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Did anyone know the Sox drafted Eric Gagne?


maggsmaggs

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Be aware we also, almost, traded for Gagne in 2002 for Bobby Howry.

 

Then again, we were going to use him as a starter.

 

Oh, remember he didn't become a closer until Jeff Shaw got hurt in LA. If Shaw didn't get hurt, Gagne would still be starting.

I remember a lot of fans not giving a s*** about that rumor too, lol. Not that I knew Gagne was going to be what he is today, not even close, but I was really hoping for that deal at the time.

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I remember a lot of fans not giving a s*** about that rumor too, lol. Not that I knew Gagne was going to be what he is today, not even close, but I was really hoping for that deal at the time.

Wouldn't be surprised. Gagne wasn't really well-known at the time by many people as being a must-have. For people to say we low-balled Gagne when we drafted him that low is ridiculous.

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:banghead  :banghead  :banghead

 

Its like trying to ask a blind man to describe what he saw

Why did I even bother thinking you could answer a simple, f***ING question? :headshake

 

I'll try again anyways.

So who's fault is it again for "overpaying" for Dye and Hermanson? :rolly

 

Who's fault was it for not re-signing Bartolo Colon when we first traded for him? (somthing you said you could do, but KW failed doing it.) :rolly

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No, it just seems as if Gagne was undecided at the point when he was drafted, and finally in '95, chose baseball.  I assume a 30th round pick wouldn't command the big bucks that would be considered 'low-balling'.  I've never heard of 'low-balling' a 30th rounder...

I agree, that is just silly guys. I bet he wanted $5 more dollars on his contract, and the Sox were like whoa, you're not a 29th round draft pick buddy...

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Same typical bulls***. Gagne was considered a bust as a starter. I'm sure the "Sky is Falling" White Sox fan would have said trade the f***ing bum after his failure as a starter. Just look at that crap Joe Borchard and Willie Harris are going through after maybe 250 MLB at bats.

 

Did you know that Baseball America thought that Luke Prokopec (sp) was considered a better prospect than Gagne? He was the guy traded to the Blue Jays. Did you know that Gagne has an eye problem? That's the reason for the glasses.

 

Anybody who thinks a team lowballed a 34th round draft pick doesn't know s*** about the draft and signing players. It's the job of the scouts to sign the draft picks. Most 34round draft picks do not sign anyways.

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Same typical bulls***.  Gagne was considered a bust as a starter.  I'm sure the "Sky is Falling" White Sox fan would have said trade the f***ing bum after his failure as a starter.  Just look at that crap Joe Borchard and Willie Harris are going through after maybe 250 MLB at bats.

 

Did you know that Baseball America thought that Luke Prokopec (sp) was considered a better prospect than Gagne?  He was the guy traded to the Blue Jays.  Did you know that Gagne has an eye problem?  That's the reason for the glasses.

 

Anybody who thinks a team lowballed a 34th round draft pick doesn't know s*** about the draft and signing players.  It's the job of the scouts to sign the draft picks.  Most 34round draft picks do not sign anyways.

:headbang :notworthy :headbang :notworthy

 

Nice post.

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It's the job of the scouts to sign the draft picks.  Most 34round draft picks do not sign anyways.

Very good point, and true.

 

There are tons of pre draft deals where the signing is all set up. The GM usually gets involved only if the negotiation is high profile, i.e. a high round pick or maybe a guy who slipped due to signability concerns.

 

Additionally ... a lot of the later round picks are simply a team taking a flyer on a guy. Many times they have no intention of signing a lower round pick, unless they fail to get a higher round pick signed.

 

Other times a high school kid is drafted to give them a better shot at a scholarship, or for goodwill purposes.

 

It's impossible for teams to sign all 50 draft picks, it never happens. The Sox have historically done pretty well getting their top 10 round picks signed. I think the last first rounder they didn't sign was Bobby Seay (Boras client, go figure).

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Very good point, and true.

 

There are tons of pre draft deals where the signing is all set up.  The GM usually gets involved only if the negotiation is high profile, i.e. a high round pick or maybe a guy who slipped due to signability concerns.

 

Additionally ... a lot of the later round picks are simply a team taking a flyer on a guy.  Many times they have no intention of signing a lower round pick, unless they fail to get a higher round pick signed.

 

Other times a high school kid is drafted to give them a better shot at a scholarship, or for goodwill purposes.

 

It's impossible for teams to sign all 50 draft picks, it never happens.  The Sox have historically done pretty well getting their top 10 round picks signed.  I think the last first rounder they didn't sign was Bobby Seay (Boras client, go figure).

Damn, good thing we signed Buehrle.

 

Although, I'd have to assume that Buehrle just took what was offered. He understood the concept of going rate, perhaps.

 

I'd like to find out more about the specific scout who found him.

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I slipped most of the replies but...

 

Yes, I read somewhere (and I know this was already posted, but whatever) that we drafted Gagne, but he opted for a Hockey Scholarship instead.

 

Also, we drafted Buerhle in the 38th round as a Draft and Follow.

 

Look at it this way...at least we know our scouts are doing their jobs.

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Buehrle was signed as a draft and follow. Meaning they White Sox drafted him the year before (98) and "followed" his junior college season and signed him in 99. Teams can do that with high school kids who go to a JC or JC freshmen. But once a kid goes to a four year school, he goes through the draft.

 

Not sure exactly what happened with Gagne but he was drafted in 94 from a JC. Maybe the White Sox drafted him as draft and follow but since he didn't do well at his JC, the White Sox didn't bother to sign him? Hell nobody else drafted or signed him in 95 either since he signed with the Dodgers as an undrafted free agent.

 

This is what is says on Buehrle's bio from the White Sox official site

 

was recommended/signed by Nathan Durst and John Kazanas.

 

Yes all scouts and GM's work under a budget given to them by the team owner. But to b**** and cry about a 30th round pick 10 years ago is just stupid. Think about this. The 28 teams back in 94 passed up Gagne 29 times EACH!!!! Some teams 30 times. Just brilliant scouting.

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I think it was probably a money issue.  But, drafted as low as he was, he shouldn't have been expecting much money.  So, if he had a good option at hockey, it makes sense he would go that way.

 

And then, maybe it didn't work out that way, and he signed with the Dodgers.

Nothing in Gagne's bio mentions that he played college hockey. It does say that in 95 he played for the Canadian National Baseball team and that in 97 he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. I can hear the b****ing now, why would the White Sox give that bum so much money and now he blows out his arm. f***ing brilliant.

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I'm almost positive the reason he didn't sign was to play Hockey.  Maybe it wasn't college, but it was Hockey.

Ok let's figure this out. He was drafted in June of 94. In 95 he pitched for the Canada National Team. He signed with the Dodgers in July of 95. Where does that leave time for him to play hockey. If you say during the 94-95 school year, I believe he pitched for Seminole JC during the 94-95 school year.

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Santo=Dorf had it figured out on the first page of this thread--

 

At this point, Eric had already begun to attract the attention of big-league scouts He was a 30th-round draft choice of Chicago White Sox in 1994, but was still undecided about which sport he wanted to pursue. A hockey scholarship to the University of Vermont was on the table, and Eric also had visions of representing Canada on the diamond in 1996 Olympics. Either way, he felt the White Sox were his third-best option.

 

The yankees drafted Mark Prior. This type of thing is common.

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I was looking up Mark Johnson's numbers and saw the draft that year by the Sox as they took Johnson in the first round and stumbled upon Eric Gagne and that the Sox drafted him in the 30th round of the 1994 draft, 4 rounds ahead of Chad Bradford.  I just thought that was really interesting.

 

http://www.sports-wired.com/teams/stats.as...me=H&Y=1994&N=D

Good Catch :headbang

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