Good
morning.
The
premier summer league baseball league, the Cape Cod League, announced this past
week that they were cancelling the entire 2020 season due to the Covid-19
epidemic.
Those
of us that consider ourselves draft junkies always turned to this league for
the last word on the top prospects. It’s a league that pits the best against
the best.
Here
is the sad part of this… the season was supposed to start June 13th.
You
want baseball back in the majors by June and they are still cancelling leagues.
America
started waking up on Monday.
People
returned to the beaches, restaurants started to open, you could get your nails
done, have a new tat inked on your body, and return to state parks.
Even
the National Basketball Association was thinking of opening training camps in
states that have loosening up their rules, though the Player’s Union is saying
that there is major push back by the players that would be affected by this
decision.
Is
this time to let all the baseball teams return to either Florida or Arizona and
have a 30-day spring training lead up to a limited 2020 season?
My
vote would still be to wait and not return at all this year. One player or one
fan that dies because of early action here would be, in my opinion, one too
many.
Mack
Rule: If you can’t send my kids to
school, you can’t play baseball.
You
youngins’ probably never heard of Steve Dalkowski . He was the fastest pitcher ever,
hitting over 130 mph.
Ted Williams said this about him:
After a few minutes Williams picked up a bat and stepped into
the cage. Reporters and players moved quickly closer to see this classic
confrontation. Williams took three level, disciplined practice swings, cocked
his bat, and motioned with his head for Dalkowski to deliver the ball.
Dalkowski went into his spare pump, his right leg rising a few inches off the
ground, his left arm pulling back and then flicking out from the side of his
body like an attacking cobra. The ball did not rip through the air like most
fastballs, but seemed to appear suddenly and silently in the catcher’s glove.
The catcher held the ball for a few seconds a few inches
under Williams’ chin. Williams looked back at it, then at Dalkowski, squinting
at him from the mound, and then he dropped his bat and stepped out of the cage.
The writers immediately asked Williams how fast Steve Dalkowski really was.
Williams, whose eyes were said to be so sharp that he could count the stitches
on a baseball as it rotated toward the plate, told them he had not seen the
pitch, that Steve Dalkowski was the fastest pitcher he ever faced and that he
would be damned if he would ever face him again if he could help it.
Dalkowski dies this week from
complications of the covid-19 virus. He was 80 years old.
Baseball is now saying that there WILL be a June 10th
baseball draft this year, even though the last report has the Player's Union turning down a 10 round version of this classic event.
We talked about this before. Less rounds means more undrafted free agents teams can go after the nanosecond the draft ends. My guess, if something like this goes through, is the early bird gets the worm here but how do you recruit these kids? Do you call then up and ask them if they would sign with you if they are undrafted? Do that to me and I would tell you on the phone that, if you want me, draft me.
We talked about this before. Less rounds means more undrafted free agents teams can go after the nanosecond the draft ends. My guess, if something like this goes through, is the early bird gets the worm here but how do you recruit these kids? Do you call then up and ask them if they would sign with you if they are undrafted? Do that to me and I would tell you on the phone that, if you want me, draft me.
As much as I am against the proposed elimination of two Mets
affiliates, this would be a good time to coordinate these two events into one.
Two less teams mean the need of far less filler players needed.
Lastly, the NCAA is now about to change the rules on college
players being able to paid for their endorsements prior to graduation or
jumping to the pros after their junior season.
What would this look like in cold hard cash?
Zach Soskin of Voltage Management said this could
easily translate into over one million dollars, per year, per player.
Soskin used Clemson QB Trevor
Lawrence as an example. TL has nearly 500,000 Instagram followers and
81,000 on Twitter. This could translate to $16,000 per an Instagram post and
$1,100 for one on Twitter.
These dollars would easily translate to the top 10 baseball
players coming out of college.
Is this good for sports? Well, it is good for the player.
Is it a coincidence that it will come at the same time there
is less draft picks and limited signing bonuses?
You can do that math.
5 comments:
Great story on Dalkowski.
Of course, Ted Williams never faced Nolan Ryan.
If pro baseball does start, maybe a few extra non player deaths result. The next few months will be pivotal. How many more will die as the economy tries to open up enough to avoid a Great Depression on Steroids?
In NY, daily deaths peaked at 800. Last several days, daily totals down, but ranged from 289 to 337, stubbornly refusing to plunge. 900 new hospitalizations yesterday, 25% of whom end up dying.
In Oklahoma, meanwhile, with 4 million citizens, only 238 deaths so far, most ( I am guessing) being old and comorbid people. The other Okie residents are out of work and understandably very frustrated. To them, it may seem like a gross overreaction.
I have worked full time the past several weeks. Total commuting distance and time? Zero.
When I go to NYC to work, one day’s commute takes almost 4 hours R/T
Tom - you will see more telecommuters in the future. IfvI owned a big office building, I would be nervous.
On my client calls regarding the work-from-home scenario, they admitted they are in now hurry to get back to the buildings since work is being done productively off-site. I can see some scaling back in the future.
A-
Watching fanles baseball is like watching an opera with the sound muted. No baseball until fans can attend, i.e. spring 2021 (hopefully)
B-
Always thought the Dalkowski story was legend. Maybe not. Sidd Finch was faster though.
C-
I'm fine with college athletes getting endorsement revenue. It's taxable of course, as should--since they are self declared professional athletes--their scholarship value.
Post a Comment