THE TRUTH ABOUT SCHOLARSHIPS They Don’t Matter as Much as You Think
student, you are almost certainly looking at a substantial financial investment even if you are on a partial scholarship.
It bothers me greatly when I hear a parent tell me their primary interest
THIS MONTH IN BASEBALL HISTORY Crazy Deals From the Winter Meetings Not long after the Major League season ends, the hot stove league begins. Free agency kicks off in October, but the wheeling and dealing reaches its apex during the Winter Meetings held every December. Since its official inception in 1901, the annual event has been host to some of the craziest roster changes in history. Here are a few of our favorites. • In 1975, White Sox owner John Allyn arrived at the Winter Meetings with a sign declaring that his team was “Open for Business.” He was not kidding. That year, the White Sox made trades involving 22 players, completely overhauling their roster. • Miguel Cabrera will be forever linked with the Detroit Tigers, but that wouldn’t have happened without Dave Dombrowski’s massive move at the 2007 Winter Meetings. He shipped six players to the Marlins for Miggy and Dontrelle Willis. The rest is the stuff of Triple Crown history. • At the 2016 Meetings, Chris Sale was the most desired property in baseball. Just when it appeared the Nationals would land the ace, the Red Sox swooped in. We don’t have to tell you what happened next. With a great free agent class hitting the market this year, expect the 2018 Winter Meetings to be thrilling. We know we’ll be reading the rumors and updates to see who ends up where. All too often, families make decisions based primarily upon the amount of scholarship money or the perceived prestige of the baseball program. It would be far better to choose a place for the athlete to play where he is comfortable with his teammates and coaches and advances in the academic area in which he is sincerely interested. In other words, a place where he can best develop as a rounded human being. Stanford and Rice Universities are phenomenal institutions, but they aren’t perfect fits for everyone. Cliff Lee pitched for Meridian Community College in Mississippi, and Justin Verlander did for Old Dominion University. Albert Pujols played at Maple Woods Community College. My point is this: If you are good, no matter where you are studying, someone will almost certainly find you. My advice is to attend a school where you can best grow and develop not only as a baseball player, but also as a student and as a young man. The amount of scholarship money you get will not matter much in 10 years, so it shouldn’t be the be-all end-all determining factor. If you want to attain a scholarship, it’s all about the numbers. Focus on improving your numbers, and then the scholarship offers will come your way.
in their son pitching is to obtain a collegiate scholarship for him.
In my opinion, you play baseball
because you love it. If a university, college, or junior college offers to take care of some of your expenses to play for their team,
it’s a bonus. A young man should choose a university, college, or
junior college because he is interested in studying a specific academic subject and earning a degree.
Unlike football or basketball, full rides in college baseball are few and far between. Therefore, attending almost any Major D1 institution, especially as an out-of-state
UPCOMING RANCH EVENTS ELITE PITCHERS BOOT CAMPS SPECIAL WINTER SESSION Dec. 17–21 (Monday–Friday)
Dec. 28–30 (Friday–Sunday) Jan. 19–21 (Saturday–Monday) OUTSIDE CAMP Jan. 25–27 with Fastball USA – Chicago Feb. 8–10 with MN Blizzard – Vadnais Heights, MN COACHES CLINIC Dec. 6–9 (Thursday–Sunday) *DVDs of the event are available
ALUMNI BOOT CAMP Jan. 12 & 13 (Saturday & Sunday)
For more information, go to TexasBaseballRanch.com/events.
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www.OatesSpecialties. com/Durathro
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