Re: Josh Murray - Bachelorette 10 Contestant - Spoilers - Discussion - Thread #5

[Hotmomma]

Sophie. I think there is a picture at his grandpa BDay party on his IG. But it doesn't seem a wide.

[Retiredswimmom]

Sophie, in the video that Mama Murray put on FB. He did have the purple and yellow/gold band on his right wrist. I just checked

[1funnyfish]

Maybe Andi gave him the purple ribbon to add to the yellow one later on as an LSU joke!

[Guest]

Sophie, in the video that Mama Murray put on FB.  He did have the purple and yellow/gold band on his right wrist. I just checked

It looks a LOT thinner and a lot less yellow!

[pander3575]

Soph, he had on the purple and yellow at the wedding he went to and I also believe he had it on at his grandfathers birthday pictures.

[1funnyfish]

Ribbon starts to stretch and fade and stuff after a while....that's probably why it looks thinner now. If it's the same ribbon, he's been wearing it for two months so it has to stretch out and become a little bit tattered.

[Retiredswimmom]

Maybe it broke? He had to replace with a different one? Or Andi gave him a different one?

[FLChica]

Fact- Josh was 17 not 18 when he started playing pro ball and bypassed rookie ball going straight to A ball in the minors. The majority of players are 21 - 23 in A ball which is what Josh's age was when he played there. I'm not sure why anyone would want to deminish his achievements.  He also graduated cum laude, top of his class. To be a good enough athlete to walk on to a football team in the SEC is pretty exceptional whether you ever make it on the field or not. I understand he is also a scratch golfer.  He is apparently a high achiever & hard worker.

At the risk of boring anyone that doesn't really care about sports, here are some minor corrections to what is posted about Josh's baseball history.

The baseball draft took place on June 4-5, 2002;  Josh turned 18 on August 12, 2002.  Josh did not bypass rookie ball.  He appeared in 48 games for the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League after the 2002 draft.  (Someone that may care about this more than I do can determine which games he played in prior to his 18th birthday on 8-12-02.)  The fact remains, he did indeed play rookie ball.  Bypassing rookie ball and going to straight to A ball would be an awesome story; sadly that's not what occurred.

In the 2003 season, Josh appeared in 107 games for the Beloit Snappers of the Midwest League - an A ball team (ages 18 - 19, for those keeping track.)

In the 2004 season, Josh returned to the Beloit Snappers of the Midwest League - again A ball -  appearing in 55 games (ages 19 - 20, for those keeping track.)  

More of the same ensued with Josh never rising above A ball, with very limited success statistically.  The minor leagues is like anything else - you improve, have success, you move to the next level.  Josh didn't.  I've no doubt that he worked hard.  The Brewers would demand a lot in return for the contract they gave him.  We should probably not say he had to give up baseball due to injury, since he followed his brother to become a Bulldog.  

For those that may not have a lot of college football knowledge, teams compensate their players with athletic aid or scholarship money.  It covers their tuition, books, food, room/board, etc.  A "walk-on" player may sound like an athlete is so good that he doesn't have to try out or earn a spot on the team.  Wrong.  It means that he receives nothing in exchange for practicing, etc.  Scholarships are reserved for the most talented players with the most potential to help the team win.  The walk-ons typically are part of the "scout" squad that the regular team practices against.   Walk-ons proliferate every roster on every team in every conference of college football, be it the SEC or the local junior college.  

I've seen recent photos of Josh out on the golf corse, but I wouldn't know if he's a scratch golfer or if he can just take off from work often for some sunshine and exercise.  I'll just stick to the facts I posted above which are easily verifiable to anyone that cares to do so.

[Kashathediva]

Thank you FLChica.  

[stuckinsc]

Fact- Josh was 17 not 18 when he started playing pro ball and bypassed rookie ball going straight to A ball in the minors. The majority of players are 21 - 23 in A ball which is what Josh's age was when he played there. I'm not sure why anyone would want to deminish his achievements.  He also graduated cum laude, top of his class. To be a good enough athlete to walk on to a football team in the SEC is pretty exceptional whether you ever make it on the field or not. I understand he is also a scratch golfer.  He is apparently a high achiever & hard worker.

Being drafted in the second round is impressive.  But there are many players who skip college and play in the minors at 18, it isn't that uncommon.  There are also guys there in their late career too.  Minor league ball is hard, low pay, no glamorous housing or facilities.  I admire it when he has admitted he lost his passion for the game (this is a quote from him from an article I read about him) he still tried to stick it out because he felt he owed the Brewers who had invested in him a fair shot.  That is not insulting but character building, but truthfully his baseball career is probably on par on competitive level wise with Marcus's soccer career.  Both men loved something but didn't get to the rank they wanted with it and moved on from it and became great men.  Very admirable of both of them.

As for being a walk on in the SEC, it is an achievement and he has said he always wanted to play football, but Momma Murray wouldn't let him so he took the chance with Aaron at UGA.  That is cool, but I will say having been friends with three walk on football players at University of Texas, it does take talent, but not the level of a scholarship athlete.  Walkons are good, but are also free, free extra bodies with some talent never hurt.  I think Josh himself has said that his time as a UGA football player was fun, but mostly because he got to play with Aaron.  I am less confident of this quote then the other one about baseball.  

The dedication to go to college and use his baseball money wisely and get a degree are great, the dedication to play in college athletics is impressive.  But what is most impressive to me about him in this is that he actually didn't have to be the top dog or the best.  He was very happy being a role player and getting to around the team.  It is easy to be the star, but stars are not made without all the little guys who put in the effort and don't get the glory.

Josh's athletic failures to me more than his successes make him a great man.  It takes a stronger man to handle not being the best and still going on and making something wonderful out of yourself and what life has handed you.  

To me, pointing out the reality of his athletic career enhances who he is, it is not an insult to him.

And last but not least, since I never managed to achieve it but my husband did, graduation summa cum laude is highest honors.  Magna cum laude is second highest and cum laude is third highest.

[Guest]

Thank you for all of that info FLChica. I'm still very impressed by all Josh has accomplished in sports at an elite level then seamlessly became a successful businessman. I know many athletes struggle with that when their careers are over. Class act too.

[noobsleuth]

To be fair to Josh, he did have a couple of significant leg injuries which, I'm sure, impeded his development as a baseball player.  He must have been impressive as a high school player to be drafted as a second rounder.  The injuries and being homesick (which I think we can agree he was witness the tattoos) were clearly too much for him to overcome.  And then he believed he wanted something more.

He had absolutely no need to play football at UGa- he possibly did to be a support to his brother, but he could have supported Aaron just by being around.  More likely, he just wanted to still be around a team- he was good enough to walk on.  I don't think he ever expected to go to the NFL.

It is production that wants to play him up as the former baseball player because it fits Andi's story- will she go, once again, for the guy who is an athlete?  Will she look past the athlete (and, frankly, Josh has a lot of the attributes of an athlete- great physique, confidence and competitiveness) and see the man there (who is flawed, has not had the success he had hoped for and is a financial advisor now)?  Will she, as she's said in interviews, realize there is no "type".

To the bolded: Yes! I agree... I feel bad for the guy. I'm sure he has accomplished other things in the past 10 years. I really kind of hate that they pigeon holed him into the former jock role. I think his new job/lifestyle would make him more appealing, (to me anyway)... though a young professional with a steady career would put him on the same plain as his opponent Nick.  They love to keep reminding us that Josh is Andi's former type (being a jock), it's just funny that he really isn't that anymore. It's most likely that the next interaction he has with baseball will be coaching his son's little league team or something. Again I hate when the storyboard editors do this. Give the man the professional title he deserves and not some former version of himself that makes people think he failed at.

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