So our season ends with a second place finish...and I personally jinxed us-after winning the league title the past two summers and spending $14,000 on championship rings, my joke line was that in 2017, I wanted to finish a "really really close second". Be careful what you ask for: in the rubber match of the 3 game Valley League Championship Series with Charlottesville, with a great crowd in excess of 3,000, we were tied 1-1 in the 8th, when a fielding miscue led to a run and we lost 2-1.
And recruiting is underway for 2018...really...and surprisingly, at least to us, the Cape folks are all over the place making offers, many "temp" offers but offers nonetheless. We had a couple guys last weekend we debated-they had so-so freshman years but did pretty well in a summer league-and we decided to offer, only to learn they already had Cape Cod temp offers. A couple of our 2017 guys had 2018 Cape offers by mid-summer. And at seasons' end, a lot of Cape teams were calling around looking for arms.
It seems that in summer ball, a lot more players are bailing out during the summer, for minor injuries, girl friends, fatigue, or they just want to go home, far more than we saw just 3-4 years ago. Especially late, almost all teams headed for the playoffs are looking for arms. In years gone by, summer teams paid for travel and they didn't pay until the season was over so some guys that came from coast to coast had some pretty nice checks waiting for them. That practice ended around 10 years ago as it got just too expensive but it also has meant there is one less reason to stay. A MLB scout was quoted as saying that "if a kid can't commit to a 2 month summer schedule, how will he handle a 6 month MiLB schedule", and they do take note of who leaves and who doesn't. A nearby team had a scout show up to see a particular player, only to learn he had left 2 days earlier...and scratched off the list went the player.
In any event, 2018 recruiting is well under way, college coaches are talking. Some schools now wait until spring to place pitchers, but for position guys, and a lot of pitchers, if there's a place you want to go, talk to your college coach. Some schools are very active in placing players and some not so much. Most D-1's and D-2's are very active-and some simply tell a player where he is going, while others get player input. Some D-3's are active, some do nothing...but our league MVP this year was a D-3 from Wooster, and I cannot understand how he is not at a major D-1; the kid had big time skills. The team he played for said 3 years ago they would only sign D-1's...but their championship starting lineup had 3 D-3's, all very talented. There is good talent at every level.
) We actually "over-sign" by two, as come spring, injuries, grades ,etc. will take some guys away. I have seen VBL teams over-sign by as many 10...we're not that brave and never want to tell a signed player that we don't have room, but attrition happens to every team. It isn't uncommon to have as much as a 25% change from your very first roster in the fall, to the opening night roster in June.