Bubba Chandler sticks to Dabo Swinney advice in life-changing MLB decision |
Clemson two-sport signee and now Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher/shortstop
Bubba Chandler ultimately followed the advice
Swinney gave him throughout the MLB draft process this week.
Picking the pro baseball route over playing for the Tigers, the third-round selection also took confidence and comfort from what Swinney added on to that instruction after spending the last month together on campus. “He said to listen to God, follow your heart,” Chandler told Pittsburgh media of a 20-minute conversation with Swinney Monday. “He wasn’t mad about anything. The first thing he said was ‘Bubba Chandler, I freakin’ love you kid. You are going to do great.’...He said if you ever want a spot here again - can't make it or whatever, your jersey is going to be open. That made me feel a lot better. "Everyone up there, whether it was a player or a coach, the cooks at the bistro -- they're top-notch. Everyone is a family culture up there. I see now why people are so gung-ho on Clemson University because I got to live it for about three weeks and I loved every second of it.” He called going to the next level in baseball "the safer route" in chasing his ultimate dream of being in Major League Baseball. Being a two-sport athlete was going to be a real challenge, he said. “Playing two sports in college is really hard,” Chandler told Pittsburgh media. “It’s hard on your body. Especially playing football, because football is a really physical sport. I took the safe route. This is pretty much what I wanted to do. I always wanted to be a high draft pick.”
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