Steve Bort's Baseball Prospects of America

I posted the same query a couple of weeks ago on http://www.sunshinestatebaseball.com, and received several responses that it was a scam. We chose not to attend.

I wouldn’t classify it as a scam but it is somewhat misleading for him to list the participants as “his” players. This is a youth coach from I believe Brooklyn NY. He’s concocted this plan where he recruits the top players in the US by mailings and phone calls to meet in one event...the CABA high school world series in Ohio. (or that’s where it used to be). He recruited my son a number of years ago with mailing of copies of “his” team and followed with phone calls. After some research on the HSBBW and the internet I could see no benefit to anyone other than “Coach Bort”. This is a great example egotistical coaching: The team is there for the sole purpose of making a coach look good, not the coach being there to make the players better as it should be. We didn’t go.
Fungo

Fungo....agree 100% we went through the calls and letters last year. Did some homework and found that again, it was all to play in one event.

If thats the Bergan Beach team , we played them in CABA last yr. They have fly ins and are the so called attraction there. Good , but strange to talk to their 3rd baseman and he said he didnt know any of the guys on his team.

I had the impression the team was a toy for the guy who coached them. They beat us 2-1, or should I say we beat us 2-1.

I am glad you started this post because my son also has received letters and phone calls from this guy. My son wanted to go, but I didn't feel secure about the offer.
If it wasn't for the honest opinions of the great people on this website, many parents would have been scammed on many so-called "good showcases".
Keep up the good work.

Without in any way putting down the opinions of others who have offered opinions on this topic, let me offer a different one. My son played for Steve Bort's team a few summers ago at the CABA tournament in Euclid, Ohio. Not entirely clear how Coach Bort got my son's name, but we investigated the opportunity through some folks that I am confident were in a position to know something about Coach Bort and decided that it sounded like an interesting one. Eventually, my son committed to play for Coach Bort's team for what I recall was a week to 10 day tournament. Frankly, my son had a great time. There were kids on the team from all over the country (4 were eventually drafted in the top five rounds of the MLB draft) and many of them became fast friends like kids tend to do. Yes, the kids were put together for the tournament, but my son made some new friends that he still keeps up with and had a fun baseball experience. The people running the tournament in Euclid were terrific (he had never been to the Cleveland area and we had some time to do some sightseeing including an Indians game) and the baseball was, overall, pretty good. And as it turned out, Steve Bort was a real good guy. He was honest with my son (a pitcher) about playing time for the tournament and delivered exactly on what he had promised. I thought he was very interested in the kids on the team, offered what seemed to me as a parent to be some good advice on college vs. draft issues for the kids who were in that mix and just generally delivered what I thought was a fun experience for my son. Even today, my son still talks about the CABA experience as one of the highlights from the Summer before his senior year in high school. And, as it turns out, one of my son's good friends on his college team was on an opposing team in Euclid that has given each of them an opportunity for some good natured ribbing.

I can understand how people might criticize putting a team together for one tournament (I'm sure that he is not close to the only one doing that), but I can tell you that, based on our experience, this was not even close to a scam. It was just one type of experience that worked for my son, that he thoroughly enjoyed and that he still looks back on happily. As a parent, it doesn't get too much better than that.

I don't believe the issue is about putting a team together for a tournament, it is more of the deceptive tactics used to get parents to pay $195.00 for a team try-out. I can easily put a top notch team together just by contacting the top 15 2006 prospects in the nation and participate in the CABA World Series.
However, Mr. Bort is charging players for a try-out with false pretenses. Luckily I did my homework and will not have my son participating in his next 2 days try-out in Florida.

Who is Steve Bort?


I like the headlines: WE HAVE PLACED 21 PLAYERS IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES!!! We have had 300 players drafted by professional baseball.
Over 8 million dollars in college scholarships.

Is that deception?

Steve Bort called and talked to my son and told him that he was a scout from NY. He also mentioned the names of the players in the majors that have played on his team. Over the holidays he's called and talked to him 3 times about going to the try-out. I had the opportunity to speak to him the 4th time and explained that my son wasn't going to attend and he said he will be calling again in the spring?

My son has been called a few times, he will not be going. As in previous posts, said he was a scout from NY...

Some of my HS players have been contacted, he must have some good call lists...

Fungo,

I wasn't aware Steve Bort got Alex Rodriguez into the big leagues till I read it on the link you provided. OMG

I remember getting some forgetable mailers from him about some showcase or tryout of some sort, during my sons recruiting. He called the house once, was extremely rude and was asked not to call again. He looks like a bottom feeder to me.

Panther,

Again, I certainly respect your opinion and would in no way try to say that you are not entitled to it. My point simply was to offer a different perspective. My son had a great time in Euclid with Coach Bort's team, didn't have to try out for anything in advance and didn't have to pay anything to play in the tournament other than the cost of us driving there and lodging. It was just a fun experience all around. I know that Steve runs clinics like many people do and have no idea really who has participated, amounts of scholarships, etc.... The bottom line is that this one experience was a good one for my son. I respectfully suggest that people think very hard before referring to folks as bottom feeders , scammers, etc.... Steve Bort is trying to make a living like all of us and if he is not right for you, and this forum obviously gives folks a wonderful resource to exchange opinions and experiences, don't participate. However, regardless of what some people may say, he has, and you can check his rosters over the years, had a number of what later became high profile players play for him at this tournament. Some people may find his personal style aggressive or put-offish, but we didn't. Indeed, even after my son played for him and for no potential personal gain that I can think of, Steve has stayed in touch with my son periodically, asking him how school was going and just basically wanting to know how he was doing in a very friendly way. Like I say, he may not be for everyone, but that doesn't make him a bad guy or some sort of a scam artist.

I have alot of experience with the CABA World Series since it has been in my back yard for many years. My son's high school is a host school for the tournament and he was in fact discovered by his present college at the tournament.

I can say from experience, the Bergen Beach team (in my eyes and others) is the ELITE of the elite. It seemed all the pro scouts were watching their games more than any others and from appearances for good reason. From what I know, Alex Rodriguez was a member of the team. Based on my take on the talent level it takes to be on that team, none of their claims appear unfounded to me - imho.

the "scam" description seems brutal

picking up good players for games tournament happens ALL the time,
IE: Jupiter, WWBA, Goodwill Games, etc

there are costs associated with playing on those teams, and they have never been labeled that harshly?

but I say, if the guy rubs you the wrong way, just don't play


.

Bee,

You were much more articulate on your point, and blissfully shorter, than I was. My son has had the good fortune of being offered a number of opportunities relating to baseball over the past couple of years. We discussed them, checked them out and he either did them or didn't. Not everything strikes people the same way. I'm sure we were turned off by other opportunities that others thought were terrific. Your point is right. If you don't want to do something, don't. However, again to your point, people should be very careful before ripping something you choose not to do.

One man's garbage is another man's treasure...just be careful and investigate anyone who is charging in the name of baseball. I hope everyone always has FHL526's outcome, but do your homework before writing a check to anyone.

The Steve Bort - Bergen Beach team issue comes up here from time to time. Some folks love him, others, not so much.

Mr. Bort puts together a team to annually compete at the CABA World Series. The team is a hand picked "Who's Who" of players that are available for that time slot.

The problem seems to come with the open try-outs. Many view the try-outs as funding for the team that has already been selected. As one poster stated .... "My son didn't have to try out for anything in advance and didn't have to pay anything to play in the tournament other than the cost of us driving there and lodging." Makes you wonder why other players tryout.

Not saying this organization is a good one or otherwise, just trying to show both sides of the issue.

some 12 years ago when my son was a HS junior he got a similar call. When I asked how he got my son's name and number, the number was unlisted, I got no answer. Made some subsequent calls to college coaches in the area.

Bottom line-- son did not go--stayed home and played with his travel team in a major local tournament which they won and son was MVP.

Funny how things work out isnt it

There is always an air of deception when a program recruits from outside of that program for tournaments.

The unspoken inference is that the players are as good as they are as the result of the instruction that program supplied.

Some programs offer exposure while some offer instruction.

In my view, instructional programs should only use players from their program.

I don't think it should come as a surprise to anyone who has been on the travel circuit to see teams "put together for an event". We have any number of posters who either run teams or who have participated with teams, including myself, in a specific event or two. This is a common practice.

I believe it's the pay to tryout issue that would disturb most. Especially when this was not the case for all of those invited.

All one has to do is look at the Team names or combinations of names that have competed in past events. Mr Bort uses information gathered from scouts, coaches and showcase results to put his team together. Again, this is not an unusuial practice.

Sorry to Bee> if he thought that I determined it was a scam - that was merely what the responses reflected when I posted on another website (PANTHER can corroborate those responses). Granted, the other site can get a litle brutal at times. I do, however, agree with Bseballdad1228 that I found it a little fishy that I had to pay $195 for a tryout for something I had never heard about, and wondered why Mr. Bort only called my son on his cellphone. Our ultimate choice was to decline not because we thought it was a scam, but because we felt it wasn't worth the investment this close to tryouts.

Coach Merc,
I agree that the recruiting of players for a single event is a common practice and I have no problem whatsoever with that. That is what select baseball is all about! I think it can be a great experience for the players and their parents. My son has participated with and against those types of teams from California to Florida. The main problem I have, and it may be unfounded, is the CABA HS tournament itself. I was under the impression that teams affiliated with CABA, NBC, AABC, and such had to go through qualifying tournaments to get to the affiliations post season play. Obviously not true with the CABA HS World Series. After reading comments from other coaches and talking to other coaches that have been there in the past, they would take their team that had been together as a unit, pick up a few players, and would be caught totally off guard by a national team recruited for the sole purpose of winning the CABA HS World Series.
I would love to see Bergen Beach Compete in some of the East Cobb tournaments against some of the best competition in the nation but I wonder if "his" players would already be there with their “real” team and "real" coach??

Fungo - True - in the case of NABF and AABC teams needing to go through qualifying tournaments. They go through the whole season as a team.

The CABA stuff is more like a showcase - where many of the teams hand pick a select squad to go for the gold.

IMO - I think they should call it the CABA Showcase. Because that is what it really is.

My son participated in one of mr.Borts showcases recently with all the hoopla he promised. Personally I think he throws all this info out there to lure players in to raise money for his other agendas. it was a 2 day showcase which I must add we NEVER saw Mr. Bort the whole time we were there. They had 4 local Jr. college coaches there to do the camp and it lasted a total of 9 to 10 hours over the coarse of 2 days. My son was discouraged after the first day even with my trying to keep him excited or pumped up about it. End result I'm out 195.00 and my son could have gone to a high school baseball camp and learned more. Ps. I'm not the only dissapointed parent to walk away from the camp.

I found out the whole scoop with Steve Bort. Heres what he does. You all wonder how he gets your kids phone numbers and addresses? Steve is in with non paid college coaches and pays them to give him the contact information. By the way, Steve does not charge for the Caba tournament, it is not a scam. The reason to come is to be seen by scouts and recruiters. If your a starting pitcher and not a hitter you usually pitch one game for the whole series, so it can be a waste of time.

Father/Son was just approached yesterday by Steve Bort at CABA asking for email addy. My son is there as a pickup player now to occasionally pitch for a team and to get a little experience and exposure. Living in a small town, to be honest it seems quite an honor to even be noticed by one of the top teams coaches. We'll see where it goes from here.....Our main concern is that our son's arm is not overused so if he still has the desire and ability to play after high school he can.

My son attended Steve Bort's tryout. Now that he is a senior and we have traveled all over for showcases and tryouts, big and small. I have come to some conclusions. Maybe it will help some folks coming up behind us.
1. If it's free or low cost go to it. Puma tryouts are $40.00. If you get invited, Area Code tryouts are free. MLB Scoutinig Bureau tryouts are free. Does that mean you will sign a contract. Nope. It does mean that you may get on someone's radar and you will get experience at showcases and being evaluated. Remember, the baseball community is actually very small.
2. If you are going to spend a lot of money on a showcase, make it the Blue Grey Classic @ Wake Forest or as much as I hate to say it, a PG event. Don't spend a lot of money on a local event or trying out for a team. If your interested in a specific school, go to their camps and showcases. Still no guarantees.
3. The case of the father and son who were contacted by Steve who asked for their contact info should serve as a lesson to everyone. I was reading a post on another board where a dad was trying to start pro-ball hype about his son on the board. Very unattractive. The simple truth is, if your good someone will find you. If your a blue chip prospect, you will get found. The problem is, most of us parents, have a problem defining "blue chip prospect." It's not always little Johnny, as much as you want it to be.
4. Don't believe the ECB hype. Just completed our third year at ECB. Had a lunatic for a coach. Despite that, my son was contacted by two D1 schools in July. He has an appointment with one in a few days. That's all I will say about that. This is not a bashing session.
5. My son has had contact of one kind or another from 4 of the 8 Ivy League schools. What that should tell you is you need to concentrate at least as much if not more on your school work as you do on your swing or your curve ball. There are a lot of opportunities for Student-Athletes. You'll notice the word Student comes first. One school that is interested in my son couldn't even invite him till his transcripts got to Admissions.
I'm rambling. Just remember:
1. Spend carefully.
2. If your going to spend alot, do it on something with a past track record.
3. Be honest about your skill level.
4. Find a good team with a good schedule. Don't go for a name.
5. Do your homework and study hard. Too many of you will blow off a bad grade on a test and get ****ed off and loose sleep because you had a bad day in the cage. It's a game.

I'm sure someone will take offense with something I have posted here. I was just trying to share some of my mistakes.

Bergen Beach was officially eliminated this afternoon with their second loss in the double elimination portion of the 2006 15U CABA World Series in Crystal Lake, IL.
This would make it the 3rd loss of the tournament in total as they also lost in pool play to the Host team the Crystal Lake Bombers.

no-e2

You have a PM

Did your son attend the Puma tryout,and can you tell me the pros and cons.

Thanks

Not a class act by any means!

Ron

This year (2007)I was contacted by Coach Bort after the PG National showcase. My contact info was given to him by a Mets scout who attended the PG showcase. He invited me to play for him and I too did some checking. After speaking with some former players that knew him I decided to take him up on his offer. When I got there I met the other players. Some of them had played for him the year before. There was not one player that had a bad word to say about Coach Bort and after playing for him I too have nothing but good things to say about him, the team and the CABA tournament. The guy was great and gave me plenty of playing time. As for his info being misleading that is simply not the case unless your going to say the same about PG, Team One and all the others. Take a look at the PG home page. The first thing you see is "record number of MLB picks 1,048". Is PG saying they were the sole reason for the 1,048 picks? I certainly hope that is not the case because we all know that it is not. All of the outfits/teams make claims, lets face it they have to to promote themselves. It is the player's and parent's responsibility to sort out all the hype and attend or play for the people they believe can put them in front of coach's and scouts. In my humble opinion Steve Bort is someone who can and will put you in front of those guys.

My son and a friend went to his tryout. Mr Bort did not show up for the event. The folks in charge said his plane was running late. (really late??!!) The young man working with the infielders, we later saw playing an outfield position for a D1 college team. It was also very apparent they were only interested in pitchers. They let all the other boys go home two hours earlier than stated on our informational sheet, but kept the pitchers on the field.

Would not recommend spending money on this tryout.