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No offense.  The kid works hard but not impressed.  He did not drive balls like Bryce Harper did.  This is a kid that unless he grows will play second base and might not hit the ball out of the infield on big field.  Again, great work ethic but not a kid who throws 80 at 11 or hits bombs. 

Again, what kid needs that many bats?  That was the funny part to me.

After watching the video I have to say....Joey comes across as a driven kid with a ton of self confidence. If all of this doesn't pan out for him, I bet he will channel all that drive into something else and be successful. He does not strike me as a mentally weak or stressed kid. If his parents choose to spend money they have or don't have on trying to help him reach his goal that's their business. Joey is going to achieve a lot more from what he is doing than just polished baseball skills. He is acquiring valuable tools from all the adults that coach and work with him. They are passing on to him all the knowledge they have and he will be that much further ahead. He is not only learning teamwork, but how to rise to a position of leadership within a very competitive environment and one in which he is size challenged. What's that saying..." Sports don't build character, they reveal it ". He reminds me of the snowballs we would make as kids and roll down a hill, snowball getting bigger and bigger, picking up sticks and leaves and everything else in its path.

I have watched very talented "size gifted" players nagged by their parents to practice...to their wits end. Those kids didn't go that far in baseball and they are struggling with being motivated as young adults. I have also seen a few size challenged, but very athletically gifted players that were a lot like Joey end up out of the game and playing something else by HS. I hope Joey continues to work hard, stays humble and achieves his dream of playing in the MLB....wouldn't surprise me if this kid didn't turn out to be a GM one day.

As for all the attention he gets...baseball loves a good underdog story :-)

2019Dad posted:

Hope it works out for him. Watching the video, it reminded me a bit of Tommy Boyer in this article: 

www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-moneyb...-20130317-story.html

"7th Inning: The Prospect

Tommy Boyer, 11, does 100 sit-ups, sprints for 20 minutes and hits at least 70 baseballs off a tee every day. He fields 100 ground balls and retrieves 100 fly balls on alternate weekdays. He takes professional hitting and pitching lessons twice a week, executes daily speed and agility drills crafted by a professional trainer, and meets regularly with a sports psychologist.

His nutritional program calls for virtually no junk food and four protein shakes daily to put muscle on his 4-11, 90-pound frame.

Boyer, who once played in 183 baseball games in a calendar year, has averaged about 160 since he began playing travel ball at age 6, his father said.

Besides committing to play for Team MVP's 11-and-under team and the Weston Black Hawks 12-and-under squad, Boyer plans to suit up for at least another eight teams in 2013. That includes a squad in Dallas that Boyer's father said offered to fly the pair in and out of Texas on consecutive weekends.

"I hope to grow up and play in Major League Baseball, and get a scholarship," Tommy said before a game with Team MVP at Tamiami Park in Miami. "I love to play."

Tommy's father, Don, who operates a tree service business in St. Cloud, estimates he spends $2,000 a month on baseball.

Boyer said two other teams expressed interest in Tommy's services for this year, but both wanted him to fork over about $600 in fees and more money for a uniform. He said no, telling them: "Tommy gets everything paid for. Why should I pay you almost $1,000 when everybody else is paying for it?"

The Florida man said he constructed a 10-by-10-foot room off of his son's bedroom to hold all the medals and trophies Tommy has won.

"It's not about just having fun.It's not," Don Boyer said. "It's about going out and doing a job ... [Tommy] loves to play with the best and for the best."

I sure hope Tommy Boyer is recruited by a D1 baseball powerhouse and is drafted in the first few rounds... OTHERWISE he will have fallen short of the  ridiculous expectations his father has set for him from a very young age and the fact that this boy lost his childhood in the process.  

You all suckered me in to watching the video from all those commenting...my immediate first thing was at age 11 neither of my smart and driven boys knew the difference between D1 and anything else.  They never would have said I want to play D1 baseball or D1 hockey or D1 football etc.  They might have said, I want to play in college or I want to be a pro.  So all this talk from an 11 yr old about playing D1 baseball comes from the parents!  Naming him Joey Baseball, having an 11 yr old have an instagram (he mentions Miggy follows him now) -- this is all the PARENTS.  They may seem normal for the camera but I worry about what goes on behind closed doors.  That kid is a KID.  He can train and play all he wants but all the other stuff and attention is just the parents living through him.  The dad said even if he doesn't make it, I would still do what I am doing.  That is just ridiculous as it is more proof that the dad is behind most of it and I feel really sorry for the little boy (and I mean little).  

DALEX posted:
2019Dad posted:

Hope it works out for him. Watching the video, it reminded me a bit of Tommy Boyer in this article: 

www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-moneyb...-20130317-story.html

"7th Inning: The Prospect

Tommy Boyer, 11, does 100 sit-ups, sprints for 20 minutes and hits at least 70 baseballs off a tee every day. He fields 100 ground balls and retrieves 100 fly balls on alternate weekdays. He takes professional hitting and pitching lessons twice a week, executes daily speed and agility drills crafted by a professional trainer, and meets regularly with a sports psychologist.

His nutritional program calls for virtually no junk food and four protein shakes daily to put muscle on his 4-11, 90-pound frame.

Boyer, who once played in 183 baseball games in a calendar year, has averaged about 160 since he began playing travel ball at age 6, his father said.

Besides committing to play for Team MVP's 11-and-under team and the Weston Black Hawks 12-and-under squad, Boyer plans to suit up for at least another eight teams in 2013. That includes a squad in Dallas that Boyer's father said offered to fly the pair in and out of Texas on consecutive weekends.

"I hope to grow up and play in Major League Baseball, and get a scholarship," Tommy said before a game with Team MVP at Tamiami Park in Miami. "I love to play."

Tommy's father, Don, who operates a tree service business in St. Cloud, estimates he spends $2,000 a month on baseball.

Boyer said two other teams expressed interest in Tommy's services for this year, but both wanted him to fork over about $600 in fees and more money for a uniform. He said no, telling them: "Tommy gets everything paid for. Why should I pay you almost $1,000 when everybody else is paying for it?"

The Florida man said he constructed a 10-by-10-foot room off of his son's bedroom to hold all the medals and trophies Tommy has won.

"It's not about just having fun.It's not," Don Boyer said. "It's about going out and doing a job ... [Tommy] loves to play with the best and for the best."

I sure hope Tommy Boyer is recruited by a D1 baseball powerhouse and is drafted in the first few rounds... OTHERWISE he will have fallen short of the  ridiculous expectations his father has set for him from a very young age and the fact that this boy lost his childhood in the process.  

Well, that Florida Sun-Sentinel article is from almost six years ago, so . . . .

Looked at his PG profile, i'm not a subscriber so just see barebones basics, but what little I can see sure don't look to be a prospect any longer.  His last recorded fastball was in the 36th %tile.  Bet he was 96th%tile at 10-11U then everyone else caught up and passed him by.  Wonder if the kid's still playing at all...  

DALEX posted:

Looked at his PG profile, i'm not a subscriber so just see barebones basics, but what little I can see sure don't look to be a prospect any longer.  His last recorded fastball was in the 36th %tile.  Bet he was 96th%tile at 10-11U then everyone else caught up and passed him by.  Wonder if the kid's still playing at all...  

If it’s the kid I’m thinking about, his fastball was never in the upper echelon. He was more crafty than a power guy. 

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