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re: Why didn't LSU greats like Brandon Larson, Eddy Furniss, etc. make more noise in MLB?
Posted on 3/17/23 at 6:58 am to shutterspeed
Posted on 3/17/23 at 6:58 am to shutterspeed
I think Furniss was eager to get to med school and was ready to get out when he did.
Posted on 3/17/23 at 7:06 am to Bert Macklin FBI
quote:
Was the talent in college baseball really that bad back then?
Yes that’s the reason. Back in those days you’d routinely see teams play kids they found on local club teams and such. Come to think of it I remember the teams would leave their gloves on the field so the other team could use them the following half inning.
We’ve come a long way
Posted on 3/17/23 at 7:22 am to shutterspeed
Being a more pure hitter sure helps once you're swinging a wooden bat. Those off center balls with those hot college bats still drove balls out the park.
Posted on 3/17/23 at 7:27 am to shutterspeed
The only tool furniss had was a bat and frankly he benefited greatly from the bats of his time. Wooden bats are a different game.
Posted on 3/17/23 at 7:29 am to lsulaw91
quote:
Less than 10% of first round picks make it to the big leagues.
This stat is so wrong. More than 3 first round picks make it to the big leagues.
Posted on 3/17/23 at 7:33 am to shutterspeed
Because it’s really really hard to make it to the bigs
Posted on 3/17/23 at 7:38 am to shutterspeed
Really, for freaks sake do your own due diligence. People are lazy.
Posted on 3/17/23 at 7:43 am to shutterspeed
College baseball has far more talent today than back then. Over the last 30 years, more and more talented players, like Bregman, Crews and Kling, go to college.
Guys like Larson and Furniss would have been good college players had they played today, but they would have blended in to the team LSU has this year.
Guys like Larson and Furniss would have been good college players had they played today, but they would have blended in to the team LSU has this year.
Posted on 3/17/23 at 7:46 am to shutterspeed
Brandon Larson played for the Frisco Roughriders when I was living in Frisco and he struggled to hit for average but did hit a few bombs.
Not all College greats translated to the pros. It was a much different game then.
Not all College greats translated to the pros. It was a much different game then.
Posted on 3/17/23 at 7:47 am to shutterspeed
quote:
They were absolute monsters in college baseball. To be that prolific, it seems like something would have transferred over. Larson lasted two seasons with the Reds, and Furniss never made it out of AA, not to mention other LSU notables over the years.
Professional baseball is ridiculously hard. Even big time college baseball like we see in the SEC is roughly equivalent to Class A Ball.
Posted on 3/17/23 at 7:51 am to lsu31always
quote:
This stat is so wrong. More than 3 first round picks make it to the big leagues.
You are correct. It’s roughly 50%. A few of those only get the call because they were first round picks and the org has invested millions in them. It’s not necessarily because of their body of work in the minors. They will get more opportunities than a 10th rounder who signed for $150K.
Posted on 3/17/23 at 7:51 am to Bert Macklin FBI
I played with a guy who hit 30 HRs in class A and got released the next season. Pro ball is a different animal.
Posted on 3/17/23 at 7:52 am to lsulaw91
quote:
About .17% of minor leaguers make it to the majors. You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning! (.19%).

Your point is valid, but 0.19% of people don't get struck by lightening. From Encyclopedia Britannia:
quote:
The odds that one will be struck by lightning in the U.S. during one’s lifetime are 1 in 15,300.
That would be 0.006%. It's a lot easier to make it to the MLB.
An average of 45 get struck in Britain each year. Calculating for their 70 million people and a lifespan of 75 years, the odds would be 0.004% So 2/3 of the chances in America.
This post was edited on 3/17/23 at 7:57 am
Posted on 3/17/23 at 7:55 am to lsu31always
quote:
Less than 10% of first round picks make it to the big leagues.
This stat is so wrong. More than 3 first round picks make it to the big leagues.
Yeah, but you are not factoring in the first rounders from football, hockey, etc. Be better!

Posted on 3/17/23 at 8:16 am to shutterspeed
Furniss also went to medical school and became a Dr, so he always had that plan besides baseball.
Posted on 3/17/23 at 8:18 am to geauxtigers33
Todd Helton...tenner 1995
Posted on 3/17/23 at 8:21 am to shutterspeed
People peak at different ages and hard work pays dividends. Could be either or a combination.
Posted on 3/17/23 at 8:52 am to Tbone0910
quote:
I played with a guy who hit 30 HRs in class A and got released the next season. Pro ball is a different animal.
What's his name?
Posted on 3/17/23 at 8:59 am to Tiger Ugly
quote:
he said you will face much better competition and AA ball than most days playing college baseball.
Of course you would. AA is where all of the elite college, future MLB prospects are competing.
Posted on 3/17/23 at 9:09 am to lsulaw91
quote:
About .17% of minor leaguers make it to the majors. You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning! (.19%). Less than 10% of first round picks make it to the big leagues.
Your overall point is correct but these numbers are not
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