Tater Talk: 2041.04 – Spud Prospect Keeps Promise to Mother, Attends College

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Tater Talk: 2041.04 – Spud Prospect Keeps Promise to Mother, Attends College

Post by jleddy » Wed Dec 18, 2019 1:34 pm

Image The following report is from Will Bigby, lead baseball correspondent for Treasure Valley Sports.

* * * * * * *
It's a cold mid-morning and the campus of Boise State is quiet, save for the few well-bundled students quickly making their way in and out of the brick buildings. One student is wrapped in fleece from head to toe with a black and gold Tulsa Ginzels beanie pulled over his head. At first glance, he looks like another undergrad wondering to himself why he decided to take courses during the winter break. But under his GORE-TEX jacket is a million dollar left arm. A two-and-a-half million dollar arm, to be exact.

Robin Cooper, the touted prospect pitcher for the hometown Boise Spuds, is attending classes this off-season, fulfilling a promise he made to his mother, Dorothy. Cooper, 20, was drafted out of high school in 2039 by Boise with the 7th overall pick and while his sizable $2.35M signing bonus made his decision to turn professional fairly easy, it was not without argument within his family.

Before retiring in 2037, Robin's father, "Pinky" Cooper, was Special Assistant to the General Manager of the Brewster's Nashville Goats, but as much as baseball has been part of the Cooper family, even more important was education. Robin's mother, Dorothy, has been a U.S. History teacher at Glens Falls High School in eastern New York for over thirty years, so for her only child to consider bypassing college to pursue professional baseball resulted in contentious nights at the family dinner table. It was then one night that Robin looked his mother in the eye and told her even when he turns professional, he would spend off-seasons taking college courses to eventually receive a degree.

"I can’t really explain how proud I am of him," Dorothy said. "Because it was very important. It wasn’t just important, it was very important. I remember telling the Boise scouts after Robin was drafted that I didn't really care about baseball. I want him to have a degree."

Last off-season, Cooper spent December in Florida playing in a winter prospect league but still took online courses to knock out some of his general education requirements. "It's not easy as a teenager to be thrust into professional ball," Boise General Manager Joe Lederer told Treasure Valley Sports. "The fact that Coop was able to handle both the extra playing time in the FPL and the required workouts as well as studying in whatever spare time he had...just wow. He's an incredible kid."

"College is about the experience and lot of the things that you pick up along the way," Cooper said.

"It's so cool to see one of our future Spuds take an interest in higher education," said Bert Ivy, Coop’s academic adviser at Boise State. "Robin has been a real pleasure. He’s been very self-motivated."

Ivy added, "Robin’s a helluva pitcher, but he’s a lot better person than he is a player. His mother must be so proud.”

When asked about what degree he was pursuing, Cooper said "I'm undeclared right now. I'm interested in Sports Management, but who knows...maybe U.S. History. I've got a pretty good tutor back home."
"My $#!? doesn't work in the playoffs." - Billy Beane Joe Lederer

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Re: Tater Talk: 2041.04 – Spud Prospect Keeps Promise to Mother, Attends College

Post by HoosierVic » Wed Dec 18, 2019 2:15 pm

Awww. This really was kind of heartwarming. Go Coop!

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