When Did Your Son Become a "Blue Chipper"?

The observation about attrition is spot on. My son is a senior in high school and I have witnessed the attrition, and the shift in relative standing.

My son isn't a blue chipper, but he will be playing in college. He improves every year - and passes up some player who were better earlier. Some of those players who were better than him at 14 won't be playing in college. Some quit improving. Some just quit.

In fact, my son didn't make majors in Little League. He was cut by a select team when he was 15. This past summer (the summer after his junior year) he was slated to play back up to an all state, D1 player. By the end of the summer he was sharing playing time 50/50, batting 4th, and DHing when not starting in his position. He just keeps getting better, inch by inch, game by game, season by season.

I predict he will be a blue chipper before he finishes college, barring injury.

I have never thought of my son as a "Blue Chipper". I always assumed that term was for the 6'3" guys that hit Bombs or threw 93+.

Blue Chippers get invited to PG Nationals, and show up in Baseball America. Blue Chippers get calls from large D1's on July 1st.

No, my guy is not a Blue Chipper, if he becomes one it will not occur until he makes a 40 man roster, but he plays like he believes he should have been one, he plays like he has something to prove. In fact written under the brim of his hat is "prove them all wrong".

He may never be a Blue Chipper in the worlds view, but he is MY favorite player and he IS still playing! A privilege denied many.

quote:

Originally posted by floridafan:
I have never thought of my son as a "Blue Chipper". I always assumed that term was for the 6'3" guys that hit Bombs or threw 93+.

Blue Chippers get invited to PG Nationals, and show up in Baseball America. Blue Chippers get calls from large D1's on July 1st.

No, my guy is not a Blue Chipper, if he becomes one it will not occur until he makes a 40 man roster, but he plays like he believes he should have been one, he plays like he has something to prove. In fact written under the brim of his hat is "prove them all wrong".

He may never be a Blue Chipper in the worlds view, but he is MY favorite player and he IS still playing! A privilege denied many.

I think this is about right. I would argue that even making it to the big leagues does not necessarily qualify one as a blue chipper. In my mind, someone like Chipper Jones is a blue-chipper but what about someone like Kevin Youkalis? Obviously, some guys perform like blue-chippers even though they do not have the requisite body type to be considered one.

None of us can choose the type of labels others decide to bestow on our kids. All we can do is encourage them. Encourage them to strive to play like a "blue-chipper" and let the "chips" fall where they may

Agree, 'blue chipper' not really the right term IMO, but I'll try based on the (good) intent of the question. For older son, 2 points...

1. After sophomore year, AAU National tournament...pitched really well...coach said at end of tournament, 'Well we better start talking because your son is gonna play pro baseball someday.' I was like, 'Huh?'

2. Confirmation came at MLK weekend tournament before junior season down in the OC. He was pitching, there was this guy behind the backstop with a radar gun and looking 'official.' Started talking to him just in general, asking what he was doing, who he was...I was just curious...at some point I told him, 'Full disclosure, the pitcher is my son.' He responded by telling me that he was quite good and he would be a college pitcher at a high level. What was this guy's name? Andy Ford. (Nice guy BTW).

Agree with most here, that I never saw the son's as blue chippers either.

I think with the youngest, when the scouts started coming out is when I had a clue of his talent.

I guess I've never been confortable with applying terms like "Blue Chipper" to my son and never really thought of him as quite that, except recently I've thought he just could be. "Blue Chipper" is a term I feel has a wide range of definitions and it means different things to different people.

At any rate, let me put it this way. . .

Starting in LL, there were people who would suggest he was a "Blue Chipper", but I didn't know what to compare my son to. The players he played with were not very good and today they still are not any good. But when I began to hear praises of my son's skills, I felt I had to raise the bar and see if I could get him to a place where he was playing with "Blue Chippers" and see how he might measure up.

Over time, we kept raising the bar and it wasn't until my son was invited to play on an Area Code team that I began to think of him objectively in that way. I love my son and it's very difficult to look at him objectively. But then being drafted out of high school, being a starter as a freshman on a high end college baseball team and having done well in the Cape Code League. . .I'm pretty convice now that he fit's the bill as a "Blue Chipper." I can only hope that he stays healthy and can be a "Blue Chipper" when he gets into pro ball so that he can realize his dream of playing MLB.

But, my personal feelings for him as a father regarding my son being a "Blue Chipper" to me actually first started when he was two years old and I could see he had pretty advanced athletic abilities.

I'll put it this way. I think my son always had a blue chip swing but not a blue chip attitude. From the time he was 8 years old his swing and power stood out. He maintained his swing by working on it every winter from 11 yo and up. He didn't always work on the conditioning and the other aspects of the game but his swing kept him in the middle of line ups throughout hs and juco.

He is now understanding that attitude and commitment is just as important as talent to reach the highest levels.

So for him, blue chip talent (maybe) without blue chip attitude equals non blue chip status.

I'm inline with Florida fan....I doubt mine will be a MLB Player and he knows that as well.

He was always told your too small to play HS ball. Freshman coach even stated "son...I have 5 first baseman on this team, 4 of which are left handed and your the shortest of them all...go get a glove and catch for me". He took that as I need to prove my self given the chance. He wound up starting every game at 1st that year.

Anyway he WILL be playing in college. That was his goal and he has achieved that. He has grown up with so many that have given it up or are not getting the calls. He has played with those going to top programs in the country and others continuing the dream and playing JUCO. Studs two years ago have left and new ones are emerging...

He has achieved his goal and WE are very proud of him. The "never give up" is very appropriate! First one in our family to obtain athletic scholarship and this gets even better when you add HIGH academic on top of it.

That might not be the BLUE CHIP description BUM had in mind for this post - but that's a blue chipper in my mind!

I don't see mine as a blue chipper...do I think he can play with the blue chips..Yes.....does he think he can play with them...Yes.


So while he is not a blue chipper, he defintely plays with a blue chip on his shoulder..lol

quote:

No, my guy is not a Blue Chipper, if he becomes one it will not occur until he makes a 40 man roster, but he plays like he believes he should have been one, he plays like he has something to prove. In fact written under the brim of his hat is "prove them all wrong".

He may never be a Blue Chipper in the worlds view, but he is MY favorite player and he IS still playing! A privilege denied many.

Being new here, I started getting coaches and umps from other teams search me out (as coach) after games this spring season to tell me how good my "guy at 1B" aka my son was, in the field, hitting and taking a leadership role. He played up a level this summer and I think even the coach of that team was a little amazed at how well he hits. It was pretty funny actually.

Do I consider him "blue chip"? Never really thought about it...to me he has a lot to work on which he constantly does. I've been there to guide him all these years with a love and knowledge of this game, now I step aside and see how he matures and flourishes as a HS player.

It's kind of exciting and anxiety inducing at same time!

As I think about this more, attitude has a lot to do with this. If you believe in yourself, set goals and work hard good things will happen. I think many of our sons are this way. It is not an accident that they are having success and playing at higher levels.

I recall playing catch and hitting with the sons around 2 years old. Now they are 21 and 18! Their smile on their faces and determination were priceless. They still have that today and it's a true blessing.

quote:

Confirmation came at MLK weekend tournament before junior season down in the OC. He was pitching, there was this guy behind the backstop with a radar gun and looking 'official.' Started talking to him just in general, asking what he was doing, who he was...I was just curious...at some point I told him, 'Full disclosure, the pitcher is my son.' He responded by telling me that he was quite good and he would be a college pitcher at a high level. What was this guy's name? Andy Ford. (Nice guy BTW).

LOL, thanks for mentioning Andy. He doesn't get or seek a lot of attention, but he does know players when he sees them. That was when I first heard about Erik. Blue Chipper would be a 10 on our scale. In fact, later we did grade your son a 10 at the National Showcase.

Blue chipper is just a word (actually 2 words), 10 is just a number... In the end, words and numbers might create interest, but that's about it.

Andy - Really nice young man. Really enjoyed our conversation. I was like a kid (dad) in a candy shop. Just tryin' to learn what the heck was going on. He was plenty nice enough to put up with me. Will always remember that.

After ignoring his/PG's initial invite to PG National...he was also polite enough to email or call me to explain that this was indeed a worthwhile event.

Glad he did...it went a long way in opening the Stanford door.

That was also the first time I got to see a plethora of scouts up close...advisors too. Adam Jones was on the same team. SS if I remember right? Pitched some too.

Now THAT was a blue chipper.

Always an "overachiever", I never fully realized his "blue chipper" status until early this summer when, in the span of just days, he graduated from West Point with honors...selected 1st Team Academic All America while playing his final weekend @ a regional (after 18 years of baseball)...then, after everything else was "over", was named D1 Gold Glove winner @ 2B.
("too LITTLE too late" for many..but not for Dad..like some have already stated, always has been, is, and will be "True Blue")

One of the things, among others, that I've always admired about justbb is his honesty and humility.

I'd like to hear his assessment of his younger one however. If we use a different scale, the bulldog scale perhaps, as opposed to the blue chipper scale, I am guessing his younger one is off the charts on that scale. Sometimes, you find the biggest winners on that other scale and at the end of the day, everyone is looking for winners

It might surprise some people, but I too favor the bulldog, get dirty, big competitor to the so called "blue chipper". Of course, it's possible the Blue Chipper has those same traits. When that happens you have a "Gold Chipper"!

As a coach, I would take one guy who played the game right over two "Blue Chippers" who don't get it. Funny how this often gets lost when it comes to scouting.

Uh oh, justbb - where did your awesome response go? arrrgh

PG - I agree with you. You take a guy like Mike Trout and you give him a bulldog mentality, what you end up getting is a guy like Mike Trout!

Excellent example!

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Uh oh, justbb - where did your awesome response go? arrrgh noidea

Aaargh yourself! Just thought it sounded a little too self-indulgent. But I'll try to recreate some of it. Pretty good observation by you on the younger one from a far distance.

Younger one...classic under 6-0 RHP throwing in the mid-80s. Good curve, good change. Definitely not a 'blue chipper' by any pro scouting standards...yet nearly every pro scout in the area knows/knew him well and predicted good things for him in college.

He is what you'd call...a mega-competitor. His HS coach had the following description, "A complete teddy bear around school all day, everyone wants to hug him...but when he steps on the mound he's a cold blooded killer...completely different kid, different look in his eye, nothing nice at all about him."

A former MLB player's son was/is a good friend and played for a rival school. Later drafted and signed for over $1M. Struck out nearly every time he faced my younger one. After one game he texted my son, 'Why do you always throw me curve balls?' Son replied, 'Cause you can't hit them.'

Just the way he thought about things.

But then in the first game of their senior year, MLB Jr. hit a game winning dinger off our younger son...off guess what?...yup, a hanging curve ball!

I never really considered that the younger one might be a 'blue chipper.' I did believe he would play college ball somewhere after his sophomore year in HS...just didn't know where? I believe he benefited mightily from having an older brother that many coaches and scouts knew + playing in a GREAT HS program + playing in a GREAT summer program. I believe both his HS and summer coaches were extremely helpful as well.

And I believe that college coaches knew what they were getting as they had seen a fearless pitcher for 3 years who had played in very big games (HS and summer) and had produced some really good results. We didn't send him to any big showcases as I was pretty sure how he'd 'grade' with people who didn't know him well and that it would not be helpful.

Maybe we just got lucky and pushed all the right buttons? But I also believe there is a place for kids like him.

quote:

Originally posted by justbaseball:

Younger one...classic under 6-0 RHP throwing in the mid-80s. Good curve, good change. Definitely not a 'blue chipper' by any pro scouting standards...yet nearly every pro scout in the area knows/knew him well and predicted good things for him in college.

He doesn't fit the typical "blue chipper" profile for pro ball, but watching him for so many years as I have, he's a "blue chipper" in my book. Doing as well as he did as a Freshman, I think he still has a good shot at getting to the next level and I'm keeping an eye on him.

I'm not so sure we'll ever get to the "blue chipper" level in baseball, but he is definitey on his way as an engineering "blue chipper" in the classroom.

I've never considered my son a blue chip baseball player. The crickets from major college programs confirmed my assessment. I've often been told he has blue chip athletic ability (speed, strength, agility). This athleticism allowed him to excel at the high school level in sports. He's playing college ball. While his athleticism lends itself to the game of baseball, either you can hit or you can't. You can't steal first. My concern is his bat speed is questionable for D1. Except for the players who make a career at the MLB level the fullness of the color on that blue chip fades a little as they proceed through each level starting in LL. From a fun standpoint it's been a blue chip journey.

I agree with many of the comments here. But if the definition of a blue chipper is the ability to compete at each level along the way with the best, I think I saw glimpses of that in my son in h.s. and college but it hit me square between the eyes this summer. A blue chipper maybe not, but a ballplayer with Kahunas yes.