Scouts & bad game

I would say the answers to your first two questions are no and no. It's one game.

HowUBe...
Both our sons had bad games in front of scouts and still were drafted. One time our oldest struck out 5 times...swinging...with cross checkers and even a scouting director in the stands. That was an all time low and he still was drafted in the 3rd round that year.

At another game I ended up sitting in front of several scouts and overheard their comments. When our son hit a home run one guy said he didn't like his swing...said he was a front foot hitter, whatever that meant. The next at bat he lined out hard to the 1st basemen and two other scouts raved about his swing and how quickly he turned on the ball. Scouts see things differently than we do.

I know its very hard, but try not to worry. Enjoy your son's season by focusing on the little pleasures all around you. Take it all in and savor everything that is positive.

Sounds like the results weren't great at that game. Good scouts see much more than the results good or bad!

More important is how did your son throw before and during the game. How did he run, how did he swing the bat, how did he field his position?

If scouts saw potential in your son, they'll probably be back. There is no way someone who hasn't seen your son could help advise you. Each case is different and based on the stuff above.

Best of luck

My son was pitching last year in a game with scouts in attendance. It wasn't his best game. Breaking ball not cooperating. Won game 2 to 1. After watching him he was in the bullpen with another pitcher he was looking at and commented that what he liked about guy on the mound was he was obviously not having best night but he kept working hard and kept his composure. The one run was a homerun, but he stuck with it and struck the next one out. Just one of those games.

"He and the umpire just didnt have the same strike zone"

Why bring this into the conversation ?-- sounds like a lame excuse especially for a good hitter

If they were there for a "token" look, it's over.

If he's a big time prospect, he will live for another day.

Everybody has a bad game now an then, this sounds crazy but I've heard from different people that scouts have told umpires to change the zone on pitchers or hitters to see how they react. I know there are scouts on this site, have you ever done this? I've heard it from so many different people I'm starting to think there might be some truth to that story.

First, I would like to thank all for their respondence.


TxMom,

Thank you for you story about your son. It really made me feel better. I think I take things harder than my son does or he is just better at dealing with the pressure than I am.

I guess my heart was a little heavy last night. Since, I know there are parents here with sons who have gone through the same thing, I figured you would all have a much better idea of how this works than I do. I think I may need a baseball parent support group before this is over.

I started to post this in the ladies only forum but I did want to get as much info as possible.

Sorry for the long reply.

HowuBe

A hitter laying off bad pitches is a good thing but as the father of a hitter I and he never used bad or poor umpiring as an excuse-- you take what they give you--the good hitters learn to adapt very quickly--4 walks is not a bad day to me--it means the hitter got on base 4 times

To me laying it on the umpires is an excuse--what did your son do in the at bats?

This post is example of how this time of year can make parents crazy.

I am wondering if the standard is telling folks their son is a possible 1-6 rounder, seems to be a lot of that going around these days, for HS players and college players. We never had a scout project a round that son would fall, this time of year,though we suspected 1-10 on the interest shown. There are 1500 spots to fill. You may never see a scout again, but surprisingly your son may get drafted.

As a parent, the best advice is to let it go, and enjoy your son's last year in HS. Let him enjoy it too. You will look back someday and this advice will make better sense to you than now, but you asked parents who have been through the process to offer advice, this is the best I can give.

TRhit,

I don't think he did anything too terrible wrong on his at bats other than swinging at that one bad pitch.

Tiger Paw Mom,

Thanks for the advice. I am feeling better today. It is just hard to block out scouts when they want to make sure you know they are there. They told us they want to see how he plays under pressure. It is a good thing they don’t care how Mom handles the pressure. If this wasn't so important to my son, I think I would be able to handle it better.

Innocent Bystander,

Quote "this sounds crazy but I've heard from different people that scouts have told umpires to change the zone on pitchers or hitters to see how they react."

Now that would be just plain cruel to me.

quote:

I've heard from different people that scouts have told umpires to change the zone on pitchers or hitters to see how they react.

If an umpire does this, he/she SHOULD BE FIRED!

I think it is a moms job to be a basket case. I have actually sat in the parking lot when I get nervous. I can kind of tell what is going on by croud reaction. He is a senior this year and every year I think it will get easier. No sir. Usually there is a great place clear out in the outfield where I can pace and then you don't see the scouts.

quote:

Originally posted by LHPitcher:
I think it is a moms job to be a basket case. I have actually sat in the parking lot when I get nervous. I can kind of tell what is going on by croud reaction. He is a senior this year and every year I think it will get easier. No sir. Usually there is a great place clear out in the outfield where I can pace and then you don't see the scouts.

Thanks, LHPitcher. You made me remember his freshman year of varsity ball. I spent it in the outfield. I think going back there for his senior year is a great idea.

HOW

If his at bats were good then just relax--the scouts know what they are looking at.

HowUBe...
Glad you're feeling a little better today. I read your post to my husband and we both just smiled. It really took us back. It is a ton of pressure and, yes, the kids handle it way better than we do.

I must confess that I still get a little anxious at game time...and now he plays almost every day. I've tried so many different things to relax over the years. I guess I do the best when I force myself to look around and mentally list everything that I can be thankful for...the fresh air, smell of the grass, good friends, son's health, etc. Sometimes I try to remind myself that the pitcher might need the out more than my son needs the hit for reasons I'll never know. And finally, I try to remember that the God who loves our boys even more than we do has a plan for their lives.

TxMom - Beautiful thoughts and exactly the way we should all remember to put things into perspective!

Again, TxMom... your words have spoken to me!

TxMom,

When I started this thread my head was telling me don't post it. I really didn't think I would ever post here again, but something brought me back.

I think God knew there would be someone here to help me. Thank you for reminding me that things happen for a reason even if we never know what that reason is.

You will probably never know how much you have helped me.

I remember having some really bad days and wondering if posting something might ease my fears. On the night after that 5 strike out game I did put up a plea for help, but deleted it within an hour. One person happened to see it and sent me a PM. It made all the difference in the world.

Its only now, years later, that I'm able to see how our sons' struggles and successes were woven together perfectly to get them where they are today. I still find myself forgetting my best advice at times, but we're all works in progress...right?

Anyway...please, feel free to ask for help anytime. You are not alone.

I think the worst thing about college is the fact that they are so far away. My son has not yet started college but I have a daughter 3 1/2 hours away. Got a phone call at 6:30AM, sick as a dog, needs to go to school because it is end of term. It gives you a really helpless feeling not to help them.

TxMom,
This is my first time posting and I wanted you to know how much I appreciated what you said. My son is being scouted and it is a great experience but the emotions up and down as a mom are unbelievable. Your post truly touched me and reminded me again that there is a plan for us all.
Thank you.

no scout has ever asked me to change, alter or tighten a zone on a player....and if they did they would get a rude answer....I do not believe this to be common

piaa_ump,

And they would deserve even more than a rude answer. I have never heard of this and find it hard to believe that any scout would even consider it.

I have talked to umpires about players before. Other than that, scouts don't communicate with whoever is umpiring a game.

Then again, there have been some strange scouts. So who knows?

I would just like to say that in this case I do not think the umpire changed his strike zone just for my son. I believe he was calling the game as he saw it.

Also, the scouts we have come in contact with have been very friendly, helpful and professional. If there is any other kind out there then I guess we have been very lucky so far.

HowUbe,
Thanks to TxMom for putting it all in perspective and sharing her feelings!! So true. I think all parents “feel” the pressure and the pain more than the players. This is NORMAL because you wouldn’t be a caring, supportive parent you are if you didn’t feel the way you do --- and they wouldn’t be great players they are if they couldn’t handle it any better than you.
I’m in the process of converting all my VHS tapes to DVD and I “have” to watch all my son’s college games that were televised. I attended most of my son's games and I had a friend that would record the televised games and give me the game tapes the following week. Most of the tapes I would replay the following week. One game tape in particular I have NEVER replayed. As a freshman my son had a terrible game against the University of Georgia going 0 for 4 at the plate, a fielding error on a great throw from RF that allowed a run to score, and a passed ball that allowed another run to score and we lost the game by 2 runs. I watched this tape for the first time last night as I was copying it to DVD. How did that effect me then and how does it effect me now? At the time it was tough to be in the stands watching my son lose a game. Today I look at it as just another baseball game where he didn’t perform as I felt he could..... Whose “fault’ was it that the errors and the miscues made it tough for me to watch? Of course that was MY fault, not his.
Will this make it easier for you when you son fails to produce as you know he can? Probably not, but at least you might find a little comfort in knowing you’re not alone-----

I agree with TPM in her advice:

quote:

As a parent, the best advice is to let it go, and enjoy your son's last year in HS. Let him enjoy it too. You will look back someday and this advice will make better sense to you than now, but you asked parents who have been through the process to offer advice, this is the best I can give.

Fungo

Fungo,

Thank you for sharing that with me.

The fact that your son was playing as a freshman in college says a lot about his talent.