From Baseball Analysts website

quote:

Originally posted by infielddad:

quote:

There are a lot of great DIII coaches in this country.

Not only are they terrific coaches, they can be wonderful sportsmen. My son received unbelievable support from some opposing coaches, both with scouts and for other recognition. One of those, now retired, Jim Mallon, had nearly 1,200 career wins, but could not have been more generous.

Bill, Jim Mallon was my teammate in 67-68. Real good guy.

from the D3 baseball site:

Division III baseball players drafted in 2005 follows:

Draft number. Name, School, position, Team (round drafted)
172. Ryan DiPietro, Eastern Conn State, lhp, Kansas City (6)
178. Greg Reinhard, Wisconsin-Whitewater, rhp, Tampa Bay (6)
214. James Deters, Calvin, rhp, Cleveland (7)
297. Garner Wetzel, Millsaps, ss, Colorado (10)
344. Cory Lapinski, Illinois Wesleyan, lhp, Houston (11)
374. Tip Fairchild, Southern Maine, rhp, Houston (12)
551. Anthony Recker, Alvernia, c, Oakland (15)
584. Drew Hines, Illinois Wesleyan, rhp, Houston (19)
622. David Henninger, Messiah, rhp, Kansas City (21)
636. Colin Roberson, Virginia Wesleyan, lf, Florida (21)
689. Joseph D'Alessandro, Colleg of New Jersey, rhp, New York NL (22)
779. Kevin Tomasiewicz, Wisconsin-Whitewater, lhp, New York NL (26)
786. Scott Lindeen, La Verne, rhp, Florida (26)
802. Jase Turner, Pomona-Pitzer, 1b, Kansas City (27)
816. Jason Jarret, Virginia Wesleyan, rhp, Florida (27)
892. Jeremy Jirschele, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 2b, Kansas City (30)
914. Matthew Hirsh, Cal Lutheran, rhp, Houston (30)
978. Jeff Natale, Trinity (Conn), 2b, Boston (32)
1124. Matthew Bishop, Endicott, lhp, Houston (37)*
1214. Jason Mooneyham, Chapman, 1b, Los Angeles NL (40)
1216. Blake Maxwell, Methodist, rhp, Boston (40)
1276. Josh Schwartz, Rowan, lhp, St Louis (42)
1304. Brady Salter, Aurora, rhp, New York AL (43)

Nearly all of these boys could have played at 95% of the D1s, and as a Royals fan I hope this list works out, but given recent Royals draft history, I'm skeptical.

Of course its a numbers game. The top 5 rounds are rightly dominated by those born to play the game (i.e. the gift). Few league scouts are going to stake their reputation for any D3 player. When the washout comes, as it almost always does, no matter where you are drafted, its much less career threatening for the scout who used "coventional wisdom".

(Side NoteLast summer, I got to see 20+ games of an MLB-sponsored wooden bat league. I came away knowing that after the top 5/6 rounds, skill differences are far less well defined than the cross-checkers' "conventional wisdom".

My take: If the(serious) D3 universe worked daily (and twice daily) all winter, the D3 list would certainly expand. The good news is while many of the best D3 players are only 4 tool guys, Sabremetrics continues to re-define, re-calibrate and re-value$ "conventional wisdom".

Haverdad,

Agree. My perspective is interesting IMO.

My son transferred from a pretty solid D-1 to a D-2 this past season.

Had some nice offers at D-1's once they knew he wanted to transfer - but went with the D-2 because it is in a wood bat league - and he loved the school and the coach.

He played in the NECBL the last two summers - and was one of only a very few D-2 guys.

The general perception from non-players is that - he couldnt make it at D-1 - so he had to go down a notch. LOL

After playing against him - most of his opponents wouldnt agree with that perception.

He and I both get a kick out of the whole thing now that we have been through it for a few years. There is alot of bs involved - and at the end of the day - in college ball - you have to go where you are happy and where the playing field is level. Not always easy to find those spots.

After that - you just go out there - have fun - kick some butt - and let the audience debate D1-D2-D3 stats etc.

Mantle was paid $100,000 in '63 and the rest of his career. Knowing Mickey was not 100% in '61, '62 and 63 was not enough to keep his bat out of the line up. He wasn't able to deliver consistently.

In 1961 Mantle and teammate Roger Maris were both in pursuit of Babe Ruth’s 60–home run single-season record. In September, Mantle developed a cold he couldn’t shake and announcer Mel Allen recommended an East Side physician who could fix him right up—“the best there is.” The doctor, garbed in a bloodstained smock, injected Mantle with some mysterious substance that immediately put him into a dizzied, feverish state. Mantle missed several crucial games and had to have the area where he had been injected cut open and lanced. .” Even though that malady went away, injuries continued to haunt Mantle. Playing in Baltimore in June 1963, he broke his ankle and was out of the lineup for two months. His first at bat after returning to active duty was a pinch-hit, game-tying homer with two out in the ninth inning. But Mantle’s best days were over. His damaged shoulder caused him great pain, and in the mid-1960s he had difficulty throwing and even batting from the left side.