Thursday March 25, 2010

The Parker Debate

The Parker Debate
I was at the baseball game last night standing with a friend as Kyle Parker came to the plate with the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth. Parker hammered this line drive down the left field line. The ball could have been a walk-off homer but went foul by about three or four feet.

My friend joked, “I am glad that was foul.” He is a huge Clemson fan but his point concerned Parker and his professional baseball future compared to his future with Clemson football.

I have heard those comments or seen the message boards where Clemson fans have asked, “Should we be pulling against Kyle Parker when he is at the plate?”

I don’t think those are serious inquires because almost every Clemson fan I know is a bigger football fan than baseball fan but I don’t know of anyone that would pull against him at the plate because of the pro deal.

So will Kyle be in Clemson this fall as the starting quarterback at Clemson next year or will he be playing professional baseball?

The answer is no one really knows.

After yesterday’s football practice head football coach Dabo Swinney was asked if there was any question in his mind that Parker would be back on the field for his team in the fall. Dabo responded, “Not really. I mean anything is possible but again, I’d be shocked if he’s not out there. Who knows, but I know he’s having fun. He has a great ole time. He looks like a guy who’s excited about playing a little football to me when I watch him.”

Some baseball people disagree and think he will not be able to turn down the money if he is drafted high in June’s baseball draft.

So let’s look at the possibilities. First, I think we can rule out the possibility of playing pro baseball and college football like Roscoe Crosby tried to do. It is my understanding that most major league baseball organizations would not invest their money in a part time prospect. I am not sure how often you will see Crosby’s scenario play out again in the future.

He came into this college baseball season ranked as the 71st best college prospect by Baseball America and he has only improved his status with 10 homers in his first 21 games. Parker is hitting over .400 and is having a terrific season as a run producer. And football can take its toll on the body. Football has a much more limited time frame in terms of long term playing time. The average baseball players plays professionally much longer than the average NFL player.

But some think Parker is closer to making it in the NFL than in MLB. There are no minor leagues for the NFL and making an NFL roster requires less time in climbing the organizational latter. Parker’s arm is electric and NFL scouts have seen Drew Brees win a Super Bowl with a strong, accurate arm despite being about 6’0”.

In terms of the potential for a career in the NFL or MLB I think he has strengths and weaknesses in both areas.

His positives concerning a potential NFL career are his arm, his ability to create plays and his ability to move around in the pocket a little. From a negative standpoint, obviously his height is a concern as is the fact that he has only played one season in college and still has a lot to prove to NFL scouts in terms of experience.

His positives in baseball include good power and a better approach at the plate this year. His negatives in terms of the baseball draft are his arm, defense and instincts.

The funny thing about Parker is that he is almost like to totally opposite type of players in the two sports. In football Parker has a cannon for an arm. He has a plus-plus arm. In baseball though, his arm is average or below.

In football Parker runs fairly well for his position but in baseball he has average or below speed. In football he has terrific instincts but in baseball his base running instincts are below average.

But in each sport he has something that forgives all. Sure he is a little short for NFL caliber quarterbacks but his equalizer is his arm. The NFL overlooked Brees’ height because of that cannon arm.

Sure he has limitations in baseball in terms of defense, running and arm strength. He is average of below in three of the five tools major league baseball scouts look for but all is forgiven because of the bat. Edgar Martinez had no position but is on some people’s Hall of Fame ballot because of the ability to hit the baseball.

Parker is not the perfect prospect in either sport and I can see why some football and baseball organizations would shy away from investing in him. But all it takes is one organization to think you are worth the investment.

His case is complicated a little because of unique class status. Parker came to Clemson in the spring after graduating from high school early and he did not red-shirt in baseball. This is his third baseball season and he is draft eligible because of that. However, because he came to Clemson in January then red-shirted as a freshman, he is only a rising sophomore in football.

Many juniors who are drafted in baseball use their senior year in the sport as leverage with major league baseball when negotiating their contract and usually sign after their junior season because they lose signing leverage as a senior. You don’t use getting a real job as leverage in baseball as a senior.

However, Parker is not your typical draft eligible baseball player because he will still have football as leverage after his senior baseball season.

So what will Parker do? I have no idea but if I could advise Parker I would tell him that he eventually will have to choose one sport. However, he does not have to do that this year and should return to play football this fall. In terms of the baseball draft of 2010 compared to 2011, he still has signing leverage in baseball because of the two remaining years in football after next year’s baseball draft.

I think he would sell himself short if he did not give football one more year then decide on a sport after the 2011 MLB draft.

In summary, I want what is best for Kyle Parker and at this point I am not sure which sport is best. But I do think we will have a much better idea of the best choice if he came back for one more football season. We would have a bigger sample to evaluate and he still would have leverage in the 2011 MLB draft.

Finally, I would tell Parker to just enjoy the ride. This is something that few have the opportunity to enjoy, so do just that. Being a two-sport star has to be hard in some aspects but the positives of being a star in college in two sports is a rare blessing. I would tell him enjoy playing both sports as long as he can because he will have a choice to make in due time.

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