Editorial on showcases

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.

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.

Actually after reading it again, it is just your classic Rant.

He blames the Baseball "all time low" On:

-Showcases
-Video Games and Internet
-Lacrosse & Sokker
-And Lazy College Coaches.

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.

I hear the Bayside Yankees are banned from all Perfect Game Tournaments. Does anyone know why?

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.

He can't be doing them too much of a disservice since they made it to the Connie Mack WS in Farmington.

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 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.

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.

quote:

Originally posted by OLDSLUGGER8:
I agree with KmomNH

Looks like "for Bayside eyes only"

It's on their program's website in the "recruiting tips" section. This hardly seems private.

There is no privacy on the internet!

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.

All I can say is thank God for Tom and his College Select; Jerry at Perfect Game; and, all of the oldsters (now gone) who were involved with Team One.

Could not have done it without you.

Sounds like sour grapes to me.

Good thing you don't have to pay to play for the Bayside Yankees.

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!

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

There I go agin!