The story is essentially suited for the famous question: for
love or money?
If you had the choice between marrying the person you love or
taking the path to financial success, which would you choose?
For UCLA pitcher Brian Schroeder, the choice between entering
the 2003 Major League draft and marrying his high school sweetheart
Dianna wasn’t really much of a dilemma.
“After high school, getting married was my No. 1
priority,” Schroeder said. “This is all just a game;
marriage is my life.”
Partly because of his impending marriage, Schroeder’s
draft status plummeted. Projected to be selected in the first 20
rounds, Schroeder wasn’t even selected in the draft.
All of this in a sport ““ baseball ““ in which most of
the top players are drafted out of high school, regardless of
whether they choose to sign with a major league organization.
And for a prospect like Schroeder, who was the CIF Division IV
pitcher of the year in 2003 and a Louisville Slugger All-American,
not to be drafted seems to be a prime example of obvious negligence
by major league scouts.
But things do not always turn out to be what they appear.
Scouts learned of Schroeder’s intentions to marry after
high school, which would have hindered his potential entry into the
minor leagues.
Ultimately, organizations did not draft Schroeder because they
did not want him to miss participating in minor league baseball.
Ironically, had Schroeder been drafted it would have paid for the
wedding festivities. On the day he learned about the draft results,
playing in a CIF playoff game, Schroeder hit a monumental home run
that traveled 420 feet.
“I was probably taking a little bit of frustration
out,” Schroeder said. “It definitely helped ease some
of the tension.”
Although Schroeder’s marriage seemed to be a deterrent for
many teams, he feels there were many other factors that contributed
to not being drafted.
“I’m not even sure how much marriage affected me not
getting drafted at all,” Schroeder said. “I asked for
enough money to make it worthwhile to skip college and enter the
minors. If I’d gotten what I asked for, I probably would have
signed, but I really can’t complain about where I
am.”
The other reason for Schroeder’s ambivalence was that he
had a desire to attend college.
“It’s just a matter of stability,” Schroeder
said. “Three years in college [the amount of time a baseball
player has to stay before he can reenter the draft] is better than
three years in the minors.”
In the minors, Schroeder would be constantly traveling for the
better part of nine months every year. In college, he has a home.
He has stability.
And for Schroeder, three years at UCLA is better than three
years at another college.
“I like the atmosphere here,” Schroeder said.
“The setup was there to come in married, and it just felt
right. You can’t beat the atmosphere here for
athletics.”
The draft motivated him to make sure that he would be doing the
same thing at UCLA that he would be doing in the minors ““
refining his game.
After just completing his second season with the Bruins,
Schroeder knows the pressure is on to perform next year.
“Going into your junior year, you tend to put more
pressure on yourself,” Schroeder said. “But if
I’m set at the beginning of the year in a role, and I feel
good about how I’m throwing the ball, then I can just go out
and play with no pressure.”
Schroeder carries extra incentive to achieve great things in his
final two years at UCLA.
Brian’s father Jay had an 11-year NFL career and was the
starting quarterback for UCLA in 1980.
But Brian doesn’t feel that being the son of a former
professional athlete holds any inherent pressure; it’s just
the normal pressure to make a name for himself.
“I just want to make it on my own,” Schroeder said.
“I’d like to make a name for myself out there, rather
than being just Jay Schroeder’s son.”
Next year could be the year for Schroeder to shine. With a
strong finish to this season, Schroeder is in line to compete for a
starting job in next year’s rotation.
“Brian just got better and better this year,” coach
John Savage said.
“He’s always ready to pitch, and he’s a really
classy kid. I think he learned a lot this year, and he’ll
certainly be competing for one of the starting pitching jobs next
year.”
Regardless of which situation Schroeder ends up in, whether it
is in professional baseball or elsewhere, his story ultimately
comes down to one thing ““ he chose marriage and college over
possible fame and fortune.
While the fame and fortune may still come, it is not as real a
possibility as it was after high school. If he had to do it all
over again, though, Schroeder would change nothing.
Schroeder’s hopes of becoming a major league pitcher
remain as strong as ever, especially considering the fact that he
has got an eye on building a family. He regrets very little.
“There are no regrets about getting married,”
Schroeder said. “We were ready, and we knew what was right.
Let the chips fall as they may as far as baseball is
concerned.”