Has it been done ?

Yes, and they reported to classes two weeks after the minor league season ended

I wanted to answer this because you might have a misconception of whatit really means when you sign a professional contract.
For most, it essentially means that you are committing to an organization and a job and your education gets placed on hold. I would imagine there are special circumstances, didn't a player drafted high sign and allowed to attend Standford? This may be possible because Standford is on the quarter semester and do not begin classes when the pro season is still being played. Also, most HS players after their first season are expected to go to instuctional camp in the fall. This is important in your development and getting seen by the ones you want to see you.

This however is not uncommon for some college players drafted that have semester or two left or play another sport (and not expected in fallinstruction), but this also may mean that they signed you high so you would not go pro in the other sport you play (football for example). That is allowed by NCAA rules.
My son has a few friends from his college team that were allowed to do this, but discussed before they signed, and then allowed to leave before season ended or come to class late. Usually that puts you in a status (when you leave a season early for any reason) and are restricted.
Players can always do online courses while still playing(from schools that offer online courses degrees).
This is the time when a player has to decide which is more important, and much thought needs to be put into this process before you sign on the dotted line.

I just wanted to add one more thing, yes, there may be a first time exception because you are not going to play a full season, the next you are, and will be expected to remain in for the entire full season.

Bear could you elaborate. Also when do the instructional leagues begin

JMO, there is a big difference between asking to start school and finish, this raises the question (for those out of HS), so what do you REALLY want to do. If you don't show a 100% commitment, no one is going to show it back to you, so you decide what makes sense. And if you use your MLB scholarship money early (as opposed to afterwards), you have a time frame to complete school. If you are a later HS pick and that's what you want to do, school most likely will be your best option rather than signing.
And FWIW, after playing almost everyday (april-august) the last thing you are thinking about is going to school for a few months.

Fall instruction varies from team to team, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks, maybe none, who is invited and who is not and then the possibility of getting called for a mini camp. There is a lot one has to do to make it ahead in this game, and as much as some of those things may seem useless at times, you do what you are asked and you want to be seen as much as you can.

quote:

Originally posted by dswann:
Bear could you elaborate.

You have a PM.

I don't know of any players that were able to do that. Usually instructs states a week or 2 after the season ends and went until the end of Oct. about 6 wks
Son also went to mini camp in Jan. and reported early every yr for spring training.
This was the first fall he was at home He also started taking on line courses..

aren't instructs just romm and meals? no pay.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
JMO, there is a big difference between asking to start school and finish, this raises the question (for those out of HS), so what do you REALLY want to do. If you don't show a 100% commitment, no one is going to show it back to you, so you decide what makes sense. And if you use your MLB scholarship money early (as opposed to afterwards), you have a time frame to complete school. If you are a later HS pick and that's what you want to do, school most likely will be your best option rather than signing.
And FWIW, after playing almost everyday (april-august) the last thing you are thinking about is going to school for a few months.

Fall instruction varies from team to team, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks, maybe none, who is invited and who is not and then the possibility of getting called for a mini camp. There is a lot one has to do to make it ahead in this game, and as much as some of those things may seem useless at times, you do what you are asked and you want to be seen as much as you can.

This helps. I guess my perception, come the middle of Sept. baseball is pretty much done until spring. Sounds like this depends entirely upon the organization.

What prompted the original question is my son works out with a local a pitching instructor. Who in turn works with milb & mlb players. During the off season it not uncommon for these players to have alot of extra time on their hands.

My thinking was if a player did in fact had no milb obligations during the fall semester, why not make the most of it and attend school rather than stagnate.

I understand why you asked the question.

Again, the problem is that in most cases, school begins mid august for most, and the season is not officially over until end of august then there may be play offs, etc. Ask any player who has played a full season, including spring training (so that's about 7 months of baseball almost every day), if he thinks he can concentrate in the classroom for 4 months after that.
I don't think so.

The player who still attends Stanford that TPM refers too was a very unique player...paid 1st round money and his agent negotiated a VERY special deal that received a lot of press. Three years later he is a little over halfway through school...but again, very unique.

Players who sign out of HS and get money for college are typically pretty special players. The demands on them will be higher than most...that is, they will be expected to 'commit' as TPM says to a more rigorous baseball regimen. Fall instructional league or regular Fall league (AZ Fall League for example) will be expected.

I think there's a chance to get some classes underway and to make some progress...but a player who takes this route can expect many years to get college completed.

The answer to the original question has two distinct parts.

(1) When does the school year for a particular school begin (most I have looked up begin before the end of August; some, like Northwestern, USD, Ivy league schools begin in September). If the school year conflicts with the end of that first season...; if the school year does not conflict, go to part two.

(2) What does the organization want you to do? (They own you!) It is my understanding (from talking to scouts from two different clubs), that this is a club-by-club issue. I personally know of two hs draftees (both pitchers) from the Rays who had off the entire time from the end of their first season until the beginning of March. On the other hand, it is conceiveable that it is a player-by-player issue (e.g., if a hs draftee has pitched his limit of innings in sr yr hs+ first season pro ball, he might be shut down; the same protectiveness may not be relevant for a position player).

So, while the club owns you and the first priority is your professional baseball career, that doesn't mean that a kid needs to shut his mind down. If there is time, and there is a school option during the off time, why not exercise the big muscle of the mind?

I would be very interested in hearing from players/parents of kids who signed out of hs. What did you/your player do after his very first professional season (e.g., instructional ball, school, returned home and worked)?

1st 4 yrs he went to instructional ball from mid Sept to end of Oct.

Many things no matter how unique can be agreed to in the initial contract. The case of Jack McGeary drafted, signed and attending classes at Stanford, is very unique.

He was a first round candidate out of high school. PG had him ranked #23 in his class. He’s a LHP from Massachusetts and pitched for East Cobb in the summer. Here is a report on him from the 2006 National Showcase. Scroll down to see report.

Jack McGeary LHP

He was commited to Stanford and fell to the 6th round in the 2007 draft to Washington. Most clubs had written him off because of his strong college commitment.

Washington paid him a reported 1.8 million to sign and they allowed him to attend Stanford in the off season while playing pro baseball during the season.

He has played 3 seasons in the minor leagues most all at the lower levels. He finished last season in the Sally League (low A) going 0-6 with a 6.97 ERA. His biggest problem has been in throwing strikes. Last year between the NYPenn Lg and Sally Lg he struck out 89 but walked 86.

Based on this one example, I would say that going to college and at the same time attempting a pro career is exceptionally tough duty. That is not to say that Jack won’t become a successful Major League pitcher at some point. However, my guess is that, based on this example, clubs will be hesitant to do this the next time around. Still, depending how one looks at it, it sure was a great, but difficult, deal for Jack.

Then again if this all turns into a success story, we might see more cases like this one.

quote:

He has played 3 seasons in the minor leagues most all at the lower levels. He finished last season in the Sally League (low A) going 0-6 with a 6.97 ERA. His biggest problem has been in throwing strikes. Last year between the NYPenn Lg and Sally Lg he struck out 89 but walked 86.

That is a pretty big problem eh?

PG - I am not trying to be a wise guy here but I saw something the other day on scouting about round butts and flat butts where the round butt guys supposedly have more room to fill out or something like that. I get how projection is done but it does not always seem apparent to me that some scouts (not you) once they see a body they are looking for and a radar gun reading that other analysis like - can this guy play baseball? or does this guy want to play baseball gets pushed to the background somehow

Seems like there were at least two 1.8 million dollar red flags here. One, the kid seemed more concerned with his education than playing pro ball. I question his dedication to his craft. Two, if he was throwing strikes in high school, were they right down the middle strikes or pitcher's strikes. In other words, I don't believe his ability to throw strikes suddenly deteriorated in the minors.

I know I must be missing something and please don't beat the tar out of me because I am not personally calling you or your organization out. I am questioning the scouts who drafted him however.

He was a highly successful LHP who dominated the top competition possible during the summer while in high school. A 6-3/6-4 lefty throwing easy low 90s with three pitches and good command. There were no mistakes made in evaluating his ability. Evidently his ability to throw strikes has somehow diminished in the short term. I really wonder if being a part time guy is the issue.

There are many cases where what looks certain to most everyone, turns out to be a mistake. Not saying that this was a mistake. This story is not over yet! I think it speaks volumes about the mental side of baseball and just how tough it can be.

I'm not sure what is all involved in this particular story. We see the results, but we don't know exactly what is going on that might be causing those results. Could be health related or anything. He's still very young, we are pulling for him.

I think it is very easy to find mistakes made by the scouts and they would be the first to admit that. Probably even easier to find mistakes made by us. There is a very long list of mistakes available for people to scrutinize.

There will always be mistakes made because the results don’t always coincide with the prediction. However, you can’t score, if you’re not willing to shoot!

It’s very easy to question something based on the results. It’s the results that count and they can be difficult to predict at times. There are a lot of parts involved.

Ability to throw strikes sometimes varies with the level of the hitting a pitcher is facing. Some pitchers aren't able to make the adjustment when they can no longer throw the ball by hitters and they try to be too fine.

Regardless of the player's ability, 1.8M affords you the opportunity not to work in the off season.

The reason you see players working with instructors is because that is what many players have to do in the off season to improve, not because they have alot of time on their hands. Most players out of HS do not realize this until they get to their first spring training, then realize they didn't do as much conditioning or preparing (time in the cages or on the mound for the season or working with an instructor).

McGeary simply did not have issues with control as a high school player. He played at the very highest level on the same East Cobb team as Jason Heyward. There was no higher level that scouts could have seen him at. Scouts didn’t make a mistake regarding that. McGeary could paint the corners with three pitches.

The very best have come up with mental blocks for one reason or another. Steve Sax and Chuck Knoblach were MLB All Stars then all of a sudden couldn’t throw the ball accurately to 1B. Confidence is a major ingredient!

The report linked in a post above was taken from the PG National Showcase in 2006. There were some 225 of the very best high school players at that event. 17 players who were there were drafted in the first round the following year, another 10 or so went in the 2nd round. McGeary went in the 6th round only because of his commitment to Stanford.

Ranked even higher at the same event was Matt Harvey and he went to UNC rather than be a 1st round pick. The Angels still picked him in the 3rd round and offered large money. Harvey struggled a bit at UNC but is now looking like a first round pick again. We need to remember that Harvey and McGeary were from the same high school year. Maybe McGeary will find his way this year.

In addition to Harvey, there were several others at that event that are 1st round candidates now coming out of college. McGeary was just like all the other pitchers who were at that Showcase and created early round draft interest that year. (Rick Porcello, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Alderson, Blake Beavan, Matt Harvey, Nevin Griffith, Michael Main, Neil Ramirez, Sam Runion, Josh Smoker, Nathan Vineyard, Michael Watt, Chris Withrow, etc. Some are doing much better than others so far.

I truly believe that McGeary would have benefited by either going to school or going pro, but not both at the same time. Then again, there’s that 1.8 mil and what would anyone do in that situation? I’m hoping he ends up in the Big Leagues and that the scout who signed him ends up looking like a genius.

It has been said often, but sometimes a reminder comes in handy… Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint!

Even though Adenhart had great stuff and moved up the ladder fairly quickly he had control problems when he first got to the big leagues. I saw him pitch in single A ball and although he had above average control and was clearly more talented than that level of ball it was also easy to see that he didn't have MLB type command yet. It takes time, even for most of the best ones. He looked to have made the adjustments in that early season game.

BTW, Deldad and his family were mentioned in an article in the local paper out here today.

Most have control problems, the reason being is that the elite drafted pitchers pitch higher velocity, the higher the velo, the harder it takes to get MLB command. Some get it faster than others. It takes a while.

The talk on the backfields last week was Andrew Miller, who is having significant problems, last week it took 54 pitches to get threw two innings. I can say that most college hitters didn't like facing him.

As far as college and pro ball goes, I don't think most realize how demanding a pro season can be, both mentally and physically. For an everyday position player, it takes a month just for the open wounds, sprains, strains, etc. to heal.

Also, even though the minor league season ends in Sept., the job doesn't. Prospects are expected to continue daily workouts, attend fall instructs, mini camps, MLB prospect conferences, and report early to Spring Training. As they move up, they may be asked to play in the Arizona Fall League or other winter leagues to sharpen their skills. Once they're in the Bigs they have charity events, Fan Fest, media commitments, fan dinners, etc. in addition to daily workouts.

It really is a year round job.