With the clock literally ticking toward the midnight deadline, Mookie Betts chose the Boston Red Sox over the Tennessee Vols.
Betts, the infielder out of Nashville's Overton High School, signed with the Red Sox shortly before midnight Monday,
The tipping point came when the offer reached $750,000 in signing bonus.
Instead of enrolling at UT today, Betts is flying to Boston for a physical exam. He then reports to the Red Sox development complex in Fort Myers, Fla.
UT coach Dave Serrano said Betts' decision came at 11:55 p.m. and was "devastating'' to the new Tennessee staff's rebuilding plans.
"We poured a lot of time in building a relationship very quickly,'' Serrano said Tuesday in an interview on WNML radio. "I spoke to Mookie every day at least once a day for the last two weeks and just continued to try to educate him.''
Betts was a Louisville Slugger High School All-American, batting .509 for Overton. He was a projected starter for the Vols under Serrano, who was hired in June. Betts signed last fall with then-coach Todd Raleigh.
He was the second UT signee to choose to turn pro in three days. Pitcher Sal Romano of Southington, Conn., signed with the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, landing a $450,000 signing bonus.
"That one hurt as much as any of them,'' Serrano said.
Of four signees drafted, only pitcher Brandon Zajac will play for the Vols. He was taken in the 28th round by Pittsburgh but did not sign.
Catcher Logan Moore signed earlier with Philadelphia after being taken in the ninth round.
According to a UT spokesman, three juniors who were drafted all signed contracts: pitcher Steven Gruber with Minnesota; outfielder Charley Thurber with the New York Mets and pitcher Matt Ramsey with Tampa Bay.
"I wish Mookie and Sal the best of luck,'' Serrano said. "But we'll just have to go find someone that wants to commit three or four years and help this program get back on track where we're supposed to be.''
Betts, who exchanged text messages with Serrano throughout the evening, said it was a stressful night.
"I was ready for it to be over with because I knew it was so close,'' he told The Tennessean newspaper. "I still don't even know what the significance of $750,000 is.''
Serrano lamented that with the current deadlines, college teams are at a huge disadvantage.
"I can't go out and find someone else now,'' he said. "We have to eat that scholarship all year.
"You look around the country and I could feel sorry for myself but there are many programs that got devastated last night.''
The bad news, however, will turn into some good news for several Vols. Serrano can distribute Betts' scholarship money among other members of the team.
"I'll make some young men in our program very happy,'' he said.
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Comments » 5
kingwoodtx_vol writes:
Just reinforces my position that the NCAA needs to have one set of rules for all student athletes when it comes to dealing with the pros. In my opinion, once you sign with an agent, money exchanged or not, you are done as a college athlete. Once you have been drafted, you are done as a student athlete. Even in baseball, you need to make your wishes known and stick by it.
TennVol01 writes:
Let me think ... bank 3/4 million dollars to go pro with an elite pro team or ... play for the unranked UT Vols with the possibility of getting injured and never playing pro ....
kingwoodtx_vol writes:
I don't have a problem with that as long as he makes good decisions with the $750,000. If he is smart, he has just set himself up for life. Put it in the bank and let it grow. Further, he has no better chance of playing pro by coming up through the minors than he does by playing in college. From what I understand, he may even have a better chance at the pros by playing in college first. Plus, he probably could have made more money by waiting. But, the bird in the hand . . . .
If he goes and spends it all, there is no assurance that he will ever get to the pros and make the big money. He is going to spend 3 to 5 years in the minor league grind of bus trip after bus trip, four to a room, eating take out food. There are 50 or so rounds of players drafted, no more than 3 or 4 of those on an average team each year will ever see a major league roster.
On the flip side, he would spend 3 or 4 years in Knoxville, best of facilities, eating well, getting proven coaching looking to the next level. He gets an education that will carry him through his life.
Having spoken to several kids that have had to make this decision, college usually wins out over a couple of years in rookie and A ball. Most college draftees start at AA or better. More and more players are seeing the advantage of going to college over starting in minors.
Packer_Park_Orange (Inactive) writes:
Come on,
The kid got 3/4 of a million dollars from a great franchise and can pay for college anywhere he wants to go.
UT is a great place, but I'm quite sure Ted Williams didn't sit around lamenting not being able to enjoy the Vol training table.
If he's good enough to sign that kind of contract, wish him well, he's still a Tennessee boy.
kingwoodtx_vol writes:
Oh, I do wish him well. Nothing I have posted says otherwise. Further, I admit that I know nothing about Mookie. I don't know anything about his family. I also know that college is not for everyone; maybe he is better off in the minors with the money in the bank.
My complaint is the system that treats players from different sports differently. In basketball, if you declare for the NBA draft once, you have until a month or so before the draft to return to school. This give the kid to explore his value. Hopson, for example, made a bad choice. Harris apparently made a good choice. In football, once you declare, you are done with college. But in baseball, you can keep everyone hanging until the last minute. The school (and MLB) can make firm plans with time to make adjustments.
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