PG Blowing Off Some Steam!
http://www.perfectgame.org/stories/07_09_20_pg_blowing_...ome_steam/index.aspx
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"PG? It's me...gotwood4sale."
"So how's Montreal this time of year?"
"Really! I didn't think they allowed that sort of thing north of the border. Plenty of frisky scamps, eh?"
"Why am I calling? I found your briefcase in the hallway near the Blue Strawberry Coffee Company shop at the Eastern Iowa Airport."
"That's right...you must have dropped it in your rush to catch your flight."
"No...it doesn't appear as though anything is missing."
"How can I tell? Every sheet looks pretty much alike...they're all player evaluation forms...with rankings."
"Can I drop them off at your office for you? Sure PG..no problem. On Rockford across from Kernel Stadium...right?"
"I'll stack them up neatly for you...and uhh PG? Don't pay any attention to those couple of ranking numbers that were smudged...I spilled a little coffee on a corner or two. It's really a coincidence though...one of those that were smudged belongs to my son! I'm so proud of him...No. 106...can't wait 'til he breaks 100! He just might by the time I get to your office!"
"You didn't think I drank coffee? Umm...I just started...yeah, just today...hot stuff..it's uhh...great! I've heard it'll keep me awake...wouldn't want to miss a minute of Cedar Rapids ya' know."
They're right.
I do wince a bit when they say, " The reason our rankings are followed so closely is because of an outstanding track record of being extremely accurate. Once again, not perfect, but about as good as it gets."
That comment would have been better by substituting "extremely accurate", with "extremely highly regarded among coaches and scouts". I'm nitpicking here, and don't really mean to, but being accurate with subjective material is mixing apples and space shuttles.
And they are as good as it gets, which is a much more appropriate comment to the subjectiveness of the evaluation.
I do wince a bit when they say, " The reason our rankings are followed so closely is because of an outstanding track record of being extremely accurate. Once again, not perfect, but about as good as it gets."
That comment would have been better by substituting "extremely accurate", with "extremely highly regarded among coaches and scouts". I'm nitpicking here, and don't really mean to, but being accurate with subjective material is mixing apples and space shuttles.
And they are as good as it gets, which is a much more appropriate comment to the subjectiveness of the evaluation.
I might be nitpicking here, but the saying is "apples and oranges" hehe 
I might be nitpicking here, but the saying is "like mixing Soyuz spacecraft and space shuttles." 
You guys should get out more...
I think the scouting reports are way more important than rankings, like MPH, release time, arm strength an batspeed, more than a number. The number tells you nuttin.
Players on lists are frequently way off. Good example, a player a number of publications ranked him in the top 50 hs players. Who know why, he could run and that was it. Slow bat, below average arm,zip for power.
Most of his hits in HS were bunts, still could not hit .400 in HS. Anyways he batted .160 first year in college and transfered to another college this year.
Players on lists are frequently way off. Good example, a player a number of publications ranked him in the top 50 hs players. Who know why, he could run and that was it. Slow bat, below average arm,zip for power.
Most of his hits in HS were bunts, still could not hit .400 in HS. Anyways he batted .160 first year in college and transfered to another college this year.
That's good CPLZ!
PG,
Yep. All correct.
Nope, parents aren't going to change. We all care about our kids more than anything else and aren't rational about it, and haven't been since the beginning of life.
So, I hope blowing off steam helped some, because the letters and e-mails are most likely going to continue unabated as I'm sure you realized before you wrote the column.
I hope that when one of these days my son does actually get to a showcase and gets whatever rating he gets you don't think less of me, and realize I'm just another somewhat irrational parent, when I send in an e-mail saying that I thought I saw one scout with a higher radar gun reading on one pitch and BTW couldn't you all see how much movement he was getting on the ball and isn't that more important than pure velocity, he had a sore toe, etc., etc., and doesn't that mean he should get a higher rating?
Yep. All correct.
Nope, parents aren't going to change. We all care about our kids more than anything else and aren't rational about it, and haven't been since the beginning of life.
So, I hope blowing off steam helped some, because the letters and e-mails are most likely going to continue unabated as I'm sure you realized before you wrote the column.
I hope that when one of these days my son does actually get to a showcase and gets whatever rating he gets you don't think less of me, and realize I'm just another somewhat irrational parent, when I send in an e-mail saying that I thought I saw one scout with a higher radar gun reading on one pitch and BTW couldn't you all see how much movement he was getting on the ball and isn't that more important than pure velocity, he had a sore toe, etc., etc., and doesn't that mean he should get a higher rating?
PG,
If you are too busy to get to the class of '13 rankings I will gladly do it for you. Here is an example of my work.
Pitching
1. My son.
2. Not my son.
3. Who cares, he's not my son.
4. Neighbors son, but who cares, he's not my son.
I could also do this for hitting and fielding.
Let me know if you have an opening on your staff.
Sincerely,
Biased Parent
If you are too busy to get to the class of '13 rankings I will gladly do it for you. Here is an example of my work.
Pitching
1. My son.
2. Not my son.
3. Who cares, he's not my son.
4. Neighbors son, but who cares, he's not my son.
I could also do this for hitting and fielding.
Let me know if you have an opening on your staff.
Sincerely,
Biased Parent
Great article by PG! My son never attended a PG event and was unknown to them. However, I have read the reports on many kids over the last few years. While I've thought some kids were ranked where I expected and some too high IMO, I've never seen one I thought was ranked too low. Perhaps that's only because my son wasn't on the list!
Again, good thoughts and reminders PG!
Again, good thoughts and reminders PG!
Doughnutman...that was great! Take your pick...have 'em all if you want! Except the one with the sprinkles. I've got dibs on that one.
quote:"Really! I didn't think they allowed that sort of thing north of the border. Plenty of frisky scamps, eh?"
I've never met a Frisky scamp, and nobody can prove it either.
eh?"
Diane Wilson wrote her first "book" about the adventures of a frisky, frolicking puppy named Scamp as a project in fifth grade; she drew a picture for the cover and bound the book with a shoelace!
So I'm taking your word on it EH...you didn't collaborate with Diane Wilson on her first book!
eh? Is that one of those Canadian phrases?