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Notre Dame WRs pondering MLB draft

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NOTREDAMECHIEF

NOTREDAMECHIEF

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[FONT=arial,helvetica]June 1, 2006[/FONT]
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ND duo mulls baseball draft[/FONT]

By FORREST MILLER
Tribune Staff Writer

Jeff Samardzija and Jeff Manship, along with their parents and advisors, have done all their homework regarding next week's baseball draft.
Now they are trying to concentrate on their college careers. Both will have an impact on whether the Irish survive in the NCAA Regional tournament in Lexington, Ky.
"I know that both would like to sign professionally after the season ends, even though they have eligibility remaining,'' said Notre Dame coach Paul Mainieri.
"As long as they get the type of financial situation they are looking for, I will support their decision as long as they promise me they will come back and get their degrees.
"Samardzija has told the professional scouts that there is no dollar amount that would prevent him from playing his final season of football."
Samardzija also made that point clear. If he signs a professional baseball contract soon, his first season will be short considering he will have to report for football in early August.
"I'll be back playing football, no matter what," said Samardzija. "There is nothing that can take me away from playing football with all my buddies. I owe it to them to be there and something would be wrong with me if I didn't show up. I'm just living two lives at Notre Dame and taking it as it comes.
"There might be someone else in my situation who wants to sell out and take the money, but that's not the type of person I want to be around. I definitely don't want to be looked at like that."
Concerning the draft, Samardzija said he doesn't have any numbers or rounds in mind.
Manship is a little more specific on that point.
"I think I would have to be picked in the top three rounds," said Manship.
"Manship has the best curve ball I've ever coached," said Mainieri.
Baseball America's latest draft preview, which includes high school players, lists Samardzija as No. 37 and Manship as No. 111.
Excerpts from Baseball America's evaluation of Samardzija:
"If Samardzija were solely a baseball player he'd be much more advanced as a pitcher and a lock first-rounder...He has exciting potential in both sports. His fastball has increased from 89-92 mph in 2005 to 91-94 mph this year, touching 96 on occasion.
"He has scrapped a sloppy curve ball in favor of an 81-84 mph slider. He still has a lot of work to do on the mound. He gets hit more than he should because his control and command are works in progress...He has made it clear to baseball teams that he will at least explore the NFL next spring. While baseball clubs can give him a heavily back-loaded five-year deal as a two-sport star, few want to risk an early draft pick on a player who might walk away in a year. He makes the most sense to a team that has extra picks and can afford to gamble one, or a team with few picks that wants to try to hit a home run.''

Attendance update


A recent item concerning Notre Dame's average home baseball attendance of 2,514 was incorrect.
That figure ranked 11th among Baseball America's top 25 teams that week, not in the entire nation.
In a sampling of 69 noteworthy teams this week, the Irish ranked 22nd -- a figure that could do down because some are hosting regionals and Notre Dame is not.
The noteworthy teams met at least one of these criteria: Currently receiving votes in a national poll, among the top 25 leaders in 2005 average attendance, or from the ACC SEC, Pac 10 or Big 12.
Kentucky, host to Notre Dame, College of Charleston and Ball State in a regional starting Friday, averaged 1,383.
Staff writer Forrest Miller:
[email protected]
(574) 235-6315
 
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If Samardzija passes up millions of dollars in the baseball draft to get their panties waxed again in Arizona, then he is an idiot.

Only kidding, I'm just being a jerk. :biggrin: In all actuality though, he should probably take the guaranteed life-financing he could get from signing a baseball contract. He doesn't want to pull a Leinart (slightly different, but similar concept).
 
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Hang on here. Have I been doing a Rip Van Winkle?????

I was under the impression that if a college athlete played pro in one sport, he/she was eligible to compete at the intercollegiate level in another sport (not the one he took money for).

This happened with John Elway at Stanford (Yankee baseball), so I guess I thought it continued...........I know the twins at Ohio State (gymnastics) are pros, so cannot compete for the Buckeyes, but they don't have another sport to turn to. Also the swimmer in Michigan. Names are fuzzy, but the situations are clear. It's rare that one can play two sports at pro or college level, but I assumed......and we all know how to spell assume (ass-u-me).

Thanks for anyone who can clear away the fog......

:gobucks3: :gobucks4: :banger:
 
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starBUCKS said:
I believe Ricky Willams played pro baseball during the summer while still playing football for UT.
Click to expand...

Cedric Benson did as well.

Jeremy Bloom caught a shitstorm from the NCAA over his skiing endorsements. Endorsements could be a little trickier. Though I doubt it was the case at all with Bloom, endorsements compensate you for your total marketability - part of which would come from your participation in high profile college athletics.
 
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Cubs welcome Samardzija to Wrigley


JEFF CARROLL
Tribune Staff Writer

CHICAGO -- Sam Samardzija owned a short stockpile of Wrigley Field memories well before he entered the ballpark gates Friday morning, even if he didn't have a souvenir to go with the best of them.

Samardzija was at Wrigley on June 23, 1984, the day of the famous "Ryne Sandberg Game." That afternoon on national television, the Cubs second baseman hit two game-tying home runs off future Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter and the Cubs beat the Cardinals 12-11 on the way to the National League East division title.

Sam, sitting in foul territory down the right-field line, caught a foul ball during the game, which he immediately handed to a small child.

On Friday afternoon, the Cubs organization handed a ball of its own over to Sam's son Jeff -- not a child, but a 21-year-old Notre Dame two-sport star and Cubs draft pick. Outfitted in a No. 30

Cubs home jersey with his lengthy Serbian surname stitched across the back -- and his lengthy hair falling across the collar -- Jeff Samardzija warmed up in the Cubs bullpen several hours before the home team's afternoon game against the Detroit Tigers.

Nervous at first, Sam calmed down when Cubs general manager Jim Hendry explained that Jeff had nothing more to prove to the Cubs.

"Don't worry about it," Hendry told Sam. "He doesn't have to make the team. He already made the team."

"There was nothing riding," Sam said. "I think what they wanted to do was just bring him out here and taste the atmosophere, put on the uniform. That's what they wanted."

And that's what they got. Samardzija, an ND football All-American in his other life as a wide receiver, threw about 45 pitches in the Wrigley home bullpen, emerging from the third-base dugout a few minutes before 10 a.m.

Wrigley Field was empty except for a few important onlookers, including Sam and the rest of the Samardzija family, Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild and Cubs starter Greg Maddux, who has a 325-victory head start on the 6-foot-5 right-hander that many scouts have called one of the most intriguing players in the draft class of 2006.

Like no other draft pick

Samardzija's big day actually began the evening before, when he sat down with Cubs general manager Jim Hendry over dinner in Chicago. Hendry used the time to take a short break from negotiations that have been ongoing this week with all of his organization's draft picks.

Of course, Samardzija's circumstances are unique among them. Baseball America, the publication that is the accepted authority on such matters, listed Samardzija as the No. 20 prospect in the draft field in the days leading up to last Tuesday and Wednesday's 50-round event. Considered first-round talent, Samardzija slipped to the fifth round only because baseball's 30 organizations were reluctant to use a valuable high pick on an athlete who may end up opting for the NFL instead.

"I talked to Jim (Hendry), I talked to a couple of their scouts, I talked to pretty much everyone," Samardzija said. "They were by far the most understanding and I think from a while back they kind of were open to what I wanted to do. And that's what it's going to take. For me to do what I want to do, it's going to take a major league or NFL team to both buy into what I'm doing. Hopefully down the road we can find two teams that will do it and I'll continue to do it.

"That's the thing I just try to stay away from. I'm not trying to screw anyone over. I'm not trying to use anything as leverage for myself."

The finishing touches on Samardzija's contract with the Cubs, already agreed upon in principle, were still being worked out Thursday evening, said Samardzija adviser Mark Rodgers.

"It's still a work in progress," Rodgers said, "and we're highly motivated to get it finished."

After his throwing session, Samardzija, still in uniform, was whisked into Wrigley's tiny interview room. The large Chicago media pack squeezed in to pepper him with many of the questions he has faced all spring: Does he have a preference between his two sports? Does he think he'll eventually have to make a choice?

Light-heartedly blasted last week during the afternoon drive show on WSCR-AM for comparing himself with Cubs All-Star Carlos Zambrano, Samardzija handled a question about former two-sport superstar Bo Jackson with aplomb on Friday.

"I just want to be a modern-day Jeff Samardzija and go out and do what I can do," Samardzija said. "I don't know where that road leads. People talk about it because he did do it successfully. I haven't done anything. I've just played baseball and football in college, which is nothing compared to what Bo Jackson did. All I'm doing is asking for the opportunity to pursue both sports and hopefully make the right decisions along the way and see what happens."

In the spring, Notre Dame's marketing department actually produced a poster replicating Jackson's famous black-and-white baseball/football pose, handing out the Samardzija poster at an Irish baseball game the night before the ND football spring game.

A Chicago newspaper promised a lively interview session with the ND star in its Friday editions, and, used to the spotlight as one of the current faces of the Notre Dame football program, the man nicknamed "Shark" didn't disappoint.

He joked about Heisman Trophy quarterback Brady Quinn's arm as it ranks among his Notre Dame football teammates.

"Probably me and then Tommy Zbikowski can probably throw second-hardest and Brady rounds it up with third," Samardzija deadpanned. "It's unfortunate. He's still got a good arm, so it's nothing to be ashamed of."

He also debunked a rumor that he is a personal friend of long-haired former Gonzaga basketball star Adam Morrison, apparently a Wikipedia.org hoax perpetrated by Samardzija's friends.

"I've never met him before but the word on the street is we're friends," Samardzija said. "I've watched a lot of basketball games. But it's just one example of how things can get started. I don't have a mustache, but we have long hair, so maybe that has something to do with it."

Perhaps Samardzija's smart-aleck pals were more prescient than they realized. Morrison, a possible Chicago Bulls target in the upcoming NBA Draft, took a few cuts in the Wrigley batting cage before the game. The two college sports cult heroes were then formally introduced near the Cubs on-deck circle.

Life is more than sports

Though he's been busy putting his future into overdrive, Samardzija has found time this week to participate in a few more leisurely sports than the two he has excelled in at college sports' highest level. Several times he ventured with friends to fishing holes near his home in Valparaiso over the last few days, his last at home for the summer before he reports to the Cubs short-season Class A squad in Boise, Idaho.

Grinning nearly the entire time that his brother was the center of attention at Wrigley, older brother Sam Jr., 25, recalled some competition heating up in the backyard the day before.

"I think we played wiffle ball in the yard (Thursday) and still competed at that," Sam Jr. said. "I just like to see him play, especially as an older brother you always are proud of your younger brother no matter what, whether it's sports or academics or whatever. Seeing him play at Notre Dame was a huge deal to me. Seeing this happen is amazing."

ND baseball coach Paul Mainieri has sent many players onto the professional level during his tenure in South Bend, including current New York Mets pitcher Aaron Heilman and Houston Astros closer Brad Lidge. But he was still thrilled to see one of his products warming up in an empty ballpark, on the very precipice of the next step in his voyage.

"It's special every time one of your players gets to the next level," Mainieri said. "You just feel like a part of you goes with them. I saw Jeff come out of that dugout with that Cubs uniform on and my eyes got a little bit misty, quite honestly."

As for Maddux's presence, it wasn't a case of a wily veteran checking out the new blood after all. Maddux was actually trying to wait out Samardzija so his elementary school-age son Chase could throw a few pitches.

But on the first day of the rest of his sporting life, the specifics scarcely mattered to Samardzija.

"If he wants to come watch me," Samardzija said, "he can come watch me any time."

Staff Writer Jeff Carroll:
[email protected]
(574) 235-6382



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Jeff Samardzija's father, Sam Samardzija,
left and brother Sam Samardzija Jr.
listen in on Jeff's press conference,
Friday, at Wrigley Field.

photo courtesy The Times Chicago/NATALIE BATTAGLIA

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From GBN
June 19
(12:01 AM): Irish WR signs with Cubbies… Notre Dame WR Jeff Samardzija, a potential early pick at the 2007 NFL draft, has agreed to a 5-year deal with the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs had selected Samardzija with a fifth-round draft pick at the major league draft earlier this month. Once the deal is approved by the commissioner's office, Samardzija will join the Boise Hawks, an advanced rookie club of the Northwest League. Samardzija will be able to play at Notre Dame this fall. His plan is to play professional baseball and football after graduating Notre Dame.
 
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June 19. 2006 6:59AM
Samardzija deal set

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

JEFF CARROLL
Tribune Staff Writer

The Chicago Cubs and Notre Dame two-sport star Jeff Samardzija agreed Sunday to final terms of a five-year contract with a signing bonus that could be worth as much as $7.25 million.

Samardzija would have to give up his professional football aspirations and concentrate solely on reaching the major leagues as a right-handed pitcher for the bulk of the signing bonus to kick in.

The amount, first reported Sunday by ESPN, would break the signing bonus record of $6.1 million awarded last year to current South Bend Silver Hawk Justin Upton. The deal still awaits the final approval of the Major League Baseball commissioner's office, which already rejected the first contract submitted for Samardzija this week.

But this time around, the Chicago Cubs organization felt confident enough that the two sides had altered the language enough to suit commissioner Bud Selig that it announced the deal during the Cubs' loss to the Detroit Tigers Sunday.

"The deal that we sought for Jeff was a deal that would be a win-win for Jeff, the Chicago Cubs, the University of Notre Dame and the National Football League," said Samardzija's adviser, sports agent Mark Rodgers. "We had to balance the interests of four different parties that all had a stake in Jeff Samardzija.

"We kept the window open for all of his future options."

Rodgers declined to comment on contract specifics, at least until he received the final approval of Major League Baseball.

Samardzija's father Sam Samardzija was surprised at how long the negotiations, expected to be completed early in the week, dragged on.

"I thought we'd have it all done pretty quick," Sam Samardzija said. "That's what Mark (Rodgers) said. Mark felt that way and I'm sure the Cubs organization felt that way or they wouldn't have agreed to it earlier.

"(MLB) felt there was something in there they just didn't like. I think it's the fact that it's Jeff Samardzija, he's pretty well-known and he's an All-American at Notre Dame and everyone knows who he is. His contract is going to be precedent-setting, so they just wanted to make sure everything was correct."

Jeff left for Boise, Idaho, over the weekend to report to the Cubs short-season Class A team, the Boise Hawks.

Sam Samardzija said ND football coach Charlie Weis has provided Jeff with a workout program so that he'll be in shape for a possible national championship run when he reports back to South Bend for the start of practice in early August.

Jeff Samardzija could not be reached for comment Sunday evening.



 
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