Q&A with former farmhand Robbie Wooley -- Signing Out of High School

[Mass Haas]

Rather than place this in the Alumni thread, we'll post this here as it provides perspective on signing out of high school as a Brewer draft pick.

 

RHP Robbie Wooley was the Brewers' 6th round pick in 2003, an interesting draft year because position players were drafted in rounds 1-5, and then five pitchers, none of which came close to making it at all, were drafted in rounds 6-10. Here are Wooley's pro stats, including his time in independent ball since 2007.

 

The reason Padre reliever Joe Thatcher is mentioned a few times is that he is also a Kokomo, Indiana kid.

 

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Wooley back in Kokomo, taking it one step at a time

Taylor grad happy taking the fastpitch softball diamond for now

Kokomo’s Robbie Wooley is back in Kokomo after an injury put a halt to his professional baseball career. Wooley, a Taylor High School graduate, was drafted in the sixth round by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2003 amateur draft. Wooley started with the Helena Brewers of the Pioneer League and then moved on to the West Virginia Power. He had stints with the Southern Illinois Miners, the Sioux City Explorers, Alexandria Aces, the Amarillo Dilla and finally the El Paso Diablos.

 

Last week the Kokomo Perspective caught up with the right-handed pitcher.

 

Kokomo Perspective: So what are you doing now that you are out of baseball?

 

Wooley: I am working as a financial planner with CFD here in Kokomo. I am still working on getting my financial degree at Indiana University Kokomo. The Brewers actually took care of that with a scholarship. That has me on pace to finish up in the next few years. I have also been working with youth players and high school players that are headed to college. There are a lot of good prospects around Howard County. I am just trying to stay busy and stay active.

 

KP: Looking back at your baseball career, how would you assess it?

 

RW: Being young out of high school and being drafted at age 18, a lot mental aspects come into play. There is a lot of how to deal with your money and learning how to work out with the guys and how to get along with the guys. And learning how to be dedicated in the off-season when there isn’t anyone around to work with you. During the season you are competing with everyone else as a right-handed pitcher. There are a lot more right-handed pitchers out there than lefties. So we were a dime a dozen. So it was all about your numbers and finding the right time in the right place. It all about the right time. A lot of the time it is the off-season work ethic. That is how you reach the top.

 

KP: Starting from the beginning, what happened when you were drafted?

 

RW: I was drafted in the sixth round back in 2003 by the Milwaukee Brewers. The other day I was on Baseball America and my name is still in the data base. It had me listed as a five-star athlete, which would translate into a second or third round pick. At the time, my dad (Ted Wooley) ran into B.J. Upton’s agent. Dad mentioned my name and he said ‘Robbie Wooley. I know him, but he will be sleeper.’ And my dad took that to heart and realized that I was going to be one of those guys that went a little deeper than the first or second round. And it ended up being the sixth round. That was the borderline between going to college or should we play pro ball. It took about a month and a half to make a decision. The money wasn’t where we wanted it to be at first but then eventually we got it closer.

 

KP: How do you make the decision between college and pro ball?

 

RW: I was going to the University of Cincinnati. At first it was going to be a 90 percent scholarship offered by Brian Cleary (the coach of the Bearcats). After I was drafted, he came up to me and offered me a full ride. I said ‘That would be great. I’d love to accept that.’ About 15 days later we came back for the North-South All-Star game and I found that Mike Farrell of the Brewers wanted to offer me the money he did. That’s kind of how it has to happen. It’s a matter of negotiating. My agent at the time told me the chances of getting drafted a second time is much, much worse after you’ve been drafted the first time.

 

KP: Was it an easy decision?

 

RW: No it was not. Cincinnati was not exactly a top college for baseball. But the full ride was a great deal. Once I started realizing that my agent was right, that the chances of being drafted in the top five rounds again were slim, I felt logically that the decision I made was the right one and I stuck to it.

 

KP: Where was your first stop?

 

RW: First stop was Arizona for low rookie. I threw real well out there. I asked a coach out there what the chances were of me going up the ladder quickly. He said, ‘You are young. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.’ From there on, I knew the Brewers were going to take someone like me very slowly. Someone like Joe Thatcher (of the San Diego Padres), when I watched him in the system it was like a guy on a rocket. He moved very quickly through every open door possible. Because I was a young, drafted guy it was more of a “Sit back and enjoy the ride” kind of deal.

 

KP: Was minor league baseball what you thought it was going to be?

 

RW: My dad and I knew going into it what it was going to be like. He was more like my agent. But it came down to who was more mentally prepared. I think I adjusted well. Then I had the elbow injury. As far as the travel goes, minor league baseball was definitely better than independent baseball. They give you more benefits. It gets better the higher you go.

 

KP: You played in two places with Joe Thatcher, right?

 

RW: We played together in Montana and then in West Virginia. We actually roomed together for a while.

 

KP: So what are your plans now?

 

RW: I don’t want to rule out a return to baseball. I might wait a year or so and see how things go. I am not that old and you never know what could happen.

 

KP: You are playing fastpitch with the CFD Saints, right?

 

RW: I am. I am still learning how to pitch fastpitch. But they like having my bat in the lineup as well.

 

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We interviewed Wooley in August of 2004.