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I wrote this in another forum in 2006 in regards to rumors that were flying around from a great young man who's father was a great pitcher with the Buccos, from Houston, Texas, that was posted in the "SCOUT TALK" forum about the young man.

I hope that the tools of ignorance and the ways the PDAs, face-book, my-space, etc., are used by our youth today, that parents of talented players watch what their children are doing.

Enjoy!

X

"XMLBScout
Member
posted May 15, 2006 10:35 PM
quote:
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Originally posted by PG Staff:
XMLB,

FWIW... Just so that you're aware of it and in case people haven't figured it out, I guess I should mention that "leftdevil" is the "Scouting Director" for an American League Club.

I think I'll let him tell people who he is... if he wants to. He is not the only Scouting Director who has posted here.
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PG, I'm quite aware who leftdevil is as well as others who've posted. We don't need to reveal who they are and what they've done to get to where they are today. I respect them for staying anonymous and hope they continue to do that.

My point in saying that scouts do talk and they do spread rumors is evident and it's a shame. How do I know this? I go to games and most of the area people where I live today don't know me from atom except for the crosscheckers and scouting directors that know me from my days as a birddog, part-timer and area scout as well as a former JUCO coach.

Scouts might not talk as much today as yesteryear, but they still talk! The classic scouts of yesterday are by far gone and the new age scout with the cell phone, laptop computer are here to stay and bless them all. I hope they are around as long as the old timers were in their haydays!!

As I stated PG, there are a lot of "bird dogs" out there that like to talk and many times they don't know who's around and their loose ships will sink some battle ships.

What's different where I live now than when compared to where I used to live is there are very few old timers around who grew the brand to where scouting evolved to, to today. I miss the Clarks, McReynolds, Digby's, Koney's and Belich's of the world who helped me in my career when I was a young scout. They are/were all class acts, many of whom trained the new scouting directors that are out there today.

I remember when Radcliff, Bane, were area scouts before they became supervisors/crosscheckers and scouting directors. I could say the same thing about Tim H, Rudy, Logan, Kevin, Stan, etc., when they were all area scouts and crosscheckers before they got the jobs they are in today.

But anyways, enough rambling, being in a new area, albeit I've been in the Carolinas since late 2001, many of the scouts in this demographic don't know who I am and I don't say who I am unless asked. When I was younger I probably introduced myself to the other scouts, which most were 2 to 3 times my age back then.

I agree with leftdevil that if he caught any of his people out spreading rumors, he should fire them. Scouts today are in many respects like the scouts before the Scouting Bureau was introduced to MLB and many scouts today I feel have it handed to them, meaning it's easier for many of them to find players because the showcases reveal a great quantity of players that scouts can flock to see and see a bunch of players with very good tools. For this reason some scouts are lazy as well. They don't have to dig and find info as hard as we used to in the 80's, 90's before the computer/internet age go clicking so to speak.

Years ago it was having tryout camps just after the draft to get follow lists for the next spring and/or maybe a pre-draft camp to take a look at players one more time as we didn't see them on a great day earlier in the spring.

Today it's showcases and very few tryout camps, we have huge tournaments and the internet and media have helped divulge names that scouts probably would not have found out about until the season started in the spring, summer or fall like in yesteryear.

I used to love writing and asking for schedules in advance and putting together an itinerary and scout out an area then move onto the next area, reporting on players I didn't like but had to put a report on them as to why I didn't like them and reporting on players I liked, let my "boss" know and line up games the crosscheckers or SD could come in and see my top players. Today you will see 5-6 of the the same clubs at huge scouting events like at the Showcase events at Tropicana field in the winter, summer and fall. You'll see hundreds of scouts at the AFLAC games as well. We didn't have these "tools" back when I spoke about like we have today.

What you do PG and what all of us do that love baseball is hopefully the "right thing".

I love promoting the game and talking to folks who want to listen about stories of discovered players, tryout camps, stories about "old scouts" etc., and that's fun and lights my smile up a zillion miles away.

I just hope there aren't any false rumors going out there about any players we have come to see over the past few years who are eligible for this year's draft and beyond.

Thanks so much PG for all that you do and thanks leftdevil for the input.

Have a great Draft!!

Thanks!

XMLB
Posts: 1191 | From: Raleigh, NC, USA | Registered: September 24, 2003 "
Last edited {1}
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quote:
Originally posted by fathertime71:
Leftydevil is an Angel, and knows talent when he sees it. There first pick in the 2009 will soon be in the majors. Take it to the bank! Good stuff XMLB Scout!

Regards,
Fathertime71
Thanks Fathertime71! Yes, he's a good man, but he's not with the Angels anymore but he will have a job soon if it hasn't been announced yet officially.

Trout is a fish that can do things out of water!! LOL He broke my stop watch in Cary on a bunt, he was 3.8 that went foul.

Regards!

X
Last edited by XMLBScout
quote:
Originally posted by Three Bagger:
I've noticed there don't seem to be as many open tryouts as there used to be. We went to the Padres in San Antonio, Tampa Bay in Houston, and Houston Astros down in the Valley this summer. That was pretty much it in this area of TX.
Three Bagger, the Reds, MLSB and Braves hold open tryout camps in Texas, usually in a couple of destinations.

You can go to the MLB web site and find the tryout schedules on there.

Thanks for sharing the information. Rumors and miscommunication, often a big ego crusher to players at any level who are aspiring to turn professional.

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