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Monday, September 15
You Never Know Who Is
Watching
The statement above is a common one
used in baseball. It means that a player should hustle and give his best
effort every time he steps on the field. That includes practice & games.
Because You Never Know Who Is 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:
The first involves a player with a "national reputation" listed as a top
prospect in several sources. 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 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. He did not show good anticipation, did not follow foul
balls (showing a jump). More often than not he only moved from his
position if he was involved in the play.
Some of the coaches REALLY did not like the "lazy" (their words - not
mine) attitude shown. On a couple of stolen base attempts (while 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 said they would have to see the player again - later
in the summer before making any decision regarding a potential
scholarship offer. Other coaches told me they probably would not pursue
this player any further.
Next up - A right handed pitcher that was throwing solidly in the upper
80's. 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???
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 I spoke with admitted they did not have the player
on their lists of potential recruits. Each also said 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 heat he showed.
Third example: A big first 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.
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 & third and no outs in a one run ball game he 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 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 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 said .. "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 said "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!!!!
This letter from the San Diego Cobras Web Site.
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