Post by azblue on Jun 8, 2013 23:32:01 GMT -5
Here are some thoughts on the factors involved in choosing between college baseball scholarship and professional baseball. Please make your own suggestions. This was off the top of my head, so I would not be surprised if there were holes in this assessment.
1. Cost benefit analysis of accepting the college scholarship
a. College scholarships—only 11.7 scholarships per team in NCAA Division I. It is rare for anyone except a potential college superstar to receive a full scholarship. Even if you have a free ride on tuition, books, fees and housing plus some meals, there are many living expenses that are out of your pocket (most food, clothes, car, etc.) Therefore, most players will have to borrow money and/or rely on their parents’ savings.
b. You obtain two (if JC), three or four years of college education. You associated with intelligent people (compared to a typical baseball dugout/clubhouse where the subjects are women, drinking, hunting, card games and comic books). [Extraneous thought: Who does Craig Breslow talk to and about what?] There is a readily available pool of girls your age to date.
c. It is a three-year commitment to school unless the player drops out or transfers to a junior college.
d. The overall quality of the college baseball, education and social life varies greatly between the major programs and minor programs. Sometimes a kid does not know if his school is a good fit until he is there for three months.
e. You could physically mature and develop your baseball skills and be drafted much higher in two, three or four years—if you are fortunate. If you are a late round selection and perhaps not physically mature, college may be an easy choice because you will not be offered enough money for it to be a difficult decision. Jonathan Gray was undrafted out of high school. He had an easy choice. Those success stories are few and far between.
f. The player has to balance school and baseball. Playing 60+ games in addition to practice in a semester is at least as challenging as basketball and football with respect to balancing athletics, education and social life.
g. The emphasis is almost always on winning rather than the player’s development curve. You may be playing out of position part or all or your time in college if you are a position player. You may pitch instead of playing a position if your team needs an arm and you have a pitching background. A pitcher may be overworked on the mound during a key series, conference tournament or the NCAA tournament at the expense of his health and future. Promises before you enroll mean little. Your only solution to a bad situation is to transfer. Fortunately, you do not have to sit out a year in baseball if you transfer.
h. The quality of coaching may fall short of what you would have in extended spring training and any level of the minor leagues. It is not unusual in college to have coaches who are behind the curve regarding coaching techniques.
i. In college, it’s all about the coach—he is king. In the minors, it’s all about player development.
j. You could become injured or simply not develop and major league teams could lose interest altogether. This could occur as a result of bad luck, lack of talent or poor coaching or medical care. These risks also exist in professional baseball.
k. If you go to JC or a four-year school, you may not improve enough to be drafted higher. You may have two to four years of school and be closer to a degree, but may not have enhanced your baseball career. Then again, you have to accept reality some time.
l. The pre-season practice starts early (late January) and, if you have a slump, you may find yourself on the bench for the rest of the season. There is an opportunity to play summer baseball and redeem yourself in the eyes of the professional scouts. They remember how you played in the summer if your junior year is shaky.
m. Quality medical care is usually available. University hospitals (of course, not every university has a medical school and teaching hospital) are usually at cutting edge of sports medicine. However, the training staff at many schools, though under the supervision of a team doctor, may not be as good as you would have in professional baseball.
2. Professional baseball—other factors to consider (in addition to those above) regarding taking the bonus and starting down the professional path
a. A four-year college scholarship is available after you finish baseball in many cases. I do not know if there are any statistics regarding how many players actually take advantage of this. I suspect it is infrequently utilized. Maybe you can use your scholarship for a trade school if you hate the thought of a four-year college if you wash out in professional baseball.
b. You may have no interest in a college degree, so the education and having to balance baseball and school may not be attractive in order to potentially improve your future draft status. Full time commitment to baseball. You have to learn to live on your own, but some teams, like the Red Sox, spend time helping players coming out of high school (and from other countries) to adjust.
c. Compared to most college programs, there is generally superior coaching of the fundamentals, the mental side of baseball and establishing a proper routine (eating, weights) in the minor leagues.
d. Low salary. Miserable bus rides. Little meal money. In A ball, the monthly salary in 2012 was $1,100 per month during the season only plus $25.00 per day in meal money when the team is on the road. This ranged up to the AAA scale of $2,150 per month plus the same $25.00 per day in meal money. A $100,000 bonus evaporates quickly over four years.
e. Virtually no risk of a pitcher being overused. A minor league manager would be unemployed if he did not follow guidelines or adhere to medical directives from the parent club.
f. Video of players/pitchers available to the parent club for evaluation and assistance by roving instructors and minor league coordinators.
g. Exposure to appropriate level of competition and you will play through slumps. Instead of seeing several players on the opposing college team that are potential professionals, you see them every day. As you move up (if you do), you see better hitters and more complete pitchers with better command and more pitches.
h. You will almost certainly play at the position that you are projected to play if you were to reach the majors.
i. Even if you struggle in the minors (assuming that you are not a total bust), you will have several years to learn the game, grow up physically and learn your craft before you would be released.
j. If you are injured, doctors who have a great deal of experience in treating athletic injuries or conditions are immediately available. If you received a substantial bonus, no effort will be spared to protect the parent club’s investment. You will have a chance to go through professional rehabilitation and start over at the appropriate level when you recover from a major injury.
k. If you are fortunate enough to be drafted for the first time by your favorite team or a big market club, the decision will likely weigh toward signing out of high school.
i. It is risky to count on receiving a signing bonus after three years of college that is much higher than the bonus offered out of high school.
ii. It is clearly no sure thing that a player will move up (if at all) in the draft in two, three or four years. Even if the offer is half or less of the bonus a player MIGHT hope to be offered if you spend three years in college how does that compare to the potential risks? Should a player pass up the chance of playing for a big market team or your favorite team just because he feels “disrespected” as a result of the round in which he was selected or the bonus? This should be about the player and his development, not a disappointed high school coach, parent or group of friends who read the draft blogs.
iii. A player can start the clock toward having to be included on the 40-man roster and eventually, arbitration and an opportunity to create negotiation leverage by becoming eligible for free agency (even if he would not want to change teams). The odds of being drafted again by a big market team are against you. The odds of being drafted a second time by your favorite team (if that is important to you) are tiny.
iv. When you look at the projection of total dollars that you would earn if you become a 5-10 year major league player, you had better be a sure-fire top of the first round talent or someone drafted in the later rounds with a low bonus offer for it to make sense from a purely financial standpoint (from baseball income) to turn down a bonus out of high school.
1. Cost benefit analysis of accepting the college scholarship
a. College scholarships—only 11.7 scholarships per team in NCAA Division I. It is rare for anyone except a potential college superstar to receive a full scholarship. Even if you have a free ride on tuition, books, fees and housing plus some meals, there are many living expenses that are out of your pocket (most food, clothes, car, etc.) Therefore, most players will have to borrow money and/or rely on their parents’ savings.
b. You obtain two (if JC), three or four years of college education. You associated with intelligent people (compared to a typical baseball dugout/clubhouse where the subjects are women, drinking, hunting, card games and comic books). [Extraneous thought: Who does Craig Breslow talk to and about what?] There is a readily available pool of girls your age to date.
c. It is a three-year commitment to school unless the player drops out or transfers to a junior college.
d. The overall quality of the college baseball, education and social life varies greatly between the major programs and minor programs. Sometimes a kid does not know if his school is a good fit until he is there for three months.
e. You could physically mature and develop your baseball skills and be drafted much higher in two, three or four years—if you are fortunate. If you are a late round selection and perhaps not physically mature, college may be an easy choice because you will not be offered enough money for it to be a difficult decision. Jonathan Gray was undrafted out of high school. He had an easy choice. Those success stories are few and far between.
f. The player has to balance school and baseball. Playing 60+ games in addition to practice in a semester is at least as challenging as basketball and football with respect to balancing athletics, education and social life.
g. The emphasis is almost always on winning rather than the player’s development curve. You may be playing out of position part or all or your time in college if you are a position player. You may pitch instead of playing a position if your team needs an arm and you have a pitching background. A pitcher may be overworked on the mound during a key series, conference tournament or the NCAA tournament at the expense of his health and future. Promises before you enroll mean little. Your only solution to a bad situation is to transfer. Fortunately, you do not have to sit out a year in baseball if you transfer.
h. The quality of coaching may fall short of what you would have in extended spring training and any level of the minor leagues. It is not unusual in college to have coaches who are behind the curve regarding coaching techniques.
i. In college, it’s all about the coach—he is king. In the minors, it’s all about player development.
j. You could become injured or simply not develop and major league teams could lose interest altogether. This could occur as a result of bad luck, lack of talent or poor coaching or medical care. These risks also exist in professional baseball.
k. If you go to JC or a four-year school, you may not improve enough to be drafted higher. You may have two to four years of school and be closer to a degree, but may not have enhanced your baseball career. Then again, you have to accept reality some time.
l. The pre-season practice starts early (late January) and, if you have a slump, you may find yourself on the bench for the rest of the season. There is an opportunity to play summer baseball and redeem yourself in the eyes of the professional scouts. They remember how you played in the summer if your junior year is shaky.
m. Quality medical care is usually available. University hospitals (of course, not every university has a medical school and teaching hospital) are usually at cutting edge of sports medicine. However, the training staff at many schools, though under the supervision of a team doctor, may not be as good as you would have in professional baseball.
2. Professional baseball—other factors to consider (in addition to those above) regarding taking the bonus and starting down the professional path
a. A four-year college scholarship is available after you finish baseball in many cases. I do not know if there are any statistics regarding how many players actually take advantage of this. I suspect it is infrequently utilized. Maybe you can use your scholarship for a trade school if you hate the thought of a four-year college if you wash out in professional baseball.
b. You may have no interest in a college degree, so the education and having to balance baseball and school may not be attractive in order to potentially improve your future draft status. Full time commitment to baseball. You have to learn to live on your own, but some teams, like the Red Sox, spend time helping players coming out of high school (and from other countries) to adjust.
c. Compared to most college programs, there is generally superior coaching of the fundamentals, the mental side of baseball and establishing a proper routine (eating, weights) in the minor leagues.
d. Low salary. Miserable bus rides. Little meal money. In A ball, the monthly salary in 2012 was $1,100 per month during the season only plus $25.00 per day in meal money when the team is on the road. This ranged up to the AAA scale of $2,150 per month plus the same $25.00 per day in meal money. A $100,000 bonus evaporates quickly over four years.
e. Virtually no risk of a pitcher being overused. A minor league manager would be unemployed if he did not follow guidelines or adhere to medical directives from the parent club.
f. Video of players/pitchers available to the parent club for evaluation and assistance by roving instructors and minor league coordinators.
g. Exposure to appropriate level of competition and you will play through slumps. Instead of seeing several players on the opposing college team that are potential professionals, you see them every day. As you move up (if you do), you see better hitters and more complete pitchers with better command and more pitches.
h. You will almost certainly play at the position that you are projected to play if you were to reach the majors.
i. Even if you struggle in the minors (assuming that you are not a total bust), you will have several years to learn the game, grow up physically and learn your craft before you would be released.
j. If you are injured, doctors who have a great deal of experience in treating athletic injuries or conditions are immediately available. If you received a substantial bonus, no effort will be spared to protect the parent club’s investment. You will have a chance to go through professional rehabilitation and start over at the appropriate level when you recover from a major injury.
k. If you are fortunate enough to be drafted for the first time by your favorite team or a big market club, the decision will likely weigh toward signing out of high school.
i. It is risky to count on receiving a signing bonus after three years of college that is much higher than the bonus offered out of high school.
ii. It is clearly no sure thing that a player will move up (if at all) in the draft in two, three or four years. Even if the offer is half or less of the bonus a player MIGHT hope to be offered if you spend three years in college how does that compare to the potential risks? Should a player pass up the chance of playing for a big market team or your favorite team just because he feels “disrespected” as a result of the round in which he was selected or the bonus? This should be about the player and his development, not a disappointed high school coach, parent or group of friends who read the draft blogs.
iii. A player can start the clock toward having to be included on the 40-man roster and eventually, arbitration and an opportunity to create negotiation leverage by becoming eligible for free agency (even if he would not want to change teams). The odds of being drafted again by a big market team are against you. The odds of being drafted a second time by your favorite team (if that is important to you) are tiny.
iv. When you look at the projection of total dollars that you would earn if you become a 5-10 year major league player, you had better be a sure-fire top of the first round talent or someone drafted in the later rounds with a low bonus offer for it to make sense from a purely financial standpoint (from baseball income) to turn down a bonus out of high school.