Very intersting

This is true . My son and I always give the scouts all the respect they deserve . It never hurts to be polite to someone who can help your future . My son answers all their questions and makes sure to remember their names . Remember , it's not what you know , but who you know . 1500 or so picks each year , gotta try to be in the top 70.

i'm not as up to date with our area anymore (new england). but the area scout for the twins lives in pa. the reds,rockies,brewers,mariners,pirates,and a few more were part timer's. the closest scouting bureau guy was 5 hrs from our home. bird dogs play a much bigger roll around here. as well as the need to be seen at the larger showcases.

i think that has a lot to do with our low number of hs draftees. we don't get many. it isn't an easy job, not very rewarding financialy. but i'd love to do it.

Our players first visit was from the MLB area scout who administered the eye test and the psych test for MLB, told us how the process works, and also indicated that he was available for any questions at any time.
Actually our area scout usually holds a camp as there are so many kids who he has to contact, but son was unavailable.
Most scouts that have already gathered their information don't need to ask many questions, but rather want and encourage parents to ask questions, which we did. Most that I can remember from HS, gave an overview of the organization, where each level was located and living arrangements, which is a big question on a drafted player out of HS. Only one scout asked directly what it would take to give up college, but we knew many scouts and most knew he would probably head off to college.
A visit to the home gives them an idea of the families lifestyle, which can help determine signability later on.
Ironically, except for the top prospects, you might not even know who the scout is until you are drafted.

quote:

Originally posted by jesse.burkhart:
To anyone who has been through a scout's interview process or is currently going through it:

I'm just curious - what specific questions does a scout ask the player? I figure that the main reason a scout needs to visit a player's home is to determine his signability and administer an eyesight test, but I'm not sure what else is involved.

Our guy was a HS pitcher so it may be different for position players or college players. Most of the general information was given to the scouts via questionnaires that were filled out prior to the visits.

Here is what I would say was the general theme of most of the interviews/meetings he had with the pro scouts:

- how open he was to turning pro out of high school
- how committed he was to his college choice
- medical history (son had minor shoulder issue junior year so they all wanted to see where things stood) It got to the point that we made copies of medical records and gave each team a copy.
- overview of their organization and what he could expect if he signed out of HS.
- shared their viewpoints of the advantages of pro vs. college (how they dealt with a HS players progression into the system)
- most wanted to hear our (parents) feelings about him signing out of high school. They also spent a lot of time reassuring mom that they would take care of him.
- shared an overview of the Major League Scholarship Program
- psych test
- wanted a general idea about what it would take to sign (money). Most didn't expect a hard number during the first visit however they all said they would need a figure at least 2 to 3 weeks before the draft.
- if he had an advisor
- how to find out when he was pitching. (we set up and email blast to the MLB scouting bureau rep and all the scouts and that wanted to be informed)

In HS son took one online for the area scout to give to teams, never took another but in college, the few he took were on paper.
I think that they scrutinize those out of HS more than out of college.
I remember son taking the eye test, quick look to see if he had 20/20 and for color blindness. It's just a screening.
Don't all players have to sign something that they are not represented by an agent? Or something to that nature.

Only the MLB scouting bureau rep gave son an eye test to the best of my knowledge. He commented that because he was a pitcher that it really wasn't that important but he did it anyway.

Thy psych tests were all written (some hard copy, some online) and the time to complete ranged from 30 min to 60 min.

Here is a list I found....from which state players were drafted from.

1. California 292.
2. Florida 192.
3. Texas 166,
4. Georgia 88.
5. North Carolina 76.
6. Arizona 72.
7. Illinois 52.
8. South Carolina 51.
9. Oklahoma 48.
10. Tennessee 43
Others: Canada 42, Louisiania 41, Alabama, Missouri and Washington 40 each; Pennsylvannia 39: Indiana, New Jersey and Ohio 38 each, Mississippi 37, New York and Virginia 35 each, Kansas 31 and Puerto Rico, 31 each, Kentucky 26, Massachusetts 23, Michigan 22, Minnesota and Oregon 20 each, Arkansas 19, Connecticut 19, Colorado 18, Iowa 17, Maryland, Nebraska and New Mexico 16, New Mexico 16, Utah 12, Nebraska 10, Idaho 9, Hawaii and Rhode Island 8 each, West Virginia and Wisconsin 7 each, Delaware 6, New Hampshire 5, Maine and South Dakota 4 each, Alaska, Dakota and Vermont 2 each, Montana, Wyoming and Washington, D.C. 0.

I sure feel sorry for those players out in Montana and Wyoming. 0? wow.

YoungGun,
I just checked with my cousin.
The high temperature yesterday in Butte, Mt was about -20. High today in Montana was around -10.
He didn't mention any of the year round travel teams canceling practice.
BTW, one of the fine young catchers in MLB is Rob Johnson with Seattle. Born and raised in Butte. Then he went to JC's in the South leading him to U of Houston. There may not be a lot of them, but the good ones are smart enough to know you head South for baseball.

quote:

Originally posted by YoungGunDad:
I sure feel sorry for those players out in Montana and Wyoming. 0? wow.

Don't feel bad the HSHW Board is saying the same thing about Cal and FL hockey signings....