Читать книгу Rage. The Legend of "Baseball Bill" Denehy онлайн

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The Mets offered me $22,500. Two days later I signed the deal. I had great expectations. The downside of having great expectations is that when they don’t come to fruition, you’re left feeling angry and disappointed.

My dad and I had agreed that if I signed with a team, any team, that team had to send me to the Instructional League. When my dad proposed that to Wid Matthews, the Mets’ head of scouting, Wid tried to convince us that I would be in way over my head, and that they didn’t want me to start my pro career on a negative note.

Matthews then asked Len Zanke, who was also in the room with us, “Can he pitch down there?”

“Absolutely,” said Zanke.

My dad told Matthews, “We want Bill to be ready for the next full season. The instructional season will help him learn the tricks of the trade that might help him pitch better in pro ball. It’s important to us that this is part of the offer.”

I was the only player in winter ball with zero professional experience.

At the time I signed, I couldn’t understand why my signing bonus wasn’t higher. The Cubs were going to offer me $75,000 and that seemed about right.