Scouts Eye Top Talent in a Quest for the Best

-

By Lazlo Yankovic
Vero Beach, FL-Fans cheer and the stadium rumbles when hometown heroes drive in the winning runs, but the hardworking individuals that discovered them live in relative obscurity. Baseball scouts Talbert “Saggy” McGee, “Groundout” Billy Johnson, Lou “Cranky” Cartwright, Paul “Kid Gloves” Santorelli, George Genovese, and dozens like them don’t seem to mind.
At this year’s annual Association of Baseball Scouts meeting, held in Vero Beach, Florida, scouts exchanged stories about legendary discoveries, rivalries, and the hunt for the elusive player with everything.
“A walk may be as good as a hit, but ain’t nuthin’ better than finding the five-tool player that Tony Lucadello and all the other guys missed and then watching him win the triple crown.” Johnson said.
“Did that happen, Ground Out?” Santorelli asked.
“Heck no. Lucadello finds everyone. Schmidt, Fergie Jenkins, everyone.” Johnson said, stabbing out his cigar. “And until you discover the next Bob Gibson, kid, you haven’t earned the right to call me Ground Out.”
More than 17,000 players have earned roster spots in major league history. Of those, only a handful will be part of the Pilgrim Baseball League.
“Spotting the all-time greats is easy. Getting the guys who fill out the last 10 spots on the roster is tough.” McGee said. “Sure anyone can tell you that Mays has more range in center than a lion on the Serengeti, but how many people could tell you whether your hole at first should be filled by Frank Howard or Boog Powell or Cecil Fielder or if you should just forget about them and just take Freddy Freeman?”
“For every Scooter Rizutto there are a hundred Scooter Gennetts and a thousand Scooter McNobodies.” Cartwright said. “Don’t know who Gennett is? Look him up, you slackers.”
In addition to the professionals, amateur scouts have been flooding the league office with tips. Running the spectrum from Don Mattingly to Don Zimmer, they all get researched, according to Lewis Michaels, the league’s Senior Media Relations Director

“Some of the players have been on our radar since we opened our doors.” Michaels said. “We love the excitement and are always pleased when someone comes up with a new name to consider. We have close to 250 locked in. We’ve signed or are about to sign players from MLB and the Negro Leagues. The selection process continues as we check into the feasibility of bringing in players from the Japanese league as well. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

League Office Mum as Rumors Spread About Venues

-
By Spalding Cooper Secaucus, NJ- Sources close to ownership groups in several cities say they have been asked to provide their final choices for home stadiums. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a source close to a one of the Chicago consortiums bidding for a team said, “The league is pretty much settled on eight cities and are clearly enamored with some of the venues. Those (expletive deleted) North Siders are a shoe in, as are teams in New York and St. Louis.” League officials have stated that they are “looking for cities and stadiums that exemplify baseball’s rich history.” Some potential owner’s groups appear to be a little more cynical. “History? You look at a city like Milwaukee or Cleveland or Kansas City.” A source familiar with the negotiations between the league and the Detroit consortium said. “Milwaukee had three major league franchises since 1900, and Cleveland has been a hotbed of baseball since the late 1800s. KC had the Monarchs of the Negro leagues, th...
Read more

About the League

-
Pilgrim Baseball League (PBL) is a project to assemble great, near great, and not so great baseball players from 1901- present and play out at least one spectacular season. It is what might be called replay historical fiction with the intent to capture the flavor of games in different eras as well as celebrate the players and ballparks that made and continue to make the game great. As in many pieces of historical fiction, real life figures interact with fictional characters. Real events are mixed with imagined situations. The League’s story and season results will be told through many perspectives. You will see articles by jaded columnists, quotes from players, scouts, and owners. Salty sports-talk radio hosts and the voice of the man on the street will be mixed in.
Read more

Pitchers and Catchers Continue to Report

-
Vero Beach, FL - By Lazlo Yankovic “When you think of February, if you’re a romantic, you probably think of valentines Day.”   Lou Michaels said. “You may think of Black History Month, or the Amethyst birthstone. I think of baseball. Pitchers and catchers reporting. The promise of rookie phenoms and veteran heroics. Horsehide hitting wood. The crack of the bat, the double down the line, the shortstop going deep in the hole behind the outstretched arms of the third baseman, grabbing the ball on the hop, and making the off balance, yet remarkably accurate the throw to first.” February may be known for Valentine’s Day, but in parts of Florida and Arizona, it is known as the beginning of Spring Training. More than 1500 pitchers and catchers have been invited to participate by the PBL.   “That’s a whole hell of a lot of people in one place whose fingers smell of horsehide.” Jay Johnstone, an outfielder with 20 years of major league experience said.   I...
Read more