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Other than a couple of 6'3", 200 pound pitchers and a 6'1, 160 pitcher last year, the varsity baseball team was short. I don't think any position player was six feet. The team was not good. My son's 14U travel team from last year was bigger. It had eight kids who were 6' or taller.
On Wednesday, February 13, the CHICAGO TRIBUNE printed a special pullout in the sports section covering spring training for the two Chicago teams. In it, they listed all of the White Sox and Cubs players who were invited to participate at the prospective spring training camps. They were listed by position, height, weight, and date of birth, along with stats and a columnist's comments.

Of the 50 players who are at the White Sox Camp, 5 are under 6 feet tall.

The Cubs have invited 59 players, with 9 listed under 6 feet tall.

Both of the Chicago teams have "big kids" on them.

Height may not matter, but it sure helps to be tall!
South Granville HS , Creedmoor NC.
Pre Season #4 Ranked 3A

Sr Pratt Maynard RHP 1B 3B 6-1 205
Sr Keith Goodwin SS 6-1 175
Sr Jeff May C 6-2 220
Sr Justin Norwood RHP 6-2 190
Sr Nash Blackley RHP 1B 6-3 205
Jr Josh Darroach RHP 3B 5-11 185
Jr Robbie Rapple OF 5-11 165
Jr Andrew Satterfield 2b 5-8 150
Jr AJ Ragland 1B 6-2 185
Jr Chris Riley OF 5-10 165
So Zack Moran 1B C 6-3 170
So Matt Wilson 2b OF C 5-10 155
So Corey Hicks OF 5-10 165
Fr Amos Tilley 2b OF 5-9 150

This is our roster for this season. We have some pretty big boys. But what matters is if they can play the game. Hopefully we will play very well this year.
CM...i'm just curious, as an average, how many players come out for tryouts each year for your program and how big is your school, how many students?

Here in VA, we run the table from smaller to large programs but on average I find that most teams carry any where from 18 to 20 players on each roster, thus my question about you only carrying 14....I find that # (14) much better to work with than the ours.
Last season's team:

Height Weight Year Pos 1 Pos 2
6' 1" 175 2008 OF
5' 7" 180 2008 OF
6' 1" 175 2007 OF
6' 3" 180 2007 P 1B
6' 2" 175 2007 P OF
5 '8" 150 2008 IF OF
6' 160 2008 P 1B
5' 11" 170 2007 P OF
5' 11" 180 2008 C 1B
5' 10" 195 2008 C 1B
5 '8" 140 2009 P INF
6' 5" 215 2008 P IF
5' 10" 180 2008 IF OF
6' 185 2007 IF P
6' 165 2007 OF P
5' 11" 160 2008 C
5' 11" 155 2008 2B
6' 2" 180 2008 IF OF
6' 3" 165 2008 P OF
Last edited by infidel_08
quote:
Originally posted by coachbwww:
gotwood4sale:

Why does this toy truck carry a "peanut" in its trunk?

RJM:
Size doesn't matter, our 13U AAA team can easily wipe out those 14U AA team with bunch of 6' footers in any tournament.
These weren't AA or AAA players. They were USSSA Majors players who will all make their high school varsity at some point. They played up to a year or two in Majors against high school players all fall and still competed well.

The question was about size. So I answered the question regarding size. Size isn't the only factor. The team leader in homers (all went out of full size parks) was 5'4" when the season started and 5'8" when it ended. At 5'10" this spring he's faster and stronger than he was last year. Size and filling out does matter.
Last edited by RJM
RJM:

That's why I say AAA beats AA, I think Major team will beat AAA team most of the time. But I doubt your team can beat any other Major team everytime. So the conclusion should be "Size doesn't matter, Classification matters!" At the same age group, I don't see a whole lot differences in size between teams.

BTW, I have to say, you "had 8 players over 6 feet" in a 14U team is a little bit suspicions.
How many kids were in your 14U team?
Last edited by coachbwww
While it's a different situation than high school ball, here's a snap shot of what the startig lineup for our 18u Conne Mack team will look like this summer, by position and height/weight/HS grad year of the likely starters.

C 6'2"/205/'09
1B 6'3"/190/'08
2B 5'10"/165/'09
SS 6'4"/195/'09
3B 5'11"/180/'09
LF 6'1"/180/'09
CF 5'10"/175/'09
RF 6'4"/225/'09
DH 6'1"/180/'07
RHP 6'4"/185/'07
RHP 6'2"/190/'07
RHP 6'2"/195/'09
LHP 6'5"/220/'09
RHP 5'11"/175/'08
RHP 6'2"/200/'07

I can't speak for other areas of the country, but I don't think we're all that unusual for size here in northern CA. We're probably one of the bigger teams, size-wsie, but not by that much. AS you can imagine, our 16s team is a fair bit smaller in stature.
quote:
Originally posted by coachbwww:

BTW, I have to say, you "had 8 players over 6 feet" in a 14U team is a little bit suspicions.
How many kids were in your 14U team?
We had fourteen players. Before merging my team with this team I thought they had a bunch of early bloomers. Then I saw the size of some of the dads. Opposing teams would think they showed up at the wrong field for the early game when they saw the size of the players warming up.

One kid was a 6'3" thirteen year old 8th grader last year. Another kid was 6'3" and could throw a ball through a wall assuming he could find the wall. He was the project.

Teams would laugh when my son would take the mound after these guys. He was 5'4" at the beginning of the season. He looked like a midget compared to the previous pitcher.
Last edited by RJM
It's hard to say how big the kids are as tryouts start Monday! Anyway, following up 06catcherdad, here is our Summer Team lineup.. this organization won state last year. Not bad, huh?

LHP 6'3/196/'09 Verbal to Gonzaga
IF 6'2/180/'09
RHP 6'4/175/'08/ Signed with Centenary College
C/IF 6'2/195/'09
1B/ 6'3/ 180/'08/ Signed with USC
RHP/IF 5'10/160/'09
LHP/ 5'10/165/'08/ Signed with Washington State
SS/IF 6'0/180/'08/ Signed with Arizona State
LHP/OF/ 6'0/170/'09
RHP/OF/ 6'1/179/'08
RHP/IF/ 6'0/170/'09
RHP/OF/ 6'1/196/'08/ Signed with U of Washington
C/ 5'8/204/'09
IF/ 5'9/150/'07
RHP/ 6'1/185/'09
LHP/1B/OF/ 5'11/170/'08
OF/C/ 6'3/192/'08/ Signed with Washington State
RHP/6'3/205/'07/Signed with Army
RHP/OF/ 5'11/220/'07
The most important thing is at what level can the player hit , throw , pitch , run and field. Why worry about how big your kid is? First of all their is nothing you can do about how tall you are. You will be whatever your going to be. So forget about that one its out of your hands. You can do something about how strong you are so work at it. You can improve your speed so work at it. And you can improve your hitting fielding and arm strength so work at it.

The most important tool a player can have imo is the burning desire to be the best he can possibly be. This will bring the kind of work ethic to the table that will indeed make him successfull not only in baseball but in life as well.

Guess what is getting ready to happen to those 14 year olds that might already be creeping in? Alot of distractions that are very powerfull. Some will continue to love the game and continue to strive to be their best and work at it. And many - way more than not - will decide that what they want is not what daddy and mommy want for them.

Size is great if the player has a strong work ethic and loves the game and actually has some talent to go with it. Size means nothing without these attributes to go with it. And lack of size will not stop a kid who has a strong work ethic and loves the game and actually has some talent to go with it. In fact some of the toughest , hard nosed kids you will ever face on the field are the "small guys" with talent - they are determined to stick it in the face of everyone who said "He's too small"!

Being a big strong athletic player who has tools is an advantage over a kid who is not big and strong but still a good player. But when its all said and done it will come down to whats on the inside not what can be seen on the outside.
I coached a couple of teams that might have had 4 kids taller than 6'1" back in the day. Both of those teams won state championships.

Here is my roster from last year:

20 Brandon Adams . 6-0 200 2007 C .
18 Eric Allard . 5-10 180 2009 P C .
1 Kyle Barras . 5-8 175 2008 3B P .
23 Trey Burris . 6-3 215 2008 P .
2 Aaron Conway . 5-7 170 2007 SS 2B .
8 Aaron Dalton . 5-9 190 2007 OF 3B .
3 Dusty Dineen . 6-0 185 2008 2B 1B .
4 Logan Eader . 5-8 174 2009 OF .
13 Josh French . 6-2 158 2009 P .
12 Trevor Hall . 6-0 165 2008 OF .
9 Grant Litteken . 6-0 195 2007 1B P .
15 Dan Mahoney . 5-11 175 2007 P .
6 Bryan Peterson . 6-2 170 2007 C .
24 Mike Poletti . 5-8 165 2007 P OF .
7 Matt Spala . 6-0 170 2007 OF P .
17 Jon Spotanski . 5-9 145 2008 3B C .
11 Zach Steed . 5-7 150 2009 2B SS .
32 Chase Von Bokel . 6-3 193 2008 P .
10 Tyler Wiesemeyer . 5-11 175 2007 OF P .
30 John Woodward . 6-2 180 2008 P .

This is our varsity roster from a school of 1,300 students. They didn't do as well as we'd like but still won 18 games.
quote:
Originally posted by CoachB25:
I coached a couple of teams that might have had 4 kids taller than 6'1" back in the day. Both of those teams won state championships.

Here is my roster from last year:

20 Brandon Adams . 6-0 200 2007 C .
18 Eric Allard . 5-10 180 2009 P C .
1 Kyle Barras . 5-8 175 2008 3B P .
23 Trey Burris . 6-3 215 2008 P .
2 Aaron Conway . 5-7 170 2007 SS 2B .
8 Aaron Dalton . 5-9 190 2007 OF 3B .
3 Dusty Dineen . 6-0 185 2008 2B 1B .
4 Logan Eader . 5-8 174 2009 OF .
13 Josh French . 6-2 158 2009 P .
12 Trevor Hall . 6-0 165 2008 OF .
9 Grant Litteken . 6-0 195 2007 1B P .
15 Dan Mahoney . 5-11 175 2007 P .
6 Bryan Peterson . 6-2 170 2007 C .
24 Mike Poletti . 5-8 165 2007 P OF .
7 Matt Spala . 6-0 170 2007 OF P .
17 Jon Spotanski . 5-9 145 2008 3B C .
11 Zach Steed . 5-7 150 2009 2B SS .
32 Chase Von Bokel . 6-3 193 2008 P .
10 Tyler Wiesemeyer . 5-11 175 2007 OF P .
30 John Woodward . 6-2 180 2008 P .

This is our varsity roster from a school of 1,300 students. They didn't do as well as we'd like but still won 18 games.


It's about the right size as I see for the Mid-West HS teams.

It seems like people live in the higher altitude region would grow taller, like Northern Europe for example, is that right?
Last edited by coachbwww
Here is my son's HS Roster for this season:

# Name Pos. Class B/T Ht. Wt.
1 AJ Florence SS 10 S/R 5'8" 135
2 Ty Crump OF 11 R/R 5'8" 150
3 Jordan Carter IF/C 11 L/R 5'7" 145
4 Kenny George 2B 11 R/R 5'7" 145
5 Chance Voth OF 12 R/R 5'7" 160
6 Chris Carpentier OF 11 R/R 5'7" 160
7 Garrett Yates 3B 12 R/R- 6'1" 185
8 Zach Diaz 1B/P 11- L/L 6'1" 170
9 Kindle Ladd SS/P 10 R/R 5'10" 140
10 Austin Schuler P 12 R/R 6'3" 210
11 Matt Lackie P/OF 12 R/R 6'3" 210
12 Raul Esperon OF 12 R/R- 5'9" 155
13 Matt Gurley OF 12 L/L 6'2" 190
14 Justin Scharf OF/P 11 R/R 6' 150
16 Ryan Hughes P 12 R/R 6' 170
17 Trey Sorrells C/P 12 R/R 5'10" 200
21 Brandon Hollabaugh OF/1B 12 R/R 6' 190
25 Nico Taylor OF/1B 12 R/R 6'4" 205

18 players:
9-6' and taller
9-5'11" and shorter
quote:
Originally posted by OLDSLUGGER8:
If the child was not born with the above average twitch muscles and hand-eye coordination, you can be fricking Goliath, and it won't matter.

These topics are stupid, to say the least. You would think 6'3 and 210 was a license to hit a baseball..............WRONG!!

Stop the Insanity
How come most MLB pitchers are 6'1" or taller if size doesn't matter?
I remember someone saying, "Stupid is as stupid does" or something to that effect. I thought that this was an interesting topic. Not so much that you have to be tall to play but I found it interesting to read the heights and weights of some of the teams. What would be equally as interesting is how those players did. For example, I had several seniors under 5'10." However, most of them are playing in college now. One other thing I'd mention, I remember having a "prospect" or two on a team once. I drove to a D-I school on a Sunday to meet the Head Coach since I knew he was putting on a clinic. When I gave him the particulars on these two players, he told me in no uncertain terms that he didn't recruit kids that were under 6 feet tall. This coach is a major coach now at a major university. Then, he was at an Illinois University. One of those kids went on to be an All-American at Memphis and then played in the Major Leagues. The other went to Notre Dame and played professionally having had a cup of coffee in the bigs. To some, height does matter. Not stupid at all.
quote:
Originally posted by CoachB25:
...but I found it interesting to read the heights and weights of some of the teams.


I thought so, too. I think this wasn't meant to be too serious.

The notion that short guys can't make it in the bigs will always be folly. The odds aren't always in their favor but talent and attitude can trump altitude.
Last edited by infidel_08
Texas has 14 players on their current roster between 5’9 and 5’11 and 2 players exactly 6’0 tall.

Arkansas has 12 players on their current roster between 5’9 and 5’11 and they have 6 more exactly 6’0 tall.

Was the height they mentioned 5'8 or less?

Both those schools would take a very short/small player if that player were good enough to have an impact on their program. Sometimes it's just easier to say something other than a player is not good enough.
Saw a high school game this weekend where Texas 4A school had 3B/SS/1B go 6'5", 6'3", and 6'3" respectively. 3B is a D1 QB recruit in football.
2nd baseman was about 5'9".

TCU has some players like Clint Arnold who is only 5'9" but a solid 190lbs.

Texas A&M has Dane Carter, probably stretching it at 5'9" and soaking wet around 175lbs, but he can flat out play.
If you can play.... it doesn't matter how big you are.

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