Remember when I was in Arizona for the Arizona Fall League the beginning of November I was telling you about a couple of East Indian pitchers who were trying out for major league scouts in Tempe? Well, the Pittsburgh Pirates have signed both hurlers. A White Sox fan friend out west was telling me, although the righthander threw harder, he thought the lefthander had a better shot at the big league, both were all over the place during the tryout.
Let me refresh your memory, Barry Bonds agent held a Million Dollar Arm Contest in India, whereby the winner would receive $100,000, specialized instruction from pitching coach Tom House, and a tryout in front of major league scouts. Dinesh Patel (20 years old), the 5’11” righty, threw 91-92 MPH, while Rinku Singh (19 years old), the 6’2″ lefty, threw 89-90 MPH.
While these two youngsters do have a shot at becoming the first major leaguers from India, they already are the first Indians ever to sign a professional contract outside of India. Recently the Pirates also signed a switch-hitting South African SS Mpho Ngoepe.
With 1,129,866,154 people in India with a Bucco rooting interest, can Pittsburgh really be considered a small market ballclub?