Bobby Thompson

With the 2024 MLB Draft in the books, let's take a look at how I would approach the process of evaluating and acquiring amateur talent for an organization. It isn't always enough to draft the best talent; you have to draft them with the understanding of how they fit in the organization, the cadence in which they arrive on the 40-man roster, and the logistics of your operations. Watch the video for more! #mlbdraft #mlb #baseball #logistics #operations #driveline #strategy

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News Flash: Parents of Aspiring College Athletes 🏆 Student athletes can now get paid. A recent groundbreaking NCAA ruling has changed the game for student athletes. Check out the details to learn more about how this could impact your child's future: https://lnkd.in/emyUrZff #collegebound #parentsofathletes #collegeboundathletes #momsofathletes

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#23 Oakland Athletics: The Top 3 Pitchers Drafted Since 2013 Since 2013, the A's have ranked 29th in total payroll and 20th in total wins heading into the 2024 season. Yet, to their credit, they’ve reached the postseason five times during that period. In reviewing all 36 pitchers from this case study, a clear pattern emerges: the A's have consistently spent less on their Top 3 pitchers in the draft. When they have invested over $1 million in a signing bonus for a pitcher, it has yet to yield favorable results. The A's have struggled to develop a true Top 3 starting pitcher since 2013, and as this case study highlights, like many teams analyzed, they’ve experienced a high injury rate while gaining minimal value from their top pitching picks during this span. Injury Rate: 39% With a 39% injury rate, the Oakland Athletics rank 8th overall in most injurious organizations.  The organization has recorded 17 arm injuries and 9 arm surgeries among their pitchers, with an average of 282 innings pitched before surgery was required. 5 out of the 8 pitchers who received at least a million-dollar signing bonus have had Tommy John Surgery since 2013. MLB Pitchers: 7 7 pitchers from this case study have reached the Major Leagues with the Athletics: Dillon Overton (2013), Daniel Gossett (2014), Daulton Jefferies (2016), A.J. Puk (2016), Hogan Harris (2018), Mason Miller (2021), and Grant Holman (2021). Together, they have thrown a total of 497.4 innings for the A's ranking them 28th in total Major League Baseball (MLB) innings pitched for all organizations. On a bright spot, Mason Miller (2021) has emerged as one of the best closers in baseball in 2024. Cost Efficiency – $68,653 per MLB Inning The A's investment in signing bonuses has amounted to nearly $51,509.15 per MLB inning pitched, placing them 21st in terms of return on investment for innings pitched across the league. As mentioned earlier, the eight pitchers who received over $1 million in signing bonuses—totaling more than $15 million—have pitched just 147 innings to date. A lot can change in just a few years, but for now, the A's will rely on their recent drafts to provide future value for their MLB roster. #Top3 #startingpitcher #mlb

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I like this feature!

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Looking to get into Player Development? Check out these 5 steps that can help you: https://lnkd.in/gjjX8juX #PlayerDevelopment #CareerAdvice #Networking #ProfessionalGrowth

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I started for a D1 college soccer team my freshman year. By the end of that year, I wanted to quit… The will to play the game I loved my whole life Had evolved into something I loathed… I went from feeling like I had a potential, Worthy of my large and aspirational goals, To someone who felt worthless, And no longer capable. My first year in college soccer killed my love for the game Because the environment and its leaders never intended to develop me… So I had a choice to make… Quit the game that I had fallen out of love with… Or try to find a way to rekindle our love. ⚽️⚽️⚽️ I chose the latter. The summer before my sophomore year, I moved to Tampa, Florida and lived with my college teammate. I joined his youth club team where the coach was an enthusiastic parent. Without knowing it, I was conducting an experiment: I would change everything, including the environment and leadership, And the only constants would be the sport and myself. Was it the ENVIRONMENT or was it ME That was most responsible for wanting to quit? ⚽️⚽️⚽️ By spending the summer in Tampa, I earned myself enough self-belief And renewed love for the game To last me 7 more years as a player (3 college, 4 pro) When I was empty only a few months prior. That summer I experienced a different environment where: 1/The coach created the space for me to be myself 2/He made me feel wanted 3/The players were demanding and cared 4/It was fun Because of that: 1/I fell back in love with the game 2/I felt more confident 3/I liked myself more 4/And I developed as a person as well as a player We actually won a Florida State Cup, did well at regionals, etc.. But I don’t remember those games or the success we had… That summer helped me realize: 1/ Who I was at my core 2/ That I have potential 3/ How soccer was never the issue 4/ And all the potential long-term benefits of staying in the game ⚽️⚽️⚽️ I learned a lot in my soccer career. Most of my learnings were how NOT to do it. Not how to do it. And that can be incredibly valuable to your long-term development, As long as we NEVER let those environments And leaders… Steal our love of the game and our potential. ⚽️⚽️⚽️ Please remember… We all have potential. As coaches, we must create environments for our players That we never had, so future generations Can take on our stories and not our scars. How does this land for you? How do you protect this within your own environment? Feel free to share in the comments below.

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Last Wednesday I attended the NFL Player Engagement webinar. There were over 500+ people there. This was a very insightful look into player engagement. Thank you to the NFL Player Engagment staff: Tracy Perlman Rob Morrissey Keith Elias Carla Lide-Buglione Usama Young Ashley Smith Max Blank The staff spoke about the five pillars of player engagement. The first four are player facing and the team dove deeper into how they help National Football League (NFL) players and legends in the following pillars: Continuing education Financial literacy Professional development Personal development After they spoke about what they do at the league level they then dove into their fifth pillar which is to support those in player engagement at each of the 32 teams. They spoke about how they provide value to those in the role and then had three professionals in player engagement on a panel to discuss their every day roles. Those professional were Kelsey Harkins DeAngelo Shears, MBA Fernando Velasco. They did a great job talking about their roles and providing some advice for those in the role. (Sidenote: they all worked in college athletics during their career journey.) After the panel and Q&A, Keith Elias reminded a lot of attendees that NFL chances are slim and getting a start in college athletics is a great way to impact the lives of athletes now. My overall thoughts: 1. They delivered on what they said they would they gave an introduction to player engagement 2. They dove into player engagement from the league level and the team level 3. They encouraged attendees to connect and network 4. They were realistic in telling people they wouldn't just go from the Zoom to player engagement and there is a lot of opportunity in college athletics To hear a more detailed breakdown of the NFL Player Engagement webinar, check out my podcast in the comments. #PlayerEngagement #PlayerDevelopment

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The growth of Playfly continues.

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Here is my article on the final Long Beach State Men's Volleyball regular season game of the year before the Big West Championship. #GoBeach

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Navigating Non-Linear Paths in Player Development The NFL Player Engagement panel shared their career paths. the common denominator was college athletics. Listen to more here: https://lnkd.in/gwpSm7BA #PlayerDevelopment #CareerJourneys #CollegeAthletics #SportsProfessionals #NCAA #AthleticTraining #SportsCareers #SportsIndustry #CareerGrowth #DiversePaths

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There is so much going oil college sports. Over the past 2 weeks there have been 2 major stories: 1. What will happen with the House settlement proposal; 2. UNLV's quarterback Matthew Sluka NIL contract issue. Check out my latest as I discuss what is going on in both of these stories. https://lnkd.in/eH5xWgg3 #collegesports #sportslaw #ncaa #nameimagelikeness

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Next Friday we are back with a new Locker Room Sports Community model that I've designed to better serve athlete business owners, our sports business members, and sports focused non-profits. A limited number of sports related non-profit organizations that serve kids will receive membership at no cost. Please reach out for information on how to apply. In order to support our non-profits, we focus on creating partnerships with athletes, sports industry companies, and other non-profits in order to impact more kids. Our athlete business owners and sports business members will be coming together to help our non-profits through fundraising events, volunteerism, and cause marketing campaigns. Personally, I’m stepping into finding purpose in pain, and making a difference in the lives of kids is how I do that. I’m dedicating myself to using my sports business projects to generate funds for further research into early onset bipolar and using my platform to create awareness of this poorly understood condition. Bipolar that starts as a young child is more severe and complex than adult onset bipolar, and the life outcomes are worse. Since childhood, this condition has ruined my life more times and in more ways than I can count. I will consider my life a waste if I can’t find a way to help other kids not end up like me. 

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4 Tips to Help Have A EFFECTIVE Fall Camp Fall camp is here and it is one of the most imperative times for player development. #PlayerDevelopment https://lnkd.in/gJYi2eSV

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