In addition to the multiple choice questions, I asked each player to provide any additional information that he considered when making his decision to sign or to go to college. The answers that players wrote down were absolutely fascinating and I found compiling these lists to be the most rewarding part of the entire study.

Item: What are your career goals upon leaving school?

• Play professional baseball.
• To be a happy individual with a steady occupation.
• I want to see how far I can get in my baseball career, but if that doesn’t work I don’t really know what I’m interested in yet.
• Play major league baseball and then go to law school.
• Some type of doctor.
• Play baseball and find a job.
• Playing ball as long as I can.
• Professional sport, entrepreneur.
• Not sure.
• Play baseball.
• If baseball does not pan out, I would like to work in the entertainment industry or get involved in politics.
• Play pro baseball.
• Either play professional baseball, get a job with an advertising firm, or join the Fire Academy.
• Play professional baseball.
• Find a job that supports me.
• I would really like to become stable in my job as a forensic psychologist, at the same time finding the right woman and getting going in life.
• If baseball doesn’t work out then do something that has to do with art.
• Motivational speaker.
• Get a job in communications.
• Playing ball.
• Just getting a solid start on my career.
• Become a sports PR guy.
• I am currently uncertain.
• Play professional baseball.
• I plan on getting into medical supplies.
• Play pro ball or join the Air Force.
• Playing professional baseball.
• Play pro ball then coach.
• To enter a job that is associated with my major: travel and tourism.  Ultimately I would like to play some more baseball.
• To get a job that has something to do with coaching or possibly go to law school.
• Attend law school.

Item: Write in the space provided any other factors associated with the draft that influenced your decision:

• Be more accustomed to faster play.
• Learn more about the game, be more mature.
• I will develop more skills and I missed my entire senior season because of a football injury, so I slid in the draft.
• I thought I did well in high school and wasn’t sure what to expect in college.
• I told them I wouldn’t sign.
• Opportunity to mature physically and mentally.
• I will grow and become physically stronger and mentally tougher.
• It allows for experience against better competition, the kind I hadn’t seen coming out of high school.
• I will find out this year.
• Experience, development, money.
• More experience, more tools to learn; more time to improve in all areas like strength and speed and knowledge of the game.
• I will improve drastically as a player and Division I baseball gets a lot more exposure to scouts.  The only way I would have signed is if I was offered $100,000 or more.
• Money that was offered as a signing bonus.
• Gives me a chance to improve.
• Improve skills and maturity.
• Football, education, better lifestyle, and a chance to grow up before getting in the real world.
• I’ll become a better player and scouts won’t be afraid.
• Further along in career and more polished.  Quality of school.  Didn’t want to grow up immediately at age 18.
• Increased knowledge, understanding of the game; leads to concrete building blocks to better performance mentally and physically.
• 3 years to mature.
• I just wanted to experience college.
• I will be older and, therefore, less projectibility.
• 3 more years to mature physically and emotionally.  I will be bigger, stronger, and throw harder.
• I will be able to grow and work on my game both physically and mentally.
• I felt that there were questions about the level of competition that I was playing against.  I am also a two-way player.
• Playing well at a college level can only enhance your chances of being selected again because of coaching, experience, and competition.
• Knowing that getting drafted out of high school would increase college offers.  From where I got drafted, I know that my chances at improving during college would enhance my status as a junior or senior in college.
• I felt I could improve more on my tools in 3 years in college.
• The SEC is a very good, high profile league.  I did not feel I was physically ready for pro baseball.
• I have improved on all of my physical tools.
• One team discussed a 5^th round selection with $100,000 bonus before the draft.  I declined the offer in favor of college baseball, so they selected me in the 19^th round in case I changed my mind.

Item: Write in the space provided any other factors associated with money that influenced your decision:

• $100,000 was not enough money to draw me away from playing baseball at a major university and baseball program.
• They didn’t make me a formal offer.
• No money for college.
• I really had no intentions on signing, I just wanted to have a little fun and see where I’d go.  No matter how much was offered, unless substantially significant, would I have gone pro.
• It was a lifestyle choice over money offered.  College is where I wanted to be over the next few years to help myself mature.  Once you enter professional baseball it is hard to go back to school.
• The draft was a dream of mine, but it would have taken a half million dollars to sign me out of high school.
• I knew from the beginning that I didn’t want to sign so money didn’t matter.  Because of this I got drafted a lot later than I was told, but I expected that to happen.
• My family is not in need of excess money.  I was able to go to college and still be comfortable at home.
• Money isn’t everything.
• I wasn’t offered enough money that would compensate for my decisions not to go to school.
• I felt as if I didn’t get a good enough offer.
• The more money they offer the more time they will give you to enhance your skills.
• It would have to be a large enough sum so I could pay for art school in the off-season.
• I was a draft and follow.  I was mad that they drafted me so late.
• I weighed the ability to grow 3 years mentally and physically from a good program.
• No money was ever offered.  It was known that I signed a letter prior to the draft explaining that I intended to attend college.

Item: Write in the space provided any other thoughts you shared with scouts concerning your plans before the draft:

• I was undecided on what my future held.  I was very signable for a fair deal.
• I had no previous contact with pro scouts until two weeks prior to the draft.  I thought it to be an honor, but it wouldn’t make or break me as a college ball player.  I had friends that had been drafted and they fell by the way side.  I wouldn’t make that mistake early.
• I felt I would benefit more developing physically and mentally going to college before playing at the professional level.
• The money had to be right.
• $500,000.  1st or 2nd round only.
• (I wanted to know) if I would be offered enough money to secure my family and myself later in life.
• I was going to college if the money wasn’t up to par.
• I told them I was planning on attending a university to get a degree and get division I experience.
• I wasn’t sure whether or not I wanted to go directly to pro ball or get an education at the same time.
• I left all options open.
• I just wanted to get an education.
• Out of high school I told scouts that it was a toss up between school and pro ball.  Now I am ready to leave school to play.
• I told them I had a scholarship to Cal Berkeley.  How could you pass that education?  If I went to the pros I would have had to go to a J.C. or somewhere not as extreme.
• Education first.

Item: Write in the space provided any other factors associated with academics that influenced your decision:

• I did not want to ruin my life in case something should happen like getting injured, released, etc.
• It was the best opportunity for me to get better.
• I am a good student so college courses weren’t a hard adjustment.
• I didn’t want to let my mind go to waste toiling in the minors.
• Having a college degree helps in the long run.
• I had an opportunity to earn a very prestigious degree.
• A college degree lasts forever, but baseball doesn’t.
• If I get drafted after my junior year I will sign, but will eventually finish college.
• Not much, but it would be nice to get some school out of the way.
• I felt that someday I might have to give up baseball and by going to school I could increase my chances for getting drafted higher and take care of some of my education.
• I got an early start on my degree.  It is hard to start up again (later).
• Units acquired in high school were transferable.

Item: Write in the space provided any other factors associated with family and friends that influenced your decision:

• Parents are there to help guide me, but the decision of school and signing a pro contract is mine.
• Some of my coaches that I had in high school teams that had played either college or pro ball told me how they felt about their decisions.  I got lots of different views.  My high school coach who is also one of the people that I compare my life to and is a huge influence on me helped me a lot.  I still talk to him on the phone once or twice a month about problems and stuff.
• I have been looking forward to the college experience my whole life and didn’t want to give that up.
• Everywhere would have taken me far from home (Hawaii).
• I grew up watching my uncle play baseball.  He taught me a lot of what I know about the game.
• My parents left most of the decision up to me.  They just wanted me to be happy and do what was best for me.
• I wanted to go away, but stay close and in California.
• I wanted to go away, yet be close enough to see my friends and family.
• My father is an athletic trainer for a major league team.  Because of this, I had many different views and opinions about college and professional baseball.
• I have always been brought up to go away to college, get a degree, and follow through with my career after that.  Both of my parents went to college.
• I wanted my family to be able to watch me play.

Item: Write in the space provided any other factors associated with college baseball or your college that influenced your decision:

• I have a lot of dreams and goals that relate to college both academically and in baseball and I want to try to fulfill all of them before I work on my professional goals and dreams.
• Great education to go along with on of the best pitching coaches in college or the pros.  I get to play with people my age and experience real cultural diversity and better understanding of the world around me.
• My school is very prestigious academically.
• I wanted to play against good competition, get an education and get better.
• The amount of exposure to scouts that I would receive in college compared to the small amount that saw me in high school.
• I wanted to play for a coach who had good knowledge of the game.  Someone who was respected as a great coach and someone who could drive me to be the best possible player I could be.
• I wanted to go to the series before I started pro ball.
• I just wanted to play for a good Division I school that would offer me money.
• My school has a great baseball reputation.
• I feel college baseball at a major baseball program will benefit me more, developing as a person and a ballplayer.
• I felt that my school was the best match for me.
• Experience a new level of play after high school.

Item: Write in the space provided as many reasons as you wish to explain why you are playing college and not professional baseball:

• To get a degree, three years of experience, and to enjoy the college experience socially and academically before pro ball.
• I guess I am not ready for the pros yet.
• The college experience and getting a degree.
• Education, friends, experience.
• It was a lifestyle decision.
• My offer wasn’t good enough to keep me from a college education.
• 1.  Get a great education.  2.  College experience.  3.  Football bowl games.  4.  Baseball – college world series.  5.  Friends.
• Money, education, age.
• My shoulder.
• The money offered was not enough.  I had never lived away from home.  I thought college would give me more exposure and in turn, drive my stock higher.
• More experience, development, college atmosphere, boost draft status and monetary offers.
• I was not told the truth.  They showed no sincere effort to get me to sign.
• Because of the offer I received.  It seemed like the smart thing to do.  Get a degree at and enhance my baseball skills at the same time.  I can only get better with the coaching I am receiving now.
• To get better, be drafted higher, get a larger signing bonus, and mature as a player.
• Get a degree and college experience.
• Hustle, teamwork, College World Series.
• Environment, opportunity, growth as a player.
• Basically to earn a degree and mature.
• A chance to mature and to get an education and pursue a baseball career.
• I wanted to play a position (in the field) as well as pitch.
• The chance to learn and gain valuable experience as well as develop physically before entering pro ball.
• I wanted my education.
• I need to develop my skills.  I wanted to get an education.
• I did not feel I was strong enough, mental aspects, and I wanted to get better.
• Money.
• I wanted to see if I could compete at the college level before the professional level.
• To get towards a degree and to mature.
• I wanted to experience college and get an education.  I also thought that it would be better for me to go and play college baseball instead of going straight to pro ball.
• Quality of life now and in the future.

Item: Write in the space provided any regrets you have about not signing a professional contract after high school:

• I don’t think I have any regrets.  I am having a good time in college.
• The possibility of injuries.
• I regret not getting my pro career started sooner.
• I think I made the right decision.
• I didn’t get to start my career while I was young.  I am not getting pro ball experience.
• Sometimes when midterms and finals roll around.
• The only regret I have every day is that I may not get another opportunity to sign another professional contract, but I work hard every day and pray to God that I will get that chance.
• I just have to wait longer to see what it’s like to play pro ball.
• Money.
• $
• Not getting the scholarship money I felt I deserved.
• No regrets.  I just think of what it would be like not going to class every day and just playing ball every day!
• Having to put up with all the NCAA rules and regulations.

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Geoff Miller’s book, Intangibles: Big-League Stories and Strategies for Winning the Mental Game — in Baseball and in Life, was released in August, 2012. For more information and free sample chapters, please visit:

For more information, please contact Geoff Miller at miller@thewinningmind.com.