A friend got engaged over the past week and, amid all of the women hugging and congratulating her (like they actually cared), I happened to mention that she had finally been called up to the show for the pennant push. The ladies were not used to someone analogizing engagement to baseball and, since they had no idea what I was talking about, I felt I should explain my inexplicable behavior.
I told them that most things in life can draw a parallel to sports. Dating is one of the best. I don't particularly recall when I came up with this system, but it was most likely hatched at one of the many taverns in Oshkosh.
The reasoning behind the system is that when guys get drunk enough to talk about relationships (explaining that she had decided to leave a toothbrush and a few necessities), they will not remember what was said. We needed an easy way to remember it the next day -- thus spawned the farm system of dating.
For example:
Having a road toothbrush -- a prospect that is playing well enough to be considered for a move from the AA Southern League to AAA International League.
The dating system begins at the grass roots of the farm system. Meeting people can happen virtually anywhere, but most of the time you meet others in groups where you have to spend some time evaluating the talent. After a few interviews and a couple of tryouts, your turn is up on the clock and you make your selections.
Like drafts in all sports, there are busts and sleepers. In fact, there are quite a few first round busts. In fact, just like the June baseball draft, selecting high schoolers tends to be a bit more risky that selecting a proven college prospect. It is the same with the dating pool.
After making your selection, the prospect is sent to the rookie leagues. Only very select prospects get moved through the system quickly and only once in a blue moon does a Mark Prior or Alex Rodriguez come along where the prospect makes the bigs within the year and goes on the be an all-star.
While in the rookie leagues, the prospect is highly-evaluated, but, like with all young arms, you do not want to overtax the young prospect for fear of arm injury or burnout. The prospect also needs to get used to the life of a professional ballplayer. The travel can sometimes be rough, as it is with all long-distance relationships. Also, young ball players have to get used to buying into the team concept and being loyal to one organization.
If the prospects ceiling is high enough, they will most likely get a shot at low A ball in the Midwest League. Again the travel can be tough and the competition picks up, but with a little glimmer of success, a future can be seen. Low A ball is where the basic tools of a prospect are tested. Can they hold up under pressure? Do they have the commitment to the game and themselves to get better and become a successful player? Does the prospect have the heart to continue to move up the farm system?
If the prospect shows enough to the organization they may be moved to high A ball in the California League, or with top prospects, they may be moved straight to the AA Southern League. That is where the commitment must be stepped up.
At AA the pressure steps up but the travel is significantly reduced. What used to be a long-distance relationship, where talking on the phone constantly and seeing each other on weekends, is a thing of the past. Now the prospect has moved into the same city and their development could either accelerate or bog down due to the higher level of competition in the Southern League. Not many prospects have the tools and talent to make it to this level, and even fewer are considered for the next step.
Success at the AA level requires a certain amount of talent to go along with the ability to take the coaching one needs to get to the top. Southern League pitching is not anything that the prospect has seen to date. The pitchers throw harder, throw better breaking stuff and their control is beginning to take shape -- not to mention that the prospect has to compete with a few veterans that are that are still hanging on their own dreams of making the bigs.
Life in double AA has less road strips, but they are longer stays. This is where the true talent really rises to the occasion. Only the top prospects are getting serious looks from the big club. Promotions to AAA do not come easily, but in some cases, the big time prospects make the jump from AA straight the show. That is a large jump and most prospects are unable to skip the next level.
Many organizations are leery of putting a prospect under that type of pressure in the fear of it being too much too soon -- as it was in the case the Cardinals and their young phenom Rick Ankiel.
The prospect can show they are ready for the next level by proving they are comfortable at AA and by producing quality numbers. All of a sudden playing on the road is no more difficult that playing at home and the prospect is taking the necessary steps to make themselves feel as comfortable as possible on the road, like having the road toothbrush.
The move up to AAA is the move towards living together. Now the game is as similar to the show as it can possibly be without actually being in the show. The ballparks are nice, but still on the smaller size, and the bus travel is all but eliminated.
The International League is flooded with high talent prospects that are called four A players. Their names stem from having outstanding success at the AAA level, but are lacking the intangibles to make them a big leaguer.
The organization now has invested years into this prospect and would like to see some would like to see some results. This hope often leads to an organization holding onto a prospect for far too long even though they know that they will never actually produce at the big league level. These types of disappointments lead to trades for other prospects or even a trade for a veteran big leaguer. These break-ups can sometime get ugly.
On the other hand, some prospects get the September call-up to help the big club in their pennant push. This is the stage that my aforementioned friend is in. The ring is bought and the plans are being made, but the threshold to being a solid big league ball player has yet to be crossed.
Sometimes a prospect can win over the organization forever during their call-up like in the case of Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis last year for the Marlins. Other times, players like Cal Eldred can be called up where they show flashes of brilliance as a youngster, but their career fizzles out due to unforeseen circumstances.
The biggest step is making the club out of spring training and solidifying a spot in the lineup. In other words the wedding was a success, the honeymoon was blissful and the rookie year begins. Some prospects go on the win the rookie of the year and then still fizzle out like in the case of Pat Listach. The test of longevity is still to come.
The show has players that crush all of your mistakes and pitchers that throw pitches that disappear. Here there are even more veterans that are even more desperate to keep their jobs. There are desperate temptations everywhere. Cheating isn't even out of the question.
Once the opposition has seen you play, they know all of your weaknesses. All of your successes are expected and all of your mistakes are magnified under the bright lights of the show. The sophomore slump is a common occurrence and only the ballplayer with the fortitude and the work ethic to work out of the slumps can cash in on a long career. Now potential is no longer a dirty word.
Like the possible draftees, some players become hall of famers and some just survive in the league. Just surviving means that you have had a bit of success. Even after years of loyalty and solid production some relationships sour causing players to change organizations. Only the special players like Robin Yount become Hall of Famers playing for just one team. Every organization hopes that they will one day find a Robin Yount.
As you can see, saying that you are in AAA with your girlfriend is much easier than trying to explain how she makes you do the dishes. This system was developed to simplify life, something that is strived for but not easily obtained. If you find a prospect that actually understands what this system is all about then you might be home free. For others, life at AA isn't all that bad either.
