November 25, 200817 yr PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates hope Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel really do have million-dollar arms. The two 20-year-old pitchers, neither of whom had picked up a baseball until earlier this year, signed free-agent contracts Monday with the Pirates. They are believed to be the first athletes from India to sign professional baseball contracts outside their country. Singh and Patel came to the United States six months ago after being the top finishers in an Indian reality TV show called the "Million Dollar Arm" that drew about 30,000 contestants. The show sought to find athletes who could throw strikes at 85 miles per hour or faster. While neither pitcher threw hard enough to earn the $1 million prize, Singh made $100,000 from the contest and Patel made $2,500, plus his trip to the United States. The contest was sponsored by a California sports management company that believed it could locate major league-worthy arms in a country of more than 1 billion. After working extensively with Southern California pitching coach Tom House since May, the pitchers staged a tryout in Tempe, Ariz., on Nov. 6 that was attended by 30 major league scouts. "The Pirates are committed to creatively adding talent to our organization," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said Monday. "By adding these two young men, the Pirates are pleased to not only add two prospects to our system but also hope to open a pathway to an untapped market. We are intrigued by Patel's arm strength and Singh's frame and potential." http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/base...s.ap/index.html
November 25, 200817 yr waste of time.... they barely hit 90mph... there houndreds of kids here that deserve a chance more than these guys...
November 25, 200817 yr waste of time.... they barely hit 90mph... there houndreds of kids here that deserve a chance more than these guys... You're talking about two kids who hadn't ever picked up a baseball as of a year ago... and they're hitting strikes... give them some time in what is a VERY low risk move... the Pirates could look smart here
November 25, 200817 yr waste of time.... they barely hit 90mph... there houndreds of kids here that deserve a chance more than these guys... You're talking about two kids who hadn't ever picked up a baseball as of a year ago... and they're hitting strikes... give them some time in what is a VERY low risk move... the Pirates could look smart here there just trying to sell tickets.... They were taken to california to work out with Tom House who's an excellent pitching coach. A little time with him and he could teach a monkey to throw strikes.... These kids wont last long...
November 25, 200817 yr Sell tickets to their minor league affiliates? lolwut? And I don't care how good a pitching coach is... there's no way someone can go from never picking up a baseball to being ML ready in one year... there's too much finesse in pitching for that to be feasible by ANY means
November 26, 200817 yr low risk, high reward. Those are risks people take. I think this is one of those risks. If it works you have now tapped into India along with latin america.
November 26, 200817 yr I am sure that this won't pan out they way the hope. You can quote me on that.
November 26, 200817 yr I am sure that this won't pan out they way the hope. You can quote me on that. So what? It's a minor-league FA deal.. it's no different than getting someone like this in the draft... so who cares... like Dgreco said, if it works, it gives Pittsburgh the pipeline to India, like Seattle/LA did with the Asian market. This is just pure publicity not much else Publicity for what? This isn't going to sell any jerseys or ML tickets... this is just taking a shot and seeing what happens
November 26, 200817 yr Publicity for what? This isn't going to sell any jerseys or ML tickets... this is just taking a shot and seeing what happens You sure about that. You don't think anyone among 1.2 billion people who live in India will make there way to MLB.com and be a hipster and order a Pirates jersey or hat? Let alone at least one Indian baseball fan in the United States. The pirates were front page sports news across a country of 1.2 billion people. A lot of people are going to follow these kids over there because it's new and interesting to them. Look at all the nutty people from the Netherlands who follow Vanden Hurk. This is smart business for the Pirates. Now imagine a real prospect shows up there in 2 years and the Pirates have two kids in A+ raving about the organization. Guess whose the front runner. This can only help Pittsburgh and it cost them nothing. Tough crowd.
November 26, 200817 yr Publicity for what? This isn't going to sell any jerseys or ML tickets... this is just taking a shot and seeing what happens You sure about that. You don't think anyone among 1.2 billion people who live in India will make there way to MLB.com and be a hipster and order a Pirates jersey or hat? Let alone at least one Indian baseball fan in the United States. The pirates were front page sports news across a country of 1.2 billion people. A lot of people are going to follow these kids over there because it's new and interesting to them. Look at all the nutty people from the Netherlands who follow Vanden Hurk. This is smart business for the Pirates. Now imagine a real prospect shows up there in 2 years and the Pirates have two kids in A+ raving about the organization. Guess whose the front runner. This can only help Pittsburgh and it cost them nothing. Tough crowd. I completely agree and believe I said something along the lines of the second half of what you said. But in regards to the first half, it's extremely tough to say, and you gotta believe that. Baseball is obscure and unfollowed over there. The press on these guys have been that they didn't even win the competition and have had a flier taken on them. A contest with the terms "Throw 90mph for strikes and win a million bucks" will garner a lot of interest ANYWHERE. They're not Justin Uptons or Rick Porcellos setting the world on fire, so why would people, in a nation that doesn't really care about baseball to begin with, sit there and go "hipster" and get Pirates gear when there's no indication it's even worth it? 1.2 Billion people, yes, sure, but for now - they're relatively unknown doing something that doesn't have any history or "weight" in that culture and aren't particularly great at it... doesn't exactly reek popularity - yet
November 26, 200817 yr It always made me wonder why there is such a lack of talent in sports in India, there is over 1 billion people and they can't even be decent at any sport not named cricket. it's outside of baseball but there has been numerous soccer teams (Manchester United comes to mind) that have tried to set up soccer schools in India trying to tap into that vast market hoping that somehting can come out it, and to this day no one has even come close to even be called a soccer player over there.
November 27, 200817 yr It always made me wonder why there is such a lack of talent in sports in India, there is over 1 billion people and they can't even be decent at any sport not named cricket. it's outside of baseball but there has been numerous soccer teams (Manchester United comes to mind) that have tried to set up soccer schools in India trying to tap into that vast market hoping that somehting can come out it, and to this day no one has even come close to even be called a soccer player over there. Sports just isn't a major part of the culture over there - it's just the way it is
November 27, 200817 yr It always made me wonder why there is such a lack of talent in sports in India, there is over 1 billion people and they can't even be decent at any sport not named cricket. it's outside of baseball but there has been numerous soccer teams (Manchester United comes to mind) that have tried to set up soccer schools in India trying to tap into that vast market hoping that somehting can come out it, and to this day no one has even come close to even be called a soccer player over there. Sports just isn't a major part of the culture over there - it's just the way it is Luckily, technical support and convenience stores are. If either of these guys prove to be something, maybe it could be the start of a minor influx. If people find out that opportunities are there, they'll follow.
December 2, 200817 yr It always made me wonder why there is such a lack of talent in sports in India, there is over 1 billion people and they can't even be decent at any sport not named cricket. it's outside of baseball but there has been numerous soccer teams (Manchester United comes to mind) that have tried to set up soccer schools in India trying to tap into that vast market hoping that somehting can come out it, and to this day no one has even come close to even be called a soccer player over there. Sports just isn't a major part of the culture over there - it's just the way it is Sports are not a major part of the culture over in India, but stuff like this is:
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