Who's Watching? (Jim stole this from an American Legion Baseball coach)
This is an interesting article that I
found on the web. Many of our players are working with the goal of
playing at a higher level. I think this makes some excellent points
and our players should be mindful of them as they go about their
business on and off the ball field.
"Because You Never Know Who's
Watching"
This past weekend I was fortunate
enough to be allowed to sit with several college coaches as they
evaluated talent at a very good high school baseball tournament. This
was a small tournament with only six invited teams, held at a major
division 1 college campus. A showcase tournament.
No player's names are being used, no
teams are being mentioned and I will try to stay as generic as
possible with the description of these players. The focus of this
article is to make a point, not to embarrass any particular player.
The following are some of the comments
and discussions that I was allowed to listen in on:
(A) The first involves a player
with a national reputation listed as a top prospect in several
sources that I am familiar with. He is a position player. The coaches
were in agreement that this player had several nice tools: Good arm
strength, good glove and good speed. The question that each of them
had was his ability to hit at the upper end of college baseball. Some
coaches told me that the solid tools that the player had would make
him a prospect to them even without plus hitting abilities.
What happened next amazed even me. The
player was struggling with his bat but showed flashes of an upside.
However on defense the player did not move well. Did not show good
anticipation, did not follow foul balls (showing a jump). More often
than not only moved from his position if he was involved in the play.
observations / comments -
Some of the coaches REALLY did not like
the lazy (their words - not mine) attitude shown. On a couple of
stolen base attempts (where the player was covering the bag) he did
not make an attempt to stop a less than perfect throw. Basically he
flagged at the ball and got out of the way.
One coach told me that he wanted
players that were interested in sticking their nose in there and
getting dirty. This coach is with a team that would be considered a
"national power".
Some of the coaches told me that they
would have to see the player again; later this summer before making
any decision regarding a potential scholarship offer. Other coaches
told me that they probably would not pursue this player any further.
(B) Next up is a right handed
pitcher who was throwing solidly in the upper 80 mph range
He has a slight movement on his
fastball, an okay breaking ball and a fair change-up. This player
however did impress many of the coaches. WHY ?
observations / comments -
He did not have his best control at
times. At times was getting penalized by a moving and small strike
zone, and had 5 errors made behind him, by his defense. What caught
the coach's attention was his ability to battle and keep challenging
the hitters. He did not drop his head or slump his shoulders when
things went against him. He showed no expression when a ball was
called on an obvious strike.
He even went so far as to walk over and
speak to his second baseman, after a costly error and then pat him on
the back as he walked away. The coaches I was sitting near did not
miss this! Each of the coaches that I spoke to admitted that they did
not have the player on their lists of potential recruits. Each also
said that they would be making a point to see the player pitch again
this summer. This player became a prospect with several big time
schools on a day when he was the losing pitcher and did not have his
best stuff. Because of his attitude and the heart he showed.
(C) Third Example: Is a big 1st
baseman. This young man does not run like a gazelle, does not have a
great arm. (average at best). He is not what you would term athletic
but he is not fat. However he made points with several of the coaches
in attendance.
Of course you have guessed it by now:
The young man can hit with the best of them.
observations / comments -
There is a little more to the story
though. He can hit to all fields with power. He displayed a good
ability to go with a pitch. He showed a good knowledge of the strike
zone. I personally did not see him chase a bad pitch. With runners on
second and third and no outs in a one run ball game this young man
hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield. He did this with
a 2-strike count. He made an out and the run scored. He did his job
for his team.
He hit a home run or two over the
weekend, a double or two to the spacious gaps, had several screaming
singles, but more importantly he hustled! This player ran hard on and
off the field, every inning. He did not quit as most of his teammates
did in a blow out loss at one point in the tournament.
As one pro scout commented to me: "A
player never changes his game, no matter what the score. A player
plays as hard if his team is behind seven runs or ahead seven runs,
or if his team is in a one run ball game."
If you think that college coaches
and professional scouts do not notice the little things you are
mistaken. As one coach told me: "We have to pay attention to
each of the intangibles, it is the only real separator between some
of these guys." He went on to explain that each recruiting year
they will have several players on their board that are essentially
equal in athletic skills and ability. What then makes the difference
is the Little Things.
So the next time you think that it
doesn't matter how you hustle or present yourself maybe you should
revisit that part of your game. As another coach told me: "A
player can hustle and give his maximum effort even on a day when he
and/or his team is not playing their best game. It doesn't take any
athletic ability to hustle."
You Never Know Who Is Watching !
