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This showcase will be a great introduction to baseball in the area.
Your son should meet and play with some of the better ball players in the districts.
It has been attended fairly well by area scouts.
USF, a local D-1, attends regularly along with many D-2 and D-3 and junior colleges from the area.
Good luck and have some fun playing ball.
Your son should meet and play with some of the better ball players in the districts.
It has been attended fairly well by area scouts.
USF, a local D-1, attends regularly along with many D-2 and D-3 and junior colleges from the area.
Good luck and have some fun playing ball.
Is this the showcase that's affiliated with Hitmaster?
Check the web site.
It's always best to educate yourself in order to avoid passing along assumptions.
It's always best to educate yourself in order to avoid passing along assumptions.
BOBO
Are you affiliated with this event?
Are you affiliated with this event?
Tr, you have a pm.
I already checked out the website. And I repeat, is this showcase affiliated with Hitmaster?
I do not believe it is affiliated with Hitmaster unless somehow behind the scenes. Chuck Fest and Jody Reed are the driving forces.
Here's a hint.
If Hitmaster is not mentioned on the site, it isn't affiliated.
Look at it again and tell me if the Yankees are affiliated with the showcase.
If Hitmaster is not mentioned on the site, it isn't affiliated.
Look at it again and tell me if the Yankees are affiliated with the showcase.
Bobo- If you are promoting a showcase that you think people should go to, whether you're affiliated with the event or not (and therefore making money), why do you insist on being obnoxious about a simple question asked about the event? I'm 16 years old and I'm not stupid enough to do something like that, I know that's not good business. You couldn't pay me enough money to go to any event that you support. Get a life.
Being 16, I can forgive you for your ignorance in the matter being discussed.
Student athletes attending these showcase events are nominated by their high school coaches.
This is a free showcase. No money is being made. I endorse this showcase because it is free and beneficial to the student athletes who cannot afford to attend the other showcases.
The questions about Hitmaster are a sham to open the door for this person to denigrate anything that he can. If that person had a positive interest in student athletes, he would applaud free showcases like this one.
Student athletes attending these showcase events are nominated by their high school coaches.
This is a free showcase. No money is being made. I endorse this showcase because it is free and beneficial to the student athletes who cannot afford to attend the other showcases.
The questions about Hitmaster are a sham to open the door for this person to denigrate anything that he can. If that person had a positive interest in student athletes, he would applaud free showcases like this one.
Showcase All About Second Chances
By ADAM ADKINS The Tampa Tribune
Published: Jul 8, 2006
ODESSA - Dustin Merrell was in danger of becoming the latest in a long line of baseball players pegged as never-weres. The proverbial crack so many players fall into was about to swallow the former King right-hander.
Merrell's senior season at King already was in the books. The modest college interest from earlier in the season was waning. And his baseball career was in danger of ending before it truly began.
Merrell needed someone to step to the plate for him, someone to say he was worth taking a shot on. He found a personal pinch-hitter in Jody Reed, a Brandon High alum and former major-leaguer tired of watching good players disappear without ever getting a shot.
Reed's problem solver came in the form of The Tampa Bay Showcase, an event he co-founded with Chuck Fest designed to give unsigned high school players free exposure in the hopes it leads to a chance to play at the next level.
"I think probably every person in the Tampa Bay area, either directly or indirectly, knows of a kid that probably could've - and should've - played college ball but didn't get the opportunity. You know, the perennial 'fell-through-the-cracks' guy," Reed said. "We're trying to avoid that happening any more."
The showcase, open to players from Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, Manatee, Polk and Sarasota counties, debuted in October 2005. After a successful debut, a summer edition began this year. The five-day event in June showcased unsigned graduated seniors and the 2007 and 2008 signing classes.
For Reed, the showcase is a chance to give back to players like Merrell, using the contacts he made through a lifetime on the diamond to benefit others. However, it also reminds him of the importance of just getting the chance to play after high school and what that chance can lead to.
"I know what it means to just get the opportunity to go on," Reed said.
As a senior at Brandon, Reed wasn't considered a blue-chip prospect. Ultimately, his size - or lack thereof - overshadowed his skills.
"I was literally 5-5, 135 pounds when I graduated," Reed said. "I was a good little player, but at 5-5, 135 pounds, you're not getting too many looks, you know what I'm saying?"
Manatee Junior College took a chance on Reed. And the rest, well, is history.
Reed hit the "only growing spurt in my life," growing three inches and gaining 20 pounds during the summer. Two years later, he transferred from Manatee JC to Florida State.
After two seasons at FSU, Reed was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1984. He enjoyed an 11-year career in the major leagues, playing for the Red Sox, Dodgers, Brewers, Padres and Tigers.
But without Manatee taking a chance, Reed knows none of it ever would have happened.
"Looking back, they were taking a shot at a kid who simply loved the game and who played hard," Reed said.
Merrell also needed that shot.
As a senior, he went 8-2 for the district champion Lions, earning Tribune All-Hillsborough County second-team honors. But his prospect status wasn't overwhelming.
He received modest interest from Santa Fe Community College throughout the season, but the school's longtime coach of 22 years, Harry Tholen, retired at the end of the season. That happened before Merrell was extended an offer, leaving his baseball future in limbo.
But Reed watched Merrell at the showcase, and he knew Merrell could play somewhere. So Reed stuck out his neck for one more local high school player, hoping he could help Merrell catch a break.
And he did.
The combination of Reed working the phones and Merrell's performance at the showcase led to an offer from Pasco-Hernando Community College, opening a door that almost was closed.
"I know the PHCC coach called him and asked about pitchers in the area and he mentioned me. That's what the coach told me," Merrell said. "I'm ecstatic. You're always hoping you'll just get to play somewhere next year. That's what I was hoping, that something would come out of it, that I would catch someone's eye.
"Jody's good about that stuff. He wants everybody to go everywhere."
That's what the showcase was designed to do. Reed knows everyone can't play college baseball, but he wants to help as many from the area as possible.
"It's one more young man you've helped, one more life you've impacted and one more opportunity you've helped create," Reed said.
"Isn't that worth it?" he asked rhetorically.
"Absolutely."
By ADAM ADKINS The Tampa Tribune
Published: Jul 8, 2006
ODESSA - Dustin Merrell was in danger of becoming the latest in a long line of baseball players pegged as never-weres. The proverbial crack so many players fall into was about to swallow the former King right-hander.
Merrell's senior season at King already was in the books. The modest college interest from earlier in the season was waning. And his baseball career was in danger of ending before it truly began.
Merrell needed someone to step to the plate for him, someone to say he was worth taking a shot on. He found a personal pinch-hitter in Jody Reed, a Brandon High alum and former major-leaguer tired of watching good players disappear without ever getting a shot.
Reed's problem solver came in the form of The Tampa Bay Showcase, an event he co-founded with Chuck Fest designed to give unsigned high school players free exposure in the hopes it leads to a chance to play at the next level.
"I think probably every person in the Tampa Bay area, either directly or indirectly, knows of a kid that probably could've - and should've - played college ball but didn't get the opportunity. You know, the perennial 'fell-through-the-cracks' guy," Reed said. "We're trying to avoid that happening any more."
The showcase, open to players from Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, Manatee, Polk and Sarasota counties, debuted in October 2005. After a successful debut, a summer edition began this year. The five-day event in June showcased unsigned graduated seniors and the 2007 and 2008 signing classes.
For Reed, the showcase is a chance to give back to players like Merrell, using the contacts he made through a lifetime on the diamond to benefit others. However, it also reminds him of the importance of just getting the chance to play after high school and what that chance can lead to.
"I know what it means to just get the opportunity to go on," Reed said.
As a senior at Brandon, Reed wasn't considered a blue-chip prospect. Ultimately, his size - or lack thereof - overshadowed his skills.
"I was literally 5-5, 135 pounds when I graduated," Reed said. "I was a good little player, but at 5-5, 135 pounds, you're not getting too many looks, you know what I'm saying?"
Manatee Junior College took a chance on Reed. And the rest, well, is history.
Reed hit the "only growing spurt in my life," growing three inches and gaining 20 pounds during the summer. Two years later, he transferred from Manatee JC to Florida State.
After two seasons at FSU, Reed was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1984. He enjoyed an 11-year career in the major leagues, playing for the Red Sox, Dodgers, Brewers, Padres and Tigers.
But without Manatee taking a chance, Reed knows none of it ever would have happened.
"Looking back, they were taking a shot at a kid who simply loved the game and who played hard," Reed said.
Merrell also needed that shot.
As a senior, he went 8-2 for the district champion Lions, earning Tribune All-Hillsborough County second-team honors. But his prospect status wasn't overwhelming.
He received modest interest from Santa Fe Community College throughout the season, but the school's longtime coach of 22 years, Harry Tholen, retired at the end of the season. That happened before Merrell was extended an offer, leaving his baseball future in limbo.
But Reed watched Merrell at the showcase, and he knew Merrell could play somewhere. So Reed stuck out his neck for one more local high school player, hoping he could help Merrell catch a break.
And he did.
The combination of Reed working the phones and Merrell's performance at the showcase led to an offer from Pasco-Hernando Community College, opening a door that almost was closed.
"I know the PHCC coach called him and asked about pitchers in the area and he mentioned me. That's what the coach told me," Merrell said. "I'm ecstatic. You're always hoping you'll just get to play somewhere next year. That's what I was hoping, that something would come out of it, that I would catch someone's eye.
"Jody's good about that stuff. He wants everybody to go everywhere."
That's what the showcase was designed to do. Reed knows everyone can't play college baseball, but he wants to help as many from the area as possible.
"It's one more young man you've helped, one more life you've impacted and one more opportunity you've helped create," Reed said.
"Isn't that worth it?" he asked rhetorically.
"Absolutely."
Bobo- I can apologize for one thing. Good that it's free. I'm sorry for making that assumption. But maybe bigbbfan heard of a showcase affiliated with Hitmaster and was simply wondering if this is the one. So tell me Bobo because I didn't seem to see it clearly on the website. Are the Yankees really affiliated with the showcase?
Excuse me for asking stupid questions too. My son has been to a few showcases . . . some were good and some weren't. For that reason, I am reluctant to pay my money for c r a p. And when someone is vague about a direct question, it makes me think they have something to hide.
Just more typical BOBO tapdancing--I am still waiting to get an answer as to whether or not he is associatedwith the event
JH
You now show that not only do you speak from a position of ignorance but further show arrogance in your continuation in a discussion where you have no knowledge.
bigbbfan
You know exactly what and whom you are trying to attack. If you have a vendetta with HitMaster and the people associated with it, start a thread that addresses your vendetta.
TR
You just continue to prove that you are an attention seeker. I ignore you on a regular basis because your remarks are worthless. You have asked me every time this event has been mentioned if I am associated with this event (all three times). The first time I gave you the benefit of the doubt and answered but you just continue to ask the same stupid questions.
Grow up.
You now show that not only do you speak from a position of ignorance but further show arrogance in your continuation in a discussion where you have no knowledge.
bigbbfan
You know exactly what and whom you are trying to attack. If you have a vendetta with HitMaster and the people associated with it, start a thread that addresses your vendetta.
TR
You just continue to prove that you are an attention seeker. I ignore you on a regular basis because your remarks are worthless. You have asked me every time this event has been mentioned if I am associated with this event (all three times). The first time I gave you the benefit of the doubt and answered but you just continue to ask the same stupid questions.
Grow up.
Here is the bottom line. No, this Showcase is not associated with Hitmaster! Second, the Showcase is FREE! Only those wishing to come watch must pay an entrance fee.
Willie . . .
You don't know ANYTHING about me. So don't make assumptions. You don't like me because I have made negative comments about people accused of not playing by the rules. I won't apologize for that.
I am not trying to point the finger at anyone. My son has attended showcases that turned out to be a waste of time and money. One of them was Hitmasters. Do I or don't I have the right to voice my opinion about that???
You don't know ANYTHING about me. So don't make assumptions. You don't like me because I have made negative comments about people accused of not playing by the rules. I won't apologize for that.
I am not trying to point the finger at anyone. My son has attended showcases that turned out to be a waste of time and money. One of them was Hitmasters. Do I or don't I have the right to voice my opinion about that???
lets go. Group hug. 
quote:Originally posted by WillieBobo:
The questions about Hitmaster are a sham to open the door for this person to denigrate anything that he can. If that person had a positive interest in student athletes, he would applaud free showcases like this one.