Failed prospect sues Yankees, says Jeter reason he never made majors

stepson_and_toe

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https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/failed-prospect-sues-yankees-claims-derek-jeter-is-why-he-never-made-it-to-mlb/
although a better source might be from nj.com as it also talks about the suit he file against an NC private football training complex when he failed to get into pro football.

Former minor leaguer Garrison Lassiter field a suit for $34 million claiming that Derek Jeter was one of the reason he never made the team or the majors. He graduated from law school and represented himself but the case was rejected by a Chief District Jude back in May. Lassister has since filed suit against the Cincinnati Reds and has said he is now sleeping in his car and has spent the $675,000 signing bonus he got from the Yankees.

Edit: seems a shame to bury this is the NYY forum.
 

Marciano490

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I hope Jeter sent this dude a basket.

He should be suing his law school though. Or his financial adviser.
 

jon abbey

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Yeah, the original nj.com story is much better. I thought about posting this earlier, but this dude is just batshit crazy, I feel sorry for him.

"In the lawsuit against the Yankees, Lassiter considers himself as a mix of Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager, the 2016 National League Rookie of the Year winner who made it farther than Lassiter did by age 20, and Brandon Weeden, a former Yankees pitching prospect went on to play parts of five seasons as an NFL quarterback.

Lassiter decided the Yankees owed him $17.468 million, based off what Seager had made.

Then he said the Yankees should fork over to him another $11.598 million, citing Weeden’s earnings but admitting the figure was a “guesstimate.”

(After the Yankees released Lassiter, he redshirted at quarterback for University of Miami, never appearing in a game. Lassiter said Miami kicked him out of the program in 2014 for rallying the team and asking head coach Al Golden to make him the starter.)

Finally, Lassiter wanted another $5.6 million to cover for a basketball career he never had."

https://www.nj.com/yankees/2020/01/in-bizarre-lawsuit-yankees-failed-prospect-says-derek-jeter-ruined-his-career.html
 

E5 Yaz

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The more you google, the stranger this gets

"He included a letter to Texas Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels, describing his experience at a Rangers tryout: "I was the first guy to the park. I was actually so early you guys had security surround me and make calls to see if I was OK to be there. That's a joke. I still managed to go 1-for-3."
Yeah, he has issues

https://www.fltimes.com/news/nation/is-too-old-to-try-out-for-major-league-baseball/article_efa18588-546b-597b-a0f4-934a07a1208d.html
 

Sad Sam Jones

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This guy should be Exhibit A for MLB's argument to get rid of 40 low-level minor league teams. It's incredible he was actually paid to play baseball for over 3 years while slugging .302 in A-ball.
 

santadevil

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Tomorrow I'm suing all 30 major league teams for not drafting me. I feel I was likely a better pitcher than this guy was a hitter and the Yankees gave him $650,000

What do you all I feel I should do with my incoming millions?
 

wiffleballhero

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FWIW, the minor league system does seem to have a bit of a bait and switch that happens: kids (because they sort of are kids) get into the system thinking they have a shot at the bigs, but in reality they are there to create reps for the prospects. The vast majority of minor leaguers are on a glorified practice squad, they just don't know it.
 

billy ashley

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FWIW, the minor league system does seem to have a bit of a bait and switch that happens: kids (because they sort of are kids) get into the system thinking they have a shot at the bigs, but in reality they are there to create reps for the prospects. The vast majority of minor leaguers are on a glorified practice squad, they just don't know it.

I'm super sympathetic to the plight of minor leaguers. Their pay is abysmal, it's not uncommon that they end up paying more than they earn just to have a shot.

But man, I hope most these guys have people in their lives who are honest with them, or enough common sense to understand that the chances are slim, even after making it to professional ball. There's so much information out there available for free that reflects the reality of their situation.

If a person can afford to take a few years to chase their dreams, there's nothing wrong with going for it. But they should know exactly what they're buying when they make that decision. I don't know if its the organization's responsibility to communicate that. Or the players responsibility to look into it, a bit.

I've had a few friends who have played affiliated ball. One got to AA in the Rangers organization. He knew he was just another guy. I never asked him if he determined that, or of it was communicated to him before his release. He was happy he played, he still played some non-affiliated stuff because he just loved baseball, through his 20's. But yeah, I don't think he ever expected to make it anywhere.
 

Cesar Crespo

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How did a 27th round pick get a $675,000 signing bonus? I guess it was in 2008 before the draft cap.

So this guy would have been a 3rd-4th round pick if not for signability?
 

DJnVa

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I'd like to file a Friend of the Court brief. This guy deserves all the money.
 

pedro1918

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In my five years working in MiLB, most players realized that they had a very limited shot of ever having a cup of coffee in the big leagues, never mind an actual career. I’m sure there were some delusional guys, but they were a tiny minority. It’s not a bad way to spend a few years when you’re young.
 
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InstaFace

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This guy should be Exhibit A for MLB's argument to get rid of 40 low-level minor league teams. It's incredible he was actually paid to play baseball for over 3 years while slugging .302 in A-ball.
This story is just sad, it's not evidence of anything. But your statement is only true if you think the sole purpose of minor league baseball is to develop prospects for the bigs. I'd submit that maybe there's other purposes, including entertainment that people are willing to pay for, even if they're not in the big city.
 

Cesar Crespo

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This story is just sad, it's not evidence of anything. But your statement is only true if you think the sole purpose of minor league baseball is to develop prospects for the bigs. I'd submit that maybe there's other purposes, including entertainment that people are willing to pay for, even if they're not in the big city.
It wouldn't have affected this guy anyway. He got a $675,000 signing bonus. He wasn't roster filler. He was a legit prospect.
 

DJnVa

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Not sure how a 34 year old Jeter blocked an 18 year old in Class A, but go off King!
 

DJnVa

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This guy should be Exhibit A for MLB's argument to get rid of 40 low-level minor league teams. It's incredible he was actually paid to play baseball for over 3 years while slugging .302 in A-ball.
What's awesome is that as bad as this dude's numbers were, he's still in the top 1% of baseball players in the entire world. He'd be the guy in your adult league that you could never ever get out. He'd go 4-4 every game, and likely pitch 7 innings, and strike out 16 guys.
 

InstaFace

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Does he actually get a good night's sleep in the car? I might be up to trade places with him. He can deal with a cranky toddler.
 

PedroKsBambino

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Roger Goodell is considering docking the Patriots a draft pick for this.
 

mauf

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That’s a great subject for a law school admissions application essay.
For years, the law schools bombarded the marketplace with dubious data about placement rates and starting salaries that fed surplus demand for the service that law schools sell. By contrast, whenever the subject of minor-league salaries comes up, MLB is remarkably candid about the role that most minor leaguers (especially in the low minors) are there to play. It’s not their fault that some deluded young people think languishing in A-ball is a path to greatness.

Edit: In case it’s not clear, I was just using Beerabelli’s post as a jumping-off point.
 
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OCD SS

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What's awesome is that as bad as this dude's numbers were, he's still in the top 1% of baseball players in the entire world. He'd be the guy in your adult league that you could never ever get out. He'd go 4-4 every game, and likely pitch 7 innings, and strike out 16 guys.
In other news he has decided to sue Ichiro, who kept in him from getting into that pickup game in Japan.
 

oumbi

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There's no way this case makes it to court, but if it did, I'd be disappointed if he didn't use some variation of the "Otter defense."
Which is? I have never heard of such a defense. Does one have to in water to make it?
 

glennhoffmania

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Which is? I have never heard of such a defense. Does one have to in water to make it?
Oh boy. This isn't going to end well.

I'll just leave this here:

Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll be brief. The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules, or took a few liberties with our female party guests – we did. But you can’t hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn’t we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn’t this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg – isn’t this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we’re not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America.
 

glennhoffmania

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Fun fact- my father was roommates with Otter before he became a semi-famous actor.
 
Jul 5, 2018
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In my five years working in MiLB, most players realized that they had a very limited shot of ever having a cup of coffee in the big leagues, never mind an actual career. I’m sure there were some delusional guys, but they were a tiny minority. It’s not a bad way to spend a few years when you’re young.
I believe that the vast majority of minor league players are there because they believe they could be good enough to play in the majors. This article links to a 2015 NCAA survey that indicated 64% of D-1 football players believe it was a least somewhat likely they could play in the NFL, compared to an actual success rate of about 2%:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/lets-get-real-with-college-athletes-about-their-chances-of-going-pro-110837
I was a fanatical distance runner in college and it took me three years to realize I didn't have the natural ability to become an all-American in either XC or track. Looking back, it should have been obvious to me it was impossible to reach that level.
 

stepson_and_toe

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I believe that the vast majority of minor league players are there because they believe they could be good enough to play in the majors.
Well, a number of them get fairly decent bonuses. If you do well playing baseball as a teenager and aren't really college material then get drafted, offered , say, a $60K bonus, and get payed to play ball, it certainly sounds better than working at a hamburger joint.
 

joyofsox

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He is also suing the Manufacturer's Hanover on Lexington and 40th Street because they foiled his lifelong dream to be a banker.
 

jon abbey

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Most college football players don't have individual stats to pop their own bubbles about their relative skill level, I could see possibly how a large percentage of offensive linemen could think "if I just keep lifting and training and working for four years, maybe?". Baseball, everyone has stats constantly and if you are being overmatched five levels away from the bigs for a couple of years, you have to be pretty self-delusional to think that there is any chance you will jump that much.

The tricky thing though with baseball is that there are always guys coming out of nowhere and if there were less minor league teams, those guys would be the first to go. Kyle Hendricks was an 8th round pick in 2011, a righty who topped out around 90 and had under a 7 K/9 his first year starting in high A (at 22). Maybe he's a bad example and would have broken through anyway but it will be harder for teams to wait on pitchers to develop as long if they have one less team in their system and the slow throwing righties seem first on the chopping block.
 

Marciano490

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Even with numbers, I think humans have an amazing ability to tell themselves stories. I’m sure a lot of these guys are convinced that if some nagging injury went away, or next season when they try reallllly hard, or they workout as much as Prospect 1, or get the lucky bounces, or aren’t so stressed or sleep-deprived or whatever, they’ll make it.

I’ve seen that in almost all things at almost all levels.

It’s really hard to be very good at something and then realize that someone else can be incredibly better at it based entirely on their innate genetic ability and there is nothing you can do about it.
 

bquine

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"It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning—

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
 

Lose Remerswaal

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The tricky thing though with baseball is that there are always guys coming out of nowhere and if there were less minor league teams, those guys would be the first to go. Kyle Hendricks was an 8th round pick in 2011, a righty who topped out around 90 and had under a 7 K/9 his first year starting in high A (at 22). Maybe he's a bad example and would have broken through anyway but it will be harder for teams to wait on pitchers to develop as long if they have one less team in their system and the slow throwing righties seem first on the chopping block.
And that is why they expect (hope?) the Independent leagues will grow and take over some of these locations and many of these players. So they can still have visibility to these guys without the whole having to pay them and provide uniforms and other support to the teams thing.
 

doldmoose34

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I just forwarded the article to a friend who is a MFY fan saying ‘denial ain’t just a river in Egypt’

another friend got to High A in the Cards organization years ago. He roomed on one of his minor league stops with Alan Bennes, and they called themselves the ‘500 club’ Joe got $500 to sign, Bennes got $500k
 

Fred not Lynn

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Even with numbers, I think humans have an amazing ability to tell themselves stories. I’m sure a lot of these guys are convinced that if some nagging injury went away, or next season when they try reallllly hard, or they workout as much as Prospect 1, or get the lucky bounces, or aren’t so stressed or sleep-deprived or whatever, they’ll make it.

I’ve seen that in almost all things at almost all levels.

It’s really hard to be very good at something and then realize that someone else can be incredibly better at it based entirely on their innate genetic ability and there is nothing you can do about it.
It still beats the hell out of a real job any day!

Guys in the minors/independents play for all sorts of reasons...and yeah, it sounds cliche’, but love of the game is one of them

The REAL non MLB-salary money in baseball is in the “youth sports industrial complex”; The instruction/training, tournament, showcase industry is a top-dollar racket, and being able to tout oneself as a “pro player with the [insert MLB team name] organization” gives a guy credibility, and then there’s the networking part of it, too.
 

Fred not Lynn

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And that is why they expect (hope?) the Independent leagues will grow and take over some of these locations and many of these players. So they can still have visibility to these guys without the whole having to pay them and provide uniforms and other support to the teams thing.
Except I don’t think it’s going to be Indy pro teams, it’ll be college summer teams, or at best low level post-college pay-to-play outfits, that will fill smaller towns needs for summer entertainment without player salary expense. 750 Of those 800 people are there for the mascots and hot dogs, the level of baseball is of no consequence to them.
 

terrynever

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I once batted against a future big league pitcher in Legion ball. Is that unusual in our SOSH crowd? I suspect not.

Three pitches, all strikes. Literally only heard the first one go by. Billy Dillman pitched about 4 years in the big leagues. He was so much better than our best players, it was frightening.