Question for Dad's Who Played Ball

You can't teach speed

I played Varsity all through HS (suburban Detroit area). I was pretty good. I could hit really well. Of course this is all pre-video and pre-internet!
Through my coach's recommendation and official stats, I was offered an invited walk-on situation by Bobo Brayton out at Washington State. So, at the age of 18, I left home and went to the other side of the country with no thought whasoever of what I was going to do when I got there (my parents were also of the 'hands-off, let him figure it out' generation).

Well, my first day there I ran into a couple of scholarshipped freshman in my dorm hallway. I was 5'11", probably 175 pounds. These guys were 6'4"-6'5", big, big guys. Being alone, far from home, and just uncertain about what I was even doing out there, I didn't have the guts to even show up to the first workout. I hung 'em up right then and there, realizing I'd clearly over-shot my target.

I knew there were small schools around home and that they played ball, but back then if you hadn't heard of a school they couldn't possibly be any good. That was my thinking. Had my coaches, parents, or anyone at all said, "Hey - you need to be aiming a little lower right now. Let's look at some options," I probably would have ended up at a place I could have played and developed from there.

So that's my story. Completely uninformed about the options, as were the adults in my life at that time.
Had I (or they) had the information we have nowadays on sites like the HSBBW, I would have made better choices!

(Though this deviates from the main point, I can say that had I not gone to WSU I wouldn't have met my wife and there would be no family of five now!)

Don't think I would have been a 16yo college freshman.

I've thought about that from time to time as my son went through the process. I grew up in rural Virginia and played my high school and college ball in the 70's, so I am not sure the youth baseball infrastructure was even in place then. As far as I was aware at the time the only summer or non-high school opportunity that was available was a legion team that was about 40 miles away. Now I know of lots of examples where teenagers are playing for teams that may be hundreds of miles from their homes, but back then that would not have been an option for me.

I was a 6'5" lefty who probably threw in the mid to upper 80's and had a pretty good curve ball. I expect that today I would have many choices but 35 years ago, guys who went to small schools and played other small schools didn't get seen by anyone. My son finds it amazing that by the time I graduated from high school I had played in maybe 75 to 80 games total. He played that many during his first summer of select ball when he was 9. I eventually ended up walking on and making the my college team so I was able to continue playing a few more years.

The real difference from my time to now in my opinion is the availability and quality of instruction that the kids have now. We had no baseball instructional academies and pitching and hitting coaches who were available year round. The extent of the pitching instruction I got was to throw it as hard as you can. And we are playing a doubleheader today and I need you throw both games so make sure you drink enough water.

No sour grapes or regrets though. I had my time and enjoyed it. It has been much more enjoyable and fulfilling to watch and be a part of my son's success and progress through his baseball career.

None of that would have helped.....I was a mediocre player

The only talents I had that could be measured beyond the boundaries of my playing career were:

Desire...
Love of the Game...

I am/was decidedly lacking in the talent, speed, ability and size departments....

But I will add, that it is the 2 talents that I do have that have made me a better umpire....

Just my .02

My youth baseball was in the stone age for most of you. I gotr out of HS in 1959---BUT I lived in a town was a baseball town---in my teens I was playing under lights in a stadium that seated over 1000--we even had a semi pro team in town--fortunately my coaches , pro scouts, had connections so I had my choices for college

I was a lucky young man--in fact one of my LL coaches who was a scout came up 30 years later to give me an evaluation on my son

I played college baseball. I had the fortune of playing with a couple of older classmates who were scouted. Had the internet and this board been around then I don't know if it would have had influence. Even though my father was a great three sport athlete and played college football he never got involved in my sports. He only watched. The furthest any discussion went was, "Have you chosen a college yet?"

My family & I have been around baseball all of our lives.

I would imagine my grandson will bring it to the park everyday.

And if you seek a five-tool switch hitting 3b, and who will be ready in several years, hollar back!

He has a spot with our program

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I would have loved to have played for a coach named Bobo!

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If I had realized the value of the $500 I was offerred by the Indians scout, I think that may have helped.

My outlook on playing pro ball changed after finding out that most pro ball players had to have jobs in the off season to get by. All the glamor and glitz was gone and it was more like joining the circus or a traveling show.

I have to admit, hitting that blazing pink Spauding Hi Bounce with a mop stick made hitting a bright white ball with a bat so much easier.

My brother and I learned how to hit really well using a shovel handle and tossing up the gravel that my dad had put in around the garage. We'd hit out into the pasture an hour or two every day during the summer. By late August, my dad was wondering where all the gravel had gone. The mower blades found a lot of it, unfortunately. He raged at us.

As for my brother, HE ended up making a good decision on a college - he went and pitched a couple years at Yavapai JC. It was a good fit for him. That was 1977.

Two Dad's, each played competively in College and have son's in MiLB. Each son attended the HS in the same county and played each other and who happened to be in uniform last night, competing vs each other in minors.

One attended college and was drafted and signed. The other was drafted and signed out of HS.

The Dad's shared information, contacts, and resources throughout their son's career. If not,
I can't say it would have impacted each son's playing career.

My "higher level" sport was football, but a few things come to mind:

1. I would have hit the weights more seriously.
2. I would have done more flexibility training.
3. I would not have tried to teach myself to throw a screwball, as my pitching hero, Juan Marichal, did. (Having zilch instruction, I figured you snap your wrist one way for a curve, so a screwball calls for a snap the other way. After doing that against a block wall for an hour, I could actually do it. The elbow pain came within a week and the fastball and right arm were never the same.)
4. I would have seriously looked at some smaller college programs rather than just focusing on the bigger schools-my sons have had a truly wonderful experiences at D III and I never even thought about smaller schools.


I thoroughly enjoyed my time "in the sun", but as an earlier poster mentioned, I've more enjoyed being involved with my sons in theirs.

What a great topic. I think it could have been huge.
I played in HS and college, FB and BB. Grew up in the boonies of the Midwest where scouts rarely even knew we had schools.
Fortunate to have played summer ball...after college (had none near me otherwise in HS)...in bigger town and got opportunity to spend some minor league time thanks to the exposure to scouts who coached in our league. Didn't last long but had a ball.
I think if the resouces and travel teams we have today were around I may have had some better chances to get out and "be seen". We relied on the good ol' boys networking to be seen.
Spent hours hitting a swinging from a string bottlecap in the garage with a broomstick.
Son moving on now to a nice D1 program and no doubt exposure has helped his talent be seen....exposure to travel, internet etc.

PS:
Cleveland Dad will remember this:
Got my exposure in the old Plain Dealer AAA league and played for Russ Schneider....the football writer for the Plain Dealer; and official scorer for the then awful Indians.

quote:

Let's call it a Father's Day (early) question. If YOU had had the information, contacts, and resources we now casually share amongst ourselves here on the HSBBW, would it have impacted your own playing career? If so, in what ways

Great question. It would not have made a difference in my case. I couldn't hit anything, so I guess I was a one tool player... I made the right decision to pursue D2 college tennis, and have the highest winning % at my school for 4 years. I chose well. Apparently my kids get their baseball talent from my wife's side of the family. I love the game and the strategies, but I couldn't play a lick.

Unless there was a doctor with a medication to treat my personal plague of righties with sliders, nothing would have helped me.