Tagged With "Height"
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Re: College Baseball Height
It’s good that you recognize now that lack of size is an issue. I agree with all that @fenwaysouth said, as I usually do. I would add a couple of things. As an undersized player, being able to play multiple positions really helps. There is a place on every roster for the Swiss Army Knife guy that is versatile. Another factor is that nobody wants an undersized player at the C position. My advice would be to work towards 2B or LF being the primary position and make C the third option. On the...
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Re: College Baseball Height
Thank you! I really appreciate this information. If you know of any advisors, etc. that could help navigate this process I also welcome this. I am a single mom and quite frankly very overwhelmed by this process with camps, showcases, etc. He is doing a lot of research on his own but hard for me to guide him from a practical perspective (e.g. is it really worth traveling around the US for showcases? ) Right now we are identifying schools/ teams which he might be interested in and then...
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Re: College Baseball Height
These are huge questions as NH and MA if he's planning on staying local, which is probably best as the NE has the most number of D3 programs anywhere, but the schools run the gammit of Top tier best schools in the country to I wouldn't send my kid there if they paid me to. But any school he can perform in, enjoys and gets to also play baseball is a winner no matter what anyone else thinks of it.
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Re: College Baseball Height
Also, most D3 schools are private colleges. Thus, the better the grades and test scores, the more possibility for academic merit scholarships. Encourage your son to keep his academics up! Never rule anything out, most schools cost less than their official sticker price.
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Re: College Baseball Height
What grade is he? If you are looking at D3s, recruiting will happen the summer after junior year of high school. So, no need to do anything right now, except play at school and in the summer, preferably at a level that will help him improve. What team did he play on at school (jv, varsity)? What position does he play there? Depending on the high school and his role there, one of the coaches might be someone you could ask about recruiting, maybe around the start of junior year. Or his summer...
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Re: College Baseball Height
Sent you a PM if you are interested. I'm in your area and went through this 2 years ago and about to again. I have a pulse on many schools in the area and have observed many of their programs. I know a lot of the kids that go to many of the colleges who played in your HS division if not personally, then by my son's playing with or against them so I have an idea of the type of talent they have.
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Good question.. they said hand but did not take scan of other bones. They said that was good indicator plus fact that he did not grow at all from April to yesterday. He is 5'5 and maybe but unlikely will get to 5'6
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Has he taken the PSAT yet? If not, I'd focus on getting the SAT/ACT out of the way to get an idea what he should target academically. Is he going to be a 1500+ kid, or more like a 1200 kid?
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Bsball37; Study the history of a catcher named YOGI. Teach your son to hit left. Which is his dominate eye? Bob
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Re: College Baseball Height
In D3 ball there are a wide range of teams. I have seen some who could not beat a good HS team and others who could go toe-to-toe with top 25 college teams. If the desire is there, then IMO he can find a place to play. Full stop no question. Now for a reality check, since he has good academics the question is does he want to give up the opportunity to go to a better academic school and maybe play on a Varsity team at a lessor known school, or play on a club team at a "better" school. Another...
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College Baseball Height
Doctors confirmed today that my 16-year-old son has fused growth plates - he is 5’5. Doctors for 2 years predicted a growth spurt that never came. He aspires to play baseball at the college level as a catcher and can play outfield and second and third too. He works diligently on his skills all year, weight trains, sacrifices many social activities most 16 year olds wouldn’t, and maintains a strong leadership presence on and off the field. He also has good grades (3.8 taking honors). He is...
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Which growth plates? They typically don't all fuse at the same time. How tall are you?
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Bsball37, Yes, is the answer. Coaches look and assess tools (speed, hitting power, hitting for avg, defense, throwing arm, leadership, awareness, etc) . Sure, a taller player may get some additional looks but I've seen shorter players have a major impact on a team. My son played with two guys (starters) that weren't tall but they certainly had skills. One guy (approx 5'6") was the starting 2nd baseman and had power and a small strike zone. He hit more than his share of dingers. My son hated...
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Re: College Baseball Height
Bsball … Youndont need to hire an advisor. You have a board full of them here with varied experiences and willingness to help. An advisor will have a narrower window of perspective from his experiences. In regards to pick another position and be a backup catcher it enhances his market value. What it does to putting together a roster the coach can view your son as an emergency catcher and not have to roster a third catcher. As far as D3s being mostly privates this in incorrect. There are many...
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Re: College Baseball Height
You really don’t need an advisor. Do research on this site before you do anything else. A lot of members have kids playing D3 baseball and they will help if you ask them. There are a lot of regional differences in D3 so I would recommend finding members that live in your general area.
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Re: College Baseball Height
Of the NCSA's list of 443 D3 schools (not all of which have baseball), 80 are public. So the vast majority are private. The SUNY (19) schools are one large group of publics, and the U Wisconsin (9) schools are another, also some Penn State (6) schools, plus clusters in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, Maine, and New Jersey.
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When people ask about recruiting the first thing I do is check their profile for location. They’re located in New England where there are many.
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As the father of an undersized catcher who has had some success, I will emphasize that size is a real issue at catcher. Coaches want big, physical guys at catcher because they equate size with durability. Like others have expressed, I agree that a 5'6" player is likely to get more opportunities at 2B or LF with the added benefit of being a team's emergency backup catcher than he will get at catcher. The size bias is real, and there's nothing you or he can do about it. The sooner he accepts...
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Re: College Baseball Height
I don't know why it's the case, but its true. The ABSOLUTE best hitter on my son's summer team was their catcher. Amazing defensively, handled all the P4 arms, etc. The only issue, is he's listed at 5'8" but is probably shorter. It's to bad because they kid is a pure stud. The running joke was that if he was 6' tall he'd be an SEC catcher. The only D1 sniff he had was from an Ivy. He ended up at a top 5 Juco.
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Re: College Baseball Height
Almost every HC wants a big, physical player at C, 1B, & 3B. They don’t always get a player that fits that description, but that’s what they want. It’s about optics as much as anything else - but it’s a very real thing.
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Why is this the case? I don't understand why height is a factor for a catcher. Please explain. At one of our local D3s the starting catchers are both 5'8"/5'9".
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I believe if colleges coaches had their way and had to pick one size every position player would be 6’2” 195 with sub 7 speed and every pitcher 6’4” 210 with 93+ velocity. They would probably prefer every pitcher would be 6’8” touching 100. But I’m trying to stay within realistic boundaries.,
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Re: College Baseball Height
This thread caught my eye because my son is undersized too--he is just a touch taller than your son. There is no doubt that there are a lot of college coaches who pass over him simply because he does not pass the "eye ball test" (teammates that he performs as well as--or even outperforms are getting looks that he does not), but he is having conversations with a number of college coaches, a couple that seem to be getting more serious. I do believe there are coaches out there who will give...
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Re: College Baseball Height
Bsball; During our 1st journey to Japan with our American HS National Team, I noticed the Japan umpires were "missing" the low strikes, because of our 6'2 catcher. We switched catchers to a 5'8" catcher and the strike zoned changed. "Baseball is a game of adjustments" and the best Coaches know how to adjust. "Keep the faith"!!!! Bob
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Really enjoyed watching your son play this past season. He is a tremendous competitor.
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Your 100% right about the velo part. I need to throw harder if I want to play at the next level.
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In general, yes. What can make a difference is your stuff. If the spin numbers suggest that you can pitch up in the zone with your FB, and it’s coming at the hitter from a low release height, you have something to sell. That’s assuming a decent velo on the FB. You will also need a breaking ball and a change up that you can land for a strike. If you have all of those things there will be a place for you. I suggest you get Trackman numbers, and get someone to tell you what they mean, and see...
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Re: College Baseball Height
2026; Do you have the 6th Tool? During our Area Code games in Long Beach I selected a young Rhp pitcher 5'11" from Florida who told me on the phone interview that he had the best "curve ball" in America. When he pitched his 1st game at the AC games, the 300 pro scouts all said the same Bert Blyleven. Next Summer, the young man was drafted 1st round by the Pirates. "Attitude" vs "Altitude"!!!! Bob
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@Texas There was no audio so I searched. That is some story. Your son is an awesome catcher! He has a great story also! Thanks for posting.
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Is it any worse at pitcher? I'm the exact same height as the poster and completely done growing.