You have a guy whose eyes are set on professional baseball

Bump

It is all about the tools.  Does he have them?

Do you want the degree? Do you believe you can dominate at the division 1 level? Then go that route. You can still up your stock, while securing an education. It is not too late, but there will be no time to waste. Go and get it.

This is simply...not possible.  Not possible to 'know the risks involved' at his age or this point in his playing career.

No doubt he has read about them, talked to valuable folks about them, thought hard about them...but there is so much more that he cannot know without having experienced it.  The grind, the bus rides all night, the lost girlfriends, the falling behind your friends and peers in other lifetime endeavors, the pressures, the financial strains, the 'doing without' on a daily basis...

Does he have a tremendous family support system?  He will need it whether he signs for a million bucks or a bus ticket to camp.

I have no idea what the right decision would be for him, but to believe he knows the risks or what it means to play pro ball...would be woefully incorrect.

The player is simply asking for advice. Not your opinion on whether or not you believe his situation or his mindset. You and I do not know who the man is or what lies behind his eyes. The art of assumption is ignorant.

Why would he not take the D1 opportunity? This is his best route, to get better and MAYBE get a late draft pick next year. Even if not drafted, as a college senior, getting picked up as a FA right after the draft is helpful. 

No one realizes how tough it is for free agents that never had any pro experience to compete with prospects. 

I am in agreement with JB, he has no clue what the risks are, has no idea what it takes to get to the show. No one has any clue unless they have been there and tried to do it.

You need the tools to even be considered, he can't just be good at this point, he has to be outstanding to turn heads.

What's his plan? How many hours in the day does he spend trying to get better, what position does he play. Does he play everyday, what will he do when school is over to get better, is he signed up for a summer program?  

I am not sure why you brought up signing bonus. At this point it has nothing to do about the signing bonus.

Best of luck.

Thanks for the replies.  Obviously with anyone, you don't know without experience but which is why I specifically said "willing."  The question refers about a situation and decision making, not about hard work or whether or not he's with a summer team or not TPM. Why it branches out away from the original question with some of you guys, I do not know.  Maybe read more attentively.

And I brought up the signing bonus TPM as a reference example to the issue of age coming in to factor with when to enter professional baseball if given the opportunity......... I am not sure why you brought up being not sure about me asking about the signing bonus but hopefully you're sure now...

PG Staff, Bum, and CoachK, thanks for the advice.  You guys are money.

MentalSpecialist,

How do you give anyone accurate "advice", when you know absolutely nothing about them?

A guy with eyes on pro ball?  Wow... that describes millions of young kids. They would all go pro if it were their decision.

I figured out something a long time ago.  Giving too much advice regarding the unknown, is a bad idea!  The best well intended advice can easily turn out to be the worst advice someone ever received. Sht happens!

Want to go college or go pro? I have no idea! no advice! But I can describe what I know and then you can decide.  I think that is what people are saying saying here... Not giving advice, just giving information.

I think I'm FINALLY starting to understand the veterans on this site. Woohoo!

CoachKMentalSpecialist- justbaseball's sentiment was not an opinion. Until you live the process, you don't know what it takes. 

PGStaff,

To answer your first question.. you can't.  That's impossible.  BUT a good idea of the young man's situation was described here, so you can give some guidance, as you contradictively have.

I figured something out a long time ago as well. Good intentions, are better than any bad intention at all, so take the best shot you can while you still can because the best well intended advice can easily be the best advice anyone has ever received.

Giving information, giving advice, what ever you're giving, it better be processed in your head before spilling the "info" onto someone else. My "advice" to you.

Of course you have to live the process to know what it takes. The kid said he's willing. Give him the benefit of the doubt, and either help out, give guidance, or keep your mouth shut.

I'll be sure to. Good luck with your mental training business.

What's with you guys, you ask questions and when you don't like all the responses you get bent out of shape. Sometimes the response is going to offer information.

I may be missing something but what decision were you talking about?  The decision to go to D1 vs proball?  If your son is in a position that he may be drafted vs going to the D1, what is the issue, sign at the D1 and if he gets drafted then he can decide what to do. To me that is  a no brainer, take the opportunity and run with it, but if you are worried the money won't be good, well, fact is it won't be. 

Age? The stanford pitcher is going to be "old" and he is going to get pleeeeennnty of money.  Why? He has the skill set that warrants that bounty.  The best time to enter into pro, would be different for different players.  You asked a question that has no definitive answer. You asked a question without giving facts, so don't get mad at the responses.

Maybe you guys need to post more accurately as to your intent or what you mean exactly, instead of accusing us of not READING what you haven't clearly expressed.

So this guy wants to make a run to accomplish a dream that millions have but very few ever accomplish - I say go for it but to basically do it at the expense of getting a college education is very immature.  This is not an all or nothing opportunity because he can accomplish both.  There is no way in the world he's going to work out / play baseball so much he can't afford to spend some time getting a good education.  There are MANY professional baseball players who do this every year.

Is he going to major in underwater basket weaving so he can focus on getting to the show?  Or is he going to have a real major that he can see himself doing IF baseball doesn't work out?  It's going to come down to time management - schedule time for class, schedule time for working out, schedule time for homework, schedule time for family / friends / girlfriend, schedule time to just chill.  He can do all this if he plans for it.

If he focuses on getting to the show and doesn't take advantage of an education opportunity now then it's going to probably make life tougher once baseball is over.  He has very little control over if he will get the chance at pro ball and when you're faced with that situation you need to take control of giving yourself options and different life paths. It sounds like he has the chance (and ability) to make a run at his dream while getting an education to set him out for "just in case".

Also, I don't see where TPM, JH or any of these other people have said anything off topic or not really related to the issue at hand.  I've been around baseball my whole life, I know people who have played pro ball, I've had a coach who did play pro ball, I coached a kid who is now in pro ball and I've had countless conversations about pro ball with all these people and I still have no idea of what it takes so when someone offers up the advice or word of caution it shouldn't be taken lightly.  They are giving valuable advice but it's up to you (or this guy) to listen or not.  Sometimes it does work out when you don't listen to very good advice - that's what makes life awesome when you take that chance and it works out.  But to discredit or criticize that advice is what's wrong.

I wish that guy luck in pursuing his dream and hope he makes it but hopefully he's smart enough to prepare a fall back plan.

Wow!  Remind me not to pay for your "mental" specialty.  SMH.

"The kid says he's willing."

Really?  Willing to what?  There is no way he knows what he's getting into and if he's lucky you aren't advising him cause you don't either.  <-That right there is not a prediction of his failure at all...but there is simply, no chance, whatsoever...unless maybe if his father was a pro player...that he understands whats ahead.  Not a chance.

"Give him the benefit of the doubt, and either help out..."

I have given him no doubt...except that he cannot possibly know whats ahead.  Help out?  Dam* right I'm helping out.  But if by "help out" you mean tell the OP what he wanted to hear?  No, not gonna do it.  Dishonest to do that.

OP's or his choice if he wants to use the help I offered which was to say that if you're a good friend of a kid, you tell him that there is no way to know the risks, to know what he's getting into...there is no way to know this ahead of time.  You sit him down in front of a couple of ex-pro players who know what its like and you do everything you can to get him to listen.  And you tell him that you won't blow smoke up his backside by agreeing with things like, 'he knows the risks.'  But even if he doesn't listen, he will understand it in a year or two.  Thats a sure thing.

You see, unless he gets a lotta money, there are a fair number of risks.  Even with money, there are risks that he doesn't understand yet. If you minimize that, you haven't done your job as his mentor or friend.

"...or keep your mouth shut."

Sorry, someone comes here to see what others think about their situation...this site would be useless if we followed your advice there.  What a silly thing to post to a site full of folks sharing their experiences.

Based on the OP's second post above, the OP wanted affirmation...not real world stuff from anyone who has experienced any of this stuff.  Sorry, but you picked the wrong site if you weren't looking for real stuff.

KT333 stated he is a 3-year Juco man with an opportunity to play D1.  He also stated his heart is to follow baseball not an education.  What I don't understand is has he been drafted during those three years?  That would be the time to decide, not now.  Plan on going to the D1 in the fall and if the club calls and makes an offer before the player steps on campus, DECIDE.  We can't do that for you.  And it's not all about the money or an education.  Too many factors makes this story pea soup.

Mental, 

D1 is littered with the corpes of JUCO players. Does son want to bet a year of eligbility sitting on the bench? Consider NAIA too.

PG is right, you have to be seen and it takes one person to believe you have what it takes. 

TPM, the floor is yours now.

I'm not sure I agree.  If you're saying a Juco transfer is not good enough and will sit, he's likely not good enough for the pros either.  But if he's good enough.. why not compete on a bigger stage?

That's what Bum, Jr. did when he transferred.  He had a bunch of smaller schools calling him but he wanted to prove something at the D1 level.

There are risks in every decision KT.  Take the next step at the D1 level, work, and make a name for your self and whatever program you end up at.  Leave it all out there, and if it's meant to be, it will happen for you