I wanted to start this post by saying that I am sorry I couldn’t cover the Delta Semi State the way that it deserved to be covered. I am writing a blog centered around East Central Indiana and know several kids in their program. My wife even teaches at Delta and they were the only ECI team in the semi state, so apologies to the Delta faithful. Although, truth be told, my wife had a surgical procedure last week and we spent the better part of the week and weekend in the hospital to start a long recovery process, so for you Delta seniors, Bradley, and others that I have been in contact with over the years, congrats on a great run and good luck this summer/fall.
As a 14 year old kid, hailing from a small community, aspirations of being a professional baseball player seemed very realistic to me because I didn’t know any better. My 5’5”, 120 pound frame at 14, had dreams of playing on the big stage, being the next Barry Larkin for my favorite team, the Cincinnati Reds, and proving to people that I could make it. I did things right, got straight A’s, lifted, was a 3 sport athlete, attended camps we could afford, and worked my butt off. All these things being said, I lived in Saratoga, Indiana, my dad worked at a factory in Winchester, and he nor I knew absolutely nothing about the college recruitment and pro scouting process. I hit over .500 my freshman year at the varsity level, ran very well, made all county and all conference, played a good shortstop, and threw a good curveball on the mound… I mean, I was destined for greatness, right??? Hahaha. As far as we (my dad and I) knew, this was the case. I laugh now thinking about this because we couldn’t have been much further off track in our thinking. Sure, I was doing some good things at Winchester High School, but we had no clue how big the baseball world was outside of Winchester and Randolph County. Even worse, when we sought help from people at the high school, my dad was told, “If he is good enough, people will find him. We really don’t go out of our way to promote athletes to colleges”. Keep in mind that this was not by my high school coach, who was a good man and did anything that he could for me. My point is that help was hard to come by when determining how to get attention from colleges, when we really didn’t know.
Sadly, too many situations still occur like mine. Even more, I think, parents have the wrong idea of what is desirable for college coaches and pro scouts. Maybe even more than that, are the parents who have a hard time stepping outside the parent box and having a realistic look at their son as a player. I want to touch on some items that might help some players and parents in this process.
- Where to start – I had the pleasure of meeting Thomas Howard at a Ball State baseball camp my freshman year of high school. He said a couple of things that really helped me out. First, he said, play as many sports as you can. In today’s world, many kids quit a sport to concentrate on another one. I advise this to very, very few athletes. I would rather my guys compete year round than to get lazy and unathletic, which in all reality is what can and does happen to many of the players who take the route of “concentrating on baseball.” We live in Indiana and there is only so much you can do indoors over the winter months. Most of the time, you can play a fall/winter sport and still mix in your indoor workout regiment over the winter months. Are there kids out there who can concentrate on baseball and it work out for them??? Absolutely. There are only a few, though, that are so talented and driven or self motivated that they hone their skills enough to go in the draft. Secondly, Thomas Howard told me to start writing letters to schools of interest. I had no limits, ignorantly, but it didn’t matter. It is funny now, but I sent letters at 14 years old to Florida State, Miami, Stanford, Pepperdine, LSU, Texas etc. I sent letters to schools in this part of the country too, but at the time, I had every intention of playing in a storied, tradition filled program and would play in the college world series. Surprisingly, I got word back from most of them, even if it was a camp brochure, and at 14 years old, that was exciting. I didn’t know at the time where baseball would take me, but I wasn’t going to sell myself short. I figured out later that some of those places were out of my league and I needed to refocus, but early, I shot for the stars. Thirdly, don’t bore coaches with stats initially in these letters, but express interest in the program and be skill specific in the letter (GPA, position, REALISTIC 60 times, velocity, power numbers/stolen bases {whichever or both may apply} and age, height, and weight). Next, attending showcases locally is a huge way to gain interest from colleges. College coaches can spend a day at a showcase and come away with names of kids that they want in their program. Even if they don’t want/need a player in their program, they can provide a reference to another coach that wasn’t in attendance. It is hard for college coaches to attend spring games and see players play, when they either don’t know of the player yet, and obviously, they have a 40-60 game schedule to be coaching their college team in the spring. If a player has any talent at all, they can find a place to play, but they must get out to showcases and put those skills on display. Lastly, once a player is a little older in the high school ranks, pick a list of target schools that have shown interest and a player is interested in. Then, attend their winter/summer camp, as most any program has one or the other, if not both. This gives a chance to personally meet the coach, once again showcase your skills, and even a chance to see the facilities and meet some of the current team members if they are working camp. They are usually open to answering questions and are usually an honest opinion from someone other than the staff.
- Evaluating the player – Let me set the tone here. I mentioned that I hit over .500 my freshman year. Bottom line, (and some of you are thinking this right now), WHO CARES!!! This is exactly the case. Here are some of the things that matter when evaluating as a college coach or pro scout and some reasons why things like batting average don’t mean quite as much. First, GRADES MATTER!!!! Even for mega talented players, good grades can provide proof of work ethic and discipline. I know not every player out there can or will excel in the classroom, but I have yet to see a player with good grades that was hurt by having the high marks. Also, I haven’t met a college coach yet that wouldn’t welcome a little boost to the team GPA, as this makes him look even better in the eyes of his athletic director and president. A high GPA and test scores can also help a player earn academic money to add to any athletic money, depending on the level in which they play. The five tools of baseball are a constant evaluating measure for college coaches and pro scouts. Speed, arm strength, hitting ability, power, and defensive skills are the most recognized five tools for this evaluation. These standards vary depending on the level in which a player wants to play at the next level. Bottom line, some athletes are more gifted and for this reason, play at a higher level than others. Running under a 7.0 second 60 yard dash or a 4.3/4.2 home to first base are typical measurements for speed. Swing mechanics, plate discipline, and ability to hit the ball to all fields come into play with hitting ability. Power is usually measured in visible bat speed, swing plane/path, size and stature of player, and projectibility. Arm strength is easily measured by position. For higher college level and pro ball, position player standards are mid 80s to mid 90s across the infield or from the outfield. For pitchers, this evaluation is more involved because of different pitches (breaking balls, changeup, etc.), movement on the pitches, and again projectibility. Defensively, players are evaluated on hands, feet, and mechanics appropriate to the position (routes to the ball, range, soft hands, etc). Next, a player’s body type plays a big role in how high a level a player can play. Can small guys play the game??? Sure, but I can tell you first hand that as the game speeds up at the higher levels, physically gifted athletes, in terms of size and athletic builds, cover more ground, have more extension, and in turn are usually better prospects. Some players don’t hit their peak until later in the career, while we have all seen the 12 year old who throws 75, but never really gains any velocity from that time. Keep in mind, that all of these evaluation measures are not a perfect science by any means. This is why number one draft picks sometimes don’t make the big leagues. This is also why guys like Dustin Pedroia become the MVP of the league. Stats like batting average don’t mean as much because so many variables come into play at the high school level. What type of competition do guys face? Who is keeping the book? Many of the top prospects do have high batting averages, but just because one player has a better average than another, doesn’t mean that he is the better collegiate or professional prospect. Lastly, most everyone has heard the term “makeup”. What kind of kid is he? Can he handle failure in the right way? Does he compete? Is he respectful of teammates, opponents, coaches, and umpires? Does he sprint through first base on an infield popup? Does he sprint to and from his position? Hustle? As much as anything, this is a controllable portion to any high school players game. A player can control his attitude and effort daily.
- Now, where does the player in question fit in? That will be up to the college coach or pro scout. The previous couple of paragraphs though are a good starting point to getting the name out there, showcasing skills, and developing relationships with colleges. Maybe this is useful to some parents out there wondering what to do, just as my dad wondered 15 or so years ago. For others, maybe you are past this point in the process, but several aspects still apply every day. Make good decisions, work your butt off, and play the game right, and you will fit in somewhere if you really want to play at the next level. Thanks for reading and good luck.