Future of University of Maryland Baseball

quote:

Originally posted by baseballguy:
I agree with the need for new/upgraded facilities. And, yes, I've been to other top ACC facilities, so I think I've got a pretty good handle on the requirements to be considered among the elite in the conference. Coach May....you are right. They will need much better facilities to get the recruits who have their pick of ACC/SEC schools. I understand that.

All I have been saying is that this new coaching staff has yet to coach a game ... and, already the program seems much improved. Let them play hard, win some games that they are not supposed to, and turn a few heads - in season # 1.

Coach Bakich and staff have done a great PR job to this point. They have also gotten money for their program, as said above. They now need to go put a good product out on the field, which I believe will happen.

Facility upgrades will come, no doubt. For now however, I am more interested in seeing the 'on the field' product. If the product is good (and this doesn't mean winning the ACC)...the rest will follow.

But, for now, to focus so much on facilities to me is not a good use of time or energy. I would rather see the program get better, with facility improvements coming along as well as the program improves. I think there's a lot of room to improve the program overall, while the facility upgrade is being worked on.

Cart before the horse....Maryland is not going to attract players nationally if they do not improve their facilities. Sure there will be players from the State of Maryland that will consider the University but........if you scan through the rosters of the ACC teams you will note that many of their players are from out of state.......I know of several recent Maryland High School players that have gone elsewhere because of the third rate facilities at Maryland. When your introductory meeting with the coach is in a trailer parked behind right field -- it does not compare to the UVA, NC and the rest of the ACC teams.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
trepfan

is your name misspelled intentionally or is that sarcasm

I am a Maryland grad (twice) and only wish the best for the University. I would have wanted to send my kid to the University but.....besides Coach Farr, there was not much upside. In fact, we met the current Coach at Maryland when he was recruiting for Vanderblit. He is driven and will turn the program around .... I just hope the University supports his program financially ---

quote:

Originally posted by Trepfan:

I just hope the University supports his program financially ---

Trepfan, did you see the link I posted about the major contribution given to the program just last month? Whether the University supports them or not it seems that the Coach already has fans...fans with deep pockets!

quote:

I know of several recent Maryland High School players that have gone elsewhere because of the third rate facilities at Maryland. When your introductory meeting with the coach is in a trailer parked behind right field -- it does not compare to the UVA, NC and the rest of the ACC teams.

Oh yes the trailer issue, very important for recruits to see the coach in a fine office. What a bunch of garbage.

Here it right from the Coach. The school asked Coach Bakich if they wanted to move into new offices in the Cole Center - response "No thanks, if we are going to spend money lets spend it on making the facilities better for the players." Sounds like a great leader to me who puts his troops before himself!

We met Coach Aoki (great guy) of BC in his beautiful office overlooking Alumni Field. On the ride home my kid never said "I want to go to BC because Coach Aoki has a great office."

I wouldn't think that players want to see the inside of that trailer. Probably means issues. The first time I talked with Coach Bakich, it was in those "miserable seats" at Shipley. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Trepfan,

Have you seen their recruiting class they have signed so far for 2010? Looks to me that Coach Bakich is recruiting nationally.Alot of those kids had the choice of going to other ACC and SEC and other major conference schools but chose Maryland.And unless you have talked to Coach Bakich and his staff you probably won't understand but he is actually using the lack of superb facilities to his advantage by selling the blue collar attitude to recruits and it is working.As NHMonty said he wants kids that will go to war with him-the ones that like to get dirty or run thru the wall for him and not the ones that are worried about the way they look.One look at who he has signed so far and I would say hes doing pretty good for not having great faclities.

Thats great warriordad. I hope he turns the program around. So you think the other programs in the ACC dont have any blue collar players on them? Dont have any players that like to get dirty as well? Dont have any guys that will run through a wall as well? So you think if a kid chooses Clemson instead of Maryland its because he is more worried about the way he looks?

If the facilities are a plus in this regard then save the money on the renovations and just leave things the way they are. Continue to get all the players that have these attributes and let the ones that only care about the way they look go to the other ACC schools.

You guys are totally missing treps point.

Coach may,

I know its great-thats why I said it.I don't know what the other schools have and I don't pretend too-I'll leave that up to you.My point is Coach Bakich is doing the best with what he has.

Its funny you bring up Clemson and the way you look thing though.One of the first things they showed us on our visit was their uniforms and how they tailor fit each player.Doesn't mean a thing though!

I hope Coach Bakich gets it done at Maryland. There is no reason Maryland can not be a very competitive program in the ACC.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach_May:
Thats great warriordad. I hope he turns the program around. So you think the other programs in the ACC dont have any blue collar players on them? Dont have any players that like to get dirty as well? Dont have any guys that will run through a wall as well? So you think if a kid chooses Clemson instead of Maryland its because he is more worried about the way he looks?

If the facilities are a plus in this regard then save the money on the renovations and just leave things the way they are. Continue to get all the players that have these attributes and let the ones that only care about the way they look go to the other ACC schools.

You guys are totally missing treps point.

Coach May -- thanks -- they do not get the point. When you are talking about the top fifty kids in the nation -- AFLAC, Perfect Game etc. these kids are the ones that make a significant impact on a program. These kids are NOT predominately in Maryland. These kids do look at the entire picture when making a decision to attend a University. I am speaking from first hand knowledge --- Again, the decision centers around relationship/reputation of the coach/pitching coach, the facilities and three the location. The further south the better the ability of the University to attract TOP-RATED (top fifty) players. That is reality. We are not talking about kids that may be opting for smaller division one schools (i.e., Towson, James Madison etc.). No knock on these University........We are talking about kids that have the option of attending most of the top baseball programs in the Country. We (my son and I) met Coach Rupp and Farr in the trailer at Maryland and that meeting was compared with meetings at UVA, NC Stanford, etc. NO COMPARISON. And yes it is very much part of the decision -- I have met/spoken with most of the AFLAC kids and have received their feedback on why they decided on a specific University and again, it comes down to the coach, facilities and location.

The three things Trep mentioned are very important. You can add a fourth and its tradition.

Now there is nothing Maryland can do about location. But they can do something about the other three. Coach , facilities , tradition. It seems they have done a great job on getting the right coach in place. Now they have to work on the facilities. Then with some wins they can change the tradition or reputation if you will.

One thing is for sure you have to win the recruiting battle for your home town boys. If your losing you best home grown talent then you have to get someone else's best home grown talent to make up for the loss. The chances you can get someone else's best players when you can not keep your own is a stretch at best. If you look at the schools in the ACC that have proven they can win consistently in this conference you will find that they do it with mostly in state players. Then they are capable of going out of state and stealing enough good players to fill in the gaps.

Now there are programs in the conference that have to go out of state in order to be successful for a large part of their team. Wake , Duke , BC for example. Those reasons are obvious. And if they do not recruit very well out of state they are going to struggle big time. Maryland and the immediate surrounding areas has more than enough highly talented players to sustain that program and help them reach the level they are striving for. But they have to convince them that Maryland is the place for them.

That is one reason the facilities are critical. Its something that you can fix. It speaks to the seriousness of the University and the staff to their desire to build a winning program. Its very hard to convince a young man that you are serious about your program and desire to build a winning program when your facilities are second class.

So I am one person that hopes that this staff can turn this thing around. They can upgrade the facilities and win the recruiting wars at home so they can reach out and bring in other solid players to join them. You will never build a competitive team in the ACC unless you win your home turf in the recruiting game. It sounds like this program in on the right track.

You only need to look a few miles south of you and see what UVA has done and is doing. It was not very long ago they were way behind. Now there are alot of peoples favorite to not only get back to Omaha but bring home the title.

Good friend who is college coach sent me breakdown of top 500 Ranked 2010 HS players by Perfect Game, sorted by college committment. Perfect Game is probably the best known ranking serivce of HS players.

BC 3; Clemson 6; Duke 5; Florida 9; FSU 7; Georgia Tech 15; Maryland 7; Miami 9; North Carolina 16; NC State 3; Virginia 6; Virgina Tech 2 and WF 3.

Doesn't look like the Maryland facilities hurt them to much this year.

Other notables Alabama 8; Arizona State 7; Arkansas 13; Auburn 8; Georgia 3; Kentucky 5; LSU 14; Oregon 10; Oregon State 8; Rice 6; San Diego (not State) 9;
South Carolina 8; Tenn 4; Texas 6 and Vandy 6

If Maryland had the facilities that UVA has, would that number be different? I believe it might. Coach Bakich is doing a great job of getting great players with what he has to work with, but I believe that some other people on here are simply saying that with better facilities his job of recruiting top talent would be alot easier, as there would be even that much more to offer.

quote:

Originally posted by orioles13:
If Maryland had the facilities that UVA has, would that number be different? I believe it might. Coach Bakich is doing a great job of getting great players with what he has to work with, but I believe that some other people on here are simply saying that with better facilities his job of recruiting top talent would be alot easier, as there would be even that much more to offer.

Yep like Hultzen/Silverstein (UVA), Routt (Miss State), Brady Clemson) etc.

quote:

Hultzen/Silverstein (UVA

Trepfan your new name is Mr. Negative.

The players you mentioned where recruited in 2008!

If I am correct, Coach Bakich was at Vanderbilt and Coach Burton was a student assistant at Louisville.

I may be wrong but in 2008 neither of these men had the chance to recruit the players you mentioned for Maryland.

Trepfan.....Steve.....

Since you have sought my advise for several years during your talented son pre-teen years...either at my house, at the ball field, or on the telephone, I understand your point of view most of the times however don't you think it's time for you to turn the page and start fresh for 2010? Of course I continue to hope Scotty get's healthy and get more AB's and gets back on the bump.

Of course I will be rooting for the Terps on the front and back end during Conference Play late April 2010

quote:

Originally posted by Bear:
Trepfan.....Steve.....

Since you have sought my advise for several years during your talented son pre-teen years...either at my house, at the ball field, or on the telephone, I understand your point of view most of the times however don't you think it's time for you to turn the page and start fresh for 2010? Of course I continue to hope Scotty get's healthy and get more AB's and gets back on the bump.

Of course I will be rooting for the Terps on the front and back end during Conference Play late April 2010

Hi Bear. Yes he saw James Andrews in September and is healthy -- 100%/ Also, Nick Howard from Saint Johns committed last week to UVA. See you at U of M.

Kory Britton 2011, P, 3B from Atholton HS committed to U of MD last week

quote:

Yes he saw James Andrews in September and is healthy -- 100%/

Great news, Steve. Someone had told me otherwise. Such is the (un)reliability of the rumor mill. Glad to know the truth.

Sorry we won't see you guys this year, though given last year's games, maybe I shouldn't be sorry! Maybe at the tourney, if we can get there this time around!

Midlo Dad:

Thanks --- how are the new Wake Forest Coaches shaking out.

Let's put this back at ya.

The week before March 1, 2010, what spot on the pitching staff do you think your son will be?

After the season is complete 2010, what spot on the pitching staff do you think your son will be?

quote:

Originally posted by Midlo Dad:
Trep is a reference to the nickname of his son's high school baseball team, not a rip on "Terps". So don't be too quick to take offense, none has been given.

hmmm St. John's Cadets vs Trep? Silverstein's has been ripping Terps a new bu^^hole frequently. It been old for sometime.

Not believable.

also put the above back at Milo.

See below from the Georgia Tech website regarding Kevin Jacob - Parkville HS grad. Sure would be nice to find another one of these local guys for Eric Bakich and the Terps (6'6", mid-upper 90s!!). Who thinks Brad Markey (CMW) could be the next shorter version of Kevin Jaboc at Ga Tech? I heard from BF that he touched 92 in Tucson last week - the middle of January!! Seems like Coach Bakich may have arrived on the scene 6 months too late to get him as he committed to GT in the summer.
**********************************************

2009 ACC Honor Roll
Right-handed pitcher with outstanding size and frame ... Has an unorthodox delivery which makes him very effective ... Possesses a very strong arm and has an excellent work ethic, both on and off the mound ... Has three pitches he throws for strikes, including a very good fastball ... One of the Jackets' top middle- and long-relievers but could see time as a starter in 2009.

Named 2009 Top Prospect in the Alaska League by Baseball America.

2009
Made 22 appearances on the year, five of which were midweek starts ... Started the third game of two weekend ACC series' ... Was third on the team in strikeouts (54) and tied for third in wins (5) ... Went 5-3 with a 4.69 ERA in 55.2 innings pitched ... Tossed 10 scoreless outings ... Finished the season allowing just one run of three of his last four outings ... inherited 13 runners on the season, none of which scored ... Worked a career-long 6.2 innings at Georgia Southern (2/25) to pick up the first win of his career ... Worked two innings in relief against Maryland (3/8), holding the Terps hitless while striking out two of the seven batters he faced ... Struck out a career-high seven batters in a career-long outing of eight innings to earn his second win of the season against Kennesaw State (3/11) ... Limited the Owls to just two runs on six hits ... Held Kennesaw State (3/18) to three hits while striking out three in five innings of work to earn his fourth win of the season a week later ... Worked 4.1 scoreless innings against Virginia Tech (3/22), allowing just two hits while striking out five to earn his fourth win of the season ... Struck out the only batter he faced in Tech's 11-10 loss to Virginia (4/11) to end the top of the ninth, and then stranded the bases loaded in the top of the ninth the following day to help preserve a 4-4 tie ... Struck out a career-high eight batters in five innings against Georgia State (4/15) to earn his fifth win of the season ... Struck out two in an inning of work against Georgia (5/12) ... Made two scoreless outings in the ACC Championships, including striking out two in 1.1 innings against Florida State (5/23) ... Pitched a scoreless inning of relief while striking out two in a 9-3 win over Georgia State in the opening game of the NCAA Atlanta Regional (5/29) ... Worked 4.2 innings of relief allowing just one run with four strikeouts in the regional final against Southern Miss. (6/1).

2008
Made 20 appearances on the season, all out of the bullpen ... Took part in three of the Yellow Jackets' five shutouts on the season ... Struck out 29 batters in 30 innings of work ... Twelve of his 20 appearances were scoreless outings ... Held Georgia Southern (2/27) to two hits while striking out four in his first collegiate appearance ... Struck out the side in a 1-2-3 inning against Rutgers (3/2) ... Tossed a scoreless eighth inning against Kennesaw State (3/18) and threw two shutout innings at Boston College (3/29) ... Made a scoreless relief appearance at Georgia Southern (4/16) and had a pair of scoreless outings vs. Wake Forest (4/25, 4/27) by facing the minimum while working an inning in relief in both contests ... Threw two shutout innings against Coastal Carolina (5/3) and another vs. Clemson (5/11) ... Worked 1.1 scoreless innings against Georgia (6/1) in the NCAA Athens Regional.

Steve will have to explain the origin of "Trepfan" but I remember seeing a "Trep___" nickname in Scott's history somewhere, perhaps before he played at St. John's. Again, it's not a rip on the Terps. Sorry if that disappoints some who are spoiling for a fight.

I guess I will never understand why folks expect every Maryland kid to attend U. Maryland. UVA has a great thing going, but you have Deck McGuire at Ga. Tech, certain kids I know at Wake, Russell Wilson at N.C. State, Stoneburner is the latest in a long line at Clemson .... Is UVA any less successful because these prominent VA kids went elsewhere?

People have all sorts of reasons for recruiting a particular kid, or for seeking out a particular school. It's great that people can match up according to their own personal preferences, both academic and athletic.

I have a feeling Bakich will do pretty darned well if people will give him a chance. Same with the new coaches at Wake. Neither team will finish first in the ACC this year, but both will show significant improvement I'll wager.

quote:

I guess I will never understand why folks expect every Maryland kid to attend U. Maryland. UVA has a great thing going, but you have Deck McGuire at Ga. Tech, certain kids I know at Wake, Russell Wilson at N.C. State, Stoneburner is the latest in a long line at Clemson .... Is UVA any less successful because these prominent VA kids went elsewhere?

As an ACC team, you cant be successful unless you win your state talent first. The analogy to VA is poor since there are more top players from VA than MD. The perfect game rankings have VA with 25 2010 and 2011 players ranked in the top 400, whereas MD has 6! In other words, UVA can absorb losing some top players since they are still getting other equally talented kids from VA. MD is a different story. You don't have 3 Brad Markeys (or Jacobs) every year. Thus, when UMD loses a pitcher/player of this caliber it is a tough recovery since you cant just go pluck another one off the tree the way VA and others can.

quote:

I have a feeling Bakich will do pretty darned well if people will give him a chance. Same with the new coaches at Wake. Neither team will finish first in the ACC this year, but both will show significant improvement I'll wager.

You are right on here Midlo

quote:

The perfect game rankings have VA with 25 2010 and 2011 players ranked in the top 400, whereas MD has 6!

Your point is flawed. PG ranks the players who pay $$ to receive a score in their system. If a player doesn't attend a PG event, they wouldn't be ranked. Here's the kicker, the PG system is not as popular in MD as it is in VA. Typically, the further south you go the more popular it is. Just like the USSSA baseball is more popular the further south you go. Up north, AAU baseball is still top dog.


Here is my point. The list below is a list of kids that made the preseason all state team and have NOT paid for a PG event and received a score. Its the whole list except for Lardo who is listed. There is a short list at the end of this list of some other names that have been thrown around lately. Some say these kids are also top players. In the rankings that you saw, are any of these kids among the 6 that you suggested that are in the PG top 400?

I'm not trying to cause issue but, the stats can say all kinds of things.

Marsh
Ramsay
Wissman
Selmer
Kean
Gowe
Seitzer
Fitzpatrick
Draper
Christensen
TR Clark
TY Clark
Fratantuono
Parks
Bouey
anderson
steele
cunningham
hill
bennett
driscoll
glazer
lenovitz
nadolny
kratochwill
bennett

Others:
Hockaday
Neary
Bosse
Lucido
Mason
Spahn

I am not sure where to start since your post has so much incorrect information.

1) AAU is orders of magnitude more popular/active in VA than MD. It is not even close. For most of the TOP players in the county, AAU and USSA baseball ends at age 14 or 15 and they move on to play with showcase teams (Canes Baseball, Oriolelanders, Red Sox, Dirtbags, etc) that play in PG,Impact and self-assembled events.

2) your statement that you have to attend a PG event to receive a ranking is incorrect. Does it help to attend an event? Well, of course since that is an easy way for them to see the player. For good players who do not attend events, they take information from outside sources (coaches and scouts) and use it to rank guys. Many of these will receive a ranking of "high follow" or "follow" such that when they do attend an event the PG they can be tracked with special interest. There are many examples but I will point out 1 for the sake of this post. Alex Ramasy has never attended a Perfect Game event of any kind and is listed as #316 nationally and #2 in MD for 2010s. He started on the "high follow" list on the basis of good feedback and then entered the rankings after making the Baseball Factory All-American Team. Not 1 penny to PG. Kyle Convissar is the only other 2010 player in MD ranked (#202)and trust me, looking through the player profiles, a lot of MD kids attended these events.

3) The entire Oriolelanders 2011 played in a PG event 16U WWBA and some of them also played in Jupiter for the Tidewater Os which means at least the following players have attended PG events:

Bouey
Hockaday
Nadolny
Fitzpatrick
Lardo
Neary (may have been injured for WWBA)
Markey

And these are the only ones that i know of - there are likely more but I just dont know the kids.

4) I have no incentive to pat PG on the back but there is little question that they are the standard for ranking the top HS baseball talent. Their rankings are closely correlated to the MLB draft order for HS players (when factoring in the college players). It is the standard that nearly every top 20 and beyond team uses to identify the best players whether you like it or not. So, if you son is truly a TOP player and you want him to play high level college baseball, get him to a PG event. Or, you can wait around for a few years until PG hears about him second hand.

5) the list of kids you have provided are pre-season all-state players and they are good when you are comparing them with HS players in MD. HOWEVER, the bitter reality is that when you match up MANY of the players above with true national talent from NC, VA, TX, CA, FL, GA, etc (which is what PG does), there are maybe 5-6 that can hang. In other words, if your entire list of kids above attended the next 10 PG events and paid $5000 each doing so, maybe 4 would get ranked in the top 400 2011. As MD native and fan it pains me to say that but it is reality IMO.

This all gets back to my point regarding Midlo dads comment. VA, TX, NC, FL have a lot of top players so top programs dont take a big hit when they lose true top in-state talent since there is always another top ranked kid waiting to sign. This is not the case in MD so it becomes very important for UMD to secure top 200 players to build the program.

quote:

) the list of kids you have provided are pre-season all-state players and they are good when you are comparing them with HS players in MD. HOWEVER, the bitter reality is that when you match up MANY of the players above with true national talent from NC, VA, TX, CA, FL, GA, etc (which is what PG does), there are maybe 5-6 that can hang. In other words, if your entire list of kids above attended the next 10 PG events and paid $5000 each doing so, maybe 4 would get ranked in the top 400 2011. As MD native and fan it pains me to say that but it is reality IMO.

This all gets back to my point regarding Midlo dads comment. VA, TX, NC, FL have a lot of top players so top programs dont take a big hit when they lose true top in-state talent since there is always another top ranked kid waiting to sign. This is not the case in MD so it becomes very important for UMD to secure top 200 players to build the program.

I completely agree. Yes, Convissar and Ramsay are clearly great talents and kudos to UMD for getting them. I think it's a consensus sometimes that the top 10 players in MD can play with anyone-at least I believe that. The depth isn't here in MD as it is in GA, FL, TX, CA...So it's important to get the MD kids that can play at that level for UMD

Why don't we all give Coach Bakich a year or two and see what he does ???

quote:

Originally posted by all322:

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
Why don't we all give Coach Bakich a year or two and see what he does ???

TR, I just looked through all 4 pages of this post and only Trepfan seems unwilling to do what you suggest. Please PM him whenever you feel the need to scold. Thank you for your support???

Agree completely - really looking forward to the Terps 2013 and 2014 seasons.

I guess I didn't make my point very well. That's OK. I don't profess to know everything. I just don't rely on these "independent" organizations to rank players properly because in MY opinion, you have to pay them for the score they give you. After you pay them and get your score, you get a ranking. Even when you pay to play in their tournament, you might get a ranking. It doesn't matter how you slice it or spin it, you have paid them for your ranking and you aren't getting ranked without paying them one way or another.

Doesn't under armour do a similar thing. In order to be an UA all american, you have to do a local UA showcase, get invited to a tournament, and then get selected while at the tournament. This is why when I see a team USA playing and the roster has 7 guys from AZ, 8 guys from CA, and a few from NV, I don't bother watching because I know those kids paid for the right to be on "Team USA #46" this season. It all about the $$.

I think Bakich is going about the process perfectly.

#1 Change the Culture
#2 Keep the best players in MD
#3 Start winning

Those 3 things have to be executed in that order or it will not work. State of MD players, parents, and coaches must buy into the changes and it starts within the program. I have traveled everywhere and seen more kids play than I can count. Top MD kids can play with anybody anywhere. I agree that there aren't as many top players here and the stats prove that as shown in the post above but, you can put the top kids at MD and win. The rankings may say that there are only 6 per year but it doesn't tell the entire story because not everyone is ranked.

JSP -
I agree with you that the new coaching staff in College Park is on the right track. 'Perfectly'...I'm not sure about, but do agree with you that they are directionally on the path to improving to program overall. Next step will be to take it onto the field and put a better team out there.

As for organizations that you feel it's required to spend money with to be ranked, you might be right on many. But, spending money (or not spending money) with Perfect Game doesn't appear to have much impact on their rankings of players. There are probably dozens on cases where a lot of money was spent and a player's ranking (or rating) did not improve.

And, certainly not attending PG events or showcases does not mean that you won't be ranked by PG. Attendance at their events does allow a player to be seen and better evaluated....which may improve a players' ranking or rating.

I think, overall, PG is in the business of evaluating the baseball players and their talents, whether they have attended a PG showcase/tournament or not. If you are talented enough, these folks will rank you, whether you have paid them $$$ or not. In my opinion, they do a pretty darn good job.

quote:

I guess I didn't make my point very well. That's OK. I don't profess to know everything. I just don't rely on these "independent" organizations to rank players properly because in MY opinion, you have to pay them for the score they give you. After you pay them and get your score, you get a ranking. Even when you pay to play in their tournament, you might get a ranking. It doesn't matter how you slice it or spin it, you have paid them for your ranking and you aren't getting ranked without paying them one way or another.

JSParak,

I really don’t think you mean any harm, but you might as well get the truth. At least, the truth regarding PG rankings.

You are 100% wrong, it just doesn’t work the way you think. There are ranked players who never attended a PG event and there are many unranked players who have attended PG events. Do you really think anyone would value rankings based on paying someone?

That said, please take a moment and look at this link. It should help explain why so many who don’t know the truth might feel the way you do.

PG and the MLB Draft

I do agree with you that the top Maryland kids can play with anybody anywhere. To be honest I think at one point or another we have had nearly every “top” player in MD ranked over the past 15 years, so we know how good the top players are. Many of the players you listed earlier have actually been to a PG event. There might be a few that are still in high school that we don’t yet know enough about, but I believe we will figure it out before June.

I also agree with you that “not everyone is ranked”! If everyone everywhere was ranked, the list would go way beyond the top 400 or 500 in the entire country.

Though you might not have meant any harm, it is an insult to think we rank players based on them paying us. It is an insult to us, and worse yet, it is an insult to the talented players we have ranked. We wouldn’t have lasted very long operating that way. If you ever get a chance, ask Coach Bakich what he thinks of PG rankings.

Now there might be places where players can pay to be ranked or honored, it just doesn’t work that way with PG.

Originally posted by JSParak:

quote:

It doesn't matter how you slice it or spin it, you have paid them for your ranking and you aren't getting ranked without paying them one way or another.

Didn't I just explain to you that this is inaccurate in the last post (e.g., Ramsay)?

quote:

I agree that there aren't as many top players here and the stats prove that as shown in the post above but, you can put the top kids at MD and win.

This was my original point to Midlo Dad before you chimed in to say it was wrong - glad you are on board now.

quote:

The rankings may say that there are only 6 per year but it doesn't tell the entire story because not everyone is ranked.

You are sloppy, the 6 ranked players I mentioned are from both 2010 and 2011 so it is more like 3 per year. And, the "everyone" you are talking about aren't ranked because they are not good enough to be in the top 200 - even if they pay over and over. This is what is wrong with some kids today. Their parents spend their lives always looking to make excuses for them - Joey wasnt ranked since we didnt pay , Joey was left off the all state team due to politics , Joey wasnt asked to play on a top showcase team since the coach likes Bobby better ,etc, etc. Too funny......

Thank you for putting the nail in this one PGStaff...

I am on your link now in another window. I will give you more of an opportunity to set the record straight since I am not well informed about how it works.

Point 1

Just opening the link it says "1,191 of 1,521 (78.3%) MLB draft picks played at PG
It’s Another New PG Record Draft Total"
Did PG develop these 1,191 players? If so where can we send our kids for this type of training? If no, why is PG taking marketing credit for these kids getting drafted?

Point 2
How many of the 1191 kids didn't pay for the PG event that they attended; either through tournament fees or showcase events? It would be my assumption that all of them paid. Did Alex Ramsay play in a PG tournament? If yes that would mean he paid correct. Would Alex Ramsay be ranked had he not paid for and attended a PG event? Would that have made him a better or worse player had he not attended? Is PG the reason Alex is a very good player?

Point 3
Based on the marketing on the site, it appears as though attending a PG event will increase the likelihood that one will get drafted. It also leads me to believe that if my son made it a goal to play in the college world series, he should play in a PG event to increase his chances of getting there because the majority of the CWS players are PG players. Is this correct?

Here is the point of it all. The link that you supplied me with tells me that unless I spend money at PG, my son has less shot at advancing his career. Would Alex Ramsay not have been recruited at MD if it weren't for PG?

ESPN could make a stat that says 97% of all kids in the MLB draft have watched Sunday night baseball and 997 of the first 1000 draft picks watched. If they charged people to watch, which they do in cable fees, and made a fancy campaign that watching is the way to get drafted, they would have more people watching and more people paying the fees. They would then be another PG by filling people with the illusion that they can't make it without them so pay the $$.

Call me what you want, call it what you want. You’re charging people for ranking them and PG is preying on the dreams of young men. I see nothing that shows me that PG ranks kids that have not paid to be in or take part in a PG event.

If I am wrong, show me the PG ranking from the first 3 rounds of ALL players that got drafted, not just the 27 that "attended an event"

I know your blood is boiling right now but stay with me.

I have seen dozens of kid’s ratings on PG that I have seen play throughout the years. I think that the ratings have been darn near spot on for every kid I have seen and has a rating. That being said, I think PG does a great job judging the true talent of the kids. Moreover the rating appears to be a true reflection of the talent and future success of the kids.

In my opinion, if PG is going to be a top quality rating service, they need to rank all players (within a said # of kids) regardless of whether they play or participate in a PG event. For those who want an official rating, they pay extra for the service. In your mailings and website, you make it seem as though if you don't have an invitation to be a part of an event you can't get into the event. The reality is that getting an invitation is nothing more than showing interest and a desire to pay the fee. As long I show interest in paying the fee at some point, I will be buried with PG invitations to every event within 500 miles regardless of my playing level. If I participate, I get a rating and a chance to be ranked. If not, I have no rating and won't be ranked even if I deserve it.

You'll need to give me more than a link to a website that proves what I already believe. Show me how I am wrong. I hate to be a skeptic but my son is almost of age to start these showcases and I am not sold.

I appologize to Alex for using his name on this post. He is a great player and I am in no way trying to disrespect him. His name was out there in the agruement so I went with it.

I am also sorry to the U of MD that this topic has come out in their thread. I fully support Bakich and his efforts. I hope that the program can return to the top of the conference again soon.

Lastly, I am not a bad guy everybody. I'm just trying to understand how the process works. Besides, if I am thinking this as a newbie to the process, there are MANY others who also don't know the process and need to know how to better spend their money. Unfortunately, there are a whole lot of crooks out there and the separation between good and evil isn't always clear. Take it from me!!!! Getting ripped off by very well known ex-pro's is not a pleasurable ordeal.

Our son, who is going to Maryland, is ranked in top 500 by PG, I believe he has been ranked for over a year.

I don't know how the rankings work and I don't have a clue how he got on their ranking. He had never attend any PG events until he went with this travel team to East Cobb this summer - many months after his first PG ranking.

Based on this, I would agree that PG rankings have nothing to do with spending dollars at PG showcases/events.

This is the kind of info I want to hear. To recap, your son never played in a PG event, got a ranking a little over a year ago, then played in a PG event in Georgia this past summer.

This is good news. Does anyone else have a story like this?