Found this article and thought it pretty neat how the recruiting of Jason Heyward was actually done by the Braves.
Jason Heyward
YGD
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Good article except not exactly accurate. Especially the part about not being allowed to attend showcases.
Scroll down this page... and read the reports...
Jason Heyward
Scroll down this page... and read the reports...
Jason Heyward
That is awesome PG!
They did get it wrong on the article and I'm glad you caught that!
Wonder why? Makes one think.
YGD
I remember seeing him at the WWBA 17u event and he looked like a grown man. And he played like one too!
quote:Originally posted by Coach_May:
I remember seeing him at the WWBA 17u event and he looked like a grown man. And he played like one too!
First time I saw Heyward was at the PG Underclass Showcase when Jerseyson was just a frosh. While Jason was a sophomore at the time he was still a man among boys. I remember watching his BP and I along with everyone else around the backstop was in awe.
As luck would have it Jerseyson pitched against Heywards team which was made up mostly of East Cobb players(thanks Jerry
). The first time he faced Heyward he hit a screaming line drive that just about went through the left field wall for a double. I swear the ball didn't get more than 15 feet off the ground. His second at bat JS actually got Heyward to pop up to the second baseman for an out. I think the highlight of Jerseyson's weekend was that he could say he got Jason Heyward out. I'm no scout but anyone that didn't think Heyward was a top 5 talent in the 07 draft just wasn't paying attention.
Good luck to the kid, it will fun to watch his MLB debut.
It's actually going to be very fun this season as a Braves fan to watch him play.
I hated that they traded Francouer. It would have been interesting to see both of them trolling the warning track at Turner Field!
It's weird knowing we have Troy Glaus at 1B now and Melky Cabrera in CF!
YGD
I hated that they traded Francouer. It would have been interesting to see both of them trolling the warning track at Turner Field!
It's weird knowing we have Troy Glaus at 1B now and Melky Cabrera in CF!
YGD
quote:Originally posted by Coach_May:
I remember seeing him at the WWBA 17u event and he looked like a grown man. And he played like one too!
check that BC
Another point to note here is that there are times when what you might hear from a scout is deliberately false information, designed to serve some ulterior motive.
Something to bear in mind, for those of you whose sons might be getting in-home visits right about now.
Something to bear in mind, for those of you whose sons might be getting in-home visits right about now.
Even as late as the coming of Albert Pujols a tremendous newcomer was kind of a surprise to the greater baseball community, but now guys are hyped well before their first Major League appearance. This puts tremendous extra pressure on these young men to perform right away. Lets all give young Heyward a chance to settle in and not get on his case if he starts the season slowly. Everything I've read about this young man says that he is handling the pressure fine but just remember he's only 20 years old.
I think there have always been overhyped rookies. Some of them made it, some didn't. For every David Clyde or Todd Van Poppel, there's a Chipper Jones or an Alex Rodriguez.
And there have always been pleasant surprises and late bloomers as well. Before Pujols, I can think of Mike Piazza as probably the best example. And all sorts of guys drafted in the top 15 rounds but not in the top 1-2 rounds have made names for themselves.
I don't think we're seeing anything new here.
And there have always been pleasant surprises and late bloomers as well. Before Pujols, I can think of Mike Piazza as probably the best example. And all sorts of guys drafted in the top 15 rounds but not in the top 1-2 rounds have made names for themselves.
I don't think we're seeing anything new here.
I can remember being in San Diego the year Heyward was an Aflac guy. Went to the workout at USD. This "kid" walked right by me. Now Im not a scout, crosschecker or even in a front office, but if you couldnt see back then that this "specimen" should have been chosen in the top ten..........those that passed on him should be working at McDonald's.
YGD,
I read the article again and find it is mostly all fictional.
I know Al Goetz very well, he is now an agent. At that time he was an area scout for the Braves, a very good one, and he actually helped us a lot at our showcase events... Throwing BP, coaching, hitting fungos, etc.
Another close friend is Roy Clark who lives in the Atlanta area and he was the Atlanta Braves Scouting Director at that time. (He is now an executive with the Washington Nationals) Roy probably saw Heyward play over 100 games as an amateur. He went on record as saying it took several games during Heywards senior high school year before he actually saw him swing the bat. (They did pitch around him)
Point is that Al might have been hiding behind bushes, but Roy Clark (The Braves Scouting Director) was front and center at Heyward's games. We (pgcrosschecker) even projected that the Braves would draft Heyward before the draft in 2007.
The only surprising thing (to us) was that there were some position players we ranked lower than Heyward who were selected before him. That wasn't because of the Braves hiding their intentions, it was caused by other clubs making a mistake, which happens every year in the draft.
IMO, the only position player that actually should have gone before Jason that year was Matt Wieters a catcher. It will be interesting to see which of the two ends up having the best career.
BTW, I know it is an overused discription, but Jason Heyward is just as good a person as he is a baseball player. He is one of nicest kids from one of the nicest most down to earth (and thankful) families we have ever met. He has a younger brother (Jacob) who was at the PG National Underclass Showcase this winter.
Jason's dad played DI basketball in the Ivy League at Dartmouth. He is an engineer! His mom also graduated from Dartmouth.
In 2008 Jason's dad came up to me at the East Cobb Complex and thanked us for everything we did to help Jason. My reply (standard as always in these situations), I appreciate that, but we didn't do anything at all, your son did it all. Then I went on to say, if anyone deserves credit besides your son it would be you, your family and the East Cobb program. Jason Heyward has no bigger boosters than the East Cobb Baseball Program. They deserve the credit for helping him develop and giving him great recognition in the scouting community. He was far from hidden, in fact, he was committed to UCLA had he not signed with the Braves.
I could talk about this kid forever. He is exactly the type of player that baseball needs right now and I hope he is very successful. The good thing is there are many more (good guys) knocking on the door right now. Baseball looks to be in good shape!
I read the article again and find it is mostly all fictional.
I know Al Goetz very well, he is now an agent. At that time he was an area scout for the Braves, a very good one, and he actually helped us a lot at our showcase events... Throwing BP, coaching, hitting fungos, etc.
Another close friend is Roy Clark who lives in the Atlanta area and he was the Atlanta Braves Scouting Director at that time. (He is now an executive with the Washington Nationals) Roy probably saw Heyward play over 100 games as an amateur. He went on record as saying it took several games during Heywards senior high school year before he actually saw him swing the bat. (They did pitch around him)
Point is that Al might have been hiding behind bushes, but Roy Clark (The Braves Scouting Director) was front and center at Heyward's games. We (pgcrosschecker) even projected that the Braves would draft Heyward before the draft in 2007.
The only surprising thing (to us) was that there were some position players we ranked lower than Heyward who were selected before him. That wasn't because of the Braves hiding their intentions, it was caused by other clubs making a mistake, which happens every year in the draft.
IMO, the only position player that actually should have gone before Jason that year was Matt Wieters a catcher. It will be interesting to see which of the two ends up having the best career.
BTW, I know it is an overused discription, but Jason Heyward is just as good a person as he is a baseball player. He is one of nicest kids from one of the nicest most down to earth (and thankful) families we have ever met. He has a younger brother (Jacob) who was at the PG National Underclass Showcase this winter.
Jason's dad played DI basketball in the Ivy League at Dartmouth. He is an engineer! His mom also graduated from Dartmouth.
In 2008 Jason's dad came up to me at the East Cobb Complex and thanked us for everything we did to help Jason. My reply (standard as always in these situations), I appreciate that, but we didn't do anything at all, your son did it all. Then I went on to say, if anyone deserves credit besides your son it would be you, your family and the East Cobb program. Jason Heyward has no bigger boosters than the East Cobb Baseball Program. They deserve the credit for helping him develop and giving him great recognition in the scouting community. He was far from hidden, in fact, he was committed to UCLA had he not signed with the Braves.
I could talk about this kid forever. He is exactly the type of player that baseball needs right now and I hope he is very successful. The good thing is there are many more (good guys) knocking on the door right now. Baseball looks to be in good shape!
Those are nice things to hear about Jason and he sounds like a kid who will be easy to root for.
It sounds like he is lucky that his parents are supportive and yes humble. I didn't hear about any LeBron James comparisons and his career has been built on substance rather than hype.
Whenever a 20 year old starts in the big leagues, there is going to be a certain amount of hype that goes along with that. When Mickey Mantle was the same age, Casey Stengal hyped him unfairly imho and Mantle took a while to adjust to that. Here, Jason's family appear much more grounded in their expectations and that will also turn out to be a bonus for the young man imho.
It sounds like he is lucky that his parents are supportive and yes humble. I didn't hear about any LeBron James comparisons and his career has been built on substance rather than hype.
Whenever a 20 year old starts in the big leagues, there is going to be a certain amount of hype that goes along with that. When Mickey Mantle was the same age, Casey Stengal hyped him unfairly imho and Mantle took a while to adjust to that. Here, Jason's family appear much more grounded in their expectations and that will also turn out to be a bonus for the young man imho.
I feel Heyward will be one of the great ones but I don't think the pre -internet hype can come close to the pressure brought to bear on some of these present kids. Just look at the difference between the media coverage of Maris's record and the McGwire-Sosa coverage in 1998. And its only getting more intrusive as young Harper is finding out. We follow every Juco game he plays in!
First MLB AB -- 3 run homer. Kid looked good, during and after the at bat.
Hype, no hype, he is going to be special.
Hype, no hype, he is going to be special.
It was quite a moment, IMO.
I especially liked seeing his dad's reaction (as well as his old East Cobb coach, mentioned in the article above).
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I especially liked seeing his dad's reaction (as well as his old East Cobb coach, mentioned in the article above).
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Wow! I was almost as impressed with the fact that he cooly laid off the two letter high fast balls before the dinger. That ball took what, two seconds, to get out of the park! Wow!
He is going to be one of the great ones barring injury. Discipline as well as awesome talent.
From the memory book - Columbus High and Henry County High met in the state quarterfinals when Jason was a senior and Matt a sophomore. Jason walked on a 3-2 fastball and Matt promptly picked him off first base. The next at bat Jason walked on a 3-2 curve ball and preceded to steal the next 3 bases, which included home. He looked like a man playing with young boys and yes we walked him throughout the 3 game series. Fortunately, Columbus won the 3 game series to advance but even then, you could tell Jason had tremendous potential.
I agree that Jason's parents seem to have done an excellent job in raising such a high profile young man and I expect Jason to be the kind of player and citizen that all Braves fans will be proud to cheer. Best of luck, Jason!-
I agree that Jason's parents seem to have done an excellent job in raising such a high profile young man and I expect Jason to be the kind of player and citizen that all Braves fans will be proud to cheer. Best of luck, Jason!-