Samardzija to play pro baseball and football

[Seabasket]

So Jeff Samardzija signed with the Cubs, and in the story is included this nugget: Samardzija will be able to play at Notre Dame this fall. His plan is to play professional baseball and football after graduating Notre Dame and he is a possible first round draft choice in the next NFL draft.
Is he good enough to do both?  Most MLB teams baby their pitchers. How are they going to react to him running crossing patterns in front of a safety? Good decision/bad decision?

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Pissed:

And for the ladies (possibly NSFW):

http://www.outsports.com/entertainment/20050421bloom.htm

 

[Boom_70]

Samardzija is suppose to play baseball this summer with the Cubs ( NY Penn league ?). I have heard from a few friends that there is an interesting battle shaping up between the ND SID and media. They are trying to control and mangage access to to Jeff this summer when he is part of Cubs organization. They are already strong arming media not to ask him football related questions.

Seems a bit over the top on part of ND.

 

[slappy4428]

Samardzija is suppose to play baseball this summer with the Cubs ( NY Penn league ?). I have heard from a few friends that there is an interesting battle shaping up between the ND SID and media. They are trying to control and mangage access to to Jeff this summer when he is part of Cubs organization. They are already strong arming media not to ask him football related questions.

Seems a bit over the top on part of ND.

C'mon... overmanagement of the media? At NOTRE DAME???? I call bull****....

 

[Double J]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but if he plays pro baseball this summer, does that not make him ineligible to play NCAA football in the fall? Or would he only be ineligible for NCAA baseball?

 

[spnited]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but if he plays pro baseball this summer, does that not make him ineligible to play NCAA football in the fall? Or would he only be ineligible for NCAA baseball?

You can play professinally in one sport and retian eligibility in others.
John Elway did this as well. Spent a summer playing outfield for the Oneonta Yankees, took about 500K of Steinbrenner's money and then went back to his real sport.
Others have done it as well.

 

[Chi City 81]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but if he plays pro baseball this summer, does that not make him ineligible to play NCAA football in the fall? Or would he only be ineligible for NCAA baseball?

Josh Booty did it with LSU. He played for the Marlins for several years, then went back and was the Tigers' starting QB.

 

[trounced]

Samardzija is suppose to play baseball this summer with the Cubs ( NY Penn league ?). I have heard from a few friends that there is an interesting battle shaping up between the ND SID and media.  They are trying to control and mangage access to to Jeff this summer when he is part of Cubs organization. They are already strong arming media not to ask him football related questions.

Seems a bit over the top on part of ND.

Who replaced Doug Walker?

 

[21]

Media ethics scenario, you make the call: ND gets you an interview with Samardzija to talk specifically about football. In the course of the interview, he talks to you about his baseball negotiations. You use the baseball info, and his quotes make some waves. ND complains to you that you violated the terms of the interview.

Your response? Is there any reason you don't use the baseball stuff?

 

[Cousin Jeffrey]

Ricky Williams and Cedric Benson did it as well...

 

[JayFarrar]

Media ethics scenario, you make the call:  ND gets you an interview with Samardzija to talk specifically about football. In the course of the interview, he talks to you about his baseball negotiations. You use the baseball info, and his quotes make some waves. ND complains to you that you violated the terms of the interview.
Your response? Is there any reason you don't use the baseball stuff?

I'd use it. He's an adult and a professional athlete. He can talk about whatever he pleases.
I've had something similar happen to me where a PR person said something was off limits. I didn't ask the question, but the guy talked about it anyway, and I wrote about it. PR person was pissed, but they get over it, eventually.
If not, who cares, PR tend to come and go anyway.

 

[pallister]

This thread will end soon because no one wants to keep typing Samardzija.

 

[Boom_70]

This thread will end soon because no one wants to keep typing Samardzija.

if it does let the record show that I spelled it correctly

 

[Chi City 81]

This thread will end soon because no one wants to keep typing Samardzija.

If Jeff Samardzija and Mike Krzyzewski were being interviewed by Gene Wojciechowski, would the closed captioner just quit in the middle of the interview?

 

[pallister]

The closed caption, like Boom, would just go on none the wiser. :D

 

[Freelance Hack]

Pissed:

And for the ladies (possibly NSFW):

http://www.outsports.com/entertainment/20050421bloom.htm

It's different because Samardzija will be receive a salary from the Cubs.

The key with Bloom was endorsements. The NCAA ruled that Bloom could have received endorsements because he was a football player and not a skier. It may seem asinine, but what if a Colorado booster was a CEO of a company that gave Bloom $1 million for skiing? It's a slippery slope at best.

As long as Samardzjia doesn't receive any endorsement money (and it's doubtful he will in rookie or A ball), he should be fine.

 

[micropolitan guy]

I think he's playing in Idaho this summer, with the Boise Hawks of the Northwest League. I hope he enjoys bus rides.

Last I checked, ND doesn't control media access for the Boise Hawks. Ask him whatever the hell you want, whenever the hell you want. If the kid is smart enough to get into ND - which, as they tell us, values academics over athletics every day of the week asnd only recruits true student/athletes - then he should be capable of thinking for himself and acting like an independent adult for two months this summer without someone from the ND SID office babysitting him.

I'm not so sure he's an NFL first-round draft choice. He's an Ed McCafferty clone.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

He'll be lucky to have an Ed McCaffrey-like career. Not that he hasn't played well, but Ed won some rings for a reason.

 

[Firstime Caller]

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned that the ND SID was upset over the thought of Samardzija having to answer questions all by himself this summer. I know bashing Bud is like shooting fish in a barrel, but where does Bud get off telling a team how to negotiate a contract with a draft pick? I realize he's always on the lookout for the best interests of baseball, but doesn't he have other more important things on his plate right now? [/sarcasm font] Micromanaging just a bit?

From Paul Sullivan's notes in The Tribune

"Baseball America reported the Cubs plan to give their fifth-round draft pick a $7.25 million bonus if he winds up making baseball his primary sport over football. Samardzija, a wide receiver for the Fighting Irish, and the Cubs have agreed in principle to a five-year deal that will be backloaded so the Cubs will pay out less than $1 million over one year if he opts for the NFL and gives up baseball.

Justin Upton, the No. 1 pick in 2005, received a $6.1 million bonus from Arizona, the record for a player signed by the team drafted him. Baseball America, citing unnamed sources, reported Commissioner Bud Selig was upset by the Samardzija bonus and became personally involved in the negotiations because the Cubs have upset the slotting structure for signing bonuses, giving out money no first-round pick has ever received to a player selected in the fifth round.

 

[Freelance Hack]

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned that the ND SID was upset over the thought of Samardzija having to answer questions all by himself this summer. I know bashing Bud is like shooting fish in a barrel, but where does Bud get off telling a team how to negotiate a contract with a draft pick? I realize he's always on the lookout for the best interests of baseball, but doesn't he have other more important things on his plate right now? [/sarcasm font] Micromanaging just a bit?

From Paul Sullivan's notes in The Tribune

"Baseball America reported the Cubs plan to give their fifth-round draft pick a $7.25 million bonus if he winds up making baseball his primary sport over football. Samardzija, a wide receiver for the Fighting Irish, and the Cubs have agreed in principle to a five-year deal that will be backloaded so the Cubs will pay out less than $1 million over one year if he opts for the NFL and gives up baseball.

Justin Upton, the No. 1 pick in 2005, received a $6.1 million bonus from Arizona, the record for a player signed by the team drafted him. Baseball America, citing unnamed sources, reported Commissioner Bud Selig was upset by the Samardzija bonus and became personally involved in the negotiations because the Cubs have upset the slotting structure for signing bonuses, giving out money no first-round pick has ever received to a player selected in the fifth round.

I don't think Samardzija is your typcial fifth-rounder, though. I think he would have gone higher had he not also been a top football player.

Still not worth $7 million, but hey, who am I to question The Tribune Company? They certainly know how to build a team that can win a pennant.