Team Mid-Atlantic announced

Congrats to Danny!! Corey enjoyed being with the Culpepper Gang again as well as getting to know the other MD Patriot players at the USSSA World Series in Nashville.

Congrats to all these players... what an honor!! How were these kids selected?

Reccomended by a scout or they go through a regional try-out.

Va-the same could be said for almost any showcase as no showcase guarantees results. Some are clearly better than others. Parents are paying for their son to get seen, but no showcase organizer can guarantee resultant scholarships or draft slots. For players with little to offer a scout, showcases will not help. For players with some tools that might not get seen otherwise, for whatever reason, showcases can do much good. As for BG in particular, they delivered in our case what we expected. It's hard to compare organizations at times because to my knowledge, Perfect Game doesn't release the schools' names with which it contracts to provide scouting services, so while they generate an objective evaluation, it's not easy to determine how many schools see that evaluation, and to compare it with the number of scouts that BG might attract in person. We've been to both Perfect Game showcases, and Blue-Grey at William and Mary, and felt that both organizations gave us what we expected. Different formats were used but my sons enjoyed both styles. As nice as the folks are at both PG and BG, I know they are running a business, and expect to make a profit.

VA

What's your point!

The reality of today's recruiting game is that for the middle 70 percent of baseball players who THINK they have what it takes to play Division I or Division II baseball, they have to showcase. They have to be seen with players they consider to be their peers in a setting where large numbers of college coaches can evaluate them.

Yes, it costs money. But the adage that it takes money to make money does ring true here. And, like hokieone, we've been to a few of these things, including in more than one sport.

You have to do your homework. But that's kind of what goes on here (and again, thank you Bob).

It is still true that many coaches want players to come to their camps. Those are money makers, too. But that's part of the game.

The top 15 percent of high school players nationally (if a pro scout can actually help you figure you're in that group) probably don't need to showcase. But most do, anyway.

And the bottom 15 percent of players who think they've got it, they are probably fooling themselves. But they really don't have anything to lose. So if they have the money, why not?

If you're on a traveling team, you're showcasing, too, just doing it differently.

The days where you can just play in your hometown and have somebody tap you on the shoulder about a scholarship is, while it might happen every now and then, unrealistic.

VA

If you know of Free showcases that pay for the player and his family's travel expenses, etc. Please list them here because I've missed something along the way. Help us all out here.

I would love to know about the free ones because, the only one I've found was when the college scout comes to watch the player play at a high school game, and that is very rare since College baseball is in full swing during the high school season.

CV

Point well-taken, but it comes across as though you're demeaning the kids that are playing. I don't know every player on the list to be sure but the few I know are pretty darned good players, and BG is a good opportunity to show their stuff.

In the end, that's really all you're doing in many showcases is getting a chance to show your stuff, and that's enough for most players. They get an opportunity to be seen by those that they need to see them. If a player is light on the talent side, it may not help at all and probably won't, but as has been often said on this board, if one coach likes you one time on the right day, then the effort was worthwhile.

I don't think we disagree with your point, it just seemed to come across as somewhat of a knock on the players. In the showcases where my sons have attended, I've seen great talent and I've seen talent "on the light side", but I also know that good players can have bad days where they look like whale do-do, and I trust the college coaches are better judges than me. I've not seen a player at a showcase that absolutely looked like he just picked up his first glove....

And I do think we all know the showcase business, for all it offers our sons, is a business, intended to make a profit.

We just got back from Wake Forest yesterday. Dispite all the rain, my son and I feel it was very worthwhile. There were LOTS of college coaches. I was told there were 60, and from what I saw that number was very believable.

Yes, everyone paid to play, but there was a lot of talent there. I don't think the talent level could have been what it was if the only criteria was the first to the door with $500.

I was told by a parent sitting by some of the Scouts that there were six kids who hit 85+ off the mound in my son's first game, including my son. There were two kids who were 92+. I have to think this was good use of their time and their parents money. Time will tell.

tyler slawson from first colonial high school
was also on the mid atlantic team

I have waited until I experienced the Blue Grey before I join in on this forum. I must say, I was a little let down. I had heard good things but it was just a showcase. However, It was the first one to serve dinner. The Evaluation day I thought, there were a fair amount of scouts there. But I found out later that half of them worked for Blue Grey. On Game days there may have been 5-6 college scouts unless some were hidden I didn't see. The Games were pretty organized and alot of fun for the Kids. However, the scheduling was poor the first day and games were 1-1-1/2 hours behind. One thing I thought was poor was that by 5:00pm on the 2nd day all the Blue Grey Staff was leaving and it appeared that the college Baseball team was running the show.( By the way the college kids and coaches did a great job all weekend I just wish the Blue Grey staff was that dedicated). The thing I forgot to mention was the T-Shirts given to the players by Blue Grey, by the end of the evaluation day some of they kids had lost their numbers they peeled right off, by the last day some had no numbers and other used markers and wrote their numbers on the shirts. Hopefully by the next showcase they will have a new supplier. This is just my opinion maybe other classics are better at least I hope so.

Va,

There is an "under-stadium" area for scouts at Plumeri Park and my son said a lot of them were down there, at least on the first day of games. By the last day, most were gone to be sure. Shirts could be better to be sure. I cut them some slack on the scheduling- my guess is the reason for single 10 inning games on the second day was likely to get all the pitchers seen as many scouts leave after day 1. My son enjoyed it and has gotten some contact already (a letter and information sheet with "BG-WM" hand-written in the corner).