They show up just after the crack of dawn with their clipboards,
folding chairs and Starbucks coffee. They stake out their position
to get the very best look at players, making sure no one is within
earshot or looking over their shoulder.
They show up just after the crack of dawn with their clipboards, folding chairs and Starbucks coffee. They stake out their position to get the very best look at players, making sure no one is within earshot or looking over their shoulder.
Tucked under their arm is the signup list of players they’ll be scrutinizing that day. The list is complete with the player’s name, age, address, what college they’d like to attend, what professional team they would like to sign with and what they prefer for a post game snack.
As the day wears on they’ll have witnessed throws that eventually ended up in the parking lot, swings that won’t make highlight reels, looked at their watches every five minutes, asked questions that have no answers and written a lot of notes. Quick bat, good hands, has speed, looks like he likes to eat a lot, or needs a limo ride to the game might be notes they’ve hastily scratched down.
By days end they’ll have consumed 5,321 sunflower seeds, 10 grande lattes, six Pepsi’s and four hot dogs with chili. They’re rating sheets will have so many numbers on them that it will look like the agate type on a stock page in the newspaper.
Yes, I’m talking about the youth baseball manager on tryout day, or evaluation day if you will. Their quest is to find the most complete players with the best tools and skills, evaluate them in a short span of time and then rank them in preparation for the draft, which to their dismay is not broadcast on ESPN.
It’s no secret to the manager who the top 10 players are at the conclusion of the day. After that it’s a challenge to select players and form a team. Veteran managers know the drill while rookie coaches are overwhelmed on tryout day and quite optimistic when draft day approaches, only to find out that the top 10 players are gone by the time their pick comes up!
As the evaluation day proceeds, managers realize players are nervous and some chuckle at the one parent constantly yelling at his kid, figuring a Division I scholarship is riding in the balance.
Parents are grimacing and looking at each manager to see if he’s writing down notes as their child swings and misses at five consecutive pitches.
A good manager, however, will see it in a players eye if he has the desire to play and will watch the player’s mannerisms and see if he’s hustling.
He’ll watch his interaction with other players and try to get a handle on his personality. Having the knack to spot and correctly identify a player’s tangible and intangible talent in one day is what most pro scouts possess. On this day the youth manager must face the same thing.
So despite the fact each manager visited the restroom numerous times, complained of heartburn, realized their bottom is now shaped like a folding chair and their wrist has a symptom of carpel tunnel syndrome, each one of them has done an admirable job in what every league considers a critical day before the season begins. Hopefully the payoff comes in June.
