pickleloaf wrote:
i used to work at baseball america
Ahhh, BA, the ones with the
accurate rankings!
Seems like that might be an awfully fun job, depending on what you were doing for them. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the changing relationships between the big leagues on one side and the minors / colleges on the other.
Historically, because of the minors, college baseball did not play anything like the role that college football did. (For the NFL, the colleges
are their minor leagues.) The top prospects coming out of high school each year signed pro contracts and went to the minors. This of course makes recruiting in college tough, never knowing who will actually play, who will sign instead, ... and who is just using the threat of college to angle for more $ in their pro contract.
(The baseball drafting/NCAA rules are weird too - Enrolment doesn't DQ them, but if a college freshman
shows up for a class - literally, if he ever simply walks into his first college classroom, then he can't go pro until after his junior year. As a result, whether some top unsigned prospects show up in a class is a matter of significant interest - I think I remember TV news reporters on campus for A-Rod's first scheduled class, to see if he showed up. IIRC, he ended up cutting the first full week of classes while he finalized his deal.)
But lately, it seems that college players have tended to have more pro success than those signed right out of high school. (Or rather, more success than would be expected, given that top kids are still cherry-picked - Not a lot of high school kids actually end up turning down 7-plus-figure first-round contracts.) As a result, there does seem to be a trend toward more and more top kids going to college first. Pickle, have you noticed this, or is it just my wishful thinking?
College ball is just plain fun, too - Going to a Marlins game (at least in their current stadium) is a big PITA production, expensive, and a long drive, while going to a UM game is a pure pleasure - very laid-back. Plus, you get to see a lot of truly great ball - Currently I think UM has nine alumnae in the Show (including 2007 NL Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun in Milwaukee, Phillies' Pat 'The Bat' Burrell [.435!], Aubrey Huff, Alex Cora in Boston, etc.).
Stealth, hello?
