Coming This Week: “Deal of the Century”
Posted By John Klima on July 5, 2009
Baseball Beginnings is pounding the pavement, beginning the long process of collecting players for the 2010 and 2011 drafts. Because this is such a busy week for us, we’re running a story called Deal of the Century over a six-day period this week.
Deal of the Century is the true story of left-handed pitcher Paul Pettit, who in 1950, became the first ever $100,000 bonus baby when he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Deal of the Century, in our modest opinion, should be required reading for all aspiring professional players. Things aren’t always as they seem once the contract is signed. Pettit’s story proves that even if you get paid and get a chance, it doesn’t mean that it will work out, nor that professional baseball isn’t a place where some people will have an axe to grind.
The irony is that Paul is one of the sweetest guys you could ever hope to meet. He’s never been reclusive about his past. After his playing days, he returned home to the South Bay in Southern California to teach and coach. He never had any regrets.
Deal of the Century appeared in the 2007 edition of Best American Sports Writing. The story helped lead me toward my forthcoming book, Willie’s Boys, about the struggles Willie Mays had to endure to reach the major leagues.
Speaking of Willie’s Boys, which is the book cover you can see at your left, the book is scheduled to be released Sep. 7. We’ll have more information as the release date approaches. We have endorsements from Torii Hunter, Joe Torre and authors David Maraniss, Jonathan Eig and Glenn Stout.
We invite you to sit back and enjoy Deal of the Century, which will run from Monday to Saturday and be available on the site thereafter.
Comments
Leave a Reply
Please note: Comment moderation is currently enabled so there will be a delay between when you post your comment and when it shows up. Patience is a virtue; there is no need to re-submit your comment.