Differences between states in regular season HS ball

Stats,

 

I have seen HS ball in Tenn, Ga. Fl. Al. Miss. Ill. Ind. Mo. Mich.  From what I have seen, the southern teams tend to be better.  I think southern HS players play more, there are more playing so you get better talent. 

 

From what I have seen the southern players are a bit better on the bases, the pitching is deeper.  I have also noticed that the size of the high school plays a part.  Baseball is more popular in the south than the north. 

 

On the other hand basketball is far better in the north than the south.

Athletes are athletes. But once past this statement there are variables that lead to players being better in one sport than another. If you go by numbers population is a factor. Weather is a factor. Indoor facilities may eventually negate the weather factor. There's also the pecking order of popularity of the sports. Where my kids grew up basketball, football, track, soccer and lacrosse are all more popular than baseball/softball. 

 

Then there's the influence of the parents. I played high school baseball, basketball and football. I played college baseball. Had I played college basketball would my kids have been more interested in playing college basketball? Would I have influenced them in that direction?

Originally Posted by bacdorslider:

Stats,

 

I have seen HS ball in Tenn, Ga. Fl. Al. Miss. Ill. Ind. Mo. Mich.  From what I have seen, the southern teams tend to be better.  I think southern HS players play more, there are more playing so you get better talent. 

 

From what I have seen the southern players are a bit better on the bases, the pitching is deeper.  I have also noticed that the size of the high school plays a part.  Baseball is more popular in the south than the north. 

 

On the other hand basketball is far better in the north than the south.

 

WOW! How is it that you’ve gotten to see regular season games in so many places? When my kid was playing, I got to see players from a lot of different places like that in tournaments and such, but they weren’t the “typical” players.

 

But what you say does make sense to at least some degree because of the length playing season if nothing else.

I have four sons that have played or are playing HS school baseball, factor in my friends kids, and family it's not hard....

Stats did say regular season games, but HS baseball is baseball and I am not sure being in a different state makes any difference in how the game is played. What is different is the travel teams and tournaments competition in each state or regional area offered to HS players. HS baseball is less that 30 games so unless one attends the top HS programs in the country, I dont see what the difference would be.  

 

Want to see the difference in talent? Do a search on which states have more HS players drafted, that may give you a better answer to the question you are asking.

Originally Posted by bacdorslider:

I have four sons that have played or are playing HS school baseball, factor in my friends kids, and family it's not hard....

 

I have to bow to the master of watching a variety of HS baseball.

 

As much as I love the game, I can’t picture myself traveling to another state to see many regular season games. Heck, during a season, I don’t get to see more than a handful of local games outside of ours. A local HS sports reporter I know sees at least 5 games a week during the season but only 1 or 2 teams from other states.

 

I wish I was in a position where I could freely bounce from state to state to watch nothing but HS baseball, but unless someone wants to drop a few mil into my bank account, I’m afraid I’ll have to be satisfied with the 30-40 local games I get to see each season.

I have not seen a ton of these games but yes over time I have.  When I lived in Ill it was easy to Ill, Ind Mo....  that area.  Then from Nashville you can be in Al or Miss Ga very easy.

Originally Posted by bacdorslider:

I have not seen a ton of these games but yes over time I have.  When I lived in Ill it was easy to Ill, Ind Mo....  that area.  Then from Nashville you can be in Al or Miss Ga very easy.

 

Well, what’s your answer to the original question? Think of it this way. If you were out of town for some reason and found yourself with 3-4 hours with noting important to do, would you be more likely to see “superior” baseball in one of those states more than others? Or is more like going to McDonalds, where you virtually have the same food no matter where you go?

Stats,

 

I did not see I huge difference in HS baseball from one state to the next.  I did notice a difference in one region of the country to the next. 

 

But the biggest difference for me was in the size of the schools.  The schools with larger enrollments had better talent regardless of the location.  So when I was out of town and could go to any game, I went to the larger schools.

 

I have also noticed in Juco ball that the kids from the warmer areas are a little ahead of the players from colder climates.  That might just be the ones I have seen and really is not true overall

This is a big factor, in my opinion. I remember a dad from Minnesota telling me "in our area, all the best athletes play hockey."

 

I grew up in Pennsylvania and I wouldn't say the best athletes there tended to play baseball (certainly football). Here in Southern California, on the other hand, many of the top athletes play baseball, and high school baseball is a big deal in the press, etc. 

bacdorslider,

 

Out here we have so many dang schools and with 7 dang divisions, you go bonkers trying to figger it all out.

 

I think it makes sense that the chances are 2 big schools playing each other would have more good players on the field, but I’ve found that’s often a far cry from a competitive game, which is what I enjoy watching.

What I would love to see is a summer tournament with the state champion from each class in each state playing in a single elimination tournament like they do in Japan.

Split it into 4 regions and the regional finals are played at MLB stadiums in each region and the final 4 are played at a MLB Stadium which is rotated by region. Each region would host at least one final 4 with 2 hosting 2 final 4 tournaments if we go with 6 classes.

Look at MLB draft over the years.  That tells you California, Arizona, Texas, Georgia and Florida.

Originally Posted by Coach_Sampson:

What I would love to see is a summer tournament with the state champion from each class in each state playing in a single elimination tournament like they do in Japan.

Split it into 4 regions and the regional finals are played at MLB stadiums in each region and the final 4 are played at a MLB Stadium which is rotated by region. Each region would host at least one final 4 with 2 hosting 2 final 4 tournaments if we go with 6 classes.

 

That would be a lot of fun, but the logistics would be just about impossible to overcome. To start with, most states have not only different criteria for the different classes, but most stats have a different number of classes. Then you’ve got states like Ca where there’s no state champion in baseball because we have 10 different sections.

 

I can’t see any possibility of something like that unless and until NFHS decides its gonna determine nationwide criteria for each class, and nationwide rules for things like pitching limitations, eligibility and number of games.

 

People tend to think of HS baseball like college baseball, but they ain’t even close. L

Don't people talk now and then about getting a CA championship together?  I don't see how it could happen.  It would go so late that teams would dissolve before finishing. And it would need to be single elimination, which isn't a true test in baseball.

 

I guess this is sort of the idea of the Boras tournament during spring break, which sounds like a very cool event, but hardly a state championship.

California, Texas, and Florida are the three most populated states in America, in addition to having a favorable climate.  Georgia is the 4th most populated in the Southern states (8th overall).

 

Matter of fact, Cali, TX, and FL have 75 million residents.  That 25% of the entire U.S. population!

 

Point is...you give me three or four times the number of kids playing the game, and I'll give you more draft picks.  That would not be a reliable indicator of how two individual high school teams might perform against one another.

 

Perhaps, a more equitable question would be to ask whether or not those three states in particular, represent 25% or thereabouts of the draft stock!  (they vary well may)

California, Texas, and Florida represent > 40% of the 2014 US born MLB rosters (432/1041).

 

http://www.baseball-almanac.co...irthplace.php?y=2014

JCG there are tournaments all over LA and Orange county during the spring break with the National usually having the best So Cal teams with a few invites from out of the area. The whole SS playoff is single game elimination, which makes it one of the toughest tournaments to break through. There will likely never be a State Championship in baseball, just too big an area. The SS playoff is already a very big deal ending up in Dodger stadium.

FWIW, Keith Law's take: http://espn.go.com/sportsnatio...lb-insider-keith-law

 

KC (Allentown, PA):Which geographic area in the USA plays the best High School baseball?

Klaw: Southern California, over Texas, Florida, and Georgia.

Originally Posted by JCG:

Don't people talk now and then about getting a CA championship together?  I don't see how it could happen.  It would go so late that teams would dissolve before finishing. And it would need to be single elimination, which isn't a true test in baseball.

 

I guess this is sort of the idea of the Boras tournament during spring break, which sounds like a very cool event, but hardly a state championship.

 

People talk about it all the time, but those with much knowledge of the situation never talk about it seriously.

 

Having participated in both of the Boras tournaments so far and having won the north once I believe it’s the most fantastic tournament for HS teams in the entire country. The reasoning is then same as why travel teams are almost always better than LL or CR teams in youth rec ball. I don’t know how Scott has his people choose which teams are going to play, but there aren’t a lot of “dogs” in it that I’ve seen.

 

If it continues on the course it’s on from year 1, in a few years it will be dwarfing all other spring break tournaments. The 1^st year there were several “dogs”, but a lot of that was because many teams couldn’t fit the tournament into a schedule that was set for the past year. Last year the number of “dogs” was just about cut in half. The 4 teams we played were 94-25 the previous year, and all 4 were ranked in the top 100 teams in the country at one point in time during 2014 and we got into the top 50.

 

On top of everything else, how many HS baseball tournaments pay the teams $1,000 each just to show up and play baseball? Most decent teams travel for spring tourneys anyway, so why not put a grand into the team kick?