Listing HEIGHT on rosters/questionnaires...

I have a VERY difficult time in believing many of the height postings I see in baseball, football AND basketball.

I would be curious as to how closely coaches/scouts look at height. Comments?

AND, if it is really important, maybe Perfect Game may want to consider taking player measurements during registration and get an "official" height and weight. We have been to 3 PG showcases and usually registration/check-in takes 5 minutes or less. Make sure you are on the list, get your hat, t-shirt and schedule and you're on your way. I would think taking HT and WT wouldn't add much more time to the process.

Thougts???

Bottom Line

Be Truthful

Coaches and Scouts are not stupid and they know what they see

TR-

Agree with you 100%.

HOWEVER, based on purely anecdotal evidence, I feel AT LEAST 50% of the heights I see on rosters/listing are at least 1 inch greater than actual HT.

I have been "told" that basketball players list their heights in their basketball shoes and that baseball players are supposed to list their height in their cleats... any truth to that???

momandcpa,

Tom said it all....be truthful. So to answer your question use the "stocking feet" method. I am 5'11" used to be 6' and you would be surprised at the actual height of some players. When they are standing beside me and we are talking it is amazing how a 6'1" or 6' 2" player is shorter than I am.

You were posting while I was writing this so an additional commnet. My son gets measured every spring in his bare feet. At the college I used to coach at, we measure the players in their stocking feet.

You are doing the right thing.

O42

Fact: you'll see very few 5'11" or 5'9' kids on rosters. Especially at those two heights there's a lot of upward rounding.

"Bottom Line

Be Truthful"

AMEN!

My overly honest son was 6'3.5" last fall and refused to round up to 6'4". His reasoning was that he would eventually be measured and didn't want the coaches to think he was exaggerating! Felt that they would then assume that everything else was inflated, icluding velocity.
Happy to say he's now 6'4" (in his socks) and willing to put that height on paperwork. I'm proud of his integrity, but think he's taking it a little too far by not rounding up!
I agree that height is exaggerated a lot. Even by those doing the measuring. At AC last summer my son was asked to remove his shoes for the SPARQ check-in. The catcher in front of him was short and was told to leave his spikes on to help his numbers. Didn't seem quite right!

I guess I am pretty naive. I had no idea that people did that. It never occured to use anything other than the measurement that they get at their physicals every year in their stocking feet. Both of my boys are 6'3" or a little over right now but you would know it when you saw them. They were last measured in July. Why lie? Wouldn't it be obvious if you go to a tryout or a showcase and had lied about something like that?

My son is a catcher and I have heard of kids lying about their pop time's though. We have never timed him ourselves so we go by what the college coaches have timed him at when either at showcases or tournaments. I figure they would be better at measuring that than us. I would hate to put something down wrong and then have them think everything my son tells them is fake.

Truth is always best!

quote:

The catcher in front of him was short and was told to leave his spikes on to help his numbers.

So... leaving your spikes/cleats on might be acceptable? On the college questionnaires, we have started putting down his height and then in parenthesis putting "without cleats on".

I'm with you all in always being honest and that is what we're doing; however, in the baseball world... are others assuming that it is being honest by measuring with cleats/spikes on???

My son is 6'4" in stocking feet and that has been his listed height on baseball rosters in HS and college. But his high school basketball coach always listed player heights with shoes on, so there he was 6'5".

Two things:

1. If you are good, it does not matter and the better you are the more true that is.

2, I don't know anyone who plays in their stocking feet. I'd measure in cleats.

My opinion - for what it is worth.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The fact is, height is an issue to some coaches. All the more reason to put an accurate height.

If it scares off a few coaches - so what. Do you really want your son playing for him if based on height alone he isn't willing to take a look?

It isn't just about getting signed. It's about getting a fair shot at making the starting line up after he's on board.

Don't worry about the handful of coaches you might scare off. Worry about finding the one coach who ISN'T scared off - and is thrilled to have your son regardelss of his height.

It will make for a much better fit.

when you are playing you are the height w/shoes on regardless of sport.

put down the real height and you'll look bigger.

As I posted in another thread, one of my nephews plays with a 5"7" outfielder in college at Illinois. He has started in 111 games in his first 3 years. If you can play the game, usually you will get your opportunities.

As far as method, I would think stocking feet is appropriate.

Another nephew is now a senior in high school. He is listed on his basketball roster at 6'6". He has been listed on his high school baseball roster at 6'4" and 6'5". He was listed in the new issue of the Prep Baseball Report magazine here in Illinois on two different pages at 6'3" and 6'4". He is listed on the website of his college choice at 6'4". I don't know what his actual height is anymore.

Over the last three years, he has been called Lucas (his given name) and Luke (what everyone calls him) by newspaper writers, PA announcers, radio and TV commentators and others. Numerous attempts have been made to get him listed as Luke consistently, but I don't think it will ever work.

Kevin

I always listed my son's height as measured while wearing rubber cleats while standing on a 2X4(actually the 1 5/8" thickness of one) and then I subtacted the ratio of his age to fingers and when I reached a figure, I just asked him "How tall are you these days anyway?" and then went with that number.

.

There is NO consistency....

Got two 6'5.5" bookends at home...

- DI roster lists my older at 6'6"..

- Last year at area code try out's the younger was measured in his baseball cleates at 6'7". ( he really loved that...)

44

When boys attend the Stanford all-star camp, they have to be measured for height and weight at check-in and parents aren't allowed in the room. The boys go in one side of the store, do their paperwork, get measured, weighed and then leave by the entrance on the other side. No moms or dads allowed!

Once everyone is checked in and they are ready to start, Coach Stotz addresses the crowd with some basic information about the camp, what to expect and some of the rules. In both years that I've been there, Coach Stotz jokingly commented to those gathered, about how much most of the players had shrunk since they filled out their questionnaires.

Height matters, more for professional baseball than college. It also matters more for some positions than it does for others.

.
Go figure...

...had the opposite experience at Stanford camp...walked in at 6'5" walked out at 6'7"...

44

06catcherdad is on the money. At the East Coast professional Showcase the boys were taken and measured, weighed and had to fill out the professional questionaire..

Cleats vs stocking feet, I don't think it matters much.
I got the impression coaches and scouts can stand next to a player and know exactly whether what you have put down is true or not, judging from their size.
My son is a bit shy of 6'3.5" but everyone thinks he is closer to 6'5", which he probably is wearing cleats.

Mine was 5'10" this morning. He's closer to 5'9" tonight.

Having been to a number of pro tryouts, I was most impressed with the Colorado Rockies, each player had to fill out an information card and when his name was called, the scout would look at the card and then stare directly into the players eyes......then say thanks and send them to the warm up area.....

After wards he told me he was checking listed height against his own height....He was 6'2"......for any big fudges....also he said he didnt care about cleats or not.....said noone plays in bare feet.........

I remember my mother bringing home the Game Program from my first HS football game. They had me listed as 6'4" 240 lb. I was 6' 210 lb. I guess they gave me 10 pounds per inch.... I never knew why and it was never corrected... and I never grew those 3 nches

This issue is brought up here every year or so, usually with the same conclusion --- cleats on, cleats off, honesty is best.

But jemaz is spot on, it only matters if you can play. We've all seen guys with amusing height/weight listings sign with major D1s.

My favorite example was a player drafted in the top twenty rounds a few years back. Listed at 6'2", he stood talking to my (then) 6' son who was 2-3" taller than he. Wow, thought I, my boy's certainly grown .

My son is 5'10-11, and always lists his height accordingly. Well, he played this fall on a team who did not know him and they had him listed on the roster with the same dimensions as the player directly above him...6'3. We laughed, but Perfect Game commented on their web site analysis that he was a good pitcher but was not near the height listed on the roster and that if he were the size listed, he might be a major league prospect. I felt bad that they thought he was trying to fudge his size. But, bottom line...be honest AND size matters!

"be honest AND size matters!"

Tell that to jake peavy, Tim hudson, and pedro

LOL i'm 6'1 with my cleats on. Does that mean they would LIST me at 6'1 on a roster?

When you lie about your height and weight, you subject the rest of your baseball abilities to closer scrutiny.

Scouts just won't believe what they hear.

quote:

When you lie about your height and weight, you subject the rest of your baseball abilities to closer scrutiny.

Scouts just won't believe what they hear.

Never known a scout to put much into anything that they hear.....

My oldest is 6'3 3/4"; when he started putting down 6'4", I gave him the Honesty 101 lecture. With a stupid look I got this: "Dad, I have never played baseball bare-footed, I play in cleats, and in my cleats, I am 6'4"".

Good answer.

And hokie, while size matters, when you're the height of your son, it really doesn't matter which of those two numbers he is. Those are nice sizes for any position on the diamond. About the only place it might be getting toward being on the big side is catcher. While you do see 6'4" catchers, there aren't a lot of them.

Hey Bob you see that #23 over there? Yeah what about him? On the roster they have him listed at 6'0. Id say he is all of 5'10. Yeah isn't that the kid they said hit .456 last year? Yeah, it is now that you mention it. I wonder if that stat was as inflated as the height on the roster? I don't know.

Maybe Ive exagerated a little bit here maybe I have not. But why place any doubt in anyones mind about anything. I would rather put down the truth and not have to worry about someone coming back and wondering. If you can play you can play and let your play speak for itself. I have always listed our guys exactly what they are in their socks. I like it when someone comes up and says "Hey coach we thought #15 was 5'11 man he looks every bit of 6'1". I would rather them be pleasantly surprised than disapointed. When I send in a questionaire and they ask for HT WT and Velocity as well as 60 time I always list it what it actually is not what they want it to be. I dont want them looking at it and saying "Dont put any stock in that one that coach said Bobby Smith ran a 6.8 60 was 6'2 and threw 88. Then when we saw him he ran a 7.2 was 5'11 and hit 83 on the gun. Go ahead and put that on in the trash can". JMHO

For what it's worth...

Just this morning I asked a very reputable college baseball coach his opinion on this subject. He said he would expect a player to list his height as it would be in full uniform.

A lot of people posting are talking about kid's that are at least 6' tall. An inch or so doesn't really look much different, but seems to make a difference on paper. I could see a 5-7 kid saying he was 5-9 or a 5-9 kid saying he was 5-10. Heights a big deal when your that short.

I'll have to agree with nd943. Everyone's making comments about their son being 6'1",etc. and should they list 6'2" because they are with their cleats/shoes on. We have a player on our team that is 5'4" (or somewhere around there) an inch or two would make him proportionally bigger than the one over 6'.
During the playoffs last year I noticed that Roy Oswalt is listed at 6' and 185lb. The announcers said that he was probably more like 5'10" and 175lb. Someone at work said that when he stood next to Roger Clemens that he looked a "foot" shorter to him.
Also my son's pitching instructor was telling me that he has seen guys in pro ball (probably in the minors as that is where he played) who were 5'8". This guy is a very straight shooter.
Tim Robertson

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Robertson:
I'll have to agree with nd943. Everyone's making comments about their son being 6'1",etc. and should they list 6'2" because they are with their cleats/shoes on. We have a player on our team that is 5'4" (or somewhere around there) an inch or two would make him proportionally bigger than the one over 6'.
During the playoffs last year I noticed that Roy Oswalt is listed at 6' and 185lb. The announcers said that he was probably more like 5'10" and 175lb. Someone at work said that when he stood next to Roger Clemens that he looked a "foot" shorter to him.
Also my son's pitching instructor was telling me that he has seen guys in pro ball (probably in the minors as that is where he played) who were 5'8". This guy is a very straight shooter.
Tim Robertson

roy looks shorter then 5'8

My son showed me a series of Chipper Jones bb cards a few years back where Chipper 'grew' a couple of inches in the MLB. Stiletto cleats, maybe?