Jeff Samardzija to Cubs, not NFL

[Red_Devil_DDS]

I didn't know the guy even played baseball.

 

[Blue Bird]

He played for a Cubs class A team in Idaho or Washington last summer. Before his bowl game this year, I saw an interview where he made noises about playing both sports. Has he now made a statement about playing only baseball?

 

[Red_Devil_DDS]

Yeah, he's signed or is going sign a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract with the Cubs. Apparently, he has a 97mph fastball...

 

[Old Bearkat]

The latest great hope for the hopeless Cubs. One of my favorite amusements since moving up here has been watching the eternal optimism of the Cubs fans every spring degenerating into a desperate cynisim by mid summer.

 

[BigBadJohn]

Why go to the Cubs when he could have been a first day draft pick. He must like misery. Going from ND to the Cubs will be a major shock!!!

 

[Red_Devil_DDS]

Maybe, but he'll likely make more money playing baseball.

 

[Old Bearkat]

I know he'll make a lot more money in baseball, besides enjoying a longer career, and less residual physical pain after he retires.

 

[Blue Bird]

Maybe, but pitching can really mess an arm up. Read a book about Sandy Koufax a couple of years ago. His elbow would swell to twice its normal size every time after he pitched his last season. Of course there wasn't anyone doing the tendon replacement surgary like they are doing now.

 

[The Lone Ranger]

but he'll likely make more money playing baseball.

that depends if he can make the show and be a solid contributer then he could make more money playing baseball. But, he was due to be a 1st round pick in the NFL, so starting out he would make more money in the NFL. Should be interesting to watch over the years. This reminds me too much of a Josh Booty and/or Drew Henson situation.

 

[Old Bearkat]

Maybe, but pitching can really mess an arm up. Read a book about Sandy Koufax a couple of years ago. His elbow would swell to twice its normal size every time after he pitched his last season. Of course there wasn't anyone doing the tendon replacement surgary like they are doing now.

He would routinely throw 100+ pitches a game, and work on 2-4 days rest. Once Koufax got good in 1961, he was severly abused by Walter Alston.

 

[Red_Devil_DDS]

Yeah, and you forget that Koufax was a hack...

 

[Old Bearkat]

Jane Leavy did an excellent biography of him that #2 son gave me for Christmas. It seems that he was wild and could have used seasoning in the minors, but he was one of the "bonus babies" signed in the 50's and the Dodgers had to keep him on the roster for 2 years. Alston did not trust him and rarely gave him the chance to pitch. Then he started showing enough flahses of brilliance to keep him on the roster until his breakout year.