Top draft pick spurned Yankees to attend UCLA instead and increased bonus by $5 million

The New York Yankees selected pitcher Gerrit Cole with their first draft pick and were prepared to offer the young Yankees fan an estimated $3 million to sign out of high school.

Cole and his parents told them no thanks.

They analyzed the probability of high-school pitchers making the big leagues and reaching free agency versus college pitchers, added in the value of attending college, and determined Cole was much better off heading to UCLA instead of turning pro after high school.

These parents looking out for the best interest of their son rather than the instant gratification of a $3-million bonus were right.

Three years later, Cole was the first player taken in the 2011 MLB draft and is expected to be signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates for an amount exceeding $8 million.

Cole told MLB.com how going to UCLA boosted his stock: "There are a lot of things that you learn and you really don't expect to learn, and that's not something that shows up in the box score or the statistics."

Mark Cole described in a great story from Yahoo Sports last summer his son's decision to go to college instead of become a Yankee: ""We took measurements and weighed variables all in a very unemotional way. We included academics and did some financial planning."

Even with agent Scott Boras ready to deal for them, Mark Cole told the Yankees they wouldn't even entertain an offer: "We said, 'We appreciate the opportunity, but if we were to entertain a discussion of finances, it would give you the impression you had a shot.'"

Slam, Cashman (an appropriate casting name for a character trying to lure high-schoolers to the pros).

It's so refreshing to hear from parents and their child who understand the value of going to college rather than turning pro after high school.

And good thing they didn't listen to the baseball guys like Voice of Reason. It would have cost them $5 million and three years of a really great experience at UCLA.

-- Travelerocity reporter

Comments

[Mars]

College draftees get bigger signing bonuses, typically. HS kids get to free agency quicker and hence stand to make much more money. There's actually a good series of articles about this on fangraphs.com. It actually uses Cole and Tyler Chatwood as examples. You should consider investigating the details before arbitrarily taking a stance

[Mars]

Maybe see if Chatwood would trade his spot in the Angels rotation and 3 months of MLB service time for the glory years of overuse at college.

[The Travelerocity reporter]

Cole's parents seem to have investigated the details pretty well before making a decision.

[Trav fan]

This is a great story. Thanks for putting it on Travelerocity!!!

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