Larkin was like 19, Griffey was 18, but not every player/kid is the same and some need more time to mature physically.
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Ben McDonald says hi! Numerous kids have had careers by being brought up too soon. Not antibody is the same.
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I wasn’t arguing whether he’s ready or not. My main point is that giving him some games won’t ruin him. I don’t know why people buy into those things. I mean if you have major drug issues or something, sure, but not for normal people. The question for me is he better than the alternatives, which includes guys like Sweeney. It’s not hard to imagine that yes he might be.
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They buy into it because we’ve seen it happen to kids so many times over the years. Jeremy Bonderman was a can’t miss kind of player, Ben McDonald was a can’t miss, and so on and so on, but they were brought up too soon to play for shitty teams and it ruined them.
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It’s as old as you have to punt on 4th down every time. Thankfully Dan doesn’t believe it.
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I was just screwing around when I said to bring him up. I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously.
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Gretzky was 17.
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The statistics of 18-19 yr old being brought up tell the story. No, I’m not looking them up but I know with baseball and hockey most players don’t just come up to the big unless they’re absolute superstars and beyond their years
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So Gretzky is the floor we’re looking at then? Gotcha
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You’re moving the goalposts to suit your argument. Will a 20 year be ruined by playing a MLB game? The answer is no.
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It’s okay brother… I can’t stop watching KC bitch slap the Sox 
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I’m not moving anything. You don’t bring players up until they’re ready! Period! Not because Socko says he’s ready, because he hits amazingly in AA ball. We are all literal idiots compared to Scott Harris and the type. Some of us are just smart enough to realize that just because someone kills it in AA doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll hit 40-40 in the bigs and should be brought up because of course all those AA pitchers are basically all-stars in the bigs already. Also you don’t know what will ruin a kid, because every kid is different. It doesn’t matter if he’s 25, if he’s not ready he’s not ready. Not everyone is as mentally strong as you or I Socko. We’re special 
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You absolutely continue to try and move the goalposts. But I don’t care enough to continue. It’s a shame we ruined Bonderman and he would have had an ERA in the 2s throughout his career if only we hadn’t been so cruel…
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I really wish Harris would listen to you, then we’d have a team of 19&20 yr olds that would, by all accounts fail, and he be fired. Lesson learned
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I try to never be all or nothing. A young kid can learn and go down. Or an old dog can learn new tricks. The Jays have guys like Lukes… Dude was in the minors for 9 years and now is pretty damn good. You never know.
Work ethic and grit means so much
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Gretzky. I might even buy the ruin him narrative. Guy was 17 when he joined the WHA. Couldn’t play in the NHL because he wasn’t 18. Guy was a skinny twig. Playing in the 80s where mean dirty hockey was the norm. And yet Walter let him play. That’s kind of nuts really.
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Right… But i love the underdog stories even more.
You know what I mean you motorboating son of a gun 
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Socko?
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I get your point about Gretzky but to use him as an example isn’t apples to apples. But I do agree that bringing him and letting him play a game at the MLB level most likely won’t ruin him. Torkelson was rushed and he has struggled at times. Other times he’s looked like a young Jose Canseco. But the key is he’s not ruined, so we do agree there. Verlander was brought up early too. Drafted in 2004 and made his MLB debut in 2005…. 
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Lol he would never… Or would he 
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