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This came from the website of the Bayside Yankess, a well known travel team. I'm curious what people think of the following statement.

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SHOWCASE MANIA HAS REACHED AN ALL TIME HIGH, OR MORE ACCURATELY, AN ALL TIME LOW !!!!!!

About ten to twelve years ago, a new phenomenon started to work it’s way into the landscape of amateur baseball. What started out as a good idea, a new concept and a positive step towards promoting young amateur baseball players in America, has evolved into something quite contrary and detrimental. For all the wrong reasons, greed on the part of the event organizers plus fear and ignorance on the part of young players and their parents, showcase baseball, circa 2007, has become a complete farce.

The level of play in high school baseball across America is at an all time low, and “Showcase Mania” is a prime factor in it’s demise. This is especially true in the Northeast region of the United States. Yes, there are other contributing factors, the evolution of video games and the internet has slowly integrated into our teenagers leisure time. And other sports, such as lacrosse and s****r, which require far less and cheaper equipment to play, have taken it’s toll as well.

Another contributing factor, and frankly, this might not be a politically correct statement, a majority of college baseball coaches in America today are lazy. That is why, year in and year out, the same college baseball programs (at all levels), are always there at the end of each season, competing for championships, locally, regionally and nationally. Yes, athletic department budgets and NCAA rules restraints have curtailed the college coaches ability to be “out there” and visible on the recruiting trail. But when you see a dormant college baseball program, suddenly rise from the ashes to national prominence, it is usually because the school has made a coaching change, and the new coach and his staff have made a commitment to winning. The previous regime had allowed complacence to set in and was satisfied with mediocrity and the “middle of the pack”.

Let’s take a simple math lesson of which the concept of showcase baseball was built. If we can get as many of the truly capable, potentially college bound student athletes in one place at one time, then it is safe and logical to assume that if we do a little promotion, we will draw a large cross section of college coaches and recruiters. Fair enough. Now, there is a cost involved, overhead to set up this event. You need staff, facilities, equipment and promotion. Again, fair enough. You must, and you are entitled to be compensated for your time and efforts. That is the concept of capitalism, of which this great country was built upon. No problem.

But somewhere along the line, over the course of time, especially in the past five years, “the need for greed” has reared it’s ugly head and has turned the world of amateur baseball today, into a very “shady” and “disingenuous” environment . Finding the weakest link in a chain is what usually is the mitigating factor in it breaking. In this case, and bless their hearts and good intentions, the weakest link is the total love and devotion that parents have for their children. If I’ve heard this once, I’ve heard this a thousand times. “I’m just trying to do what’s best for my child. I don’t know. He’s my oldest. We’ve never gone through this process before”. When the vultures hear this comment, it’s time to circle the wagons.

Now, follow along and let me explain to you about the plain truth, the “ugly facts” about showcase baseball that the event organizers want kept in the dark at all costs. Let’s base the following numbers on 100%, be it one hundred participants or one thousand participants. It does not matter. You show up at a baseball showcase and hopefully there is a large amount of pro scouts and college coaches in attendance. Let’s assume that is the case for the sake of argument. Kudos, the event organizers have done a good job in getting the “right people” there for you to perform in front of. You paid them a fee and now it’s up to you to perform. That’s a reasonable theory. But based on 100 kids, again that number could be 200, 400 or 1000. The number is not relevant.

10% of those players in attendance are “lost leaders”. What is a lost leader, you ask? They are the players that are participating for FREE, because they are the ones that by being there, have attracted the large crowd of pro scouts and college recruiters. Another 20 to 30 percent of the players (paying customers) can and will play at some level of college baseball, some on a varying degree of college scholarship. This will depend on the players true level of ability and potential and his academic standing that will effect the college admissions process. And what about the remaining 60 % of the showcase participants, you ask?

YOU ARE FUND RAISERS, PLAIN AND SIMPLE !!!

You’ve got about as much chance of getting any type of college scholarship to play baseball as you’ve got of getting struck by lightening or getting elected President of the United States.

Baseball Showcase event organizers cringe when this very simple fact is brought to anyone’s attention. They try to run and hide from it, as fast as they can. They will try to “explain it away” with a variety of fairy tales and excuses. But the bottom line is that you, as the consumer, have been sold a bill of goods, that is totally worthless. Many moons ago, W.C. Fields said it best. “There is a sucker born every day and twice on Sundays”. Bottom line, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck –

Chances are, it is a duck, period. “A fool and his money are soon parted”. I don’t know exactly where I first heard that line many years ago but it is appropriate in this case.

In conclusion, this is a free message to all loving parents of prospective student athletes in the sport of baseball.

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE. TAKE THE BLINDERS OFF. WIPE YOUR EYES AND SEE THINGS AS THEY REALLY ARE. GET A MAJOR DOSE OF REALITY. YOU NEED IT BADLY !!!

THE FOLLOWING IS THE GOLDEN RULE YOU SHOULD USE WHEN DECIDING IF A BASEBALL SHOWCASE EVENT IS WORTH IT. IF THERE’S NO FEE, IT’S FOR ME

Perfect example: The East Coast Professional Baseball Showcase in Lakeland, FL and the Area Code Baseball Games in Long Beach, CA each year. The players are selected by professional baseball scouts and personnel who have no financial agenda. PERIOD!!!

I stand by each and every comment I made in this correspondence. I have founded, operated and run the Bayside Yankees organization since it’s inception in the fall of 1981. I’m talking from a standpoint of 27 years experience in this business. These “snake oil salesmen” (showcase event organizers) are not going to bull**** me. I’ve got their act and “lines” down pat. They are no different than Al Capone or John Gotti. They just don’t use a gun or force. The results are still the same. You get robbed.
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I do not wish to get into a ****ing contest with my "friend" at the Bayside Yankees so I wont go into all his meanderings but there is one point he is missing ESPECIALLY HERE IN THE NORTHEAST.

The Division III programs do not give scholarships--the Patriot League does not give scholarships---the Ivies do not give scholarships--but they are represented at showcases--- a solid baseball player with grades good enough to get him into these schools certainly benefits by being seen at showcases---his baseball ability may enable him to gain admission to a school over another applicant who is not a baseball player.
The two events he mentions are for PRO PROSPECTS , thus the reason the pro scouts select the players--- by no means is every aspiring college baseball player a pro prospect.

I am wondering why he even wrote this piece !
It seems this man has an ax to grind by the tone of the article.
There is some truth to it and many members on this site already know it.
I have seen advice given countless times to spend your money wisely, make sure this is the right showcase for you, and many many times.. try to find out if you are talented enough to justify the expense.

There are thousands of seminars, self improvement, how to beat the stock market, how to make a million in real estate, how to sale anything to anyone, etc.. My guess is less than 5% of those that attend ever derive any benefit. Yet peaple stll spend good money to hear about the opportunity to chase their dream.

The article also fails to mention that many families attend these events for the experience and have no expectations of the results. Others attend to see how their kids stack up to other kids. Some will leave disappointed, others will be pleased.

Also, like in every industry there are good honest showcase promoters and there are bad apples.

There a few showcase guys on this sight, I have been to their websites, I have never seen a promise made as to the outcome of the event for your kid.

If I was a showcase promoter and saw this article it would not bother me. It is a business, it is there to make a profit, but in order to make a an ongoing profit you have to HAVE A GOOD PRODUCT. From what I understand there are a few real good showcase products out there.

I have owned 3 businesses, I have had some good products, but as hard as I try I can NEVER make all of my customers happy. It is a fact of business.
It was interesting to read this article. However it seems to paint the industry with a broad brush. No doubt there are those out there just for the big bucks and there are those who have been a great help to many ballplayers.

I'd never heard of a showcase before I joined this site and all I "know" about them was learned from this site. I've never seen one nor do I expect to see one of the more commonly known ones come to my state. So from my ignorant point of view I don't know to what degree the article contains truth but the tone of it leads me to believe the author has a bit of an ax to grind. JMHO
Good post Tripledad.

Showcases are as good as the people who run them. That's what I was getting out of the article, nothing more, nothing less.

I do agree 100% that there are many shady showcase promoters who see others doing well and will target those who have no idea how to go about the process. I think most who try to run showcases or tournies have NO CLUE what an undertaking this takes to be successful.

Whenever you decide to spend your money and have had no prior advice, "let the buyer beware" is always a good rule to follow.
quote:
Originally posted by TRhit:
I am wondering why he even wrote this piece !


That is a good question.

The only experience with the Bayside Yanks we had was playing them(winning) in 2005 down in Jackson(NABF WS).

They seemed like most of the club teams, like ours, and they had Pedro at the time.

One thing I have noticed recently, at least in Ohio, that kids on summer rosters take off many games to attend some showcases. Some summer coaches, the ones who are really in it to promote their players might take it as a "slap", i.e short-handed rosters.

Just a guess?
Last edited by OLDSLUGGER8
Showcases definitely have their benefits. The Perfect Game showcases my son attended helped him know where he stood talent-wise, provided a written assessment that he included on his athletic resume, and provided a rating that gave him legitimacy with prospective college programs.

What about the author's statement about "lost leaders," players who are participating for free at showcases that everyone else pays to attend. Doesn't that break NCAA amaterur eligibility rules?
quote:
Originally posted by Frank Martin:
Look at this way, if all these travel teams gave players all this exposure like they claimed they did, no one would be attending HS Showcases in the first place.


Many summer teams do provide tremendous opportunities for exposure. You just have to find the right situation and the player still needs to perform, be it at 6 team event at a major university or a showcase somewhere.

I just made a guess.

Look at WWBA, Cobb, and several other events. Aside from a few all-star teams, you will see many summer teams competing from many States.
Last edited by OLDSLUGGER8
What a crock of S***! Now lets look at this from my point of view. You are not telling everyone that attends a showcase that if they do they are going to get a scholley. You are only providing a venue to be seen by college coaches. Its then up to you to show them what they want to see. I have never had a player in our program that "wanted to play college baseball , had a good work ethic , took care of business in the classroom - not play college baseball" NEVER! There is a place for every kid who wants to play at the next level that has these traits. Several D-2 D-3 Community College JUCO programs have JV programs. I have had guys that never started a game in HS go on to play 2 years of JV in college and make a roster the final two in college. Play four years of college baseball and get a degree. Parents have every right to take their kid to a showcase to be seen and get his name out there. To give him the experience and make some contacts. Is every kid that goes to a showcase going to sign major D-1? Of course not. Whats the point of this aritcle? Whats wrong with going to a showcase and seeing what happens? You can sit around and wait for someone to see you if you want. Maybe you wont mind who finds you. Or maybe you can just say "Well sorry son no one found you". But at least we didnt waist our money on any showcase events. I sent a kid to a local showcase because I know there would be a couple of small college programs there. I told them about the kid and said he was a little raw but worked hard and was a good kid. He ended up at one of these schools and has done well. He was not a stud at all. But he showed the desire to help himself by attending.

Sit around and wait for a college coach to come by your HS and give your son a scholley. Sit around and hope someone finds him. Go ahead and save that money. Good luck. PG - Baseball Select - Impact Baseball etc etc have helped more kids find a place to play than anyone can imagine. Are there some bad showcase people out there? Of course there are. Choose wisely and do your homework.

He mentions the East Coast Pro event - INVITATION ONLY folks for some of the top players in the nation. He mentions its free. Of course its invitation only. Does he mention that in the article? Maybe some of his players attended a showcase and the people putting it on stole some of his players for their team. Who knows. What a crock.
Some obvious venom, but I can't say that it's totally undeserved. There are aspects of showcasing, especially critcism of the large fee's that are charged at many (and they have increased fairly substaintially the past few years), that not even the most credible organizers are immune from.

My son attended 3 true showcases. Benefitted from 2 of them, one was a waste of money. One he benefited from was simply because the organizer saw great potential and took it upon himself to help expose him to universities. The other he benefited from was the because all the right people were in attendance, and although the fee was steep, the benefit gained was commensurate.

Showcases can be misleading, but in my estimation, the problem child in the equation is the self serving college camp. I have seen true deception just to get a kid to pony up the dough to attend a workout for 1 school that serves no purpose but to line the coaches pockets. If you were to tell me we could revamp one system, I would abolish college camps as true waste of time, money and effort on a players part and keep the showcase system. It is afterall, still a world of capitolism and caveat emptor.

All hail HSBBW
Last edited by CPLZ
quote:
One thing I have noticed recently, at least in Ohio, that kids on summer rosters take off many games to attend some showcases. Some summer coaches, the ones who are really in it to promote their players might take it as a "slap", i.e short-handed rosters


I was thinking the same thing. My son will miss 1 or 2 tournys next summer to attend showcase. I know the coach will not be happy, but he will understand.


He also said "The level of play in high school baseball across America is at an all time low"

In my area baseball is exploding...There have been 3 mutlimillion dollar baseball facilities built in the last 7 years. All within 20 miles of each other.
Sure, the travel talent has been diluted because of the number of teams, but that can be explained.

I talked to my sons HS coach the other day and he said something interesting: "Ive been coaching for 16 years and the kids I'm starting to get now are experienced and baseball ready, I'm telling ya, Dam
baseball players right out of the box"

"all time low" hmmmmmmm
Last edited by TripleDad
I'm with Oldslugger8 on this one. I suspect the possibility that a number of players missed scheduled summer games to go to showcases - either for a day or for a tournament. Son's summer team was absolutely stacked with talent, but almost never had them all in the same place at the same time. We even had a couple of guys fly home early from East Cobb because they'd made a local showcase team.

It might just be that the coach is frustrated with his own team or it might be a bonifide "wake-up and smell the coffee" message to folks within his organization who are spending a lot of time and money to get their kids noticed regardless of not having received any type of college contact following previous showcases.

Fact is - none of us are aware of why this was posted on the Bayside Yankees site - and I'm sure the gentleman that wrote it didn't plan on it showing up here. I suspect it was for the benefit of some person or persons within his organization and the rest of us are just eavesdropping at this point.
Last edited by KmomNH
This article does give the impression that there is an axe to grind. I tend to agree with some points, that there are too many showcases and obviously some are better than others. BUT, if you do a little “work” a parent can usually find out if that particular showcase gives the type of exposure they are looking for. Example: If you want to go to school in the South, there will only be certain showcases in California that will get you seen. Likewise, some showcases attract more D1’s and some more D2’s and D3’s.

I also agree with Coach May that if you work hard and take care of business, there is a place for every boy to play. At my sons HS there have been 16 seniors come through the program past 3 years. 11 have went on to play college ball. Of the remaining five, one got a scholarship to play college basketball, one went on to participate in rodeo in college as he wanted, and two decided they wanted to be regular students. Only one didn’t go on to play that wanted to and he didn’t play any baseball in the Summer and Fall leading up to his senior season or attend any showcases so you could say he didn’t work at it.

Personally, if the parents and the player want it, I don’t see a thing wrong with attending a few showcases, you just need to be selective and do a little up front work to see if they fit.
Bayside is a good program & if the author has been running it 25+ yrs he's helped ALOT of kids

key points

his program is no longer "the only game in town" for exposure

he has some valid points, but his comments likely aren't directed at the hsbbeb educated parents ...

there are MANY bb showcases promising exposure out there but FEW parents taking the time/effort that hsbbwebsters do to evaluate, screen, & check w/others for their experience with them.


jmo
Last edited by Bee>
Bee,

Great points.

Bayside has always had solid players - and recruited players from all over the USA.

They have faced increasing competition from others doing the same thing with "travel" teams the last 10 years.

Then add to that the showcases - and presto - you are - as you so accurately said - no longer the only game in town.

You float like a butterfly - but you still sting like a Bee.

Wink
Very stange memo. The messege is "showcases bad", without differentiating good from bad. Obviously some are better than others and some specialize in academic level or region. I would put similar credence in a memo from a showcase operator saying "travel teams bad". jmo

Anyone with the brains to pick out a good mutual fund can find the correct showcase for their child, if they do need one. Coach has a rather low opinion of parents and he's not alone, unfortunately.
Last edited by Dad04
All you have to do is go through the profiles of the players from the showcases to see that some are better than others. Big surprise, huh? So if I go out and spend money on a showcase and my son is in the bottom 50% then I know that he has to improve or it isn't worth the money. Even better I can check his 60 time and his throwing velocity myself and then decide if it is worth it to send him to a showcase. Although there are some variations due to playability, pitchability and projection, for the pitchers at least the ratings seem to be pretty closely related to fastball velocity. If he isn't likely to perform and I send him to a showcase then that's my problem, not the showcase's.

As far as the free showcases, you'd better have some serious talent, i.e. better than the top 10% he's talking about if you expect to be invited to the area code games. I guess the tryouts can be useful exposure for some.

As far as HS baseball being at an all-time low I have to disagree. I think we had more talent playing relative to our peers 35 years ago but I think the coaching and training is better these days and the kids in general are bigger, stronger and faster than we were.
Last edited by CADad
I also know for a fact that the Bayside Yankees do not allow any of their players to participate in outside showcases or events including The Empire State Games even though it is one of the most highly scouted baseball tournaments in the Northeast. Sounds to me like they are doing their players wrong in this regard.
i think he has some very good points, also think this wasn't for publication.

when my oldest went through this he was were invited to some free showcases, paid for one. i had no idea what a showcase was before that. it is a huge money maker,youth baseball is a huge cash cow. and like most things if you think your getting porked you probably are.i believe the showcase directors on this site are top shelf,honest men wanting to help kids.but i know their are others that may not be as good.
like anything else though, if it helps kids achieve a goal who are we to say it isn't right. and with the number of kids who attend showcases compared to the % attending college. the numbers probably look good.

coach may said it best as i've been telling people for years. there is a place for your son to play college ball. i do agree the level of play is down in high school. but that runs in cycles any way.and that old saying (if your good enough they'll find you) doesn't feed the bulldog. do your homework ,ask questions ,use this site to your advantage. i dare say somebody here knows the answer to most any question.

just my 2 cents
I agree there are some good points but I don't agree with the tone. Most guys running showcasees get into it for the right reasons.
People have to excercise some self control over what they do and how much they spend. We were never caught up in the showcase thing and only went to one put on by my son's team. We had a lot of action from that. Offers, brochures from colleges, calls etc. We were locked into finding our own school. The showcase we went to had coaches from all over the US including Georia, California, Ohio, Michigan, SC,NY and even had some roving scouts. We were hearing from schools that didn't even attend the showcase. It cost about $150.
I am not against showcases but I took the approach that I was going to do it myself. If that didn't work we would take a year and do some showcases and some workouts with som JCs in Florida we were talking to. There are certainly some great showcases I would attend if we hadn't found what we were looking for. They are not rippoffs in my opinion from what I have seen and heard.
quote:
Originally posted by OLDSLUGGER8:
quote:
Originally posted by TRhit:
I am wondering why he even wrote this piece !


That is a good question.

The only experience with the Bayside Yanks we had was playing them(winning) in 2005 down in Jackson(NABF WS).

They seemed like most of the club teams, like ours, and they had Pedro at the time.

One thing I have noticed recently, at least in Ohio, that kids on summer rosters take off many games to attend some showcases. Some summer coaches, the ones who are really in it to promote their players might take it as a "slap", i.e short-handed rosters.

Just a guess?
Their's was Pedro Alvarez who's an All-American at Vanderbilt.
I want to be clear I'm not taking a shot at showcases or posters on with this site involved with them. I figured given the slow time on the board and the article was written by a member of a reputable organization it would be worthy of discussion.

I've already been through the showcase scene with an 18U softball team (included my daughter). I know there is good and bad. High school softball has become irrelevant to the recruiting process.

I'd go to a softball board and read "XYZ Showcase stinks. They didn't have the colleges in attendance they said they would." I'd think to myself, "Yes XYZ does stink. This parent should have asked some questions/done research ahead of time."

I joined this board because the most important thing I want to learn are differences between college softball and baseball recruiting for when my son's turn comes up. A lot is the same. I'm sure I'll learn. But, so far I believe if I followed the same process for my son I wouldn't fail him (softball has the same issues ... large roster/twelve rides). The question would be, is it the most productive avenue.
Boy, so much to disagree with!

First of all, the idea that the quality of baseball is down is hogwash. I'm sure it ebbs and flows in various locations over time, but in my observation young players today are more highly skilled, better trained, more experienced, stronger and faster than in years past. Last year in my son's HS district, with 9 teams, there were 10 pitchers who are either at Division I schools on scholarship as we speak, or who are 2008's with handshake deals lined up already. Three of them were regularly clocked 90+ and the other 7 are all 85+. And BTW, there are more 2008's with deals to come, I assure you.

And with that, the batters HIT them. Let's be honest, how many of us can say that we and our teammates would have hit that kind of pitching back in our day? There's a jocular saying that "the older I get, the better I used to be," but I'm not delusional. Take any team in my son's district and transport them back in time to my era, and they would mop up the teams I was on and the teams we played against. If you think otherwise you are kidding yourself.

And I credit the showcase era for a lot of this. With focus on baseball and opportunities to play year round or nearly year round, players are more experienced and better trained than in years past, not to mention better conditioned. (In my day, they told us not to lift weights, for fear we'd get "muscle bound". Remember that? Today my son has 35 lbs. more muscle than I had at his age. Yikes!)

I agree with Coach May that showcases only promise an opportunity, not a scholarship. If you just ain't as good as mommy and daddy think you are, the showcase is not going to rescue you from mediocrity.

There are all sorts of showcase offerors out there these days, and some don't deliver much of an opportunity for your dollar. All that means is, you should check them out before you give them your time and your money. But you should also check YOURSELF out. Ask people you trust for an honest assessment of your capabilities before you become the proverbial "fool and his money."

The rest of this sounds like sour grapes from someone with, as was noted above, an axe to grind.
quote:
by TG: Originally posted by TRhit:
The article on their site has a different tone
www.baysideyankees.com/ShowcaseMania.htm

How can it? It's the article I copied verbatum. I only deleted some of the spacing.
lol, I also wondered how some spaces could change the context/tone ...
so I didn't say anything and will continue to remain silent on the matter...



by that .. I mean in the present, plus the near future, AND far future!



beyond that .. I'll be tempted .... but will bite my tongue into silence!



that swollen tongue should keep me quiet for even a while longer!
Last edited by Bee>
I also want to express my view on the comment that HS baseball is at an all time low. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Like Midlo said the talent is way above what it was in years past. Players today are just much better. The level of play is way better. HS baseball is at an all time high in our state. It has never been in better shape with the calibre of players , coaching and facilities.
quote:
by CM: I also want to express my view on the comment that HS baseball is at an all time low. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Like Midlo said the talent is way above what it was in years past. Players today are just much better. The level of play is way better. HS baseball is at an all time high in our state. It has never been in better shape with the calibre CALIBER of players , coaching and facilities


agree, but as a courtesy, please refrain from using French in your posts Wink
Last edited by Bee>

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