2012 MLB Draft - Nearing the deadline

quote:

Originally posted by 55mom:
Assuming Appel wants to be a pro player, him not signing is a head scratcher. otoh, maybe he does not aspire to play professionally?

Look what this kid did Good for him!

Drafted in 18th round, most likely he knew small bonus with little chance of advancing to MLB. I don't blame him for getting on with his life. Our son is looking at the same profession and after attending 3 years of college will most likely have to start over academics to achieve his goal.

Honestly, a degree from Stanford is incredible. This is a kid who chose to finish his education and knew the worth of that education to HIMSELF. Doesn't sound stupid to me, in fact I bet anyone who knows him is laughing at the comments about him being taken advantage of or even stupid himself!

I applaud his desire to finish his education. I suspect he will get better at Stanford then in the minor leagues over the next year. He will also get a degree that will allow him to take care of himself and his family regardless of baseball. Yes, I said it, regardless of baseball.

Personally, I would be way more proud of my son with a degree from Stanford then any professional baseball accomplishment. I doubt I will have to worry about either though. Certainly not the Stanford degree unfortunately

Great post Calisportsfan.

This was the first year of the new collective bargaining agreement so situations like Appeal were to be expected.

I am not an attorney, but to me, this deal smells to high heaven. You have owners wanting to control their costs, you have the existing players who don’t give a da m n about the young kids coming in, and in fact they want to take money from them and put it in their own pockets, and these groups sign a deal to control the income of a “class of workers” who have no vote in the process. Frankly, I hope Boras shoves it where the sun does not shine for the owners and to some extent the current players. I would hope that someone like him would bring a case for collusion forward in this highlight what a raw deal some of these kids are getting.

I am a capitalist at heart and these players should be able to get what they deserve on the open market. The only reason Baseball can do this is because they are protected by a miss applied antitrust exemption as Congress has the misguided opinion that baseball is a “game” and not a “business”. Ask the thousands of players who have toiled in the minor leagues for a few years making nothing, only to be cut, if they think it is a game or business. Make no mistake about it baseball is big business and the new collective bargaining agreement is a raw deal for amateur baseball players wanting to become professionals.

Appel did what he felt was best for him and his situation, I wish him the best and I hope he signs for a lot more money next year and has a great season.

quote:

Originally posted by BOF:
This was the first year of the new collective bargaining agreement so situations like Appeal were to be expected.

I am not an attorney, but to me, this deal smells to high heaven. You have owners wanting to control their costs, you have the existing players who don’t give a da m n about the young kids coming in, and in fact they want to take money from them and put it in their own pockets, and these groups sign a deal to control the income of a “class of workers” who have no vote in the process. Frankly, I hope Boras shoves it where the sun does not shine for the owners and to some extent the current players. I would hope that someone like him would bring a case for collusion forward in this highlight what a raw deal some of these kids are getting.

I am a capitalist at heart and these players should be able to get what they deserve on the open market. The only reason Baseball can do this is because they are protected by a miss applied antitrust exemption as Congress has the misguided opinion that baseball is a “game” and not a “business”. Ask the thousands of players who have toiled in the minor leagues for a few years making nothing, only to be cut, if they think it is a game or business. Make no mistake about it baseball is big business and the new collective bargaining agreement is a raw deal for amateur baseball players wanting to become professionals.

Appel did what he felt was best for him and his situation, I wish him the best and I hope he signs for a lot more money next year and has a great season.

I don't know. $3.8 million sounds pretty good to me. Who knows what the number would have been at No. 1. I do wish the best for Appel, but perhaps the advice he received this time was not the most strategic. He definitely rolled the dice. It will be very interesting to see how it works out. Stanford sure will be a huge beneficiary.

BOF,

Thats was a great post and in my humble opionion spot on!!!

quote:

Originally posted by jemaz:
I don't know. $3.8 million sounds pretty good to me. Who knows what the number would have been at No. 1. I do wish the best for Appel, but perhaps the advice he received this time was not the most strategic. He definitely rolled the dice. It will be very interesting to see how it works out. Stanford sure will be a huge beneficiary.

IMHO, someday he will look back on the day he turned down $3.8m and ask, what the heck was I thinking...

After paying taxes and his agent he would have walked away with 2.5 mil minimum. That is life changing money. Assuming he is on track academically, then he is 75% done and could easily finish up in the off season after a couple of years. You go to college to acquire a skill set to be employable. He had an employer willing to pay him 3.8 mil, which was $900,000 over the slot. As a senior next year even if he is drafted in the first round again, he has very little leverage and the next potential employer can offer basically whatever they want within reason.

July 13, 2012

STANFORD, Calif. - Mark Appel, who was the drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the eighth overall pick in last month's MLB First Year Player Draft, has announced he will return to Stanford for his senior season.

"After much thought, prayer and analysis of both opportunities, I came to the conclusion the best decision is to remain at Stanford continuing my studies, finishing my degree, and doing all I can to assist the Cardinal baseball team in our goal to win a national championship," said Appel.

"I greatly valued the prospect of a professional opportunity and I will pursue a professional baseball career after getting my Stanford degree. I am blessed that God has given me the opportunity to choose between two great options and the talents to play baseball. I am also thankful for the love, support, and guidance from everyone who helped me make this decision."

“I respect Mark’s decision and obviously we are all excited to have him back at Stanford for his senior season," said head coach Mark Marquess. "He is one of the premier pitchers in college baseball and will again play an integral role in our quest to get back to the College World Series. I’m sure it was a difficult decision for him and his family but I know Mark is excited to complete his degree in engineering and then embark on a long and successful pro career.”

Appel earned first team All-America honors by Collegiate Baseball after posting a 10-2 record with a 2.56 ERA in his 16 starts last season as junior. He has a career record of 18-10 to go along with a 3.22 ERA.
taken from Stanford website

Regardless of what happens in his baseball future, it is obvious his decision was taken seriously. As others have said, he will be successful regardless. An engineering degree from Stanford is impressive by itself. I believe it is a disservice to both Appel and Harrington to even compare their situations. Harrington seems to have found peace. He has a family and an honest job. He seems to be ok, and I'm glad.

Appel has a tremendous opportunity at Stanford this year. I am happy for him, and look forward to following his progress.

Can somebody help me out, please? As I understand things, teams can't trade draft picks like the other sports. Is there anything in the baseball CBA that would prevent another team from telling Pittsbugh "we'll pay him what he wants and pay your luxury tax. Just sign him and trade him to us."

Is that ever a possibility in these situations? Can a player's 'advisor' talk to other teams and suggest/work out a 'sign and trade' once a player is drafted?

I would think when teams that needed young pitching saw that Pittsburgh was having difficulty signing Mr. Appel, they would have jumped at the opportunity to get him, even if they had to 'overpay' a little.

OR- is it 1985 all over again?

Drafted players cannot be traded for one year so your idea isn't allowed. I do understand however that the new small market lottery picks for 2013 can be traded much like the football picks.

Thank you, jerseydad. I did not know that.

quote:

Originally posted by zombywoof:
For a Stanford guy he's not too bright.

It depends on your perspective. Not everyone is motivated by money.
Lets face it, he will be drafted again unless he suffers a catastrophic injury. Additionally he will have a degree from Stanford, which is not to shabby.

A local kid who is a stud was expected to be drafted very high out of HS. The trouble for MLB teams was that he and his family are very religious and do missionary work. They are not wrapped up into keeping up with the Joneses, nor have they raised their kids that way. Additionally he had a full ride to his dream school(U of M). That combined with him wanting to play football for them as well caused most teams to pass on him. When I heard the inside scoop, I was told that MLB teams knew he would not sign, so they did not waste a high draft pick on him.
The bottom line is that while most of us look at the dollar $igns, some people are not that influenced by money.

If the player was not influenced by money, then why did he not sign?

There is a reason why he fell in the draft, obviously.

If he really wanted to finish school he could have indicated such from the beginning. He could have gotten his degree regardless, they would have paid for him to return when he was ready.

I don't always believe everything I read and I believe that Boras had a lot to do with it, after all, that is WHY you have an advisor, to advise you in the decision. That is why you have one as powerful as he is.

This is a game, and IMO the Pirates won as they refused to go over the recommended slot. Saying that one really wanted to return to school and help their team win a championship is conceding in their own way. Do you think he was going to come out and say he didn't get what he wanted so therefore he is going back to school?

Next year is a year away, a lot can happen and if this year proves that more and more top drafted players are willing to sign for slot and sign early to begin their career, then ML and the ML players made out good.

I wish the player the best, perhaps the fact that his folks are perhaps wealthy had a great deal to do with the situation, then again maybe it didn't.

I can understand the comments, it's pretty hard for us everyday common folks to tell our sons to turn down 3.8 million dollars.

JMO

Looks like ownership achieved their objectives.
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Spending drops 11 pct in MLB draft

NEW YORK (AP) -- Spending by teams in baseball's amateur draft dropped by 11 percent in the first year of restrictions imposed by the new labor contract.

Teams allocated $207.7 million to draft picks, down from $233.6 million last year though still the second-highest annual total, according to figures compiled by Major League Baseball. The decline in the first round was even more pronounced, a 17 percent fall from $89.5 million to $74.3 million this year.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/a...-161751064--mlb.html

quote:

Originally posted by BOF:
Looks like ownership achieved their objectives.
----------------------------------------------

Spending drops 11 pct in MLB draft

NEW YORK (AP) -- Spending by teams in baseball's amateur draft dropped by 11 percent in the first year of restrictions imposed by the new labor contract.

Teams allocated $207.7 million to draft picks, down from $233.6 million last year though still the second-highest annual total, according to figures compiled by Major League Baseball. The decline in the first round was even more pronounced, a 17 percent fall from $89.5 million to $74.3 million this year.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/a...-161751064--mlb.html

BOF, I agree with both your posts, I believe in the business world its called price fixing.

Jemaz

I don't know. $3.8 million sounds pretty good to me. Who knows what the number would have been at No. 1. I do wish the best for Appel, but perhaps the advice he received this time was not the most strategic. He definitely rolled the dice. It will be very interesting to see how it works out.

You asked the right question "who knows what the number would have been"

BOF is spot on there $$$$ were kept down and there was no free market.....wonder were the extra dollars that were not spent on the draft this year. Hmmmmm