Anyone Ever Said "PGStaff, you have a PM"?

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I'd hate to be the next week's guest and have to follow Mr. Ford...

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Backstop- We have two guests already lined up for the next week and are working on another very high profile guest the week after. I have a feeling they'll hold their own very well.

I posted only in deference to Jerry's accumulated wisdom...you all do a great job and I am not truly worried!!

Oh I know, don't worry. I am very excited for this Sunday's show. Speaking to Jerry and having him share his knowledge with those listening from the HSBBWeb will be a one-of-a-kind experience.

I wasn't sure where to put this but Jason Armstrong from Davis was extremely well prepared as there was a steady stream of very insightful and relevant info flowing the entire program.
We all know what a great resource PG is, so, undoubtedly, that will be another great program.

You guys (and this site) are providing such a great service. It blows me away that there are not more people on the site utilizing the info (not that there aren't a lot).

Many thanks!!!

Who?

Good stuff Josh!

Really excited about this opportunity to talk to one of the very top (if not the top) scouting professionals on the planet. Jerry, being the humble guy he is, does not want us to focus on Perfect Game (PG) but rather the broader issues of baseball and scouting. I do think it would be interesting however if he gives us a brief introduction to his baseball background leading up to the creation of PG.

In the spirit of this thread - PG - you have a PM

I listened to Coach Merc's session, and can say these are worth listening to. Unfortunately 11pm is past my bedtime, but the replays work just great.

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Originally posted by Backstop-17:
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I'd hate to be the next week's guest and have to follow Mr. Ford...

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Me too!

quote:

Originally posted by twotex:
I listened to Coach Merc's session, and can say these are worth listening to. Unfortunately 11pm is past my bedtime, but the replays work just great.

Most of our audience is based on the archive listens rather than the live broadcast fwiw. I posted this in the hsbbweb radio forum, but here are some details on why our hours are a little funky and broadcasts a little choppy... (ps - funny post by redbird5 as he is following PGStaff )

quote:

We use the website blogtalkradio to produce the show. That website has paid subscribers which can broadcast anytime of the day and for as long as they like. We are of the "unpaid" variety and there are limitations on what we can do. One limitation is that we are unable to schedule shows between the hours of 7 and 11 EST. A second limitation is that live broadcasts can only last 1/2 hour. We have found however that they allow the recorded conversation to continue for an additional 15 minutes so we decided to split the baby that way. A third limitation is that you can only schedule one show per night.

We found that when we had the same guest on for two 1/2 hour shows on consecutive nights, that the "ratings" for the second 1/2 hour went way down so we decided to eliminate that. We also found that we could get close to an hour by using the alloted 15 minutes of additional record time so that is what we decided to do. That places a limitation on the listener however. All you have to do is that when the live broadcast cuts out, wait about 15 minutes and listen to the archive broadcast which contains the last 15 minutes of the show. You can fast forward the archive broadcast to hear the final portion.

That's the best we can do on our budget. It literally takes hours of behind-the-scenes work to produce a show and that is expensive enough (opportunity cost) imho. Now, if someone out there wants to make a donation to support hsbbweb radio ($40 per month to blogtalk radio for a subscription), then we'll schedule the shows at a different time and we'll have longer live shows depending on the guest.

Is there a long time poster who hasn't made that particular post?

Join us this evening for the big show with Jerry Ford!

Hey everyone, I'm sure you will enjoy and learn from tonight's show!

I've had the privilege of talking with Jerry in person and by phone, email and PM, and I cannot think of ANYONE who is a better resource, more knowledgeable and willing to share his knowledge about baseball scouting, than Mr. Ford. He is so down to earth and humble...if someone else didn't tell you, you would never guess that he was an important guy who heads such a tremendously respected organization (Perfect Game USA). He also has a super nice and lovely wife.

Hope you all get a chance to listen in, either live or in the archives!


Julie

I PM'd him for the first time recently....nice response too

GWTW62- That really comes as no surprise. I've been in communication with Jerry at various levels since I was 16 years old, and some of the questions/statements I have made in the past are admittedly pretty ridiculous. Yet he's always taken the time out of his day to respond in a respectful and upfront manner.

I thought the interview was absolutely outstanding. I might be biased (being that I am a co-host), but thinking subjectively, the amount of knowledge and experience Jerry Ford has is pretty much unparalleled in the amateur baseball world.

From Dan and I collectively, we'd like to thank Jerry once again for coming on with us. Hopefully the interview reaches a large scale of audience and can be informational for those people as well.

Totally agree! Just by reading his day to day posts you can tell he's a stand-up guy, as is the organization he help create. All the staff there seem be be cut from the same cloth too. Recently purchased a bat from them and the fellow that handled the transaction was great, as has everyone else I've come in contact with from Perfect Game. I have reccommended PG (their events and tournaments) to several people the last couple of years without hesitation.

Mr. Ford went above and beyond after I PM'd him about my son. Since my son had never been to a PG event he was basically "off the radar." Although he had performed well enough to earn 1st Team All-District honors in a strong 5A district as a junior and played for a well know summer team, he wasn't getting a lot of college interest. After sharing some video with Jerry, at his request, and his review of my sons stats and other info., he wound up rating my son as a Top 1000 2011 Senior. Thank you again to Jerry....a really class act.

It was nice to hear Coach Ford's voice. I think I only saw him or heard him once in a Prospect DVD. Nice story on his son Ben. Have to finish the whole interview later this week.

Definitely a class act and going above and beyond. No wonder PG is where most talented players play tournaments or showcases.

I know there would be several more episodes with him as guest.

One comment I have is regarding blogs in tournaments and I know that most games has one during tournaments in combination with a beta summary from gamechanger. In the event that a player had a really great game and the game was not mentioned in any blogs, would that player still have any scouting notes in his file from Perfect Game in case a coach has interest?

Looking forward to this weekend's games during the PG Nationals.


Mr. PG Staff you have a PM!.....(just kidding)
More Power.

RR23

Every note, time, gun reading, both positive and negative is entered into the players file. Much of this information is kept confidential, especially the negatives. It is used when we want to look up a player at a later date, or when a scout or recruiter wants more information about a certain player.

Game Changer stats and stats overall, can be incorrect at times. Bloggers can't cover everything. The most important thing is trying to figure out who the best prospects are even when they're not having a good game.

Sometimes a player will make what some might consider a "great" play. That same "great" play might reveal a big deficiency to an experienced scout. While it was an outstanding play for one individual, it might be a play that would be fairly routine for a quicker athlete with more fluid actions.

Kind of like the slow outfielder that makes a great diving catch. It certainly was a great play for that outfielder, but it would be a routine fly ball for another outfielder. It was a great play that revealed a weakness.

Sometimes its not what a player actually does as much as it is what a player is capable of doing. If it were all about what a player does, scouting would be a piece of cake. Of course, what a player does is very important, too.

BTW, I would like to thank CD and JH for making everything fairly painless. I know, from past experience, that I lack certain skills. While I have a "face" for radio, my speaking ability is made for newspapers. I nearly failed speech in HS.

Think it all started in grade school music class. At the Christmas Show I was instructed to be silent and just mouth the words.

I've listened to all the other interviews. Kind of embarrassing compared to all those younger guys and TR. Still, Dan and Josh, make it fairly easy. They sure deserve a lot of credit for taking on this project. I especially enjoy listening to coaches talk about baseball.

PG - we can't thank you enough for agreeing to be on - it was most enjoyable! Thanks for your kind comments.

One interesting thing I have learned from talking to baseball professionals like yourself and the other coaches we have interviewed is that there does not seem to be one universal way of doing things. Each coach looks for slightly different things and evaluates with differing priorities. Each have their own philosophies. Each bring to the table those things that make themselves unique. It's quite refreshing actually.

I guess my point is for parents and players out there going through recruiting. Maybe someone out there does not appreciate you the way you think they ought too but there likely is someone out there who just might adore you. There are no perfect players or coaches out there but, I believe whole-heartedly there are perfect "fits" out there. The trick is finding them.

It does seem that some of the "negative" information is there in the reports at times but not in a way that is obvious to everyone.

For example a player I'm very familiar with who was a primary pitcher hustled like crazy in his first showcase while playing the outfield and I believe the writeup noted solid actions. During his second showcase the hustle was there but so were one or two bonehead plays and the outfield portion of it went from solid actions to "developing actions". Who knows what was in the "confidential" notes.

I doubt I would have noticed the difference if I hadn't seen the player at the showcases, but it was there for coaches to pursue if they wanted to look into it more. That seems completely appropriate to me inasmuch as it really isn't going to embarass anyone but the accurate information is there for those who take the time to look.

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Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
I guess my point is for parents and players out there going through recruiting. Maybe someone out there does not appreciate you the way you think they ought too but there likely is someone out there who just might adore you. There are no perfect players or coaches out there but, I believe whole-heartedly there are perfect "fits" out there. The trick is finding them.

I agree 110%. You go where you are wanted and most likely given the chance! So far, those who have shown early and consistent interests are the ones we are concentrating on in our quest for the right fit.

PG- I don't know how much singing has to do with speech abilities...my mom can talk for days but she has quite possibly the absolute worst singing voice I've ever heard in my life.

Regardless, I thought it was an outstanding interview nonetheless. What CD alluded to about the personalities was spot on...every person is different. The one constant thing I've found is that if you find the niche that they are comfortable with, knowledgeable with and passionate about, the information they provide is incredible. I'm sure if we asked Jason Armstrong the same questions as Fred Corral he might have stumbled for an answer. If we asked Joe Mercurio the same question as Kevin Schnall, he might have second guessed himself. Vice versa would probably apply as well. Knowledge is based off experience and passion. Everyone is passionate for the game, and everyone has their niche. It's just a matter of finding that niche and continuing to discuss that.

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:

...compared to all those younger guys and TR

I cracked up at the fact that you separated your thought into these two groups.

I listened to the archive version of the interview with PGStaff Sunday night. I don't know Jerry personally, but like most of you, I've shared a couple PM's with him. One in particular was last year when I was in my Georgia hotel room reading a thread on the HSBaseballweb. A couple parents were complaining that their son's were not receiving any love on the PG Blog during the 17U WWBA tournament. Jerry joined the conversation and asked for the information on the poster's son. He looked up the game notes on him, and shared the notes that the PG scout had on the player. Apparently his/her son did pitch a very good game, but he sat in the upper 70's and if I'm not mistaken touched maybe 80-81? PG stated that touching 80-81 is not normally going to be mentioned in a blog in that age bracket. However, a pitcher that is in the upper 80's to the low/mid 90's would receive more attention for obvious reasons, even if they struggle a little that particular day.

My son had pitched a complete game one hitter earlier in the week (our coach had marked it down as a NO Hitter), but apparently the PG scout in attendance had marked the E-5 as an infield single. No big deal, the team he pitched against wasn't strong and it was a 5 inning mercy rule game. Anyway, there wasn't a write up on the blogs, but I honestly didn't care at the time. However, after Jerry shared the scouting notes on the upper 70's pitcher, I wanted to know what the notes said on my son, including his velocity numbers...So I sent PGStaff a PM. Jerry responded the next day and was apologetic. He sent me the scouting notes on the game, and said that he should have received mention in the blog. Within a couple hours, even though I advised him not to, a write up was done on my son and included in the blog. I was embarrassed and sent a PM back to him, I really just wanted to receive the scouting notes...but he insisted and stated that my son deserved to be mentioned.

I sent my last PM to Jerry in November after my son signed his NLI. I thanked him for the role that Perfect Game had played during the recruiting process. He was very modest, and congratulated my son and our family for this accomplishment. I'm sure he recognized that it didn't come easy...and I respect him for that.

Good stuff bsbl247..I am sure there are lots of posters who had shared PMs with PG staff and had great stories like yours and mine. I also know that there could be voluminous PMs that he may or may not get to which is understandable. Knowing what my son needed to work on 2 years ago per PGStaff's input was a blessing. Any parent who has a senior, who may be or may not be a highly regarded prospect but would have a chance to play at the next level would be curious to know if his/her son has made any progress based on the database of PG scouting reports. There was a game during Labor day weekend that I surely felt my son would crack the PG Blog but didn't. I am glad to know that at least there might be someone noting it down from PG. Maybe I'll PM PG staff after my son's possibly last PG event this year.

I have not had a chance to listen to the show yet but I plan on doing so later today. I have only met Jerry a couple of times. I have spoken on the phone with him a couple of times. A persons actions will always speak louder than their words. Several years ago I had a player that played for me who was very talented. He just lacked confidence. And he was not having much fun playing the game. I had planned a trip to Ft Meyers for the PG Underclass Nationals with my youngest son and was at workouts talking to him about the details of the trip. This player asked me "Coach where are you guys going?" I told him. "Man I wish I was good enough to get a chance to do something like that." I told him he was. He went on to tell me how he couldn't do this and he couldn't do that. I tried to pump him up to the best of my ability.

Later that week the player's dad called me to inform me that his son would not be back at work outs. He called to tell me that his son had decided to quit baseball. "He told me he just didn't enjoy it." So I found this young man the next day. I asked him what was going on. He broke down in tears and told me. "Coach I have never done anything in baseball to make my dad proud of me. No matter what I do its not good enough. I should be like this kid or that kid. I should throw as hard as Chris or hit it as hard as Jeff. I don't enjoy it because every day I come home my dad is asking me how I did and did I hit as good as this kid or throw as well as that kid. I am just sick of it."

I told the player to let me do some things before he made his decision for good. And I gave him some other advice. And then I left school and drove to his dads office. I sat down with his dad and told him what was going on and told him his son was a very good player but he lacked confidence for the most part because of him. I told him that he was killing his son's love and desire to play the game. And his dad broke down in tears while we were talking. He promised to allow me to handle this situation and he promised to "do better."

I got on the phone and I called Jerry. I explained to him that this young man was talented enough to attend this event we were going to. I told him what was going on in the young mans life. I could hear the emotion in Jerry's voice while we talked. Jerry immediately told me "Bring him down with you Kenny we would be glad to have him."

So I found the player the next day and I told him. "I told Jerry Ford with PG about you. He would like for you to make the trip to Florida with me and Jeff. We will have a great time and all you have to do is get up on that hill and throw the freaking **** out of the baseball and have fun." I saw his eyes light up. His eyes filled up with tears as we talked.

Well we made the trip and had a ball. He went to the PG underclass nationals and make the top prospects game. He did throw very very well. He came back from the event with a ton of confidence and a new found love of the game. His dad called to ask me how he did. "He was awesome. He had a great time. Your son can play. Now sit back and let him."

The player went on to play his final 2 years in hs and got several good offers to play in college. He opted for club baseball at a major D1 that had the degree he wanted to go for. He went on to make All American and won a World Series at the club level. He had fun playing the game he loved.

Because Jerry Ford cared this young man got a chance to do something that turned his entire attitude around. It gave him confidence and a belief in himself. Jerry is that type of person. He is real. He cares about young men. He is not in this thing for the all mighty dollar. I have a tremendous amount for respect for Jerry. He is the real deal in every way.

Coach May,

That is an awesome story.

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Originally posted by fanofgame:
Coach May,

That is an awesome story.

Agreed

I have a feeling these stories are just going to increase Jerry's in-box

When my son was going through the draft process, I pm'ed Jerry to try and figure out where my son stood. I mentioned that the Braves were showing the most interest and Jerry said one of his best friends in baseball was the scouting director of the Braves. All he did was call him up and ask his opinion

I certainly received the information I was looking for and then some. Jerry was very gracious and generous for doing that. He does these type of things all the time for people and always does them quietly in the background. He never expects anything in return and simply does them because he is a good person. I am not sure I would even have the ability to count the number of PM's in his in-box let alone respond to them. Jerry is this site's greatest resource imho. He is a humble man and I think best of all - a nice guy.