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I could really use some advice/assistance from anyone who had been down this road or has knowledge. My son, after four years in a Northeast Division I program during which he amassed excellent stats and a number of awards,was not drafted.
He received interest from a number of teams and was invited to one pre-draft tryout where he was told that "they had him being drafted".
He sat in front of the computer for hours and last weekend was a difficult one in our home.
Baseball has really been his life for 18 years and he has worked hard, sacrificed much and achieved substantially. He is getting past the disappointment and personal feeling of rejection and confusion and wants to play more.
My question is what's the best way to get attention as a possible free agent signing and is an independent league a likely occurence at this point in the season?
He has reached out to a Frontier League team that had communicated with him earlier in the event that he was not drafted. He has also contacted a number of the independent leagues to providing them with his baseball bio and info sheet on awards won, etc.
The same scout who led him to believe he would be drafted told my son that he would contact him about free agent openings, even with other organizations, and try to hook him up with an independent team if need be. On Saturday, my son decided to contact him rather than wait, but only left a vioce mail with no return call yet.
Would engaging an agent help in this process? Any other steps people can recommend?
Thanks for bearing with me.
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quote:
Would engaging an agent help in this process? Any other steps people can recommend?


rizzdogg, first of all, welcome to the HSBBW! I wish it was with better news and circumstances for your son.
It sounds like your son is one terrific player. He has had a wonderful college baseball experience, is probably either holding or soon to hold his college degree and has every reason to be extremely proud.
You bring to us some issues that aren't discussed very much and for which there are probably no truly wrong answers, in a sense.
While I think an agent would be great, my expectation is that the type of agent your son would need to get placed isn't likely to accept your son as a client. The reason is strictly economics. There is nothing in it for the agent. The good ones are the ones with the needed connections and without money, they just won't take him, especially with the goal of earning their income from getting current clients signed.
I think everything your son is doing is very important and he should be persistent and diligent in follow up with that scout and with the independent leagues and teams. He may need to broaden the horizens and contact independents from New Jersey to California, to Texas and Minnesota in hopes of finding a spot on rosters that are currently full.
He should also try and locate any MLB tryouts and get to as many as possible.
One thing not mentioned is the involvement and support of the college coach. From what I do know, friends of our son who got placed after the draft happened because the college coach called the independents incessantly and followed up with scouts in the same way. I would encourage him to ask his college coach, and perhaps even an opposing coach he has met and with whom he has good relations to assist him.
Good luck in this effort to find a slot and continue playing. Please keep us posted. I hope others will present different ideas and options.
Last edited by infielddad
Dear Rizzdog,

I am but a mere pea-on,...a nobody,..just a baseball mom who read your post.
I know nothing about these matters,....yet I do have a good feel for the HSBBW.
I feel confident that there is someone out there who can help your son get the lead that he needs.

Just a little moral support and best wishes being sent your direction, from Kansas.
Last edited by shortstopmom

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