In 1992, the Houston Astros selected Phil Nevin first overall in the draft. Astros area scout Hal Newhouser tried to argue he could sign Michigan high school shortstop Derek Jeter for less than his projected bonus demands. According to Buster Olney in The Last Night of the Yankees Dynasty, it was only 50,000 dollars that caused the Astros to draft Nevin and Newhouser resigned because of it.
Jeter, 35, is probably headed to the Hall of Fame, especially after winning another Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award this week and a fourth World Series ring this month. Now, it's debatable whether Jeter deserved those Gold Gloves and whether he deserves a ticket to Cooperstown. That's not what I want to discuss today.
Let's run a thought experiment. What if Jeter had been picked by the Astros? Does Houston win any of those series in the late '90s? Does Jeter get as much notoriety? Does he win any Gold Gloves? Any World Series? Does he still get into the Hall without playing in the New York media market?
Discuss amongst yourselves...