Pitcher skips MLB draft for Japan deal

[Bill]

He will be an immediate star as an American in the league, experiencing a great culture and making more cash. Understandable. At least for me, having also made the decision to work in Japan but for far less cash though.

[wally post]

Agreed, Bill - and I'm all for the little guy. He's trying to rise above being simply a catfish in the bottom of the MLB lake

[Joey Blotto]

I'm for anything that puts more power and security in the hands of the individual and forces the companies/clubs to step up their offers and treatment of people.

Not sure it makes sense to frame this in class warfare terms, since the flip side is that now the Japanese owners potentially have a greater supply of labor to draw from. When economic opportunity expands, it's rarely clear ex ante whether the rich/employers or the poor/workers will reap the greater share of the benefit, although it is generally the case that both sides DO benefit to at least some extent.

[M2]

Also the cultural change both on and off the field.

Maybe he's a weeaboo.

[Rojo Rijo]

I'm fairly surprised a Japanese team would do this for a HS school pitcher. I imagine his success will be a big factor in whether this happens again for HS'er. It would seem to make much more sense for a college guy (especially a senior who gets lowballed).

This kid is one year removed from HS and was pretty strong in JC ball.

Eastern Florida State College, the junior college where he pitched this spring, Stewart went 2-2 with a 1.70 ERA in 74⅓ innings and struck out 108.

[mamell]

The ramifications of this won't be felt for several years. The "alleged" injury may turn out to be accurate proving the Braves were shrewd. It may also be false and the Braves missed out on Cy Young II. Who knows?

In the end, I'm guessing his dream growing up wasn't to play in Japan and now he's turned into a business. It's officially no longer "For Love of the Game".

I can remember as a kid thinking that if I ever made it to the major leagues I would ONLY play for the Reds with no exceptions, but of course that was back when my parents paid all the bills..
I still feel that way.. If I make it to the big leagues today it'll be only as a Red as the oldest ever MLB player on the below the bottom of the barrel team...Not that I have any illusions the Reds are ready to sign a 60 year old guy with arthritis.. lol
I'm not even sure I could still throw a ball 60 feet much less 90 feet.
And BTW..why aren't any of you circulating a petition for the Reds to make me a starting pitcher? What? You don't want to see my 24 mph fastball bounce it's way over the plate or something? lol

[BCubb2003]

I can remember as a kid thinking that if I ever made it to the major leagues I would ONLY play for the Reds with no exceptions, but of course that was back when my parents paid all the bills..
I still feel that way.. If I make it to the big leagues today it'll be only as a Red as the oldest ever MLB player on the below the bottom of the barrel team...Not that I have any illusions the Reds are ready to sign a 60 year old guy with arthritis.. lol
I'm not even sure I could still throw a ball 60 feet much less 90 feet.
And BTW..why aren't any of you circulating a petition for the Reds to make me a starting pitcher? What? You don't want to see my 24 mph fastball bounce it's way over the plate or something? lol

Your big chance was in 2016 and 2017, when you could have snuck in ahead of Alfredo Simon and Bronson Arroyo, parts 2.

[OGB]

I think this will be a bit like the basketball players who went to Europe to play for a year rather than spend a year in college. That was also billed as potentially revolutionary and game-changing. But it generally had disastrous results. Most 18 year-olds aren't ready to move across the world to a completely different culture. It may work out for this guy and for a few others (and good on them if it does), but I think there's about a 0% chance of this strategy having the major ramifications referred to in the ESPN article.

You're talking about Brandon Jennings.
He made 1.65 mil to play one year in Italy. He also got a $2 million deal from UA specifically to promote their line in Europe.
The next year he was drafted 10th overall and went on to earn $40.5 mil in a 9 year NBA career that may not be over yet.
Jennings frankly wasn't as good as many recruiting experts thought he might be, but his decision to play in Italy was a very good one in hindsight.

[OGB]

The ramifications of this won't be felt for several years. The "alleged" injury may turn out to be accurate proving the Braves were shrewd. It may also be false and the Braves missed out on Cy Young II. Who knows?

In the end, I'm guessing his dream growing up wasn't to play in Japan and now he's turned into a business. It's officially no longer "For Love of the Game".

"For Love of the game," huh?
Let's do a little thought experiment.
He was expected to get around $2 mil to sign.
Let's be generous and say that in 4 years he was starting for the team that drafted him. So 10 years from now he'll be eligible for free agency.
Let's assume if he's good that he earned $20- $30 mil in that time not counting his bonus.
Playing in Japan, if he's good, he might sign for $100-150 mil in 6 years.

This has nothing at all to do with a lack of "love of the game." That notion is ridiculous and insulting.

[Boston Red]

You're talking about Brandon Jennings.
He made 1.65 mil to play one year in Italy. He also got a $2 million deal from UA specifically to promote their line in Europe.
The next year he was drafted 10th overall and went on to earn $40.5 mil in a 9 year NBA career that may not be over yet.
Jennings frankly wasn't as good as many recruiting experts thought he might be, but his decision to play in Italy was a very good one in hindsight.

There have been some other guys go that route as well that you've never heard of. Which is kind of the point. And the Jennings success story certainly did not lead to a flood of high school kids following his lead.

[RedsBrick]

"For Love of the game," huh?
Let's do a little thought experiment.
He was expected to get around $2 mil to sign.
Let's be generous and say that in 4 years he was starting for the team that drafted him. So 10 years from now he'll be eligible for free agency.
Let's assume if he's good that he earned $20- $30 mil in that time not counting his bonus.
Playing in Japan, if he's good, he might sign for $100-150 mil in 6 years.

This has nothing at all to do with a lack of "love of the game." That notion is ridiculous and insulting.

Excellent job completely missing the point. In fact you made my point for me.

Your entire post was all about the money, the business side of the game. His decision was business related, which is fine. I don't care.

The best players in the world want to play at the MLB level, not Japan. He chose Japan because he felt financially slighted. Fine with me. His choice.

Did my pun on a movie title truly insult you? (rhetorical)

[Spanky]

Excellent job completely missing the point. In fact you made my point for me.

Your entire post was all about the money, the business side of the game. His decision was business related, which is fine. I don't care.

The best players in the world want to play at the MLB level, not Japan. He chose Japan because he felt financially slighted. Fine with me. His choice.

Did my pun on a movie title truly insult you? (rhetorical)

I'd be willing to bet that his ultimate goal is to make it to the MLB level, he is just avoiding the minors and giving himself an opportunity to hit the free agent market at a much younger age than the average ball player. He can earn a pretty large payday if he proves he can get professional ballplayers out at the age of 19.

[Larry Schuler]

He may be making millions for playing baseball but I have something he'll never have which is the love of the game.

[Griffey012]

Excellent job completely missing the point. In fact you made my point for me.

Your entire post was all about the money, the business side of the game. His decision was business related, which is fine. I don't care.

The best players in the world want to play at the MLB level, not Japan. He chose Japan because he felt financially slighted. Fine with me. His choice.

Did my pun on a movie title truly insult you? (rhetorical)

Is baseball in Japan not baseball? If we are talking about "for the love of the game" he is still playing the same game. Getting paid X instead of Y has nothing to do with one's love for the game. He isn't holding out and not playing for financial reasons.

[HammerTime]

He may be making millions for playing baseball but I have something he'll never have which is the love of the game.

Set myself and my family for life or "love of the game" and risk millions. I'm not even sure what that means. He can love the game in Japan just the same as he does here.

I'll take the money.