It's brief and was from September, but still interesting. I'm sure many here knew/remembered this, but I wasn't aware that Bednar was drafted in the 35th round, which means under the current system he wouldn't have been drafted and even far down the list of players to sign as free agents after the draft. Would he have still found his way to the majors? Are there people who could have been All Star closers out there who just never got their chance?
I can give some insight on the international stuff. Trainers in Latin American countries do get a percentage of the player's signing bonus. It's not a set percentage, but the players agree to it ahead of time. The players don't have money to pay for the training/food before signing, so they basically pay for it when they get their bonus. Trainers are investing in them, hoping to get a player who pays off big. I've been told 30%-40% is a standard range. Mexico used to charge a standard 75% before changes were made a few years back in that area. The players there were signed by teams before signing MLB deals. It wasn't required, but it was heavily recommended, as you would be blackballed from playing in Mexico without agreeing to a deal first. Now players there get the full bonus, while teams get paid for the player.
Players agree to deals by age 14 plenty of times. I wrote an article in 2022 about the Pirates agreeing to a deal with Iverson Allen, who was 14 at the time. He signed back on January 15th. There is nothing signed, it's a verbal agreement. Players break those deals, which of course is legal, because nothing is official until the signing date. Pirates agreed to a deal with Maikol Escotto two years before he signed with the Yankees. Pirates made an offer that pulled Tony Blanco Jr away from the Rays about two months before the signing period. Every player who signed on January 15th this year had a deal agreed to ahead of time. I've received the list of signing players weeks in advance before.
There are showcase games and events going on all of the time. HOWEVER, once a player agrees to a large deal, they are rarely seen again. The trainer still works with them, but they don't get seen by scouts anymore. Teams can also bring players into their Dominican academy for short periods of time before they officially sign.
Thanks John for the pure and unvarnished truth. The DR is an extremely poor country and getting the opportunity to play and train at one of the "academies" could be a life saver for the players and their families. Same with any of the other countries in the Caribbean. Sometimes that means leaving home at a very young age, and sometimes that completely overlooks the educational and emotional part of growing up! Do the training academies have an educational part of daily activities?
I guess I should have known this before, but I only recently learned that Liover Peguero taught himself how to speak English by listening to hip hop songs as he was growing up. I have never heard him speak, but he is reportedly fluent in our language? If so, that is amazing and speaks volumes about his character and the type of achiever he is.
I don't know that much about the individual trainers, but I'm sure they are all different and I'd say that most have no schooling at all. Not all house the kids, as their are a ton of trainers on an island the size of North Carolina (I actually looked that up just now for comparison, and NC is the closest), so many kids are close to home.
A lot of teams have rudimentary English lessons at their academies. The Pirates are actually one of the leading teams for schooling and English lessons in all of MLB. Peguero would have known a lot more English with the Pirates than he did by signing with the DBacks. It's mandatory for the players to go through schooling after signing, as well as taking twice weekly English classes. It's really up to the players though, if they have the desire to learn the language. I talked to Tito Polo and Pablo Reyes a lot as they came up through the Pirates system. Polo learned English much quicker. Reyes learned slowly and got better over time. Luis Escobar was another who did well with English. Some players learned baseball basics in English and that's about it, so when I wrote them, they got my broken Spanish instead.
I'll say this, and it's not coming from me personally, it's coming from players from other countries. The Dominican players have very little education compared to other countries, so they tended to be behind in everything. There are exceptions, such as Edgar Santana going to college before signing, or Tito Polo, but I did notice that some had very poor spelling of Spanish words when we talked. So that goes back to the training places, where they are there to get better at baseball and that's it.
I think it can help, but they have lost players who they had agreements with in the past. Money definitely plays a big factor I'd say. The chances of being signed and actually making the majors are extremely slim. Teams sign at least 30 players each year and they are lucky to get two to the majors, so many players will make more with their bonus than their career baseball salaries. Even if it was an advantage for the Pirates, the international hard bonus cap keeps it from being too much of an advantage for anyone.
Davis, Suwinski, Oviedo, Keller, Jared Jones all positive movers on ZiPS Movers and Shakers: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/zips-2024-2027-movers-and-shakers
The Pirates are supposedly interested in Tony Kemp. His .607 OPS in 2023 is an obvious attraction.
RIP Al McBean
he was the setup man for Elroy? but why was McBean getting so many saves in 63, 64 and 65 ?
Alvin O’Neal McBean, as the Gunner always called him. He also had one pretty good year as a starter IIRC.
Roles weren’t nearly as rigid in those days. And McBean was really good. RIP Al.
Remember him from my earliest days of Pirates Fandom. Have at least one of his cards from the mid 60s . RIP,Al
#BeanMac
Nice interview with Bednar at Fangraphs (Sunday Notes by David Laurila):
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/sunday-notes-pittsburgh-proud-david-bednar-steps-on-the-gas-and-attacks/
It's brief and was from September, but still interesting. I'm sure many here knew/remembered this, but I wasn't aware that Bednar was drafted in the 35th round, which means under the current system he wouldn't have been drafted and even far down the list of players to sign as free agents after the draft. Would he have still found his way to the majors? Are there people who could have been All Star closers out there who just never got their chance?
Who's in the photo? Doesn't look like Solo. And it looks like an arm, elbow, shoulder injury awaiting.
It's Solo. He wore 35 in Greensboro
I can give some insight on the international stuff. Trainers in Latin American countries do get a percentage of the player's signing bonus. It's not a set percentage, but the players agree to it ahead of time. The players don't have money to pay for the training/food before signing, so they basically pay for it when they get their bonus. Trainers are investing in them, hoping to get a player who pays off big. I've been told 30%-40% is a standard range. Mexico used to charge a standard 75% before changes were made a few years back in that area. The players there were signed by teams before signing MLB deals. It wasn't required, but it was heavily recommended, as you would be blackballed from playing in Mexico without agreeing to a deal first. Now players there get the full bonus, while teams get paid for the player.
Players agree to deals by age 14 plenty of times. I wrote an article in 2022 about the Pirates agreeing to a deal with Iverson Allen, who was 14 at the time. He signed back on January 15th. There is nothing signed, it's a verbal agreement. Players break those deals, which of course is legal, because nothing is official until the signing date. Pirates agreed to a deal with Maikol Escotto two years before he signed with the Yankees. Pirates made an offer that pulled Tony Blanco Jr away from the Rays about two months before the signing period. Every player who signed on January 15th this year had a deal agreed to ahead of time. I've received the list of signing players weeks in advance before.
There are showcase games and events going on all of the time. HOWEVER, once a player agrees to a large deal, they are rarely seen again. The trainer still works with them, but they don't get seen by scouts anymore. Teams can also bring players into their Dominican academy for short periods of time before they officially sign.
Thanks John for the pure and unvarnished truth. The DR is an extremely poor country and getting the opportunity to play and train at one of the "academies" could be a life saver for the players and their families. Same with any of the other countries in the Caribbean. Sometimes that means leaving home at a very young age, and sometimes that completely overlooks the educational and emotional part of growing up! Do the training academies have an educational part of daily activities?
I guess I should have known this before, but I only recently learned that Liover Peguero taught himself how to speak English by listening to hip hop songs as he was growing up. I have never heard him speak, but he is reportedly fluent in our language? If so, that is amazing and speaks volumes about his character and the type of achiever he is.
I don't know that much about the individual trainers, but I'm sure they are all different and I'd say that most have no schooling at all. Not all house the kids, as their are a ton of trainers on an island the size of North Carolina (I actually looked that up just now for comparison, and NC is the closest), so many kids are close to home.
A lot of teams have rudimentary English lessons at their academies. The Pirates are actually one of the leading teams for schooling and English lessons in all of MLB. Peguero would have known a lot more English with the Pirates than he did by signing with the DBacks. It's mandatory for the players to go through schooling after signing, as well as taking twice weekly English classes. It's really up to the players though, if they have the desire to learn the language. I talked to Tito Polo and Pablo Reyes a lot as they came up through the Pirates system. Polo learned English much quicker. Reyes learned slowly and got better over time. Luis Escobar was another who did well with English. Some players learned baseball basics in English and that's about it, so when I wrote them, they got my broken Spanish instead.
I'll say this, and it's not coming from me personally, it's coming from players from other countries. The Dominican players have very little education compared to other countries, so they tended to be behind in everything. There are exceptions, such as Edgar Santana going to college before signing, or Tito Polo, but I did notice that some had very poor spelling of Spanish words when we talked. So that goes back to the training places, where they are there to get better at baseball and that's it.
Does having a nicer academy and better schooling factor much into a player signing?
Or does it just come down to the money in the end?
I think it can help, but they have lost players who they had agreements with in the past. Money definitely plays a big factor I'd say. The chances of being signed and actually making the majors are extremely slim. Teams sign at least 30 players each year and they are lucky to get two to the majors, so many players will make more with their bonus than their career baseball salaries. Even if it was an advantage for the Pirates, the international hard bonus cap keeps it from being too much of an advantage for anyone.