Pittsburgh Pirates: Solomon Maguire signs $1m baseball deal
The night before the first day of school most Year 12 students try to get a good night’s sleep. Not Castle Hill High’s Solomon Maguire who has just landed a $1 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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The night before the first day of school most Year 12 students try to get a good night’s sleep. Not Castle Hill High School student Solomon Maguire.
The 17-year-old teen stayed up to 1am on a video call with Pittsburgh Pirates baseball executives to negotiate terms on a sign-on bonus worth almost $1 million Australian dollars.
Skipping on his sleep paid off, giving him $594,000 in US dollars for joining up to the club and another $175,000 for him to spend on his education in the coming years.
“It was the day before school, that was the crazy part,” Solomon said.
“It was that night at 1am in the morning and we all agreed to terms and I signed with the Pirates.”
Despite the fact he now wears an $18,000 Rolex to his classes at Castle Hill High School, the up and coming sports star is still down to earth living with his parents in Kellyville.
“At the time when I signed, everyone at school was congratulating me for how much I got signed for, it was so surreal for everyone,” he said.
“What I am really glad about is that they treat me as a normal person as well. Sometimes I just want to calm down and relax and I am really happy about that.”
He still makes time to train younger players at Castle Hill Knights Baseball Club around a busy regimen of gym training in a bid to bulk up to give him more hitting power on the pitch.
His manager dad Mark Maguire was alongside his son negotiating the deal, which is the third highest amount ever paid to an Australian player from a US team.
“In the end there were 18 clubs chasing after him--eight were serious and at the table,” Mr Maguire said.
“The (baseball) scouts would often call me Jerry Maguire. I did all the negotiating and all the to show that he had the skills to play.”
While Solomon had received low ball offers from other clubs, he stuck to his price because he believed he was worth around $1 million Australian dollars.
“Two years ago there really wasn’t much interest but they were still keeping their eyes on me because I was still just a really small kid,” Solomon said.
“It started to heat up more and more and then it got to the under 18s World Cup, that’s when some teams started to show some real interest.”
Pittsburgh offered him a sign on bonus of $330,000 last year after travelling to the Dominican Republic but he knocked it back.
“They said they had no more money left, and then they came back and said we could trade a player right now,” he said.
The club traded star player Starling Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks, freeing up cash to pay Soloman what he believed he was worth.
“Although it was my goal, it is incredibly hard to get and now I am the third highest ever signing for Australia,” he said.
Solomon’s departure was delayed because of COVID-19 but he is expected to head to the US to train with the team at the beginning of next year.
His father said he originally wanted his son to play cricket but obliged Solomon when he was just four and a half years old to play T-ball.
“Most kids at that stage don’t know what they’re doing,” Mr Maguire said.
“I wanted him to play cricket or soccer, and he chose to play this instead only because his best friend told him.”
“His hard work is a contributing factor of him rising up. There are a lot of talented athletes out there but those who work the hardest start seeing results. I am very proud of that.”
Originally published as Pittsburgh Pirates: Solomon Maguire signs $1m baseball deal