Area Code tryouts

JAXX;

Congratulations on your son's performance at the tryouts. When I created the Area Code games in 1987, we always trusted the evaluations of the Pro scouts. Did you attend the Yankees AC tryout? The Pro scouts on the East Coast are extremely talented in their evaluations.

We averaged 40 scouts and 60 college coaches at each tryouts. Did you collect the business cards of the coaches and scouts?

It is important to evaluate your son thru the scouts "eyes".

Bob

NBD if he didnt get a call back.  My info is that, yes, the teams are essentially pre-selected.

BUT, getting a tryout invite is a big recruiting deal. Look at all the scouts and coaches in attendence - none of those people care who made the team; each understands the situation. But each is there to see a top crop of players - and all the tryouts I've seen have brought top talent. No coach or scout misses performances like that.

(FWIW, my son tried out, performed fine, didn't get a call back - until the third day of the draft when he was called.)

I know just being there was an honor and to be around such great talent for an amazing experience was worth the ride.  Like I said, went in with no expectations but left feeling good about his performance and as a parent, very impressed too, just had our fingers crossed he would have been called back.  Thanks for your response.

jaxx828 posted:

My son had his first AC tryouts the other day.  ... The kid had 4 line drive home runs and pretty much hit the fence on the other attempts.  ...  What does a kid have to do to get a call back?

 

Apparently, 5 home runs.  

Seriously, congrats to him on a great showing at a key event!  That sort of thing usually pays off at some point.

Yes, he attended the AC Yankees tryout and no we didn't get any cards.  My son is only 17 and going into his senior yr, maybe he will get another invite next yr.  

In 1998, we conducted 12 tryouts in the USA. Two players were not selected, however since I attended each tryout and my goal was to "out scout" the scouts.

I placed the 2 players - Albert Pujols and Adam LaRoche on my 900 team. "The rest is history.

Bob

+1 Goosegg

My son was asked to try out years ago and was not selected. He was coming off a start and limited on pitches (count) he could throw....but i think regardless of how he threw they had their team picked...short of a "dude" they missed previously at the last cattle call. He did not get a call back. Several of his buddies did and played at ECP. All went to college, as did my son.....some are still there playing, some are out of baseball and/or some are out of college period. Honestly though..i had a friend who's kid was selected......and i wanted my son to make the team, it was harder on me than him. I guess you live and learn, kids will teach you so much if you let them as my son went on to get a scholarship at Clemson and was just drafted last week.

Did he make the daytime cuts and get to play in the night game?  I was told that was the goal, make the first cuts and then play in the game that evening.

Congratulations!  that is great news.

No.  He left after the morning tryouts and was  hoping for a "call back tryout" for the next morning.  It's all good, maybe next time.  

jaxx828 posted:

Yes, he attended the AC Yankees tryout and no we didn't get any cards.  My son is only 17 and going into his senior yr, maybe he will get another invite next yr.  

FYI, as a senior in high school he won't be eligible next year. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he hears from some college coaches who were in attendance and saw him hit.

For others folks who are attending upcoming AC tryouts, your invitation is a great opportunity to contact college coaches and let them know that you were invited. That will improve your odds of them paying attention to you when you get your (brief) opportunity to perform.

This whole recruitment process is exhausting and so frustrating.  He is also and football player, hopefully one of the sports gets him a scholarship.  Thanks for all the replies. 

I will always be grateful to the area codes for the two years my son was able to try out.  The first year helped secure the offer he received from the college he is now committed to. 

 However, kids should know going into the try out that it is who you know not their performance at a try out that gets you on the team.  My son had a good performance the first year, and I thought there was a chance he would make it, but no.  The second try out he left no doubt  he would make it, he received many comments saying as much, but again no.  

Its tough, most of the kids know  and have played against each other,  so they know where they stand on the field.  Unfortunately there is a lot more than that in play when it comes to making one of the teams in an event like this.

Tell him to keep his head high and be proud of his performance, I promise if he did what you say he did, people noticed.

Im interested in an update Jaxx828.  Did the tryout result in any interest from schools?

Area Codes is very much about MLB scouts, and who makes the team and who doesn't is often as much about projection as it about who outplays who at the Tryouts.

it is definitely an honor just to get invited to tryouts and a good sign that a kid is one heckuva ballplayer.

I don't doubt that on occasion, politics plays a part, but I'm certain that happens far less frequently than many might think.   MLB Scouts are not going to risk their reputation and credibility playing politics.

I've closely followed Area Codes in the last few years and the kids selected are absolutely among the very best of the best.

Just my two cents.

(edited for spelling)

Also, I know at least one player who was drafted out of HS, is a starting SS at a P5 school and he didn't even get an invitation to the AC try outs. Go figure. Someone pulled the trigger and drafted this kid and he couldn't even get a look for the tryout.

FWIW, and this is no offense to anyone, my opinion is that these type of events and accolades (while great if you are afforded them) really allow such a small pool of players the opportunity to make the roster that making the team really needs to be a secondary consideration. If you approach this as an exposure opportunity you would be probably going or trying to go for the right reasons. I feel the same about USA baseball, etc. It's just such a small, minute fraction of really good players, let alone players overall, who get to participate in these events that it has become highly "who you know." Not that anyone should not strive to participate and dream...just remember that for 99%+ of those players hoping to make it, it is just that, a dream.

When I operated the AC games 1987 to 2004, we missed a few players, however I attended each tryout and evaluated over 7,000 players. Many players included Albert P. was placed in my 900 Team, because I wanted to "out scout" the scouts.

Each tryout were over 40 College coaches and 40 pro scouts, Scouting Directors.

The players paid "NO FEE" and refunded from their signing bonus $0000.

Enjoy the ride "work harder"! "take two and hit to right"

Bob

My son attended the 2016 Underclass Area Code tryouts in Texas.  I took him to the event and watched.  There was an incredible amount of talent and no way that every deserving player could make the roster. At that event there were both kids that had made the team before they showed up for the tryout and kids that made the team based on their performance that day.  One of my sons HS teammates made the Area Code team in 2017 as a SS.  His performance in the Area Code games changed his life.  He went from a kid that nobody knew to being highly recruited.  Ended up with an 85% scholarship (athletics + academics) to a really good D1 mid-major program. Didn't hurt that he ran a 6.39 laser timed 60, but it never would have happened if not for Area Code games. 

Being a scout has to be no fun sometimes.  Trying to guess who has the stuff to be successful at the next level when most players are only 17-18 years old must be tough. Hats off to all the scouts out there! 

Senior VP of the Yankees told me in a private discussion that Scouts have 2 difficulties.

1. Scouting the bat!  2. Scouting the 6th Tool.

We were at the NY Yankees Spring Training offices and we both pointed to a player on the 40 man roster.

Derek JETER. was our example of a player with the two tools.

Bob

Being asked for AC tryouts is a tremendous accomplishment.  Even if not selected to the team it will open the door for opportunities which normally are not experienced.  That being said, if never asked to tryout it isn't the end of your baseball dream and recruitment.  My son was never asked to try out, a couple of his high school teammates were.  Just made son work harder and set his goals higher.  High school produced many accolades, D1 ball produced more, and he is doing well in the minors (Top 50).  Point is that with hard work, on field success and the right breaks (luck) you can accomplish your goals.  Your reputation and any "tags" associated with you are difficult to obtain and equally difficult to get rid of, both good and bad.  Trust in the process.....

Consultant posted:

Senior VP of the Yankees told me in a private discussion that Scouts have 2 difficulties.

1. Scouting the bat!  2. Scouting the 6th Tool.

We were at the NY Yankees Spring Training offices and we both pointed to a player on the 40 man roster.

Derek JETER. was our example of a player with the two tools.

Bob

 

 

I love contemplating and discussing the value/ effectiveness of scouting in baseball today.  The game is changing so much right now that the team(s) that first develop a new approach to scouting will have such an advantage. Some thoughts:

* Redistribute scouting resources from geography based to skill based - pitching specialists - hitting specialists - athletic assessments - performance assessments- character evaluation

* Stop following the players my wife can identify as 1st rounders around all spring.  Your organizations success will be found in the depth of the draft not the top end.  As the game continues to become more athletic the useful span of a players career will get shorter.  The game will be played at a higher performance level but the names of the players playing it will become less recognizable.

*Pitching is becoming a commodity.  The high velo\command\ 3 pitch 4-5 inning pitchers will be the 9 figure guys.  Beyond that it will be an onslaught of nameless/faceless high velo, 2pitch guys with some control not command 1 time through the order.  These guys will be lined up from the major league team all the way through A ball.  The most important person on the pitching staff will be the guy that writes the algorithm that allows for the maximum number of roster moves and lands the freshest arms on the MLB squad at playoff time.  These arms are becoming easier to find so less emphasis should be placed on scouting in this area. Velo check-breaking ball spin rate check- write a check

*The hard part is still the hard part- hitting and 6th tool- this is where performance assessments come in- trust the trend line -not the eyes- an example-  a player that has shown consistent improvement in average and power across 3 college seasons against representative pitching will continue to improve- a player who started at a higher level of average and power in college but whose results across 3 years plateau.. likely will not improve even if he is more athletically gifted.  The 6th tool is present in player 1.. not so much in player 2...willingness to work/adjust/ change..

Todays associate scout / area scout / cross checker needs to be re-aligned.