Anyone here ever play a sport professionally?

Submitted by dlcase1708 on

I'm sure many here remember Shaq Thompson, one of the most highly-rated safety prospects in the country.  Something I did not know, however, was that he was also drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 18th round after one year of varsity baseball.  Unfortunately, he has started off his career going 0-for-32, with an amazing 31 strikeouts.  I have no idea how this is possible.  I'm not exactly athletically inclined, but I feel like I might be able to put bat to ball at least twice in 32 at bats.  

Going off that, does anyone here have any experience in playing a sport professionally? I'm curious how things work on the minor league level, for almost any sport, in terms of how the team treats you and what kind of benefits you get.  I always enjoy the stories ESPN puts out, like "Prospect X" or "Player X," where an anonymous athlete shows fans how they are really treated. Link (Insider required).  So if you are/were a professional athlete that has any stories they'd like to share, please do.

M-Wolverine

July 18th, 2012 at 11:59 AM ^

Does playing in the NCAA pool against some of the players count?  Of course, I didn't win that year, so I guess I didn't get paid.

seksdesk

July 18th, 2012 at 12:14 PM ^

who captained UM's baseball team, pitched several years in the bigs and garnered a world series ring....

If an average Joe of decent athletic capability went out to bat against a major league pitcher and was thrown 100 pitches could they get a hit? Fatigue for both was not a factor - average joe could swing at 100 without getting tired and the pro could throw 100 and not be fatigued. The pro also get to use his entire repertoir; fast balls inside, breaking balls, etc.

My buddy's reply was "No, he wouldn't get a hit." He said that it takes probably darn near 100 pitches to even comprehend the speed with which the ball is coming at you as a novice. Throw in brush-back pitches and the hitter would be helpless.

So Shaq, don't feel too badly. 

jaggs

July 18th, 2012 at 1:20 PM ^

With Shaq's ability to cash a paycheck despite less than stellar numbers, my question:

Why don't college football teams have 'baseball' teams, which are unaffiliated to the University, allowing players to get paid legally? What is stopping Stephen Ross from buying a minor league baseball team and paying Denard $100,000 to play a couple months in the summer? Maybe Treadwell can play 2B? 

Seriously, how has this not been massively exploited?

EDIT: doesn't even have to be baseball, why not a semi-pro ultimate frisbee league or a board game league. Really it could be anything...

BlueNation

July 18th, 2012 at 5:56 PM ^

basically, they can, but they can't get paid an amount that is significantly higher than what average is? If I understood that correctly, that's about the biggest load of garbage rule ever. If you play a pro sport, you shouldn't be allowed more eligibility in college sports. IMO

douggoblue

July 18th, 2012 at 3:50 PM ^

As far as I understand the rules, players have to be compensated at or around the normal rate for the job they are doing. So if Denard could make $100,000 from another baseball team, having him play for Ross' team would be okay.

It's similair to a player getting an ordinary summer job, it's totally cool if they get a normal hourly wage consistent with what you or me would make and get paid only for the hours they work and receive no extra benefits. Some of the big scandals seem to be guys working at car dealerships and getting paid way too much to be a porter or car cleaner or something and getting paid twice as many hours as they actually work.

Johnny Blood

July 18th, 2012 at 1:11 PM ^

Back in the 80's I played tennis against Ivan Lendl as part of a promotional challenge thing - I was the top ranked player for my age group in my state. 

I think it's probably in the same realm where you would think that getting at least the bat on a ball from a MLB pitcher or getting at least the racquet on the ball from a Lendl serve would be possible.

First serve I faced from him blew past me before I even knew what happened.  I figured I would be more ready for the second serve, so I tried to anticipate his direction and stuck my racquet out there as he started to connect with the ball -- needless to say, he picked up on this and went at the other side of me.  Very embarrassing.

After that he slowed everything down and we just kind of rallied for a while.

It was a whole different level from anything I had ever seen before.

TeamHokeuli

July 18th, 2012 at 1:16 PM ^

I played three seasons in A-ball with the Phillies. I was a LHP (6th round) and was supposed to be a decent prospect. I also almost committed to UM, but stayed in California for school. You lose preferential treatment very quickly unless you're a 1st or 2nd round pick. It is very much what have you done for us lately, and if they don't have money invested in you, they may not remember your name. Development is more important than winning, which sucks, but is reality. It's a grind, and horrible if you are in that kind of slump...I know, i got the Yips, saw a sports psychologist, and never recovered. Most people can't imagine how difficult that is to go through, but it happens all the time. That guy will be fine, as he is a tremendous athlete, and will probably make it in football, where less thinking is required.

There is nothing glamorous about minor league ball, and if you saw 150 guys in uniform in spring training, 130 would have very similar talent. Luck, health, and opportunity is what sets guys apart. You get drafted higher and sign for more $, you will get plenty of opps. I wanted to write a book about the minor leagues, but a guy just did it, and it became a NY Times bestseller.

bmacjr11

July 18th, 2012 at 1:29 PM ^

I too played minor league ball and TeamHoke described the process well.  After 9 years of 14-16 hour bus rides and watching the "GM's boys"(who put up similar numbers as yourself) pass you by, you quickly see that it isn't as glamorous as some would think.  There were plenty of perks in smaller cities on the way up through the minor leagues in local dive bars and such but nothing more than what I am sure the most of you have when you have a friend who works at the neighborhood bar and you can skip the line.  The sad thing about pro ball is it took the game I loved to play and turned it into an occupation, now I can't even watch an inning of it on TV.  This is why I am slightly (cough* insanely) obsessed with college athletics.   Which is a perfect segue into...... CAN COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLEASE BEGIN!!!

mblood7

July 18th, 2012 at 1:43 PM ^

I played against John Tavares when he played for the Oshawa Generals fro 2005-2007, and with Steven Stamkos when I played for the Sarnia Sting for a couples years. Technically it is junior league but it was damn cool. On a side note I barely played and both of these individuals were signifigantly better than me.

Jfox1020

July 18th, 2012 at 2:32 PM ^

Semi professional HR derby champ 5 yrs running.. I weigh a buck 85 and can knock the snot out of the ball ( Avg distance 275FT).. Dont wanna brag, but I am THE FUCKING MAN

Mannix

July 18th, 2012 at 3:39 PM ^

Drafted by the Tigers in '87, played two years in A ball, short season and then long season A.

I really enjoyed the travel, crossword puzzles and the crazy people on my teams. I wasn't very funny or full of character, so the guys who were that kind of guy, I found a pleasant distraction to slumps and managers.

Cup O' Coffee (before I enjoyed coffee) and now get into MiLB games for free. That and a quarter gets me, you know the rest.