From the majors to the Frontier League
In case you didn't see this on the other league sites, the Windy City ThunderBolts signed former major elague pitcher Billy Petrick to a contract for the 2009 season.
Petrick was a third-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs and pitched in eight games (0-0, 7.45 ERA) out of the bullpen for the Cubs in 2008. He was bothered by shoulder injuries and spent almost all of last year on the minor-league disabled list, pitching in only eight games in Class A.
Petrick will be the fifth former major leaguer to play in a Frontier League game. Corey Thurman pitched in 49 games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002 and 2003 before going 2-3 in six starts for Florence in 2005. One of Thurman's wins was an eight-shutout-innings performance against Washington. He made it back to Triple-A but pitched last year in the independent Atlantic League.
Scott Sobkowiak was a former top-10 prospect of the Atlanta Braves and pitched the final inning of the final game of the 2001 season for the Braves. He pitched for Rockford in 2003 and 2004. Ben Diggins was a top pitching prospect for Milwaukee and made five starts for the Brewers in 2003. He tried to make it as a hitter with Windy City and lasted 17 games.
There also was former Wild Things hitting coach Joe Charboneau, who took one at-bat for Canton in 2000.
I recall that Kalamazoo, at its tryout camp a couple of years ago, found a guy who had briefly played in the majors with Florida but was never able to get him to sign and onto the field in the regular season.
Labels: Ben Diggins, Billy Petrick, Corey Thurman, Joe Charboneau, Scott Sobkowiak
posted by Chris Dugan at
10:30 AM
21 Comments:
Geez,
You can't fall any more than that!
Talk about going from the penthouse to the outhouse.
Well, it sure is a lot easier to get into the FL than to get out of it.
If you can't play in the Frontier League, well you just can't play the game at all.
^^^^^^^^
If you can rip on ballplayers pursuing a dream.You must be a bitter old,fat,lazy S.O.B.who never accomplished anything in their lives.Keep sitting at your computer gents,I am quite sure you can find something else to be JEALOUS about. Get A LIFE!!!
L.C.
No kidding, all anyone does on here is rip on the players and the league itself. 95% of the people who post that kind of crap on here are those who have not played baseball past high school let alone college or even the "bottom of the barrel" Frontier League.
Even worse, they are the people that come to the games every night. Obviously there is something about watching these ballplayers that sparks your interest. If they are so terrible at playing the game, I guess it must be those tight pants you old men love so much ! Gasp!
Yes, I agree with all the above. Not only that the players stink too!
I think Anonymous above above stinks.
Let face it. You get what you pay for. Again, what are the Frontier league player salaries? If the Frontier League paid 3 or 4 times the salary, you would get the players that sign with higher level independent leagues.
If it would pay its players "3 or 4 times" what the current salaries are, the Frontier League would be the highest-paying independent league and comparable to Class AAA.
I've blogged about this before, but with spring training just around the corner, it's a good time to go over it again.
The FL has a maximum salary of $1,600 per month. The bottom salary is $600. I was told last year that the meal money in the FL is $21 per day.
According to what I was told and what information I could find, a first-year player in the low minor leagues of affiliated ball is making $1,100 per month and $20 per day in meal money.
The standard contract for a first-time Double-A and Triple-A non-40-man-roster player, according to a two-year-old story I found, is "roughly" $1,500 per month. I'm guessing that's up to about $2,000a month this year, but the Frontier League's $1,600 per month (usually going to players classified as Veterans) cap is very comparable, especially when you consider guys in affiliated ball must pay for their own housing.
The same story mentioned that a first-year Triple-A player would make $2,150 per month. That was an eye-opener.
Once a player becomes a six-year minor-league free agent, he can negotiate his own contract. Most of those guys make at least $4,000 per month, but they're playing Double-A or Triple-A.
I know in the Atlantic League, the top-level independent league that has many former major leaguers and Triple-A players, the max contract is $3,000 per month, though the vast majority of players in that league, including former major leaguers, make nowhere near the $3,000 per month.
There have been cases in independent leagues - the Northern League in particular - in which former major leaguers get paid close to $10,000 per month, but those have generally been former major league all-stars hanging on to the end of their careers. The Northern League tends to pay more than the Atlantic but has had its share of financial troubles and teams defecting.
In other words, if you're playing minor-league baseball, then you're not making money unless you're a high draft pick with a significant signing bonus.
When I was covering the Pirates, they called up a guy who was something like a 54th-round draft pick (the draft was longer in those days). I asked the player what kind of a signing bonus a 54th-round draft pick gets. He said his bonus was the scout who signed him took him to Subway and bought him a sandwich.
haha, good story chris, a subway sandwich, wow
chris, any news on the rest of the coaching staff? is mark keeping bozzuto and others, or is he bringing in his own guys?
The last I heard, Bozzutto is expected to be back. John Cahill is likely to replace Chris Carter as the hitting coach. The pitching coach? I haven't heard of any names being mentioned.
Just one note; not all affiliate players have to pay for their own housing. In some cases, teams are housed at an apartment complex that is paid for by either the team or their respective major league affiliate.
I wouldn't want to live in an apartment complex and have a team of baseball players living next to, above or below me.
I wonder why people bash these players yet come on here and check the site??? Jealousy or just anger for not making their high school team 20 years ago???
Dang right, I ain't never gotten over that,
Windy City announced the signing of:
3B Jeff King.
That can't be the former Pirate 3b Jeff King, right? He's got to be too old.
No actually hes not too old, the FL has decided to please the people of this blog and open up signings of players of any age so that those who post junk on here about the league can come to the park and put up or shut up. Though I'm sure we all know that the latter will never happen.
kidd chris is trying out and will be the nimber one pick in the frontier league draft
I hope Chris plays better than you spell.
um thats how you spell it google it
nimber?
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