Keeping Tabs

Yes

I tracked my son’s high school and travel teammates through college. I tracked his college team until the last player he played with was gone. I still track his college teammates who turned pro. The only ones left either made it or they’re AAAA players.

My son is a 2022. So, the last year he played travel was the summer of 2021. His last travel team always impressed me. They had 16 on the roster and everyone except one was pretty talented.

(Story behind the one not so talented. The organization had an A and a B team for the 22's. And, he really should have been on the B squad. But, his mom threatened to pull him from the organization if he was on the B. So, the guys running it said "We will put him on the A squad but he will only play in an emergency or in blowouts." And, that's exactly what happened.)

The other impressive thing was that the other 15 all committed to play in college. Including my son, we had three D1s, two D2s, and ten D3s.

It's been almost 2 years since we saw a lot of these guys. And, recently, I was looking to kill some time and started playing with my phone.

And, I saw that 12 of the 15 were all still with the schools that we knew where they were going. But, my son was in no man's land and two others were now not listed on any roster that Google would suggest.

I mentioned this to my son afterwards and told him that his travel guys were all still on a college baseball team except for two.

He said "I wonder what happened with those two?" And I said "I don't know. Maybe they failed out or got cut? Or maybe they just quit?"

My son then said "I wonder if anyone is looking for me online and assuming I failed out or something when they can't find me on a roster?"

And, I said "There's probably a really good chance that's happening. Anyone who hasn't keep in touch with you or me probably thinks you're done."

That's if people do keep tabs?

My son is still in HS, but I track the players that were considered the best in our area that were in the grades above him. It gives me insight into what level is realistic for my my own son. It also gives me insight into how well I am at evaluating players.

I keep tabs.  And there have been a few players who disappeared and then reappeared.

Francis

  Coach Six years Summer 18 And under team in Northern California .

one player MVP World Series, another player MVP at San Quentin and all of our players played in College. It was a strong League. We practice with local JC.

We hosted your teams from the East Coast and the outcome not good.

Bob

I do, and it is amazing how kids' baseball journeys are so fluid.

I follow/followed and celebrated the baseball careers of players whose families have intersected with ours. Initially, it was out of HS, then college ball, and a few pro ball kids that were my son’s roommates or families we’ve met during the journey.

Whenever you have a kid who excels in a specific arena, it’s hard not to have a social circle with parents and kids living similar experiences. I think it’s human nature to be interested in the people you’ve connected with over the years.

If your son is lucky enough to play longer than expected, those people you feel comfortable talking about baseball atrophy as they progress. Initially, the game is a big part of our lives and gets smaller as our kids become adults. Watching others, we’ve known from a distance (assuming no obsession) seems normal.

Definitely.  I'm always happy to see kids succeed who I watched play (in some cases from the days of coach-pitch ball).  I only know of a couple of guys who are pro prospects, but I also like to hear about what the young men my son knew are doing in school and as they start their careers.  (Doesn't almost everyone do the same?)

I have been a little surprised though at how few young men I know have continued to play through all four years of college.  Last week I was at an event where I got to catch up for the first time in years with a bunch of parents of kids who played with my son when he was much younger.  Between injuries and just deciding that the time commitment wasn't worth it, only my son and one other guy were still playing 3 years out of HS.  (And both of those two are pitchers who are currently out for the season due to injury.)  The young man who had dropped baseball after HS to play a different D1 sport also had given that up.

My son's take on this was that it wasn't surprising because the guys who dropped out of the sport were all in D1.  He's in D3, and has concluded it's the best way to balance baseball, school and a social life.  (The one other young man still playing is at a P5; some guys do succeed, of course.) 

I’m sure I know more who do than don’t. Some other parents and I even compare college team schedules from the past couple years to see if there is any chance the boys will play against each other in college.

@Chico Escuela

I think the D1 (and some D2) thing versus D3 comes down to playing time. For a kid to go D1, he's probably never sat the bench in his entire life. And, then, at the D1, they're sitting as a freshman (and sometimes sophomore) watching other people play for 50 games. That's really hard. Then you factor in the commitment and sacrifice to be there watching others play for 50 games, the "It's not worth it" thought happens.

Going back to Tee Ball, I've made so many friends off of my son's baseball experiences. Little League, Travel teams, school ball...

We're all very much a like in some ways. But, a lot of them have kids who left the game - whether it was at 13u, after middle school, after high school or after the first or second year of college.

Now that their son is done, they often reach out to me to see how my son is doing or ask what he's doing next.

They enjoy hearing baseball stuff. But, I also think, sometimes, when they hear about the less than great stuff, they probably are thinking "Man, I don't miss THAT part of it."

The other part of keeping tabs helps preventing from putting friends in uncomfortable positions.

If I know a friend's son is never getting playing time or doing very poorly statistically, then, when I see them, I don't bring up baseball. I will ask "How is Pat doing at school? You looking forward having him home on winter break?" or something like that. But, I would never specifically ask about baseball if I knew it was not going well.

Why would I waste my time?  Past "teammates" are all in the rear view mirror.   We do keep track of his current teammates and often discuss how they are holding him back and costing him looks from the MLB scouts.

We definitely support as many kids as possible from our son's HS and youth career as possible. It's a pleasure cheering on so many boys across so many levels!

Sure, lots of folks follow others they have crossed paths with for a variety of reasons - good, bad and many places in between.  Try to avoid the bad.  See PTWood's post for the perfect example of the good.

Yes.

Research:  it's what I do.  Out of college is was pharmacology.  Later, marketing.  More recently, baseball. 

@IAmThatGuy posted:

Why would I waste my time?  Past "teammates" are all in the rear view mirror.   We do keep track of his current teammates and often discuss how they are holding him back and costing him looks from the MLB scouts.

When you are in high school, about the only "tabs" you can keep are on the guys you play with or against and check perfectgame.org to see where they are committed.

Later in college ball, you go to thebaseballcube.com to see quickly how those players are doing.  You can check the game stats for each college, but thebaseballcube.com is my friend.

Three and four years later you will check mlb draft tracker, then milb.com

I still like looking in the paper ( @fenwaysouth) for the mlb box scores and seeing players that my son played with!

But back to your last sentence of how "players are holding your son back and costing him looks from the MLB scouts"....    recently, two high school seniors that may go in the draft this year were grilling my son about the draft and minor league ball.  keewartson tried to encourage them to go to college and enjoy the time, and that if you can't make it in college ball, your sure are not going to make it in pro ball.   There is always someone trying to "hold you back".  You need to stand out.

Yes, I check in on the kids he was close with and I root for them. ESPN+ makes it easy to throw another game on in between innings.

@Francis7 posted:

His last travel team always impressed me. They had 16 on the roster and everyone except one was pretty talented.

(Story behind the one not so talented. The organization had an A and a B team for the 22's. And, he really should have been on the B squad. But, his mom threatened to pull him from the organization if he was on the B. So, the guys running it said "We will put him on the A squad but he will only play in an emergency or in blowouts." And, that's exactly what happened.)

The other impressive thing was that the other 15 all committed to play in college. Including my son, we had three D1s, two D2s, and ten D3s.

And, I saw that 12 of the 15 were all still with the schools that we knew where they were going.

Obviously this is in the past and I don't mean to pick you apart or divert the thread, but I do want to share something. The bolded should be a red flag for parents in a program like this.

If the program doesn't need this player - why keep him around? Answer - $$$. Another paying customer

If a program is willing to keep kids around because they don't want to lose out on a checkbook how honest are they when they assess your kid? Are they being honest about the coaching staff at a school and how your kid may actually fit in with their style or do they just want the "best" commitment for their Instagram page? How many of those 12 will be there next year? In two years?

Looking back - there were some schools that recruited mine that have since changed programs and are now coaching friends, former teammates, etc. From what they describe - mine likely would have been out of there at the end of the first semester - yet these were schools that were pushed on him/us by travel coaches and showcase promoters - who engaged in similar shady business practices.

@Francis7 posted:

My son is a 2022. So, the last year he played travel was the summer of 2021. His last travel team always impressed me. They had 16 on the roster and everyone except one was pretty talented.

(Story behind the one not so talented. The organization had an A and a B team for the 22's. And, he really should have been on the B squad. But, his mom threatened to pull him from the organization if he was on the B. So, the guys running it said "We will put him on the A squad but he will only play in an emergency or in blowouts." And, that's exactly what happened.)

The other impressive thing was that the other 15 all committed to play in college. Including my son, we had three D1s, two D2s, and ten D3s.

It's been almost 2 years since we saw a lot of these guys. And, recently, I was looking to kill some time and started playing with my phone.

And, I saw that 12 of the 15 were all still with the schools that we knew where they were going. But, my son was in no man's land and two others were now not listed on any roster that Google would suggest.

I mentioned this to my son afterwards and told him that his travel guys were all still on a college baseball team except for two.

He said "I wonder what happened with those two?" And I said "I don't know. Maybe they failed out or got cut? Or maybe they just quit?"

My son then said "I wonder if anyone is looking for me online and assuming I failed out or something when they can't find me on a roster?"

And, I said "There's probably a really good chance that's happening. Anyone who hasn't keep in touch with you or me probably thinks you're done."

That's if people do keep tabs?

How can a team do PG major events with only 16 players. When my son’s 17u team played in East Cobb (preceded Lakepoint) and Fort Myers they had 10 or 11 pitchers.

@RJM posted:

How can a team do PG major events with only 16 players. When my son’s 17u team played in East Cobb (preceded Lakepoint) and Fort Myers they had 10 or 11 pitchers.

Because they fit in to two 9-passenger vans ..... (16 players and 2 coaches) with several two-way players.

I also keep tabs. Especially on every player that I coached ot helped place in college. But also on kids that played with my sons. It’s all part of the fun.

I mostly just keep track of players that I coached in the past.  Currently the highest somebody has gotten is A+ ball. One kid has grown into a 6’6” RHP throwing 93 that has a shot to get drafted in June… we’ll see

@RJM posted:

How can a team do PG major events with only 16 players. When my son’s 17u team played in East Cobb (preceded Lakepoint) and Fort Myers they had 10 or 11 pitchers.

Combination of (1) a lot of two way players (2) inviting guest pitchers to make the trip and (3) not advancing far in tournament play.

@PABaseball - no doubt it was about not wanting to lose a check. Red flag? Yes...but no, because everyone does it. Places have to pay the rent and stay in business. And, if parents are stupid enough to pay full freight to have their kids ride the pine just to be able to say their on the A team, I can't fault a place for taking their money. There's also another side of it...it offsets the other kids who aren't paying full freight. And, that happens too in the real world. POs sometimes pay less...and that's fair. And, I can tell you that my son got a discount because we lived 2 hours from the facility, never used it, and only attended the tournaments and showcases. So, organizations sometimes have to do what they need to do in order to keep the lights on.

@RJM posted:

How can a team do PG major events with only 16 players. When my son’s 17u team played in East Cobb (preceded Lakepoint) and Fort Myers they had 10 or 11 pitchers.

The surgeons who perform Tommy John gotta eat and pay their mortgage

We see a lot of the players son played with while on the Royals in SEC games and he keeps up with former teammates in minor league also.  I keep up with my former players that are still in the show.  Then they get old and I see them on facebook.

As stated it is part of the fun and everyone does it and for different reasons.

I enjoy keeping tabs on players that son has played with in college or in proball. It's very interesting to see the correlation between success as a player and success after they hang up their cleats.

Baseball prepares you for life. Many of sons former teammates are successful business entrepreneurs, college coaches of big programs,  work in ML front offices, successful scouts, MILB and ML managers. One, about the same age as son, is the manager of a ML team.

I just want to add something, I left out but think it's important.

Two of sons former  teammates, one from HS travel ball, one from professional ball died from drug OD. Along with the good stories their are unfortunate tragedies.

To be honest, both of these players had injuries that sidelined them and parents that pushed too hard for them to be better than everyone else.

Make sure that you are checking up on your kids  former  teammates for the right reasons.  And remember that everyone's journey is different.

My son and I keep tabs on all of his old teammates who are in different levels of baseball.  The "flameouts" have been more impactful to my son than the success stories.

Absolutely.  I follow my all my sons former teammates, competitors, friends of the family in all their chosen professions.  Baseball is a common thread, and it is very glamorous and challenging profession.  I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.  It takes amazing skill and luck to make a living in baseball. 

I think a better question is why wouldn't you follow former teammates? 

@IAmThatGuy posted:

Why would I waste my time?  Past "teammates" are all in the rear view mirror.   We do keep track of his current teammates and often discuss how they are holding him back and costing him looks from the MLB scouts.

Thankfully, my guy is ahead of yours.  How's the view?

@IAmThatGuy posted:

Why would I waste my time?  Past "teammates" are all in the rear view mirror.   We do keep track of his current teammates and often discuss how they are holding him back and costing him looks from the MLB scouts.

How did I miss this?!? Always unique insight from @IAmThatGuy. If we can get @TimtheEnchanter to chime in my day will be a win!

Maybe Tim will appear if we thank him before the fact.

Thank you, Tim.

Since you are giving out invites, please include Gunner Mack Jr.

Not college, but I follow tons of players that are friends, former teammates, and rivals across all high school and summer teams as much as possible.  My son played on a lot of teams through his youth and I enjoy seeing how they are doing.   I regularly follow their school GameChanger and summer teams, and have some fun conversations learning how the game played out through later chats or texts with a lot of their parents, since I’m typically only catching the text play by play.  

I'm kind of obsessive about following my son's former teammates, so here's the data I have on them after 2023.  They graduated HS in '19, so had their '20 season cut short, and thus they all have extra eligibility.  I don't know how many of them have graduated vs. playing next year.  Still, here's what I see.

Started with 35 players, committed to everything from P5 to JUCO.  5 never appeared on a spring roster freshman year.  By 2023, 21 were still rostered.  14 were still on their original teams, so 7 had transferred.

Original commitments were 7 P5, 13 mid-major, 6 D2, 6 D3, 1 NAIA, 2 JUCO.  In 2023 there were 2 P5, 8 mid-major, 6 D2, 2 D3, and 3 NAIA.

Of the 21 who were still on rosters, 14 got what I would call meaningful playing time.  7 did not, 6 of those on D1 rosters.

Many of the ones who were playing had had little time freshman and sophomore years, but more junior and senior years (this included transfers).

So you could note that only 14/35 were still on the teams they committed to in high school, or you could say that 21/30 were on rosters after 4 years.  Likewise you could view as half-full or half-empty that 14/30 ended up getting reasonable playing time by their 4th year.

Every story is different, of course.