-Common Misperception-

Loving your son is expected by all parents. Being your son’s agent is another. I can’t tell you the misperception there is between knowing if your son projects as a college baseball player and if so, what level of baseball that is. Not every kid can play in the SEC or ACC. That’s the beauty of having other levels. 

It is tough enough for us to project kids and if you ask any scout they will admit missing on more than the ones they got right. So for you as a parent who doesn’t work in baseball to project a kid makes no sense.  I know it is great that little Johnny went 4-for-5 last night with a double and a homerun but that doesn’t mean he is going to be starting at Clemson or South Carolina as a freshman because of it. More times than not that double Johnny hit would have been caught at ANY college level and the homerun was a fence scrapper off some kid throwing 78 MPH. Knowing the difference in what plays get made at the next level versus not being made at the HS level is sometimes tough for the non-baseball eye. I get emails all the time like this from parents trying to solicit their kid. I know Johnny threw a one-hitter last night with 12 k’s. Here is my question…how many of those hitters are next level hitters? Probably none, or maybe two, so the misperception is evident. If Johnny would have thrown against a college team (depending of level), those 12 k’s probably would have been 5 doubles, 3 triples, and 2 homeruns (I’ll give him two outs but only due to the hitters making a mistake).

Parents out there that think their kid is the next Derek Jeter or Nolan Ryan I want you to pump your brakes and consider some things. (1) Most of the plays that aren’t being made at the HS level are routine plays at the college level and the higher the level, the more that play is being made. (2) How many college players are on the opposing team? Rarely do you find a HS lineup with more than 1-2 next level players in their order. And rarely do you find a HS team that has more than 1 arm that will pitch at the college level. More times than not, most HS’s do not have a single player that will play at the next level. So if think you are a good player, you need to be dominating things on the HS level. (3) What is your son’s size and how does his frame project. Look at big league players and compare. Cal Ripken Jr. was 6-4/225 and is a Hall of Fame Shortstop, Ted Williams was 6-3/205, Joe DiMaggio was 6-2/195, Ken Griffey Jr was 6-3/195, Albert Pujols is 6-3/230, and the list goes on. I’m not saying there is a height requirement. All I am saying is it helps to have a projectable frame. What you lack in size you better make up in heart and hustle. The average MLB player is around 6’1”-6’2”. Pitchers average height is around 6’2”-6’3” and continues to grow every year.  (4) The differences in levels of baseball. There is a difference in the SoCon and the SEC, Big South versus the ACC. Same goes for the Atlantic Sun versus the CVAC. Again, not everybody can play in the ACC or SEC.

It isn’t your job as a parent to tell us, college coaches, or scouts what level you think your kid needs to play. Your job is to be a good parent, provide opportunities for your child to get seen, teach him to be a good student-athlete, encourage him to work hard on and off the field, and then just let what’s going to happen, happen. If you work as a roofer and I need to know anything about roofing, I’m not going to come to your job and tell you what I need. I am going to ask you about it. So instead of telling us how to do our jobs, how about asking what we suggest. A good question to ask is “what do you recommend for my son to improve his game”.  Same goes for scouts. Let them do their jobs! Believe me, ALL MLB scouts, ALL college coaches, and ALL DP scouts do not do their jobs for the money. We all do it because it is our passion. We love what we do and take it very serious. Ask a college coach’s wife or MLB scouts wife how much they get to see their husband during the months between February-November. Also ask them how much they love their jobs. You would be surprised.

To sum things up, if you are a parent that feels like your son is the next Hall of Famer, please do your research. Know what you are talking about before blasting an email to anyone. If you decide to blast an email, be professional about it. Chances are we have seen your email before, just with a different name behind it (if a name is provided). We want to find not only good players but also good kids in general. You will be a person longer than you will ever be a baseball player. Teach your kids good life skills and, most of all, encourage him to always play the game hard. You can do more to hurt them than help. And though the NCAA seldom gets it right, their monicker is worth  repeating, “99 percent of college athletes will go professional in a field unrelated to athletics.”

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“Over the past five years I have been trying to figure out a way to see every high school team in my area during the spring season. Unfortunately, I have been unsuccessful. Every year I seem to leave out a handful of schools which in essence, I am missing out on a large amount of players. I feel my job is to identify next level talent and relay it over to college/professional scouts so they can do their jobs. A collection of us have brainstormed and have come up with a way for me to try and lay eyes on as many players as possible, hence the introduction of “Barry’s Bytes”. This will be a blog that I will update daily/bi-daily for our subscribers. I will be bouncing around various high schools and instead of covering games; I will be on a talent search. The goal is to hit multiple spots on a given night. In this blog you will find everything from prospect info to my personal thoughts on an array of topics ranging from standout concession stands and peak performers to the most polite gate attendants and umpire gaffes, also any random thought that crosses through my brain will be fair game! Have an open mind and hope you guys enjoy my two cents. See you at the park!”