TO SIGN OR NOT TO SIGN
In the waning hours of Aug. 15, 2010, A.J. Vanegas spent the day before his 18th birthday as one might imagine any recent college-bound high school graduate might. He hung out with family and talked about what the future might bring.
For the Stanford-bound Vanegas, however, that future involved deciding if he would accept a $1.8 million bonus offer from the Padres as the organization sought to buy him out of pitching for his father’s alma mater.
“It was always kind of lurking, that decision,” said Vanegas, San Diego’s seventh-round pick out of Redwood Christian High in San Lorenzo, Calif. “It kept building up and building up as we were getting closer and closer. It was interesting, that whole summer.”
From an outsider’s perspective, it can seem so surprising that every year top high school baseball prospects like Vanegas decline signing bonuses that can stretch to seven figures in favor of heading to college.
Each year, high school prospects must weigh financial, educational and personal priorities to decide how much they truly value their college experience. It’s often a
