give yourself a certain numbers of years to advance as far as you can. I think a realistic number would be 5 or 6 years. Now if you don't make it into the majors where you can make a living it puts you at 24 or so to start into your college career. That puts you graduating at 28 or 29. In many professions that would put you into a bit of a hole. I am not talking midwest pitchers that might sign for big money in the first or second round, but the rest of them where you make it sound like an easy decision. If I was one of those players I would weigh it all out very carfully with family and other people that have been through the process. No matter what path you take in life you should probably have a back up plan.

Blazer, there is no arguing that College is for people of all ages.

I think there is another point to consider though. You can play Major College Baseball and be moving toward a pro career maybe as quickly as if you signed out of HS. Maybe someone has the facts on that point.

I guess if your goal is to play "Pro Ball" right out of HS it is a no-brainer, you sign and play. But there is no reason to think you can't do the same out of College.

Blazer,
The flaw in your argument is the statistic of people who leave pro ball and go on to college. According to the college coaches I've talked with, they all were in agreement that it's under 5%. To say that college will always be there, simply is not true for 95% of those players.

In my own sons situation, West Point would not be there after baseball.

Athletics open many doors that otherwise would not be available, since academic entrance requirements are much more lenient for the recruited athlete. Many schools, including West Point for my son, may not have taken him based solely on his academics, but his athletics provide him with opportunity that simply would not be there after a stint in pro ball.

As we weigh the future impact of our decisions, it becomes more complicated...at least for me/us.

As a teacher, and not a Dad, I might add that not everyone is cut out for a 4 year school experience from the academic stand point. We are not all created equal in our learning styles. I do not mean that as a negative because many of the kids I send off to two year programs end up making a lot more money and end up doing careers that that enjoy. To assume that every kid out there who plays baseball at a certain level of play, should go play baseball at a 4 year institution is really not fair. Every case is specific to the individual... and rightly so.

Blazer has a good point....

How about some draftable names though from you people..haha

Bottom line, regardless of what ever you decide you better be ready to jump in head first because either way your hands are tied for a while. In our case my son was smarter than I thought, not that he did not want to play ML when he was drafted out of HS, but he knew himself well enough that school would have been tough to get back into down the road. While I agree with Blazer that it is a no brainer, I think that decision can be a "no brainer" from both sides. Knowing Blazer, he would not have a hard time jumping back to school when he was an ol' furt, on the other end, I had a hard time thinking about college a week after I graduated from HS.

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I had a hard time thinking about college a week after I graduated from HS.

I hear you loud and clear. After four years in the service I started my GI Bill and went back to college. Talk about a tough road to hoe! I didn't have the fortitude to stick with it. Shame on me.

It's definitely doable and many have done it, but it's not easy.

From what I hear, Crosby will get the money...he may go pretty high.

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The flaw in your argument is the statistic of people who leave pro ball and go on to college. According to the college coaches I've talked with, they all were in agreement that it's under 5%. To say that college will always be there, simply is not true for 95% of those players.

How does that stat prove my argument is flawed? All it proved is that a number of players choose not to go back to college.

The real fact is the opportunity is always there. A college coach wants you to think college is the best option...it's his job that's on the line after all.

If a player chooses not to go back, to me that's a sign that they weren't really serious about getting a college education in the first place.

If you get drafted and the team meets your price, and throws in some money for school, you're crazy not to go and take a shot at being a pro.

If you're serious about your education, you can always go back to school if baseball doesn't work out.

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Now if you don't make it into the majors where you can make a living it puts you at 24 or so to start into your college career.

Nothing says you can't take classes in the offseason.

And most teams aren't going to give you 5-6 years. You'll get 3 and you'll know if you're on track towards MLB or are purely an organizational player.