LINCOLN — Darin Erstad earned nearly $50 million in 14 seasons of major league baseball after playing three years at Nebraska, so perhaps his view on skipping college straight for the pros is not the most balanced.
Still, the Huskers’ new volunteer assistant coach wants to offer his advice to recruits wrestling with the decision.
“I’m just there if they have questions,” he said. “A lot of times, the information is so one-sided from the scouts that they don’t draw a good picture of professional baseball. I’m not trying to say professional baseball is bad. It’s not, but you need to know both sides to make an educated decision.”
Erstad met with the news media Wednesday at Haymarket Park, less than a week after NU announced his hiring.
The 36-year-old North Dakota native played his last season in the majors a year ago with the Astros. He spent 11 years with the Angels, ranking fourth in franchise history in hits, runs, doubles and steals.
So far at Nebraska, he’s reached out to several signees who face a major decision during the next month: the choice to attend college or begin their professional careers.
Nebraska recruits Drew Robinson, a fourth-round pick, and Shane Opitz, an 11th-rounder, have already signed with the clubs that drafted them last month. Both are infielders.
Four others must sign by Aug. 16 or attend college: left-handed pitcher Logan Ehlers of Nebraska City (eighth round by Toronto) and right-handed pitchers Jon Keller of Cedar Rapids, Iowa (11th round by Seattle), Jon Musser of Waukee, Iowa (21st round by Philadelphia) and Brandon Pierce of Gunter, Texas (26th round by Pittsburgh).
The draft hit Nebraska hard in recent years. In 2007 and 2008, 14 of 19 drafted recruits or NU players with remaining eligibility signed professional contracts, including seven pitchers taken in the top nine rounds.
Erstad, as a full-time volunteer, is not allowed to see recruits off campus; however, he can talk to prospects on campus or by phone if they call him. Additionally, he can talk on the phone with signed recruits like those pondering their NU futures this summer.
“I’m not in their shoes,” Erstad said. “I don’t know their family situations, but I’m highly influenced by my experience and how well it went. I just can’t imagine doing it the other way.”
Erstad signed after three years of college with the Angels, who drafted him No. 1 overall in 1995. Out of high school in Jamestown, N.D., he went in the 13th round to the Mets but picked Nebraska.
“The first two years of college, I had a chance to screw up,” Erstad said. “I made some mistakes, but I was still here. In the pros, you screw up for a couple years and you might be back in school. (College) gives you time to mature as a ballplayer and as a person.”
He earned All-America honors in baseball as a junior and punted on the Huskers’ 1994 national-championship football team.
“My time here probably impacted me more than anything in my entire life,” Erstad said. “I can’t even imagine signing out of high school, as much as I learned in the three years I was in school. I learned how to be disciplined with my time, how to play in front of big crowds, how to deal with media.
“It just seems like common sense that you’d want to start your education and have a chance to grow up a little bit in a university setting.”
Contact the writer:
402-444-1031, mitch.sherman@owh.com
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