The ripple effect that the New York Yankees have sent through the sports world over the last decade with their dominance on the field and spending off it finally has reached the Jayhawk nation.
C.J. Henry, the 6-foot-3 Oklahoma City baseball/basketball standout, gave a nonbiding oral commitment to hit the hardwood next year to Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self.
But that no longer is in the cards, thanks to some pinstripes, the man known as “The Boss” and what is sure to be a more-than-generous, seven-figure signing bonus.
“I’m definitely going baseball,” Henry told the Journal-World on Tuesday afternoon from his suburban Oklahoma City home. “Who knows what happens down the line. Right now, I’m just a first-round draft pick of the Yankees.
“To be picked by the Yankees is very special.”
The Yankees made Henry the 17th overall selection in Tuesday’s baseball draft.
Last season, the No. 17 selection, left-hander Timothy Elbert from Seneca (Mo.) High, was given a $1.575 million bonus from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Henry originally planned to spend the afternoon with his mom, painting the house in an effort to keep the draft off of his mind. But they never quite got around to it, as they were fielding phone calls.
Heading into the draft, the Yankees were rumored to be heavily interested in Henry after he worked out for them May 29-June 1 in Tampa, Fla. Henry also received heavy interest from Cincinnati, Baltimore, Minnesota and Florida who respectively picked 12th, 13th, 25th and 29th.
Though Henry said he never had any favorite teams growing up, he certainly had players he idolized. And fittingly, two of those players make up the expensive left side of the Yankees’ infield — Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, both former first-round selections out of high school.
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“Yankees is what he wanted all along,” said Self, who spoke with Henry on Tuesday night and then received a call from the family three minutes after his selection. “He’s one of the four or five high school guys who had everything, so we knew based on the little bit I read, he was the hottest, fastest-rising draftable person at any level.”
And if the scouts are right, Henry should be a good one for sure. Scouts have said that he can use some polish defensively and could take a little time to adjust to professional pitching, but his raw talents have drawn comparisons to current Yankee right fielder Gary Sheffield and Toronto’s up-and-coming center fielder Vernon Wells.
Of course, one cannot rule out the possibility of Henry fulfilling his basketball commitments to KU somewhere down the line. It’s been done before.
“We’re selfish,” Self joked while on the golf course Tuesday. “We’re hoping he’d get picked high and sign a big, big multi-million dollar deal. We hoped he’d want to take that money, play (baseball) in the summer, and come to KU and play (basketball) in the fall.”
But Self also knows the reputation of the notorious George Steinbrenner, the guy cutting those checks.
“I can’t see Mr. Steinbrenner saying, ‘He’s our No. 1 pick, he’s our future in some form or fashion, we’re going pay him a lot of money, and we really want him to go and be able to enjoy the college life.’
“I hope that happens, but I can’t see that happening.”
