If you could do it all over again, would you make the same decision twice

Much depends on the player and whether he wants to attend college or if he can attend college.
If the player wants the college experence by all means go to college. If the player is unsure about going pro or college I say go to college.

j2h6,
We didn't make the decision, son did with our help and guidance.
I can only give you what he has communicated to us, yes he would make the same decision (going to college first) if he had to make it again today. He has even indicated he would make the same decision even if offered quite a bit of money to sign out of HS.
But there are circumstances that make each situation unique. You can't miss something if you havenot experienced it. Mine loved the college experience, with or withour baseball.

IMO, after making the decision, no matter what it is, not to look back and regret what you have decided, that is what is most important.

Of course, every situation is different -- but there is much more to going to college than just better baseball.

Life in the minor leagues is hard; that first short season, there are daily games with maybe 2 or 3 days off from the time they report to the beginning of September. They are being paid very little, they may be called upon to pick up and move to another town on a moment's notice, they'll have to cope with playing the game as a business for the first time. That's a lot to ask of a kid who has never lived away from home.

Orlando, the busses are usually better after high school in college, but the trips are longer.

Dad04,
In the NYPL for short time he was there, DK found the trips shorter. The nice part is for night games an hour or two away from field, getting in late means you don't have to get up early a.m. for class.

Giving up the college experience should be based upon many factors if one has to choose. Where you are going to college, where you are drafted (if bonus money is a consideration) and what team drafts you, where you will be sent for rookie league, etc. My son's roommate this summer was a HS rookie, drafted later rounds. He was so enthusiastic when he first arrived, by end of season that changed most likley realizing the road is very long and difficult. For him, it was up and gone by 6:30 a.m. and home very early afternoon, with almost the whole day in front of him. It's normal to be homesick whatever the decision, but with a full schedule at school, little time to think about missing your home and family.

2 hrs trips are nice. In the Pioneer league teams many times traveled 500 to 600 miles to a game. 8 hr + travel after a game was not unusual

Except for the can't miss high school prospects, I would think three or four years of maturing in college would make a significant difference in learning how to deal with being away from home and the bumps in the road in the minors.

Ditto with the Northwest League, nj. And the buses were straight out of Bull Durham...or the first Major League movie . On one trip, the 8 hour ride was interrupted by a 2 hour brakdown.

Cal League had more commuter trips with a nice over-the-road coach. The higher you get, the better it is, of course.

Orlando,
Must of been on the same old bus!same type of bus as Bull Durham !shifting gears kept the players awake at night, could barely get over over the mountains and also broke down .
But were else can you see buffalo out your window and have cattle stampede though the center of town !
Son was drafted out of high school was home sick but other wise handle it fine. I think it would as hard if he had gone to college that far from home.

j2h6,

I had the opportunity to play pro ball out of high school, and I turned down a nice bonus to go to school? Do I regret it? NEVER. I had four great years in college and I was fortunate enough to have pro ball waiting for me when I was done with school. For me, having a degree in my back pocket has taken a lot of pressure off of me in pro ball. However, I believe that it depends on the wants and needs of the player and his family. For me, this was the path I chose and I do not regret it one bit.

beemax,
My son played you in Wilmington,he was ss

beemax, are you in the off season?

Son was drafted late rounds.
And also offered D1 Schollys.

Decided College, for many reason's.
Maturity and the Experience of College life was part of it.

If a Player is Mentally and physically ready for the pro's out of HS, I don't see a problem going into the minor league's.
Just know what your getting into.

EH

Beemax,
I always respected your dad's advice about going pro when he mentioned that he was a scout and sent his kids to college. I think that sent a strong message. In a private pm he suggested mine go to college first, pro ball would be waiting for him when he was ready. It is a personal decision, but I valued a professional giving advice that was not one sided.

I also know it bothered him very much when scouts tried very hard to influence those who should go to college to sign out of HS.

He gave an unbiased perspective on things and we miss him very much.

TPM,

BBscout was the best - period.

IMO.

Nice to hear that. Makes me smile.

beemax
You did it right. My son Marcos went the other way and I am sure that Him and I regret that decision.

Mine went high school straight to pros and at this point he wouldn't change a thing. Believes he is further along in his career than he would be had he went to college and feels that he hasn't missed a thing as far as the experience goes. Actually had the discussion that should anything happen or not make it, he would go back to school and play basketball. Was a great student, feels that he can always go to school long after he is not capable of playing anymore.

beemax,
A little surprised that the coaching change didn't make you wonder a bit, although it seemed to work out well in the long run.

With out a doubt we would make the same decision. Go to school. It was a tough decision for us he would of been a high draft choice (supplemental or 2nd round) if we lowered our number. He ended up sliding to the 14 round. We had a great scholarship and we felt our son had to mature physically, 6-3 165 out of H.S. We thought he was ready mentally. Boy were we wrong. After seeing him mature after 1 year of college and summer ball we realized that he was not even close to being ready out of H.S.(both physically and mentally). He now weighs 185 was an All American and had a great summer in the Cape and one year of college behind him. Hopefully in the next two years he will continue to succeed in the classroom and on the field.

Great example --- and welcome, jj.

Most parents get one shot at this, and without some standard (for want of a better word) to compare our son with on the readiness scale, we just have to feel our way.

Sounds like you took the conservative approach on gut instinct...and your son proved the family decision right.

Our son has just finished playing his first pro season....in the NYPL. I asked him several times over the course of the summer if he was enjoying the experience and his response was " are you kidding? I love it" No question it was summer with ups and downs, but when asked if he regretted not finishing his last 2 years of school (he was drafted out of JC)...he said "not one bit". He feels he wouldn't have gotten that much more (draft position)out of going to school one more year and the fact that he has $$$ for his last 2 years of school in the scholarship fund made the choice even better. Yeah, maybe he might have gotten some more money going higher in the draft, but he wanted to play this summer and not wait. If it's all about the money that's not a good way to approach the game. Everybody is different and I think for him it will be much better to be able to focus on school once he goes back. He does have a firm grip on the real world and knows just how important getting his degree is.

Outlaw, good post and welcome to the HSBBW.

Senior fall, this is when MLB visits begin for some and gets you thinking about the future. So much depends on the HS players spring season and his willingness to give up college.

My advice, everyone enjoy their sons last year in HS and push all dreams aside until May, it'll be over before you know it.

Welcome aboard HSSBBW, Outlaw. That was a very insightful perspective. I guess some parents worry about "marketability" more than the kids. My opinion on this is that there is no right or wrong decision, it is somewhat like choosing a college.. the best fit.

I know of a kid from our area who was taken in the 11th round this last spring. He was a Jr from a fairly big D1 school....did not sign because he thought he should be getting like 1st round money. He transfers to another school, I guess, hoping he'll have a breakout year. Now, next year, being a Senior pick, how much more does he think he'll move up in the draft. My bet is, not much higher, or maybe he'll even slide down a bit. I think, he should have signed and he would now have a year of pro ball under his belt.

quote:

Originally posted by Outlaw:
I know of a kid from our area who was taken in the 11th round this last spring. He was a Jr from a fairly big D1 school....did not sign because he thought he should be getting like 1st round money. He transfers to another school, I guess, hoping he'll have a breakout year. Now, next year, being a Senior pick, how much more does he think he'll move up in the draft. My bet is, not much higher, or maybe he'll even slide down a bit. I think, he should have signed and he would now have a year of pro ball under his belt.

Most think that they should get first round money.

The decision to go back to school is a personal decision based on many factors. The one main reason is to finish school, IMO, it should never be about trying to get a better draft position. That happens to only a few.

Why the transfer? If he was drafted in the 11th round he had to have been an impact player to be seen and evaluated, why take a bigger chance (if he was looking for more $) and start with a new program?

By the time one reaches their junior year in college and is drafted, it's more about opportunity, not money.

If a player has a chance for a breakout year, he's also got a chance to get injured. That doesn't even touch changing programs and therefore changing competition faced which could go either way for the player. The player has taken a gamble.

A junior has more leverage as he has someplace else to go; MLB, although they certainly have drafted players high as seniors, obviously knows that a senior's only alternative is the Independent or International Leagues.

But he's done it now.

Sounds like his ego might be an issue however things go from here

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-diary/2008/266553.html

I love Dirk's non prospect diaries, but he's AAA, they travel much better than all of the rest of the farm.
The highjinks on the bus is typical, a way to find some humor in their lives. The same stuff goes on in college too.

Thanks, OS. That may be the funniest thing I have ever read!

That is hysterical....

I told my son to kill-two-birds-with-one-stone, do the minor league stint at college; the bus rides are about the same, the food is better, and you get an education while you play against guys who are learning how to manage both baseball and their time for academics...plus the girls are right there on campus, don't have go hunting so much.

It's much tougher than MiLB.

JMO

quote:

It's much tougher than MiLB.

You're comparing apples to oranges. ----- As they say it's a whole different ball game!

The bus rides in college are to another college baseball game. The bus rides in the pros are to a MLB roster.
Fungo

You don't have to hunt for the girls either..they hunt you

quote:

Originally posted by LLorton:

It's much tougher than MiLB.

JMO

You'll have to explain that one to me.
Fungo is correct, you are comparing apples to oranges.

quote:

It's much tougher than MiLB.

LL, I'm on board with Fungo here.
I would be interested to hear more about your point of view.
From the discussions I had with former college players who were 100 games into a minor league season, and about 130 including Spring Training, college ball was a breeze.
Getting your backside out of bed in late July after you have played 100 games, with about 5 days off, to be at the park by noon/1pm, when it is 100 degrees and 90% humidity is grueling.
In 2005, our son played 38 straight games in 39 days in late June through July with temperatures and humidity that were oppressive.
He said there cannot be anything more challenging in baseball. Your body aches, your mind aches. The last thing you want to do is play another game. The next thing you need to be ready to do is play another game.
College, compared to Milb, is a game. Milb is all business.

I've posted this before, but when yet another topic came up comparing college ball to the minors, I asked my son what he thought.

He laughed and laughed.

Aside from bus rides (son's longest in AA was 16 hours and that was all interstate highway travel), daily food money (not much different for college and lower level minors), occasional post-game clubhouse food (PB & J sandwiches in college, some pretty good eats at the higher MiLB levels), there really seems to be little if any similarity between college ball ... even at the highest level of competition ... and minor league ball.

From my perspective, at the minor league level, the play is faster, the defensive throws are harder and crisper, the bats are wood so the hits are 'true' hits, and the pitchers may have a whole different arsenal of pitches not seen in college. It is a whole different 'ball game' as they say.

MiLB players still have weights, still have workouts, and ply their trade in general for a minimum of 9 hours a day, seven days a week.

And, as FBM just said, those games are against a lineup of all guys who were the very best on their college and hs teams. And you're facing only aces from those same levels.

Geez I didn't realize there was so such reverberation from an innocuous statement about the difference in MiLB and college ball.

My point was killing-two-birds-with-one-stone, guess that part got overlooked. See it's not just about playing baseball if you go to college and play baseball. Asked my son about it he said he'd much rather play MiLB because he thinks it would be easier than his daily regime. Why? because he has spoken to guys who took the offer didn't make it and came back to school.

Most of them said the rigor of his schedule starting at 5:30AM runs, two hour weight room in the morning before attending 8AM class, then getting thirty minutes for lunch before afternoon classes, practice at 3PM to 6PM; 30 minutes for dinner, study table 7PM to 9PM, then night practice starting at 9:PM to 11:PM before getting back to the dorms for more study and then hit the rack at around 12:AM to start it all over again for your 5:30AM run much tougher gig then practicing/game each day for a measly 8 to 9 hours in the MiLB.

Sure I'll grant you the level of play overall at college level is not as competitive as the MiLB but the college guys are using the "full capacity" of their potential not just the physical regime of routine...and at the end of it the MiLB guys have nothing to show for it except some memories. College ballplayers have that piece of paper that opens opportunity.

...and fungo you know as I do, most of the guys in the MiLB are getting ready to be cut or released, very few of 'em will ever set foot on a MLB field.

JMO