[MUSIC] In this lesson, we're going out to Classic Park, the home of the Lake County Captains. We're gonna meet a now professional athlete who was a high school baseball player just about this same time last year before he got drafted by the Cleveland Indians. His name is Clint Frazier. He was named the top, number one, high school baseball player in the country, and the Indians drafted him high and paid him a big bonus. We're gonna see how that transition from the pre-professional to the professional athlete manifests itself in the case of Clint Frazier. On the other side in this same stream of videos that are going to follow. You're going to see this person who has been emerged in the baseball business on the ownership side, Brad Seamore. Talk about the characteristics of those professional baseball players that he has seen make it, and not make it and why. So, I hope you'll find this most interesting. We're beginning the evolution of the professional athlete, from high school right into the professional realm. Playing for a high school one year, playing 140 games the next, and we'll see how he reacts to it. And we'll see what Brad Seymour says about how those who react the best end up making it to the major leagues and making a huge career out of it or not. So thanks for your continuing attention. I hope you enjoy this video. Kyle, welcome everybody. So we're proud to welcome Clint Frazier, number one pick of the tribe last year. This is our class representing the professional athlete, and Clint thanks so much for being with us after a big Captains win. What was it like out there today with that big crowd? You had a great game and congratulations on the same. >> Thank you. It was unusual. We don't have a lot of fans come to the game, so to hear the fans in the crowd that was ecstatic. >> That's great. How about the transition? Let's start there. You're the number one high school player last year is the country, played some rookie ball in Arizona last year. How's the transition been for you as make this next huge step to full season, 140 game A-ball. You go from being a normal high school kid and someone throws a dollar amount at you and you have to make the decision on whether you're gonna go to college or you're gonna accept the dollar amount and go live off on your own. And being 18 years old that's not the easiest process to go through. You have to mature a lot as a young man and really, you see life differently. You see, if I do this, what are the repercussions? And if I don't do this, what are people gonna think? And, just for me to accept the amount of money and come out here and be part of the Cleveland Indians, I feel very greatly honored that I get to represent them everyday. >> Well, it's an honor to have you part of the Indians family. So take us through the draft. You were the number five pick overall in the entire world-wide draft. You had a full scholarship offer. What made you pick the one or the other as the draft? And you only have like a five minute clock to make that decision with your agent. Maybe start with your advisors going into the draft. What voices were you listening to? What agent and advisors did you have. Let's start with that. >> I had a lot of people that surrounded me. I had a couple professional baseball players who are in the major leagues right now that helped guide me through the process that I'd be going through. I had my high school coaches who had been through it again with a former major leaguer, Brandon Marshall with the Oakland A's right now. A lot of them were just saying, what do you want to do? And I said I wanted to play professional baseball and if I got the opportunity I was gonna take it. And you can't necessarily tell teams, if you draft me I'm gonna go, cuz you're draft stock goes down. So you have to play the card that I'm going to college. So they'll offer you more money and they'll try to pay you more money to get you away from that scholarship. And all along I wanted to sign, but I had to blow a face lie to these guys and tell them I want to go to college. So I could get my signing bonus up and the biggest reason I signed was I went number five overall, and to go to college, there's only four other spots I could go up. And it ran the risk of me not getting the opportunity to go in the top five again or go lower and that would have been a very prideful, a very pride issue day if I went lower the second time around. And I was three years older and I was blessed with the opportunity that I had and I could not pass that up for any other reason, and I wanted to play professional baseball so I signed. >> That's a great answer. Take us through that five minute back and forth. That's all you got, right? Your agent's there, now you have advice, professional advice. What's the over and the under as that 5, 7 minute period happens after you get drafted number 5 by the Indians. >> The 4 guys that went ahead of me had to go right there or else I was going to fall out of the top 5. I had a very close connection with the Boston Red Sox at number 7, and if the Indians didn't take me we were on the line with Ben Cherington, the general manager of the Boston Red Sox. I would have been excited to play there to, but the Indians nabbed me first. And I was very, very appreciative that they thought enough of me to take me there but, what was the question? >> You were telling me before we got on, with the class. So there was a number here, the unions were at a number here, your agent and you were at a number there. You had to make a big decision in a very short period of time. >> I had the opportunity to go to Studio 42 in New Jersey for the MLB draft. I was sitting in the third base dugout, and above the first base dugout there's a clock. And on the clock is five minutes, and four people went ahead of me, and I felt like I sat there for 30 minutes because of how long it took, and my agent texted me and said we're negotiating right now. And from what I was told, I'm not gonna mention a dollar amount, but they offered very low the first time and my agent hung up the phone and said we're not accepting that. And they called back and I think he told me there was seven phone calls within five minutes, but then they just try add the number and try to get me to sign. And in the end my agency felt like what I got was fair and I went with it. >> And that's the public number was, $3.7 million. >> The slotted value was $3.7, but I signed for 3.5. >> $3.5 million. And that's all guaranteed. >> Yes. >> Right? Now, here you're back in the Minor Leagues. What are you really being paid per month to play for the Captains? >> I think my last paycheck was $520. >> [LAUGH] >> And that's not even enough to cover my townhouse bill that I'm living in right now. >> [LAUGH] >> So. >> I hope you've invested the guaranteed monies wisely. >> Yeah. >> So, so as you went through that process and the signing and then your first assignment to the Arizona league. Take us through that. How is that transition? You're still an 18 year old at the time playing out in the Arizona league against guy's are a lot older, a lot more experienced before you came here for the full season experience. What was that like after you got drafted and played a little bit in the Arizona league last year? I was like frightened for my life at a few times as some of these guys throw, and they are throwing a 100 miles an hour and they didn't know where it was going, and I learned from facing 85 miles per hour and going home to my mom every single night. And a lot of offer for us out there and then you go back and you really have to go as a person and you're off on your own, you're 18 years old and at the time I felt like I had the whole world on my shoulders, everything was leaning on me. The team wasn't winning and it was because I was brought up as a number one player and I felt like I had to go out there and prove to everybody that's why I got picked, and this is who I am and you grow a lot. You go from playing 16 year olds in high school to some guys are 23 and 24 years old. And I felt like I had bad games in high school if I was three for four. And if I went 0 for four, I struggled on handling some of the failure in rookie ball, but that was just me, having to mature as a young man and be able to face the adversity every single day. >> And then you had some adversity in spring training, that's why you were slow perhaps in getting here, had an injury. How do you deal with that first injury that kept you back at extended spring? >> I spent three months in Arizona for rookie league, one month for instruction league, Two months for Arizona spring training. So I was very anxious to get out of there. And when I pulled my hamstring, I was just thinking, I'm never gonna know what another field looks like. I had to stay positive. Every person has a bump in the road that they have to face. Mine was a health issue with my hamstring and it was 120 degrees out there and I was cramping left and right at the day that I hurt it. And, you know I had to make sure that I was taking care of my body and pushing the fluids to make sure that I stay healthy and I can get out here and, once I got out here it was like 30 degrees and, I was like, I'm gonna pull my hamstring again. >> [LAUGH] >> And the weather warmed up and I got to be part of the Lake County Captains. >> And what's that transition been like? Now you're playing, as they say, 140 game season, 70 home games. You're against 25 year olds, 26 year olds in this league, A-ball. What's been the hardest part for you? I think the hardest part was in high school, you play three games a week and if you have one bad game you have another day to sit on it. If play on Monday game you have Wednesday and Friday game. You play every day out here. I think we've had 12 off days in 142 games. So, you really have to the mind set as, of, I'm gonna leave my failure at the field today and I'm not gonna dwindle on it whenever I get home. And it's very hard, especially when you're 18 years old. And I think I had to delete my Twitter app the other day because I had this guy that was just trolling me saying. >> [LAUGH] >> [LAUGH] >> It was left and right. He was sending me tweets, whoever compared you to Mike Trout should be punched in the face, and he's sitting behind home plate videoing me. And you just have to put those people behind you. That's one of the hardest things too, is when you have people doubting you and all you want to do is prove them wrong. And I went through an extended period where I was struggling. I think my average dropped 60 points in a week, and I didn't feel like the fifth overall pick whenever that was happening. But I had to dig down deep and really pull that out of me to believe that I got here for a reason and believe that what I was doing on the field was gonna translate. >> I've seen your mom here at some games. What voices are you listening to as you go through this tough transition? Still family, friends, advisors, your old high school coach still? >> Man, she calls me every day. >> [LAUGH] >> And asks me if I'm okay, if I strike out. And- >> [LAUGH] >> [LAUGH] That's frustrating. >> [LAUGH] >> But I have my agent. One of the biggest things, whenever I chose him was, I wanted someone that if I got in a car wreck, I could call him and count on him to come help me out. If I got in a situation he could help me, and he's one of my best friends. I've known him for five or six years. It's weird he's 35 years old and I'm 19, I can call him one of my best friends. He's been helping me out. I've got a couple teammates that have been saying, keep doing it. Its part of the process, and I have my girlfriend who's been there for me awhile that's sticking by my side as long as she can, no matter how hard headed I am, and you just have to believe what you're doing is gonna pay off in a little while. >> Well you're doing great, let's go to the Under Armour deal you were telling me about and also your glove deal cuz we study in this class the product endorsement agreement. You have three year deals with Under Armour, take us through that. Is that sort of head to toe, clean Under Armour deal for you? When I was in high school, I went to the Under Armour all-american baseball game, and I went two for two and won the award for MVP of the game, and they came to my high school and said we wanna give your team a one-year deal. And so they put me in Under Armour everything. I was on the cover of Baseball America, and they said make sure everything Under Armour is showing on that, and we'll take care of you. If LeBron did not make the game winning shot against the Pacers last year I wold have been on the cover of Sports Illustrated, but I got page two. [Laughter] If you are loyal to them, they're loyal to you. And so far they give me, I mean Under Armour everything. I have money in the off season that I can spend on my parents for Christmas. And anything. >> What about your girlfriend? Wait a minute. >> She wants more expensive things. [LAUGH] But I mean as a standpoint if you're loyal to them they're going to give you quality things and they really take care of me. And a lot of my teammates like the stuff that I have. What about fit, form, and function? What if you gotta sleeve that didn't work? They don't trade it out and get you one that works right away? That's gotta be the way the deal works. >> I think the best example I can give you is we're in western Michigan and I forgot my cleats and we're six hours away from home and I don't have a pair of cleats. >> And I called the lady at the front desk and I said, I don't have any pair of cleats right now, and the next day I got to the field and Under Armour sent me two pairs of cleats. So just so far as they do a very good job at noticing talent at a young age and trying to lock them up for when they make it to the big leagues. They have you, if you like their products, you're gonna stay with them, and they take care of you. Look at Bryce Harper's he's their cover boy and he's got unlimited amount of deals, he can get whatever he wants, and that's kind of what I'm shooting for right now. >> How about your glove deal? Different deal different company? >> I'm with Wilson glove. I have a certain amount of money I can spend during the season and the off season. And I think I get three gloves an year. One custom glove. [MUSIC]
