Congrats Matt Smith

Congratulations to Matt, FO and their family!

I second that one...Matt is a great young man from a great family.

Fun, ain't it!

Congratulations to Matt on being drafted by the A's. Great organization for developing players. Best of luck Matt, I wish you all the best.

Congratulations to Matt and the rest of the Smith family - what an exciting time!

F.O.
Will he sign or play another year for the Raiders?
Congratulations either way. What a great young man.

Thanks Natural for starting this thread and the kind things that you said about Matt.

It's been a whirlwind 12 days since Matt was drafted and at this moment he's headed to the airport to join the Kane County Courgars in Geneva, IL about 40 miles west of Chicago.

quote:

What a great organization (that moves it's players up quickly) to be chosen by.

A week ago I didn't really understand that quote.

Probably a shock to many of you, but I don't follow MLB that closely.

Never read "Moneyball" even though Matt's former coach, Cecil Espy, is part of that story.

Strange, but you do the homework on your organization the same as you do for colleges and I quickly sensed that the quote was true.

They moved a AAA catcher (Suzuki) to MLB roster on the Sunday after the draft and there is a recent headline about another move either today or in the last few days.

Of course there are many factors that affect a decision to sign or return to college but, I think that quote was a very large part of Matt's decision.

Thanks for the advice swingdoc..................

Ironically, as I was at the bookstore last Saturday to purchase "Moneyball", Matt called and said, "Dad, I want to go play. Is it OK with you?"

Yep, it's OK.

quote:

Originally posted by FormerObserver:
Ironically, as I was at the bookstore last Saturday to purchase "Moneyball", Matt called and said, "Dad, I want to go play. Is it OK with you?"

Yep, it's OK.

I'm not sure why but this part of your post brought tears to my eyes.....

Sounds like a great young man and sounds like you all have a great relationship.

Congratulations!!!

quote:

Originally posted by cheapseats:

quote:

Originally posted by FormerObserver:
Ironically, as I was at the bookstore last Saturday to purchase "Moneyball", Matt called and said, "Dad, I want to go play. Is it OK with you?"

Yep, it's OK.

I'm not sure why but this part of your post brought tears to my eyes.....

Sounds like a great young man and sounds like you all have a great relationship.

Congratulations!!!

He is...and they do.

Congrats to Matt!!!

I guess they came up with more money than they did on draft day

KD, the A's MLB roster is still a long way for Matt, but just getting this close and having the opportunity for a kid that wants to play makes the money not matter too much..............

This is a GREAT KID and awesome family. I had the privilege to met him when he was playing little league at Mouzon. I hope that they don't have many thunder storms in Illinois or he won't play much. F.O., does he still watch the weather channel before every game??????

Congrats to Matt & to his dad. A lot of hard work lies behind this accomplishment...

Congrats! He's going to play with a son's former teammate Ragin' Cajun/Cougar RHP Jason Fernandez.

Dad04,

It is the neatest thing to look at the roster's, see the schools and the names, and now be on the same team, or still playing against each other.


Texan thanks for always following.


And, to you, Plate Man, (means home plate and dinner plate, don't it?), yes, even today, before the game on a cloudy day, you will notice him take a 360 around the sky.....................

Thanks for being a part of helping him along the way Plate Man........

FO,
I don't know if you even know who I am, but I have watched Matt grow from a solid High School catcher to where he is today over the past few years and he has helped me out a few times coming and talking to my catchers at some of my camps. Tell Matt that I am very proud of him! I was talking to Ty the other night about his decision to go play and I got chills. I can't tell you how excited I am to see a man with Matt's work ethic and focus matched with an organization like the A's. It should be a fun ride. I will keep in constant touch through Ty, but let him know I am proud of him.

Chris Anderson

Can't wait to keep track of Matty all summer and see how he's doing.

It brings back memories of the day I left DFW with my mom and girlfriend (now my wife) crying like crazy as I got on the plane to go to Bluefield, WV to start my pro career. I hope he has a great time, works hard and makes it to the show. That would be too cool.

Maybe someday we will see Adam Miller pitching to Matt Smith on ESPN. How cool would that be?!

Congrats to Matt and I wish him much success during this next great journey!

I've known Matt for what seems like forever. Even had the opportunity to coach Matt for a couple of years. Went to school with his uncles and aunts, and played ball with those uncles. Even umpired with his grandpa, who also called my games. Known the other grandpa for a good while, too.

It's really nice to see good things come from hard work and to good families.

Congratulations and good luck.

FO,

Please pass on my congratulations to Matt and the whole family. It is great to see all of the hours and hard work pay off for such a great kid.

Let him know that his "#1 Fan" (and probably loudest) will be following him throughout the years.

Ms. Dawgdad

Congrats Matt!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are proud for you and look forward to watching your career.

I know an 11yo and his mama that are estatic.

Wear'n 16 with more pride then ever!

Congrats! Continue the hard work and enjoy the ride!

marshstangs post deleted and the "quote" portion of this post also deleted (the duplicate of the deleted post)
Fungo

This has to be one of the Stupidist post i have ever read on this web site

I have to agree... I wanted to say something but wasn't sure if I was missing something.

I missed it too (shhhh, I'm on vacation!)

Congratulations Matt and family -- I love adding kids to my milb.com bookmarks.