PG? Or anyone ? Help with Area Code Tryouts

For the Cincinnati Reds team, which covers the Four Corners region, tryouts this year were in Arizona, Las Vegas and Colorado.

The team was then selected. (Teams are comprised primarily of rising seniors, but also a few rising juniors). All this took place in June.

In early August, the Area Code Games were played at Blair Field in Long Beach. The Reds brought home the unofficial championship by winning all their games but one, which they tied.

For other regions of the country, the process is similar. All tryouts are completed by the end of June.

The Games are the single most amazing high school event I have seen with the Blair Field stands packed -- especially for the games earlier in the week -- with pro scouts and college coaches. They are closed in the sense that they are not open to the public. Attendance is limited to scouts, coaches, media and family. One night is dedicated to a seminar conducted collectively by scouts and scouting directors and geared toward educating players and their families about the draft and professional baseball.

My son attended the AC "camp" in June of his 8th grade year and he did well,blended right in with the seniors and juniors.Had a great pop time. The best thing we ever did,the coaches pulled him aside and told him he should definitly come back next year.

I will add our experience in 2008. Yes the stands were packed with scouts,college coaches, so what. They only talk to one another, no one to my knowledge said a peep to our son. As far as who is allowed to watch, there is extra room for the casual baseball fan, I do not recall ever being asked whether we had a player there. I think anyone who wants to pay can go. Yes the games are free for the players, but the costs to go, like flying, motels, etc are not. The scouts are mainly concerned with the real draft prospects, and the D1 commits. In other words the starters were the A players and the replacements were the B players,(our son,) kids who are good ballplayers, but no college has offered yet. Our son was seen at the tryouts, not the actual Area Code games by his current school. He was recruited from the tryout. If you can at least get invited to the tryout, you get more bang for the buck. He got very little response from being at the Area Code games. In the seminar the speaker mentioned that "most" of you will be drafted, that was not the case. They did provide information on the draft process. The best time son had was going to the beach. There were players there that already had their ticket punched to the big show, you already knew who they were. I met the one kid who we all watched at the Little League World series, he signed for more $$ than I will make in a lifetime. Talent, what can I say.

azallan,
Good & accurate info from these posters. And, congrats on son's invite.
And, fyi, PG and AC are 2 seperate intities. Each are high profile recruiting events, for both pro prospects & colleges.

Area Code holds tryouts thruout the country in the month of June, for the tourney held in Long Beach annually, in August, as mentioned by jemaz.

PG is a Natonal showcase company. An arm of PG is WWBA, which conducts tournaments in Georgia & Florida, primarily.(and, No. Calif, I think.) Another arm of PG is the AFLAC All American Tourney, held in August. Contact PGStaff for info on these opportunities.

My son was priviledged to have participated in both venues. And, these were the "doors" that ultimately led to his signing with a great school & being drafted out of HS. He'll finish up, with DEGREE in hand May 2010. Halleluhah!

Thanks. I knew PG was not part of AC. I was just looking for his insight and others. If you go to ESPNRISE.COM it ask for a profile to be sent in. Does this profile get sent to all area code sections. Do they send the invites out from just that one profile to all the AC tryout areas? Could your son be invited to more than one tryout? Or does that profile get used only for an invite to the games in California?

My son's invite to the tryout listed the 3 tryouts for the Four Corners Area as Jemaz states above. When you send back the invite form you indicate which one of the 3 tryouts you will be attending. I've heard of players playing for teams outside their home area - but in general I believe you tryout for the team from the area in which you live.

azallan,

Actually we are big supporters of the Area Codes. The majority of those invited to attend Area Code tryouts are invited based on the scouts within their area.

All the Area Code teams have fulltime Major League scouts in charge of the teams from their area.

I'm not sure if all the scouts do everything exactly the same, but we are very close to several of the main people.

We want to do everything possible to work with Area Codes and East Coast Pro, who we also have a great relationship with. These are very important events and we scout both every year along with USA Baseball's big events.

My suggestion is to find out who is in charge of the Area Code team from your area. It shouldn't be very hard because most all the teams are sponsored by a Major League club. I don't feel comfortable giving out names or contact info. Hope you can understand.

Anytime we are asked whether someone should attend the Area Codes or East Coast Pro we strongly recommend those events. Not to speak directly for them, but those scouts running the Area Codes and East Coast Pro scout our events heavily. So in some ways we actually do work together. For sure we are all looking for the best prospects.

Is it possible to attend all 3 tryouts? Vegas,Arizona and Colorado? Or can you attend only one?Is the East coast Pro by invite only? And do kids from the West Coast usually attend the East Coast Pro?

No, kids from the west coast hardly ever attend the East Coast Pro. It would take some very unusual circumstances for that to happen. It is strictly by invite.

Not sure about attending 3 AC tryouts. The purpose of the tryouts is to select the final players for the Area Code teams in California, so attending all three seems unneccessary.

Thanks PG. Yes unnecessary but man even if you don't make the team. They have alot of exposure! Was thinking about having son go to Arizona tryout if invited again and to Vegas if it was possible and if he wanted to. He colud play baseball and I could play Black Jack lol. So attend the East Coast Pro wouldn't be worth the trip? I mean ,is it as good as Jupiter? People make that trip right? Thanks for the feedback too! Have a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

az

I think you have missed the pint---the AC Games and East Pro are by invite only---a player does not just show up

Sorry you may have missed in my post. I put if invited. That's ok though!

I cannot speak for how the Reds run their tryouts in the four corners region, but for northern California, a player must be recommended by an MLB affiliated scout in order to receive an invitation to the tryout, which is usually held right at the beginning of July. The Milwaukee Brewers handle California (though there is some speculation that they may drop one team which will go to another national league club to select and run) and they have the final say on who receives a tryout invitation. This is not to be mistaken with an invitation to the Area Code Camps, which cost money and are held the day before the actual tryout. The actual tryout is free of charge, and by invitation only.

Players are given the opportunity to attend ONE tryout, and if selected from that tryout, may be asked to attend the southern CA tryout, or simply put on a team. I do not believe that any club allows a player to attend multiple tryouts.

With regard to players who end up on teams from outside their region, the players I'm familiar with were invited because of a close relationship with the club who offered them a spot. As an example, our dearly departed friend, Doug McMillan, used to help run the Washington Nationals team out of the Pacific Northwest. Doug invited one of our summer players from the Sacramento area to join his AC team after the Brewers had passed on him, as Doug had followed this kid for some time, and liked him as a pro prospect. The Oakland A's did this with another local kid last summer, but he's a prospect that they have interest in, and wanted to see him play so when the Brewers passed on him, the A's gave him a slot on their team.

quote:

Originally posted by azallan:
Thanks PG. Yes unnecessary but man even if you don't make the team. They have alot of exposure! Was thinking about having son go to Arizona tryout if invited again and to Vegas if it was possible and if he wanted to. He colud play baseball and I could play Black Jack lol. So attend the East Coast Pro wouldn't be worth the trip? I mean ,is it as good as Jupiter? People make that trip right? Thanks for the feedback too! Have a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

azallan, Isn't your son a 2010? Or do you have a younger son coming up? Next summer's Area Code tryouts will be for 2011 grads and younger with mostly 2011's being selected for the teams. I believe it is the same for East Coast Pro.

Sounds like Area Code has tryouts - what about PG? Can anyone get an invite or are there certain criteria they need to meet?

2011mom, Welcome to high school baseball web!

To answer your question, the tryouts are by invitation only, and the recommendation for a tryout invite generally must come from a scout affiliated with one of the MLB clubs. Players cannot just show up and tryout.

06catcherdad , Thank you for the complete picture. My son is a 2010 and would be great just to get invited back. I have a 2013 son moving up also so I will be here for while. You hear it alot but it's so true, there is alot of experience on here and the knowledge is priceless. Thanks you everyone who contributes. Sometimes questions like mine may sound silly but I just try to see the whole picture. Thanks again

My son's tryout was in the Noirtheast and was run by the Yankees. They had 5 tryouts held over about 10 days in June of 2009. The cities were Pittsburgh, PA, Allentown, PA, Trenton, NJ, Richmound, Va, and the Boston area (Bentley College). We went at Allentown in a minor league stadium, with a scouts recommendation. There where over 60 college scouts plus another 20 MLB. My son did not make the team, but was definately recruited by many schools ( including where he signed ) out of this tryout. This was the single best thing he did during the recruiting process.

What about PG - how does that work? Thanks everybody.