ABD Spring League

If they are forbidden, that would be up to them on that about scouting the Spring League. I also know of a few Scouting Directors that say different on they ideas of the Spring League. It is really up to anyone who wants or decides to participate in the Spring League.

Last year Ethan Miller played in the Spring League and is at San Diego State. Robby Witt also played and is playing again this year and he has signed a letter of intent to go to UC Riverside. There are a couple of other players who are playing that are being recruited by DI schools and a few others who are being recruited by lower division schools.

One thing to let you know is that the Spring League is not for everyone. It is only an option for players who need one. For whatever reason they may have, need a place to play.

I see that you are from the Temecula area. We just had a player tryout from that area and needed a place to play. He was in a situation that the mother really needed a place for her son to play. He lived in OC the previous years and played at El Toro HS. He was on their roster for a pretty good high school team. He went to the school in your area and was cut from the team for probably a dumb reason. He also already has signed a letter of intent to a school back east.

Would you say there is not a place for a Spring League? This player that was cut, our league gave him a chance to play during the Spring. Without the Spring League he would not have a place. Just to let you know he was cut by the coach, because he is legally deaf and was told by the coach that it would be difficult for him to keep him on the team.

He is completely deaf in one ear and hears some in other ear. He can read lips also.

What do you think of the Spring League now?

You can go to the website for the Spring League at.....

http://www.abcleague.org

If that is your intention then I think that is great and if a coach really cut a kid for being deaf that is horrible, I believe though he is not the norm. However I do not suspect that this is your intention, as one of the big time baseball factories, is to give kids that got cut from a team a place to play. That would be like Warner Brothers giving 2nd rate movie stars a place to do movies. What kind of marketing tool would that be? Hey come play baseball with kids that got cut, and pay me. My other thing that makes me question motives is timing. If this truly is your intention then why have you not been doing this for years? Why was it started at the same time the HS association rule was changed?

IEbsdldad:

When Mike started this league I also questioned why, but the longer I have been around HS baseball I see that there is a need for something like this for a whole variety of reasons. A HS kid should ideally be playing for his HS, however there are all kinds of reasons this is not possible. Is it perfect..no, but if it gives some kids an opportunity they would not otherwise have then why not?

As far as area scouts most of these kids are not going into pro ball and let me tell you if the next coming of Albert Puljos is playing there, you think they will not go and scout him? Trust me the stands would be full of them. This of course is not the point.

There were many reasons that I started the Spring League. The reason about the player playing was because cut was only one of them. Here is why a few of the players are playing in the Spring League.

*Robby Witt - An OF the coach cut him in the Fall of his Junior Year. Later in the Fall, he committed to UC Riverside and the coach then asked him back. He went back with team and the was dropped to the JV team after attending a showcase

*Ethan Miller - He is a RHP that his coach said that he won't really be pitching for them. That he was not needed as a pitcher and that he was more of a hitter for them. He had signed a letter of intent to go to San Diego State.

*Kyle Butcher - He was a LHP that was cut going into his Sophomore year. After his Junior year he signed a letter of intent to Cal State Monterey Bay

*Buddy Traxler - He is a C that was not elgible because he transfered to another school from Bishop Amat to Ontario Christian in his Junior year. He was not elgible so he needed to play. He decided to play his Senior year for the Spring League and is being recruited by several schools

*Andrew King - RHP from Southland Christian that plays a lower division and wanted to play a higher level of baseball. He throws mid to high 80's and is being recruited to a few schools

*Kevin Sanders - INF from Lakewood, his coach gave him a hard time because he wanted to do things during the Summer and Winter, where his coach did not approve of. He has committed to Cal Bapist

*Calvin Ellis - 1B/C that his coach tried to get him to quit his Junior year and kept working at it and decided to quit going into his Senior year. He has a couple of DI schools recruiting him

*Cory Davis - RHP where his coach says that he won't pitch for them. That he was be a back up catcher or play some 3B. But is being recruited by some of the smaller division schools

*Keaton Hernandez - RHP where his school is very small. They have maybe 100 students total. His brother played at a DI program (Hawaii)

I have many more examples of why players are playing high school. Those should give you an idea. Also, the league is not just for high school players. It is for Freshman and younger. The league is made up of about 1/3 JC red shirt players that are playing.

IEbsdldad

You make the comment about saying that this is a reason for someone to pay me. The league has some fees, just like anyone else. If you think that we are doing this only to make money. That is far from the truth. You should probably look at what we charge and then you can then decide if we are doing this for the reason as you say.

The fees are from $600 to $700 for players that play on ABD teams in the Spring League. What the other teams are charging I am not really sure. Our fees for the Spring League will cover the expenses of the league. From our Bulldog schedule alone will be playing 50 plus games. The umpires are getting paid $100 per game for 9 Inning games and $75 per game for 7 Inning games. That means for 1 9 Inning game we pay $200 for that game and that does not include the field rental for the field.

This is so that we can attract quality umpires. Some of the umpires have professional baseball experience and several do DI games.

I was told that a school in the Inland Empire is having players pay $1,700 per player. That is more or less a game schedule of 25 plus games. And there is no field rental and the umpire fees are not as what we pay. So who is making the money?

Let's talk about cut backs in the schools. Don't you think it will happen that the different school districts are talking about cutting back on sports. Santa Rosa has already said that they are cutting out all Spring Sports for 2011. They are going to appeal it and see if it can be overturned. It is only a matter of time before the cuts start happening in schools sports. There are some school districts in Ohio have cut all sports out of their school system.

We can go on about many reasons why we started this Spring League. These are only a few.

IE guy, first it is rotten that you would come on a national forum and speak so ill informed of a program..... any program.

Second, the AB Spring League is not only serving a good purpose it is sorely needed and lagging other sports in its intended purpose. (Think, volleyball, softball, lacrosse)

Third, why would anyone deny a kid a place to play ball? Really, going down to the basics, why would anyone do anything but cheer the presence of an additional place for ball players to play ball?

Fourth, how many teams are going away due to budget cuts in the state of CA this year? How many players who maybe lack early physical development will not make a hs team and quit baseball due to a lack for a playing enviornment? There simply must be additional opportunities for those kids to grow and keep playing.

Fifth, I know several kids participating and not one is a kid "who did not get along".... In fact they all get along just fine. And maybe, just maybe, these good kids can develop a good raport inside a program with a coach or director (that if thier skill warrants) has the connections to help them move along in the baseball world and into college.

My opionion, you give no credit to the player and too much credit to coaches... A few of which are undegreed walk on guys with giant egos, and a quick opinion..... (I hope you kid does not land in their zone. And, if he did not you are lucky.)

Just nailing it down for you.... the money thing... gosh really,.... Have you checked what HS teams are asking of their players lately?

Playfair,
You started your post by stating, first, usually the first point is followed by a second point. Do I need to wait for another thread to get that or in your desire to chastised me did you not realize and I guarantee you that I am more informed on this whole process than in you think I am. I have done a lot of homework talking to HS Coaches, Competitors, Employees of ABD, ABD affiliates, as well as Scouts and through this whole process came up with an opinion. I know their are bad HS coaches and no my son did not land in that zone. However that does not mean I can not explore different options with my son, I want whats best for him. I will tell you right now one of the reasons I posted this "ill informed thread" is I have been thinking about moving my son to the Spring League and after I talked to 3 area scouts, 2 from your area, I wanted to see how ABD would defend themselves. So I personally do not care what you think, I care about my son not you.

ABD,
You have done a great job defending your ideas and your program. If I came off harsh I apologize. I am just looking out for my son.

ABD and others,

With the state of the economy in California, I think, that a spring league may be a good option with some questions.

As in High School, is there a minimum GPA for players? Most H.S. require that a 2.0 or high is maintained.

If you do, how is it monitored?

Have you looked into taking over the H.S. programs with districts that are talking about dropping Baseball and sub planting your program with the CIF?

I like the idea that baseball will be open for any player, but, in order for any player to go on to college they must meet academic eligibly for college, is this being addressed?

We need to remember they student athletes first.

Tooldforthis

quote:

Have you looked into taking over the H.S. programs with districts that are talking about dropping Baseball and sub planting your program with the CIF?

Every school district is different and our ideas of what we want to do with baseball are different that what CIF wants. Our league (ABCL), is set up for a 50 plus game season. We are different in a few areas. We use wood bats and also play 9 inning games. Our league games consist of 4 games each weekend with a total of 9 weekends. The other weeks are up to the teams and what they will do. The Bulldog team is going to AZ for a 5 game series of games this weekend. While other teams will play games before the league starts the following weekend.

If you are looking for more information on the league, you can go to http://www.abcleague.org.

There are a couple teams in the ABCL have a few roster spots open for the Spring. You can contact them if you are interested in playing.

DI ABCL
*Play Hard Baseball
dricabal@playhardbaseball.net

*SURFDOGS
info@abdacademy.com


D4 ABCL
*O'Keiki Warriors
okeiki@aol.com

*Orange County Shine
duanepage40@yahoo.com

*ABD
info@abdacademy.com


You can get information on the league and team rosters online at http://www.abcleague.org or send an email to info@abdacademy.com.

quote:

Originally posted by ABD Bulldogs:
Tooldforthis

quote:

Have you looked into taking over the H.S. programs with districts that are talking about dropping Baseball and sub planting your program with the CIF?

Every school district is different and our ideas of what we want to do with baseball are different that what CIF wants. Our league (ABCL), is set up for a 50 plus game season. We are different in a few areas. We use wood bats and also play 9 inning games. Our league games consist of 4 games each weekend with a total of 9 weekends. The other weeks are up to the teams and what they will do. The Bulldog team is going to AZ for a 5 game series of games this weekend. While other teams will play games before the league starts the following weekend.

If you are looking for more information on the league, you can go to http://www.abcleague.org.

How big is that speedy center fielder in today's 18U game? My son was the opposing SS.

6'5", 220

Tomorrows game will have a few scouts out. The pro guys have been coming out regularly. I have talked with a few of the colleges and some have indicated they will be coming out to some games.

My son was the catcher on the opposing team. That Bull Dog team was big.

He was looking for you at the second game because he wanted to thank you himself for starting this league.

Thanks again, this is the happiest he has been in a long time and it is showing in his play.

P.S. his back should be ok by the time they play the Canadian team on the 31st which he is really excited to play them.

951dad, your son is one of the best & smartest catchers I have seen in a long while. I love watching smart catchers.

Thank you ABD for turning "getting cut from his high school team" the best thing that ever happened to my son in baseball.

In our neck of the woods, youth baseball has developed in such a way that the boys' only opportunities to develop are from little league programs, run by well intended, but ill prepared, dads, or from travel or high school coaches, who are under the gun to win, and thus do not have the time (or motivation) to develop players in real game situations.

My son pitched more innings in 2 games with ABD than he (or any other relief pitcher) did his entire JV season in high school ball last season. It has been a revelation watching the knowledgeable and dedicated ABD staff really work with the kids and develop them in every aspect of the game: physical, mental and even etiquette.

This program is not a threat to high school baseball if high school baseball does what it's supposed to do. And in our area, there just isn't room for every talented player to make the team. There were enough kids in our immediate area cut from their high school teams to field 4 Senior League teams...not counting the ones who gave up, or went to other programs, like ABD. I'll tell you this much...ABD cost a fraction of what our high school players paid to play, the ABD games were swarming with pro and college scouts, and my son will finish this "season" a better player and a better person for the experience.

A great day for So Cal playoffs

Nicely pitched game by O'Keiki's pitcher who hit 84 mph on his first pitch then never got over 82 for the rest of the game. He pitched even better than the score would indicate. Well called game by the catcher. Not too impressed by the decision to throw the kid 9 innings. Good decision from a winning the game standpoint but pitch count must have been close to 140 pitches and there were scouts there to see the reliever who headed out to the mound thinking he was going to throw the 9th. On the other hand the reliever should get plenty more opportunities next week with a minimum of one more game at Arrowhead and a good shot at 2 or 3 more. Not sure how that works into the draft timetable though. MTS son made a couple nice plays on a barehanded pick and throw on a slow roller and a diving grab and clean throw from the hole.

It was a nice game yesterday; my son was the catcher for Okeiki.

Thanks for the nice words.

The pitcher is a freshman red shirt from Cal Poly Pomona. He has pitched nine complete innings before and in the past has pitched many complete seven inning games in winter league. He is a fighter and most likely went out there on his own in the ninth and the coach gave it to him to finish. Because of his size he gets questioned on his endurance so he has a chip on his shoulder. That ninth inning showed what kind of player he is.

The reliever is getting a lot of attention since he throws low to mid 90’s. I think the scouts were there to see Tyler Shreve’s bullpen and to see the catcher from Hawaii, not our guys.

I have to agree our Third baseman made some great plays and so did our first baseman both of them. Your left fielder made the best play of the whole game with that catch in the bottom of the 8th.

CADad, I know your son pitched in the game yesterday and he did a great job mixing up speeds and keeping the batters off balance.

I haven't seen the catcher. I asked the scout I saw who looked like he was from the scouting bureau if he was there to see the catcher and he said he was also there to see the reliever. The Grizzlie's coach was pretty impressed by the catcher though. He said the kid had really good pop times and some pretty good pop in his bat. One of the catchers from ATH is relatively young and this time of year the scouts tend to be focused on the kids who are draft eligible.

My son couldn't get the curve over so he used the change a fair amount as it was working fairly well. He wasn't trying to put anything extra on the ball until the last inning so he was 83-85ish on the Stalker they had set up there with a couple down at 82 when he aimed it a bit. That's pretty normal for him when he's trying to pitch as opposed to throwing to impress. He hadn't pitched for three weeks so it was important that he focus on throwing strikes. He said he tried to throw the last pitch fairly hard but I didn't see the reading on that one as the play on that one ended up being probably the key play in the game to that point. Probably not that hard and the extra effort just resulted in it being up a bit.

I thought the left fielder made his best, or at least most important play on the throw in the bottom of the seventh. I don't think it would have been close at the plate if the throw hadn't been cut, assuming it was on line. I also thought the tag was made before the run scored but it was a bang bang play and you take what you get on those. That was one of those plays where what you think happened depends on the team you are rooting for.

I was a little surprised at the speeds from our pitchers as the starter had thrown around 84-86 and touched 87 or 88 last time I saw him there and I think the kid who threw the 8th can throw quite a deal harder than he did on Sunday also.

If we're out there on Saturday I'll tell you what I see. You'll probably have to get there early enough to see some of that game yourself though.

I agree it has been great. There have been some great games in this league. And I hope more players play next year then just quitting the game all together as some have done.

Have to agree with 951dad. My son said he was totally fooled by your son's change up. He also said that your son has good movement. I was thinking 2 seam.

Thx.

I can't copy the info because it is in the subscriber content on PGcrosschecker but they've posted their draft info for Hawaii and they've got the catcher from the Surfdogs, Christian Carmichael, listed as a possible 4th to 10th round pick and as one of the top few picks from Hawaii.

Scouts have had plenty of chances to see him, so they've seen his good and bad days. He's been in quite a few PG showcases and tournaments. He's got a strong arm and really top notch pop times and the scouts see bat speed and power potential. Sometimes people confuse talent and performance. Sometimes talented players don't perform well but the talent shines through. He's also fairly fast for a catcher. He's drawing scouts so that's only positive for the kids who are looking to be seen by pro scouts. Those kids should use it as motivation to try and outperform him. If they do it may get them noticed as well.

O'Keiki Warriors won the Championship!!!

quote:

Originally posted by 951dad:
My son was the catcher on the opposing team. That Bull Dog team was big.

He was looking for you at the second game because he wanted to thank you himself for starting this league.

Thanks again, this is the happiest he has been in a long time and it is showing in his play.

P.S. his back should be ok by the time they play the Canadian team on the 31st which he is really excited to play them.

How many games did your son end up catching this weekend? Nice hitting despite so many innings receiving.

He caught 5 games. the Championship game went into the 12th inning before they won it. we missed your son in the last game.

Baseball Scouts and College Coaches will find the talent period- The guy who started ABD should be given a fricken Medal for filling the much needed gap in player development. Too many High School Coaches are put in a position to screw up kids careers before they have a chance to get started.

ATH is looking for baseball players that want to play in the ABCL -Spring League. Rosters are beginning to fill up but we still do have room for added players. The league starts in March

Contact Doug for more information

ATHbaseball.net
baker09@aol.com

My son played for Doug last year when he was a redshirt and really enjoyed playing for Doug. Doug is a great baseball guy who puts the players first.

My son will be playing for O'Keiki again. He was SS/3rd base. Now he is 18 years old, bigger, stronger, faster...