Holy Mackerel- Oakland A prospect retires in order to study for the priesthood
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Bill Jempty | Friday, January 22, 2010 |
I agree with ESPN’s Rob Neyer, who calls this the oddest baseball news.
Oakland Athletics prospect Grant Desme is retiring from baseball to enter the priesthood.
Desme was recently selected the 2009 Arizona Fall League MVP and was considered one of the top prospects in Oakland’s system.
“We respect Grant’s decision and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors,” A’s general manager Billy Beane said in a statement.
The 23-year-old outfielder batted .288 with 31 homers, 89 RBIs and 40 stolen bases in 131 games at Class-A Kane County and Stockton last season.
1950′s and 60′s baseball player Frank Thomas supposedly studied for the priesthood before becoming a professional baseball player.
Rob Neyer’s blog post said Desme, who played college ball for Cal Poly, wasn’t a top prospect. In part because of his age and high strikeout rate
Yes, that sounds terribly pessimistic. The point is that Desme wasn’t a sure thing — not a Grade A prospect. He was a Grade B prospect, or maybe a B+ for the people who really loved him. The A’s need star hitters if they’re ever to get somewhere, and Desme didn’t look like a future star.
Coincidentally I’m leaving for a Catholic Men’s retreat in only minutes. This will be my last blog post till Sunday.
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