Listing Height and Weight

Ask Dustin Pedroia...lol!

Have noticed that too. And on some sites, when a player lists their info, there isn't the option to list "actual" height & weight. Player has to round up. But, have noticed on high school programs being handed out, particularly with Football...there is a lot of fudging the height & weight of players! Had to laugh, when our MLB son, also had to play QB on Varsity, he grew a couple inches & added some pounds...according to the printed program. But, when we looked at the opposing team... They all do it! Coaches can tell, even on a video. Sure,they are used to it.

The Coaches know 5'8" when they see it listed as 5'11". I wouldn't loose any sleep over it as people putting fake stats down aren't fooling anyone.

I know for fact, in this circumstance... let's just say, it wasn't the player fudging the height & weight for the game programs, being handed out. LOL!

They measure their height and weigh them at the Stanford camp. Weight can vary a lot during a day so it isn't surprising that people round to a 5 or 0. Even height changes during a day. My son typically goes from just under 6'2-1/2" to 6'2" over the course of a day, or at least he did back when we were still measuring. And yes he's been listed at 6'2" sometimes and 6'3" other times.

Rounding up is pretty normal for listings and many pitchers under 6' will list themselves at 6'.

The NBA, when there was one, listed players' height in their shoes.

One of my son's first non-daddy ball coaches was a former MLB player. Might have been 5'10 if he stood really tall in thick socks. My son had the coach's rookie playing card, which listed him as being 6'1. Son took the card to practice and everyone got a big laugh. Coach signed it for him.

I enjoy reading the height/weights of MLB players. Lots of hyperbole.

In College, players are measured annually and in his case, reported accordingly,

Our experience with Camps and Showcases is that listed height and weight is whatever you told them it was!

As to Coaches, I don't believe they pay a ton of attention to it, they will compile their own numbers.

Everyone figures it out, more or less...

When my older son was entering his HS senior year, he was a solid 6'-2", 180 lbs. Some events asked him height and weight. Some measured.

Funny thing was, for the events that measured rather than take the player's word, the measurements taken by events were all over the map. Anywhere from 6'-0"/170 lbs to 6'-4"/200 lbs. I really don't think he gained or lost that much height or weight over the summer.

Coaches see so many players they know, more or less, what a player really is. What is printed is pretty much a non-issue from what I can tell. They use their eyes to get the true stature of a player.

There none the less is a bias against sub 6' players. Go to the NCAA website and it even lists middle infielders for D1 should be 6'2 and D2 at 6'.

Some recruiters will not even consider a player based on their size. If they see 6' they will evaluate, if they see 5'10 they won't bother.

I know it is not across the board, but there is a bias.

quote:

Originally posted by floridafan:
There none the less is a bias against sub 6' players. Go to the NCAA website and it even lists middle infielders for D1 should be 6'2 and D2 at 6'.

Some recruiters will not even consider a player based on their size. If they see 6' they will evaluate, if they see 5'10 they won't bother.

I know it is not across the board, but there is a bias.

Son took pitching lessons from a former MLB Pitcher, he said there is definately a bias with Pitchers from College & on. He didn't personally agree with it, but said it does exit.

All of the pitchers on my son's pro scout team are listed at 6' something.

In my prime, I was a legit 6' 1/2". After some disc issues in my back I'm 5' 11" or so (old age sucks). Yet when I talk to a lot of those boys, wearing cleats on concrete, I'm looking down.

My son lists himself at 6'4" when anybody asks, I answer honestly that he's probably more like 6'3 5/8". When they ask about weight, I say its a function of when/what he ate last and more importantly, when was his last #2...

I think the scouts / college / HS coaches whatever your level is can tell. They do after all walk up and shake their hands and they know how tall they are.

No offense to any poster, any scout, or any recruiter...

However, the only folks that say that they would never embellish their son's height, always have sons that are 6'3, 6'4, or 6'5!

Of course you have no incentive, your sons are considered projectable right out of the gate.

Dustin Pedroia lists himself as 5'10, I have heard he is more like 5'5".

A player trying to get on the radar who is 5'10, may very well list himself as 5'11" justifying the difference by the length of his spikes.

My son is 5'11", he has been listed as 6' once or twice, I personally make no apologies. He prefers to list himself as 5'11", so that is what he does.

I console myself recalling Micky Mantle was 5'11" as well...

Anyway, the bias exists, and those with sons that are listed at 6'4" but who are actually 6'3", really have never been subject to the uphill battle that players of lesser stature face.

Flordiafan:

I'm not being argumentative or disagreeing with your points, but everyting is relative. I HAVE heard scouts talk about the difference between 6'3" and 6'4" for pitchers. Heck, they talk about / compare EVERYTHING.

It's probably a discussion the 5'11" player hears more about and congrats to your son for not "rounding up". I always thought that was stupid. You are what you are, go play ball and show how good you are.

Pedroia, would need a NYC phone book or step stool to get to 5'10" but he's also a former AL MVP. I watched him play college ball and listened to all those who absolutely slammed the Red Sox for drafting him where they did. The bottom line for me was, the kid could play.

My point is, you can lie all you want. If they're interested they're going to figure out how tall you are regardless of what the program says and factor that into their equation of determining your value. Some teams may value size and weight differently that others. Some may discout, some may use it. They all figure it out.

My son and I, had the chance to get on the field for a MLB pre-game batting practice this summer.
About halfway thru practice I see him pecking away at his phone. Walk over and ask him what the heck he is doing.

"Dad I'm seeing who is lying about their height"

Yep-had his phone out and was checking players published heights comparied to his height.

It appears to me that most players add one inch to their in-shoes height, and then add one more inch, and then round that up.

e.g. 5'11"in shoes = 6'1"
which means that 5'10" barefoot = 6'1" [and 5'10 3/8 will become 6'2" ]

I saw a kid at a showcase who listed himself (accurately) at 6'2", and he was as tall or taller than everyone who listed at 6'3" or 6'4". The next time he went to one of those self-listed events, he listed himself as 6'4". If everyone lies, you need to as well, especially on the aspects that aren't bothered to be measured.

I stood next to John Franco at a camp a couple of years ago and I don't think he could have been taller than 5'10"--max.

The other day I looked at Kurt Suzuki on the old Fullerton rosters. His freshman year he was listed 5' 10" the next year he was 6' 1". Now with the A's he is listed as 5' 11". Nick Swisher was listed with the A's as 6' 0" but with the Yankees he is 5' 11".... I think he's closer to 5' 10".

I think you guys are over-analyzing this.

Scouts, coaches figure it out. Taller players are more desired but only if they can play. Everyone knows who is fudging/lying and who is not.

Its largely a non-issue.

if kid can play his height becomes a non question

If you can play you can play. Doesn't matter if you're 5'5 or 6'5. Plus you are talking about college coaches and pro scouts - they are not a bunch of dumb gullable people. These guys make their living by knowing how good a player is by looking at them. Overall they don't care how you list them because they are going to use their own eyes to make assessments.

I have yet to see a coach / scout leave because a program generously gave a kid a few inches and pounds. If you can play they will know how tall you are and how much you weigh.

Funny story - last year with our stud we obviously knew there were going to be tons of scouts at our games. We had a third string freshmen catcher that was about as wide as he was tall. I would say he was 5'6 and 190 lbs but we listed him as 6'4 230 lbs and the scouts got the biggest kick out of it. Several went and talked to him which made his day that he got to speak to professional scouts. One guy even gave him some tips on how to be better and he came up to me and said it was the same stuff I was telling him - he was amazed.

This is really nothing to get worked up over.

quote:

This is really nothing to get worked up over.

If everyone was listed accurately, would anything change?

If you're going to lie, shave a couple of tenths off your listed 60 time and add '7' to your velocity....

What? Can't be done because they measure that themselves? I guess we now know what's important.

FWIW...son played baseball and basketball in HS. He was two inches taller in the winter program...

Haha - My son was always taller during basketball season too. We still laugh about the "height" of friends in other programs. When he went to his first big showcase he listed his "basketball" height which I thought was at least an inch and one half too tall. Well, of course, at this PG event they take out the tape measure. I could see the fear on his face when he thought he would be "out-ed".

Well wouldn't you know, when it was my son's turn to get measured, the guy shouts out the measurement and it was the same one my son thought was a lie when he put it in the program! These kids grow fast. I can still see his face - white as a ghost, then supper happy. In the end nobody really cares.

I don't think there is any bias at all. I do think here can be an advantage when it comes to body type and size. Everyone knows what those advantages are.

That said, it's more about talent than size for the most part, especially when talking about college baseball. There are a ton of not so tall kids playing college baseball and pro ball. They have talent!

Now, if we are comparing equally talented players. size can be a bigger consideration.

My suggestion is... stay within one inch and no one will ever question it.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who is tall and who is short. We know one extremely tall prospect that actually lists himself two inches shorter. That's because there aren't very many who have ever been outstanding at his true height. Personally I don't care how tall someone is. The guys that exagerate by 3-4 inches are very obvious to everyone. It doesn't matter what they are listed at.

quote:

Originally posted by leftyshortstop:
Haha - My son was always taller during basketball season too. We still laugh about the "height" of friends in other programs. When he went to his first big showcase he listed his "basketball" height which I thought was at least an inch and one half too tall. Well, of course, at this PG event they take out the tape measure. I could see the fear on his face when he thought he would be "out-ed".

Well wouldn't you know, when it was my son's turn to get measured, the guy shouts out the measurement and it was the same one my son thought was a lie when he put it in the program! These kids grow fast. I can still see his face - white as a ghost, then supper happy. In the end nobody really cares.

Oh that's too funny! Can just visualize it!

I don't think most of us are getting too worked up here, think most of us just find it humorous that players, parents, Coaches feel the need to get creative with a kids height, weight, velo, etc.! Coaches & Scouts can eye a player and pretty accurately size them up. Same with a kids velo & ability, etc. That will be pretty obvious, pretty quickly. I say let your play on the field, speak for you!

Having some experience with HS basketball, I can say that height is used as intimidation against opponents.

So, HS measurements are not subject to Hoyles Rules.

we are talking baseball here

You may find this thread of interest.

http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/f...781/m/6397044395/p/1

haha TR, HS baseball rosters are just as full of generous measurements.

quote:

Originally posted by Vector:
You may find this thread of interest.

http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/f...781/m/6397044395/p/1

I asked the same thing in a thread, if (they) are doing all this other stuff down to .01s, "why don't (they) just measure kids so (they) can list them accurately?"

I was hammered for it.

Our son measured 6'1" at the doctor's office a couple of years ago. About a year later, the measurement came in almost an inch less (still not sure why). We kept it listed at 6'1" and this past Fall he started another growth spurt so he is "officially" 6'1".

For some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to take off that inch. As a pitcher, he was really happy when he went over the 6' mark. It is ashame that physical size comes into play so early when many boys continue growing in their college years.

My son is now hoping to be 6'4" like his uncles. I already have a permanent crick in my neck from looking up at him.

This isn't a new thing. Back in 1981 I was a sophomore on the varsity football team. Somebody made a mistake. I was listed twice. I was a 5'10"(correct) 180(not correct) safety and I was also a 6'1" 210 pound tight end.

On my sons roster in HS for the last three years we have had only one kid under 6 feet tall. Kinda strange considering that I am 5'10" and most of the kids are shorter than me with cleats on.

I wonder if colleges list their players over 6' because maybe pro scouts could use a database and run a report that only selects players over 6'?

Who knows.... could be.

I think that most baseball people must be from Texas as they all seem to believe that "bigger is better."

Size bias exists among all sports when considering their athletes. Fortunately, any differences in size can be neutralized by performance, IF given an opportunity (and that can be a big if).

If "Big" plays small he won't last long. While "Small" can play big and be around for a very long time! And if either Big or Small has "speed", he is sure to get an opportunity to prove he could be "big."

Steve Garvey was listed at 5'10". My ex wife is 5'8". We met Garvey at a party when he was playing for the Padres. In flats my wife was taller.

It peaves me a bit that my son's college team hasn't changed the returning player's sizes since his freshman fall and he is still listed at 5'9 and 161 lbs. While his height is still only 5'10, he weighs a more solid 175 now. But I guess it's no big deal.

My friend told me several players in / from our area have recently opted for Height Inflation. 

 

One very talented P/OF ranked highly now lists 5'11,

I am 6'1 and just towered over him so unless he got a 'Kramer' elevated haircut from Seinfeld, it's some solid 3 inch inflation 

 

A player at my son's school is about 5'8" and is listed at 5'10". 

 

1 inch inflation, maybe okay....... to each his own, I guess

 

My friend asked if kids are rubbing a balloon on their head and measuring the static electricity of their hair?

 

(Note: my son measured at the same height at both school & a doctor last month that is listed on his profile)

Great topic here.  So we all know the only true height is in your bare feet...  but what is the acceptable measurement for an athlete?  In the bare feet (or socks of course)?  Or in basic tennis/turf shoes?  Or something else?

If you you're 5' 11 5/8"  then it's okay to say 6'  IMHO.  Or even 5' 11" 33/64".  And yeah, bare feet.  Anything more than that is BS.

My 2017 catcher is still 5'10" on the dot. At his age I was 5'7" but I grew 2.5" freshman year of college. Hope he does that and more... His weight varies from 164 to 168, I admit that I round up a bit and say 170.

Agree interesting topic.  I debate where to list my son.  He IS, in fact 6' 3"+ (over 6' 3", not 6' 3.5").  So, we list him at 6'3".  But, both Stanford Camp and his travel team's camp measured him last year and list him at 6' 4" (with cleats). I know many who easily add an inch, but we don't.