Roger Clemens' Son

[erpowers]

About a year ago I asked if the Astros only drafted Roger Clemens' son because he was Roger Clemens' son. A few days ago I heard a sports commentator say that only about one or two guys who play in A league baseball (which is where Clemens' son plays) will ever go on to play in the major leagues. So it seems like the Astros did only draft Koby Clemens in order to appease Roger Clemens and to get him to stay with the team. So what do other at DU think? Did the Astros only draft Koby Clemens in order to keep Roger Clemens?

[fishwax]

1. If so, it was probably worth it

The only reason Mike Piazza was drafted was because Mike was Tommy LaSorda's godson--nobody expected him to be a star. I think baseball teams do things like that fairly often--since the MLB draft is huge, they can afford to use picks in that way. I don't know about the Clemens kid, but if that's why they drafted him it might not have been a bad idea ...

[Captain Hilts]

2. Lasorda KNEW Piazza was good, Ted Williams evaluated him when

he was in junior high school. Williams, at the behest of Piazza's father's money, flew up from the Keys and watched him play a couple of games and Williams said, "he's better than I was at that age."

So, Lasorda knew Piazza had some serious talent. It was Piazza who decided to catch to accelerate his schedule to get to the majors.

[fishwax]

3. He still wasn't drafted until the 62nd round

he was the last player picked in the draft. Maybe Lasorda knew it was better than a million to one shot, but you don't wait 62 rounds to draft someone that you figure to hit .320 with 30 home runs. :)

[Captain Hilts]

4. My uncle worked for Piazza's old man

and Piazza spent a summer working for my uncle.

They knew he wasn't attracting attention. But Vince Piazza paid Williams to fly up to Philly to watch Mike play and Williams wasn't just positive, he was effusive.

Good numbers in high school don't mean all that much, particularly in the Philly area, which doesn't send that many players to the majors.

Did they know how good he'd be? Perhaps not. But they knew he had a very good shot. And they wanted him playing for Lasorda. Ballplayers in Philly don't really attract that much attention compared to the Calif. and Florida kids.