WWBA - 17u Marrietta

It gets teams from all over, but they concentrate on the Eastern US down through the sun-belt states. Lots of teams from Texas and that area usually.

You'll see about 200+ colleges in attendence for at least part of the event. Good number of pro scouts too. The college representation is better at the 17U event than the 18U event down in Marietta.

The Mac-daddy is still the WWBA Fall down in Jupiter.

the talent level and the amount of MLB scouts and colleges coaches is way more at the 18u PG tournament than 17 u PG tournament at east cobb

This is a great tournament. Try to get you ream into it. There are scouts eveywhere. At one game my son played in last year, there were more scouts/coaches watching the game than parents in attendance.

Super event!! Don't miss it @ any age level.

Like the song says, " Get there if you can"! Well worth it.

Thanks for the feedback... Just got the good news from son's coach that they have been confirmed and are headed to Marrietta.

I thought I would share some my experiences about this event. I've been going to this for the last three years and will back again this year (as only a spectator this time around).

It is probably the best attended event by college coaches outside of Jupiter FL. Most come with a shopping list of needs and will look hard. A few pro scouts. Most are from the SE and Texas.

There are some drawbacks. One of the biggest is when they schedule you away from the East Cobb complex, sometimes very far away (get a good map). College coaches rarely attend these games unless they want to see a specific player. One year we played two at Sprayberry and one at Kell (which is next door, but it was very early one morning). All were poorly attended by the college coaches (and that it what you are there for, right?).

One thing everybody notices is that the East Cobb teams get the best fields at the best times against the marquee teams (and scoreboard operators). Perks of being the host, I guess.

Don't complain about the umpiring - its bad, but that's just East Cobb (it's a bit of a standing joke around the area). And don't be surprised at the behavior of some the East Cobb coaches. Think of it as ...... entertainment.

Be prepared for schedule changes due to the weather. That time of year the afternoon thunder storms are ferocious.

Don't complain to any East Cobb official. It won't do any good, it won't get you anywhere and they don't care whether you like it or not. If you tick them off, they'll reschedule one of your rainouts to midnight in outer Slobovia.

Bring your own coolers with lots of water.

Sit back and enjoy the moment. Y'all are going to see some good baseball and some great talent.

All pretty much true. I love your quote also.

Thanks. Just trying to show a little southern hopitality to some of our out of town visitors. I know how tough it is to come such a long way and not know what to expect.

All’s Jake,

We agree with some of the things you’ve brought up and there is always room for improvement.

We don’t like to get involved in these discussions, but in the interest of accuracy...

Many people have the opinion that these events are run by East Cobb Baseball and that is just not true. Many East Cobb teams play in the tournaments, but they enter just like all other teams. Perfect Game is responsible for most everything (good or bad) that takes place during these events.

East Cobb teams played many games away from the complex, 24 games at high school or college fields to 17 games in the complex. There is one East Cobb team that we schedule all games at the complex and that is because they take care of the grounds so they need to be there at all times.

Umpires are always an issue at large tournaments. The umpires have in the past been hired by Perfect Game outside of the East Cobb organization. Most all are college or pro umpires with lots of experience. Last year 2 East Cobb teams were actually knocked out of the tournament on controversial calls. Two years ago we had to fire an umpire was doing a bad job (No East Cobb teams involved). We can live with umpires making mistakes, but we won’t accept bad conduct of any kind. The umpiring staff knows this. Also, we don’t dictate or try to run the actual games.

There were well over 100 Major League scouts at last year’s 17&U and 18&U events. This included a dozen Scouting Directors and many National Cross Checkers. We know because they all check in at the gates. It is true that the college coaches far outnumber the MLB scouts.

Never has a team been “punished” and scheduled to play at bad times. There is a curfew in place that disallows games to start after 11PM. We have had to reschedule games due to rain and/or lightning, but not once has any team received favorable or bad treatment of any kind. We try hard to make sure everyone plays games in the complex. Once pool play is over all those who go on are in the complex.

East Cobb does not run the tournament, make the rules or have a say in any scheduling or rescheduling. They do not try to influence us in any way.

The 17&U has only been in existence for two years. The East Cobb Braves defeated NorCal (CA) for the championship in 2003 and Houston Kyle Chapman (TX) won it last year defeating the South Texas Sliders (TX). There have been three 18&U Championships. The Florida Bombers won the first two and the South Carolina Diamond Devils won it last year. We only bring this up to show these tournaments have not been dominated by East Cobb teams in the past. However, it should be said that East Cobb has some of the very best teams in the nation each and every year. East Cobb has actually done much better and won some of our championships held outside of Georgia. Including the World Championship in 2003 held in Jupiter.

We fully understand that there are things that can always be improved and we appreciate input from those who have been there. It’s just that at times things are not always described 100% accurately. Those who have not ever attended could get a bad impression.

All’s Jake,

Thanks for the compliments regarding the tournament and your opinions are very valuable because you have been there. This response is not meant to belittle your comments, but to give our point of view.

I don't think Baldwin's team plays all their games at EC#1 because they take care of the field. If that were true, then how come they don't play on EC #2 or #3 during bracket play? Let's see them play at Kell this year a couple of times, its right next store. It won't happen. There were other East Cobb teams playing at Pope or Walton HS but you won't see any of Baldwin's team there.

Blackheart,

In the past I think you've always been very positive in the remarks you made regarding baseball and young players. I even went back and checked your old postings under a different name just to make sure.

What happened that has made you so bitter?

Best of luck to Eric this year.

Perhaps i'm mis-reading his posts but I didn't think Blackheart was being bitter. Other than the home-cooking comment which is understandable, his initial quote was "Like the song says, " Get there if you can"! Well worth it"

I guess I'm talking about much more than just this topic.