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PGStaff posted:

But guaranteeing or even suggesting that someone will be playing when they are a junior is crazy.  There will be all the seniors and juniors that were ahead of him as freshman and sophomores.  More importantly there will be two more full recruiting classes. And how much can you improve while sitting on the bench for two years?  Not many coaches looking for full recruiting classes of kids that won't contribute until their junior year.  Sure, it happens but most juniors didn't sit on the bench their first two years.  There is a better chance that the junior that doesn't play his first two years will not be a big contributor ever.

 

Agreed - a lot changes from year to year.  Especially at the higher-tier schools that bring in large classes of JC transfers.  You may have "put in your time" for 2 years on the bench, but there is still the chance that your coach brings in a JC transfer to start over you.

Wow, I am a tad bit shocked to read everyone advocating for the easier route.  I guess what they say about today's society is true, nobody wants to take the hard road.  College athletics is not about just athletics.  Based on what OP put I would and I would want my son to attend program A.  You are going to learn hard work, you are going to learn tradition, you are going to learn perseverance, you are going to learn patience, you are going to learn how to be a team player.  Program B will hand you a life lesson of no competition and a me now approach.  I would be disgusted if a coach told my kid they could start all 4 years, I would automatically cross them off the list.  There is a huge difference between chance to start and start.  I want my kid to earn whatever he gets.  Also, in regards to getting drafted and playing professionally.  Might want to find the thread or google Ben Zorbrist.  Also There is a player name Evan Longoria who nobody wanted out of High School but a Junior College.  You never know!

IEBSBL posted:

Wow, I am a tad bit shocked to read everyone advocating for the easier route.  I guess what they say about today's society is true, nobody wants to take the hard road.  College athletics is not about just athletics.  Based on what OP put I would and I would want my son to attend program A.  You are going to learn hard work, you are going to learn tradition, you are going to learn perseverance, you are going to learn patience, you are going to learn how to be a team player.  Program B will hand you a life lesson of no competition and a me now approach.  I would be disgusted if a coach told my kid they could start all 4 years, I would automatically cross them off the list.  There is a huge difference between chance to start and start.  I want my kid to earn whatever he gets.  Also, in regards to getting drafted and playing professionally.  Might want to find the thread or google Ben Zorbrist.  Also There is a player name Evan Longoria who nobody wanted out of High School but a Junior College.  You never know!

occasionally people get hit by lightening bolts and attached by sharks - pretty safe to assume the boy shouldn't be overly concerned about them.

Every baseball person I spoken with has said roughly to the same to me, if you don't start or play regular Freshman or sophomore year you most likely won't play at all as an upperclassmen. That includes several college coaches.

Last edited by old_school

My son did select option B.  As it turns out his team did win a conference championship his sophomore year....first in program history.  A couple things went into his decision.  First playing time has tremendous value in a very competitive major.  His reasoning is if I'm not good enough to play, I could be doing things more related to my major or other interests.  Second, the school he selected had more academic options (deeper and wider program) related to his major than his other choices.  This was not a hard decision for him.

Good luck!

Last edited by fenwaysouth

You just don't know. You can look at every opportunity and try to project where you fit in. You can have a coach tell you "we see you as a starter day one" "we believe you can compete for playing time day one" etc etc. But the fact is you just don't know. You could go to a D1 and play right away. You could choose a D2 and sit. The only thing you can do is go in and compete. You can be the 2nd best catcher in your entire conference and sit behind the best catcher in your conference. And that can be at the least competitive program in that conference.

I have seen so many D1 transfers from power 5 conferences transfer for playing time to D2 programs only to find out that nothing has changed. You have to compete and be the best option. And remember this nothing stays the same. What projects in year one you can throw out the window in year two. Transfers in and transfers out. New class every year. Coaches come and go. Picking a school based on your projection of playing time can be very tricky. It's always been my opinion that a player should aspire to play at the highest level he can for the best program he can. And then go in and compete.

Coaches will say whatever they feel they need to say to get you on campus. After that all bet's are off. Competition and production will win out. If your mindset is I am going to go to the school where I think the competition will be the weakest to ensure my ability to see the field then I wouldn't want you in my program. What happens when you choose that weaker program for playing time and you don't earn a starting role right away? What's the players mindset then?

Which school do you like the most? Which school likes you the most? Are you ready to compete for playing time? Are you a team player? JMO

 

I think a lot may have to do with your son's personality.  My son hated to lose at anything, he hated for his t ball team to lose, he hated to lose at board games, if his favorite pro sports team lost we knew to give him some space. I saw a video of his college baseball team competing against the lacrosse and hockey team in a fitness test, he wasn't going to let his team lose an event.

This winning desire factored in to his decision on where to attend school and play baseball. He didn't want to play for a loser, he wanted to play for a team that was in the championship mix at the end of the season. He knew it might cost him some playing time early but he had the confidence and work ethic to know that eventually he was going to be a difference maker at his school. My son passed on a couple of offers that would have put him on the field as a freshman to go to a school  that posted yearly winning records.

two years ago a player transferred to his team from a d1, led the old team in innings , at bats, BA, but was tired of losing. Being part of a winning team takes a team first commitment. It takes a desire to put in the extra work to excel. It takes players pushing each other for playing time. Being a part of that is oh so special and something to not overlook.

Your program B has been a regular bottom dweller, its tough to turn that around. If they were just a couple of players away from competing with the conference best, maybe I would push my son that way. But to go from the basement to the attic in 4 years is pretty tough. If the new coach does turn it around its likely going to take a few more years. Your son could leave with the satisfaction of being the first .500 team in 20 years? Would that be good enough to satisfy him?

Best of luck.

How many players are on a college roster? At the D1 level 35. At the lower levels many more than that. How many play? Lets take position players. You will have 8 starters who play the vast majority of the innings. One catcher who will rotate from time to time. A DH. And maybe one guy who is a utility player. Let's call it 11 position players who see time. That leaves 24 players. Out of those 24 you will have 3 weekend starters and 2 midweek starters. Then you will have around 6 guys that get the bulk of the relief duty. Lets call that 11. So that's 22 guys who see the vast majority of the time if not all of it. That leaves 13 guys.

Now think about D2 and D3. Many more players on the roster but the same type of breakdown in playing time. So who wants to sit the bench? No one does but someone has to. It's called competition. It's called working for opportunities. How can you run a program with no bench? I would suggest people just go look up random college programs and look at the stats from pervious years. Tell me what you see. It is not unusual for many D2 and D3 programs to carry 40 to 45 players on their roster. That was certainly the case in D1 before the 35 max roster limit.

The FACT is many college baseball players never start. Many college baseball players spend the majority of their time in college on the bench. If you don't love it enough to grind through adversity and are willing to spend your time on the bench working to get off the bench it's not for you.

old_school posted:
IEBSBL posted:

Wow, I am a tad bit shocked to read everyone advocating for the easier route.  I guess what they say about today's society is true, nobody wants to take the hard road.  College athletics is not about just athletics.  Based on what OP put I would and I would want my son to attend program A.  You are going to learn hard work, you are going to learn tradition, you are going to learn perseverance, you are going to learn patience, you are going to learn how to be a team player.  Program B will hand you a life lesson of no competition and a me now approach.  I would be disgusted if a coach told my kid they could start all 4 years, I would automatically cross them off the list.  There is a huge difference between chance to start and start.  I want my kid to earn whatever he gets.  Also, in regards to getting drafted and playing professionally.  Might want to find the thread or google Ben Zorbrist.  Also There is a player name Evan Longoria who nobody wanted out of High School but a Junior College.  You never know!

occasionally people get hit by lightening bolts and attached by sharks - pretty safe to assume the boy shouldn't be overly concerned about them.

Every baseball person I spoken with has said roughly to the same to me, if you don't start or play regular Freshman or sophomore year you most likely won't play at all as an upperclassmen. That includes several college coaches.

A) You and I know a lot more MLB guys were written off out of HS than Shark Attacks and Lighting.

B) What is the purpose of your statement about "Every Baseball Person"?  I don't remember nor reading anything I wrote stating that is not true.  I don't even remember thinking that, that was not true. 

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