The Upper Deck
Welcome to The Upper Deck, Baseball America’s daily look at the biggest stories around the game and some lighter fare.
GROOME ARRESTED
The father of Red Sox lefthander Jay Groome was arrested on drug and weapons charges, New Jersey law enforcement officials said Wednesday.
Jason Groome, 43, of Barnegat, N.J., is accused of distributing, possessing and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. He was also charged with possessing a 9 mm handgun and possessing the handgun while committing a drug offense. Two other men—Anthony Brandt, 53, and Daniel Wunder, 61—were also arrested and face multiple drug charges, according to the Ocean County (N.J.) Prosecutor’s Office. Groome is in an Ocean County jail in Toms River, where he awaits a hearing.
The younger Groome, 18, is Boston’s No. 3 prospect.
TOM BRADY, MONTREAL EXPO?
.@TimRohan on the time an Expos scout tried to convince a 17 y/o Tom Brady to become a baseball player. https://t.co/7lRomz1Bou
— The MMQB (@theMMQB) July 11, 2017
Could the NFL have been saved from Patriots’ domination by the Expos? Maybe. According to Sports Illustrated’s MMQB, Expos players in 1995 convinced a young Tom Brady to stick with football and attend Michigan, rather than turn pro after Montreal drafted Brady in the 18th round.
Brady, who attended Serra High in San Mateo, Calif., was the school’s quarterback as well as baseball captain. Expos scout John Hughes followed Brady, and the Expos invited Brady to tour Candlestick Park. Expos outfielder F.P. Santangelo told SI that Brady’s football/baseball decision came up during the tour.
“We were telling him, ‘Why would you make $800 a month in the minor leagues when you can be the quarterback at the University of Michigan? You’re a good-looking guy, you can probably have a lot of fun off the field, too,’” Santangelo told Sports Illustrated. “We told him: ‘Go play football at Michigan! Are you kidding me?’”
According to SI, Hughes told Brady’s dad the team would offer big money—the kind usually given to a second-round pick—but Brady chose Michigan, and the rest is history, as well as misery for the AFC East.
COCO THE COACH
Crisp joins James Dockery of Xavier Prep football as former professional athletes coming to the valley to coach. https://t.co/sOkgEr9yj5
— Desert Sun Sports (@DesertSunSports) July 12, 2017
Coco Crisp said he knew Game 7 of the 2016 World Series would be his last game. That proved true when Crisp was hired Wednesday as coach of Shadow Hills High in Indio, Calif.
“The last few seasons, it was a grind trying to play healthy,” the 15-year MLB veteran told the Desert Sun. “Up until that point, I thought I could play till I was 50, but my kids are getting older, and I’ve had a long career already. The combo of my health not being where I wanted it to be and my kids getting older made it an easy decision to hang up my cleats and try to be in a position where I could help them grow as a father.”
Crisp has lived in the region for most of his pro career and said coaching gives him an opportunity to stay close to home and his kids.
“I’m going to be teaching baseball,” he said. “I was very fortunate to go to places that had good managers and coaches and players. The knowledge I gained is something I’d like to share and hopefully get this desert growing as a baseball community.”
HAPPENINGS AT BA
Some 136 players ranked in the BA 500 did not sign pro contracts. Teddy Cahill runs down the list. Justin Perline looked at the programs that had the biggest recruiting hauls since 2012; and high Class A Reds affiliate Daytona has an artful promotion planned.
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