The word on Cole before the draft was that he was heavily leaning towards school. This shouldn't really be a surprise. The Yanks took a risk and lost. It's just the MLB draft though, it's a ton more of a crapshoot than any other draft.
Like I said, you can go to school any time. You can't always get $5 million dollars. And he'll probably sign with a professional team before he graduates.
I see most people posting here have no idea as to this kid's background. He happens to come from a very wealthy multi-million dollar family where money is no issue. His father wanted him to go to college first and then resume his baseball career.
If that's true then fine but it has been said here multiple times that he is only going for a semester or two. That makes no sense at all unless it is for the reason I already stated. One or two semesters of college is no different at all then one or two semesters of high school. Usually easier.
It's being said here, but is it true? I can say the sky is purple and that clouds are actually made of cotton candy, that doesn't make it true. If he is only going for a couple semesters, then obviously, it doesn't make much sense. However, if it is true that his family is already affluent, then the need for the cash isn't there, and it makes a lot of sense to me for the father to make school a priority. I'm not rich, and I'll demand that my kids do college before a sports career, no matter what their talent level. It's hard to go back, I know that from experience.
If you want to check the validity, USA Today had an article last week (the last day eligible for signings) as to why some first round draft picks might be difficult to sign.
If it's true his family has a lot of money, then it's certainly not as bad a decision. Now let's see him stay for four years and pass up an even bigger bonus. And, like I said before, UCLA better clean up his mechanics. If he goes an entire college career with the same delivery, by the time he's ready for the draft he'll be fighting for a team just to take a chance on him.
Sure, he left a lot of money on the table but had he signed with the Yankees and flamed out he would have lost the opportunity for a free ride to any college and just the opportunity in general to be a normal college kid. If he can't maintain his top prospect status over the next 4 years facing college competition, then he never would have made it above A ball anyways.
It has nothing to do with his ability, and everything to do with his reckless mechanics that could easily lead to an arm injury. If UCLA fixes them, then he should be fine.
exactly. the crux of the whining about him going to school is that he spurned the Yankees, so everyone complaining really is just being a bitch but trying to disguise it as either concern for him that he may not have that opportunity again or that he may lose millions of dollars. what do any of you care how much he makes in his lifetime? you don't, but you have to attempt to disguise your hurt as concenr to not ocme across like a woman scorned.
That's pretty funny. :rofl: Of course I'm upset he didn't sign, but I'm not trying to disguise those feelings by making fair observations. At first I thought it was a bad move that he turned down $5 million guaranteed, but once I found out his family was quite wealthy I said I felt the decision made sense. Still, the point about his mechanics stand. And, as I said, if his UCLA coaches fix them he'll probably end up with even more money and it will look like a great move. So I don't see how there's any "disguising" going on. I doubt you're just trying to start stuff, so I think you're just reading too far in to it.
Those who are saying it have no idea how the MLB draft works. Here are the rules High school players are eligible only after graduation, and if they have not attended college. Players at four-year colleges are eligible after completing their junior years, or after their twenty-first birthdays. The exception to this is Division III schools, where players can be drafted before their junior year. Junior and community college players are eligible to be drafted at any time. He is attending UCLA so the only thing that matters is what's highlighted. I can't say I agree with his decision but Alio what you may not be aware of is that alot of these draft picks get their 4 years of college paid for by the teams they sign with. Having worked in the minors I've seen alot of this, even low picks work this into their contracts. If a team wants to sign a kid bad enough they'll do this. In alot of cases the teams will draft guys out of college with their late picks just to fill rosters on thier Low A clubs and they don't have to pay for schooling. BTW have you ever been to UCLA?
It should also be noted (if it hasn't been already) that first-round picks that decide to not to sign and instead attend college receive an insurance policy, in case of injury.
