CADad,
I appreciate that and the feeling is mutual.
"I am not an athlete, I am a professional baseball player." -John Kruk
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Some observations....
I think we all can see the value of SPARQ in measuring athletic raw material...
...I think we all have varying degrees of belief into how that translates in baseball expertise....baseball is more a refined athletic skill as opposed to some other sports which are more "athletically raw".
...really interested in the observation that it is the extremes of the SPARQ testing that hold the most validity...
...I am told that the jumping skills do not necessarily directly correlate. I am told that the jump is as much about the % of quick twitch muscles than it is a measure of the pure value of vertical. I was told that about the 60 as well.
...Really appreciate it when we can disucuss an issue, throw ideas around, look at it from various viewpoints without degenerating into the morass. Thanks.
44
.
Some observations....
I think we all can see the value of SPARQ in measuring athletic raw material...
...I think we all have varying degrees of belief into how that translates in baseball expertise....baseball is more a refined athletic skill as opposed to some other sports which are more "athletically raw".
...really interested in the observation that it is the extremes of the SPARQ testing that hold the most validity...
...I am told that the jumping skills do not necessarily directly correlate. I am told that the jump is as much about the % of quick twitch muscles than it is a measure of the pure value of vertical. I was told that about the 60 as well.
...Really appreciate it when we can disucuss an issue, throw ideas around, look at it from various viewpoints without degenerating into the morass. Thanks.
44.
quote:Originally posted by PGStaff:
I agree rz1,
At age 31, after not having played or even practiced baseball for at least 14 or 15 years… Michael Jordan hit .202 in Double A Baseball. His on base % was around .320 and he stole 30 bases.
How many people would have the ability to play Double A their first year at age 31 after not touching a baseball for so long. You could say he was a failure, but he’s not the first or last player who has hit .200 in Double A. It’s just that all the rest of those .200 hitters were professional “Baseball” players.
For the sake of argument, isn’t it safe to assume Jordan would have been “much” better had he not missed at least 15 years of baseball before starting at the AA level?
I'm kind of amazed by what he actually accomplished.
He did fill seats though, every where he went. I got to watch him when the Barons got to Orlando. The bat speed issue was glaring at the time, as was the struggle to adjust to breaking balls. He would have been very good if he had played baseball instead of basketball.
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Correct me if I am wrong but...
...bat speed against live pitching is in great part a function of recognition of pitch...
...recognition of pitch is in great part a function of thousands of AB's over the years...
...might his bat speed then have been fine, rather it was his lack of experience and work against live pitching that made him slow to pull the trigger and appear so mortal...
44
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Correct me if I am wrong but...
...bat speed against live pitching is in great part a function of recognition of pitch...
...recognition of pitch is in great part a function of thousands of AB's over the years...
...might his bat speed then have been fine, rather it was his lack of experience and work against live pitching that made him slow to pull the trigger and appear so mortal...
44.
Would he have ever gotten the chance if he was not MJ? How many kids come out of college baseball programs every year that never get the shot for whatever reason that could actually turn out to be great pros? We willl never know will we. Some of the most talented kids I have seen in HS baseball have never finished their HS careers. Grades , girls , drugs etc etc. There are kids all over this country that have the talent but its the intangibles along with the talent that make up the whole package. Athletic ability will never be enough in the game of baseball. The things that matter the most in baseball can not be gauged by a stop watch or a test outside the diamond itself. Can you play the game? Can you FN play the game son? Then show me. Thats what I want to see.
Sparq testing is a hot topic right now...I know I'm fielding a ton of questions about it these days.
I agree with most of the comments previously made by TR and others regarding the consistency of the test results. Like any other test, a controlled environment is necessary for relevant data to be produced. To this end, the SPARQ people are apparaently trying to hook up with certified training facilities to conduct the testing in a more consistent manner.
At this point, if I tell you that a player has a SPARQ score of 70....do you know what that means? Probably not, and until the Nike guys can drill this meaning into everyone's brain the score is kinda pointless.
I do see a potential for the use of this however. The evaluation of baseball talent is an incredibly inexact science, and the only objective measures available today are running speed and the velocity of a thrown ball. Hence the proliferation of stop watches and radar guns. Any additional quantifiable data has some potential value.
At the end of the day, however, the guy with the off the chart SPARQ score still has to recognize the breaking ball, swing the pole and flash the leather to be a player.
I agree with most of the comments previously made by TR and others regarding the consistency of the test results. Like any other test, a controlled environment is necessary for relevant data to be produced. To this end, the SPARQ people are apparaently trying to hook up with certified training facilities to conduct the testing in a more consistent manner.
At this point, if I tell you that a player has a SPARQ score of 70....do you know what that means? Probably not, and until the Nike guys can drill this meaning into everyone's brain the score is kinda pointless.
I do see a potential for the use of this however. The evaluation of baseball talent is an incredibly inexact science, and the only objective measures available today are running speed and the velocity of a thrown ball. Hence the proliferation of stop watches and radar guns. Any additional quantifiable data has some potential value.
At the end of the day, however, the guy with the off the chart SPARQ score still has to recognize the breaking ball, swing the pole and flash the leather to be a player.