What's So Tough About This?

The Washington Nationals made an interesting deal with top pitching prospect Jack McGeary, who wanted to go to Stanford. "Pitch for us in the summer, and we'll give you a big bonus ($1.8 million) and pay for your tuition at Stanford."

A savvy deal by the Nationals, and McGeary agreed. Fine. But why does this article describe this as such a tough prospect?

The gist of it: McGeary studies during the school year - apparently a heavy course load. During spring break, he goes to Florida and works with Nationals coaches. And during summer, he'll pitch for a Nationals minor league team.

In other words - McGeary goes to school full time, works during his spring break, and works during the summer. The only difference between THAT and what I did is that I also worked DURING the school year (often 40+ hours a week) and I got a lot less than $1.8 million for it.

I don't begrudge him the money - nobody held a gun to Jim Bowden's head and I generally don't mind about pro athletes making big bucks. It's a free market. But McGeary's plan only seems like a tough deal to the average sports journalist or baseball player who is used to nice long vacations, plenty of free time, and university classes (if any) like "Theory of Coaching Badminton" or "How to Interview A Jock."

I still remember what a relief it was to graduate and get a full-time job - because a 50-hour work week is easier than working 30-40 hours AND taking a full load of classes. McGeary will have it easy.