Sox Sign 17 Year Old Softball Sensation Te Wera Bishop! Wait What?
Boston.com – Te Wera Bishop, a 17-year-old softball player from New Zealand, has signed with the Red Sox according to media reports in that country. “We have been impressed by his abilities behind the plate, he has excellent hands and a strong throwing arm, and with instruction from our Boston Red Sox coaches, we are confident he can make the appropriate changes from softball to baseball,” Red Rox Pacific Rim scout Jon Deeble told the web site Stuff.co.nz. He has also showed us the ability to hit the ball out of the park.
I’ll be the first to admit that I was skeptical when I first heard this. I mean the sox signing a softball player? But then I read the article. Turns out this kid has shown the ability to hit the ball out of the park. Kind of changes things a little bit right? I mean that type or raw beer league softball power doesn’t grow on trees. You got to have some serious pop to do that. So I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to watching this kid mash during Spring Training.
Thank god there are no sheep in Boston.
Kid has a rat tail! Are you kidding me? I’d sign for .75 cents… My range is sick at short in softball.
What a waste of money. The kid has never played baseball.
say what you want I still take this pickup over Bartolo Colon or Freddy Garcia
Can I have a mortal lock on whether this kid is making the bigs or not? Jr. needs college money.
I hope he makes the team, him and Ellsbury can have rain dances and shit out in the outfield
Kids has a major league signature, though. That’s something, right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNU6J3El1xs
much better interview
its official, you must keep your fat jewish mouth shut about lacrosse from now on.
looks like the requirements for a 7-figure salary in the MLB are to be fat, foreign, and slightly experienced with baseball or any sport that uses a bat.
No joke – I know a kid in Watertown who was invited to spring training of a MLB team years ago based solely on his ability to mash in softball. He made a few cuts and then got bounced.
But this isn’t unprecedented. It has happened before.
you guys realize he plays fast pitch softball right? not beer league fat asshole softball. fast pitch softball is pretty big over there and baseball isn’t
he plays where the pitches come in at 90 to 100mph and have a ton of movement on them
still odd, but its not what most people think of when they hear ‘softball player’
I guess with the line up they have right now you can get away with weird stuff like this…
Give him 8 years in the Red Sox orginization and then we’ll see if it was a good decision.
as long he isn’t a pitcher, i don’t have a problem with it. if he’s a good athlete and already has experience swinging a stick at a round object, it’s worth trying to hone those skills into hitting a baseball moving 90 mph
This isn’t that weird…my friend kills it pitching in our backyard wiffle ball league and he was just signed by the Yankees.
How is this any different than the patriots signing bethel johnson because he’s fast? Or Devin Hester because he’s athletic? This kid has incredible hand eye coordination to make the New Zealand FASTPITCH softball team (I’d love to see you beer league heroes make contact in a fast pitch league), has a good arm, good foot speed, power, etc. And now instead of learning to play baseball from Timmy’s dad from down the street in little league (who knows NOTHING about baseball), he’ll have the Red Sox teaching him to play. But you guys are right, why try new things to succeed, and since it’s your money, the 6 figures the Sox gave him is wrong and everyone that reads this website has a better chance of making the majors.
And Pres, stick to smut and parties, because I am certain you know nothing about sports, at all, and that is why you rarely post anything about sports anymore.
@Nathan
yeah they could, and at least they don’t have to worry about Beltre breaking their ribs for fun
you gotta love this type of no name shit, i hope this becomes huge name player
i dont get it… a softball is alot easier to hit then a baseball. why dont we just get the womens national softball team on the sox. thats basically what this is going to turnout to be
Those women are hitting the ball like 250 feet while this kid is hitting them 400 feet. And not mention this kid has some incredible arm strength. I dont think I’ve ever been more excited for Spring Training than i am this year.
Fastpitch is much tougher then hitting a baseball. Look it up sometime. The top speed pitches, are around 90 MPH. That translates to about 120 MPH in Baseball. You have NO ROOM for error with your swing in Fastpitch. It eliminates all holes in your swing.
I played College Baseball. It took me about 10 at bats before I made contact with a kid from Argentina in Fast pitch. I fouled it off. It took me 30 at bats to get a hit.
Do not discount this kid based on your perception of “Softball”
Slow pitch is an abomination. I’d rather go 0-179 in baseball against 50+ year-olds (not far off my current pick-up career) than bat .579 in softball.
But @Damus is right-fast pitch is totally different than fat ass slow pitch softball.
He has the same chance of any young minor league player–almost none.
The Red Sox signed him for $60,000. If he makes the majors it’s a great story, if not they’ve lost about a 30 minute rain delay worth of beer sales.
Jonah? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O5U9irS3iA
classic Theo spending quality money on players that do shit..aka DiceK