Crack of the Bat
by Blaine Clemmens
Is running hard too much to ask?
I have been so engrossed in writing reports from past events such as our ’08 National Showcase, California Showcase, and the Area Code Games, that I have neglected to write a Crack of the Bat article in some time. This forum allows me to give some of my personal insights gained from my experience on the job with Perfect Game… which by the way, is a great job!
Sometimes I have a very specific thought of what to write about. Other times I have to give a bit more thought to the subject matter for one of my column articles. Since I spend my time scouting amateur players at our events and other high profile events, I like to stick with reporting to you my observations from my time spent at the ballpark scouting up and coming players that wish to be evaluated by not only Perfect Game, but also by any other scouts that attend our events.
Not only do I watch a lot of young players trying to make a name for themselves in the game, either for an opportunity to play college ball or perhaps to better their professional prospects, but I also watch a lot of Big League baseball on TV. Most fans of the game are aware of players in the Big Leagues that do not exactly play hard all the time. Guys like Manny Ramirez, Barry Bonds, and Aramis Ramirez for example, do not always run out pop-ups or ground balls and sometimes look disinterested in the game.
However, there are players like Juan Pierre who seem to always run out every ball hit and play with hustle and apparent passion every game. This article is not about those Big Leaguers and their approach. I understand that if Bonds or Ramirez (either one) ran out every ball they likely would not be healthy enough to play as often as they do, which would actually be a detriment to their teams.
Nope, this article is about how often I see amateur players at the showcases and tournaments I scout that look as though they are approaching the game like they are Big Leaguers trying to conserve their bodies for a grueling 6+ month season that consists of 162 games in about 180 days. Players attend Perfect Game showcases for an opportunity to be scouted by our staff and for the scouting profiles that we create.
For the most part, the players we see at our showcases give 100% for the duration of the event; at least most think they do. Some players do not give nearly 100% and cannot seriously think they do. Why is that a big deal to me and other scouts? Why should I care? Because our job is to evaluate every player as fully as we can.
At a showcase we have specific methods of putting players in a position to have their raw abilities (tools) evaluated. The 60 yard dash gives the players an opportunity to show their raw speed. The batting practice round gives players an opportunity to show their bat speed, power, swing plane, hand path, approach, type of hitter they are, balance, etc. The position players all receive fungos and show their arm strength, release, footwork, etc., either from right field for the OFs or from deep shortstop for the 3Bs & MIFs. The 1Bs field balls and throw from 1B. The catchers receive feeds and make throws to 2B.
All that is very important as we work to fully evaluate the players, ultimately for the purpose of creating and writing each player’s scouting profile from that specific showcase. However, what the showcase workout does not show is the players’ usability of their tools in game situations. The workout does not tell us if a player can hit a good fastball or the breaking ball. The workout by itself, does not tell us what type of defensive players the players are in game situations. The workout alone, does not tell us how their speed plays in the game and that is the main focus of the rest of this article.
I have an issue with how some players approach the showcases. After the last ball in a BP round, the players are to run it out so we can record a home to first time. For those that are not aware, the stopwatch starts at contact and stops when the player hits the bag at 1st base. What we see so often is players forget to run immediately after that last ball, so the time to first is not a usable time. Or a player does run hard out of the box but pulls up before the bag, again, making that time unusable. Or we see a combination of the player not going hard out of the box and then pulling up before the bag.
For a reference point, a very good home to first time for a RH hitter is 4.3 seconds (considered to be an average time on the MLB scouting scale). For a LH hitter the average time is generally 4.2 seconds. The average time for college prospects is lower, roughly 4.4ish for a RH hitter and 4.3ish for a LH hitter. Most players are not average runners, and that is fine. I also know that most players are not 4.8-5.0 runners but players that either do not go hard out of the box or pull up before the bag post many times in that 4.8-5.0 range.
Another point of reference for those that may not be aware… on the MLB scale, a 6.8 60 yard dash would be generally be considered an average time. For the college game, I would say that 7.0 is considered an average runner. Whether the average of all the pro players is 6.8 seconds in the 60 is debatable, but regardless, that is the time that is generally considered average.
It can be pretty fairly assumed that a 6.8 runner can also run an average, if not better, home to first time. Of course if a 6.8 runner has a big swing, it can take him some time to get out of the box. A RH hitting 6.8 runner with a big swing might run 4.43 down the line, making him a below average runner home to first, but average in the 60. But if he goes hard after contact and hard through the bag, at least we get a representative recording of that player’s game speed.
Now I am going to get to the major concern that prompted this article… too many players in the showcases DO NOT RUN OUT ground balls, fly balls, pop-ups, or take hard turns around first base on base hits. Too many players approach the running and hustle part of the game like they are Barry Bonds.
At the ’08 National Showcase I actually went to the dugout to ask our coach in the dugout to tell the players that for THEIR OWN benefit, they might want to start running out balls in play and making hard turns at the bag. I wanted the players to understand that the scouts in the stands have no interest in watching a player “Cadillac” it down the line or make their “Big League” turn around the bag on a clean single. Every ball in play is an opportunity for a player to show his usable game speed, every ball.
Are players just not being taught how to make hard turns around the bag? Have they just not been taught that busting it out of the box and making a hard turn can make a fielder panic and possibly over run a ball or mishandle a ball? Do they not realize that by going hard out of the box and around the bag on a base hit can get them an extra base if the fielder makes even the slightest misplay of a ball or does not go hard after the ball? Do they not realize that by busting it down the line they not only stand out to all the scouts in the stands, but that fielders know when a player is busting it down the line, making them speed up on defense, which causes many misplays and errors.
On every pitch thrown in a game, scouts start their stopwatch at the anticipated time of contact. We want the in-game home to first time (either straight through the bag or on the turn) because those are times that represent usable game speed. The 60 yard dash is great and it is important, but the home to first time tells us more about the baseball player.
Hustle always shows up and should never take a day off. In the same way that a player who hustles and goes hard all the time provides himself positive exposure, the player that loafs down the line, or pulls up before the bag or makes “Big League” turns, that player’s approach reflects negatively upon himself. Players often do not realize it, but everything they do on the field is evaluated… everything.
Most players at some point in two or three showcase games put a ball in play. Each time they do so, whether for a hit or what looks to be an out, they have an opportunity to show their usable game speed. Not to mention that in fairness to the other players on the field, each time a player goes hard, the fielder has a chance to make and complete a “real” game speed play. For the scouts in the stands, it is a much more enjoyable experience to evaluate players playing hard.
Sometimes a showcase game can be a bit sterile, because of the non-team environment of a showcase. These events exist for individual players to “showcase” themselves as baseball players and for the scouts to gather and evaluate a large number of players at one location. For whatever reason, many players seem to forget that the showcase is all about them and each of them has to seize each opportunity to stand out.
A player can go 0-6 in his showcase game at-bats but if he makes good contact and runs hard each time, guess what, there are going to be positive notes on that player that we will include in his scouting profile. At the very least we will get a representative game speed. If we only have the 4.8 a player ran in BP, then that is all we have to go by, even if that player is a 6.9 runner in the 60. Notes like, “plays hard” or “hustles” or “runs hard” or “gamer” or “hard turn” or “ballplayer”… those are great notes and they have nothing to do with hitting a home run or making a diving catch.
Running hard and hustling is the EASIEST way for a position player to stand out, one that they control. Because fewer and fewer players play hard all the time, it is sad to say, but hustle actually stands out as a special trait. There was a time when all players knew it was an expected part of the game but it does not look like as many players understand that anymore. Guess what? It is still expected, even in a showcase… by scouts, by quality coaches, by real baseball players, so why do we see more and more players not playing that way?
Anyway, that is what I had to say. Players please do yourselves a favor and give the scouts something real to evaluate by running hard and playing hard. Give yourself every opportunity to stand out. Don’t leave a showcase bummed out that you didn’t get more than one hit and didn’t have many, if any balls hit your way in the games. Don’t show your disappointment with that ground ball to shortstop by loafing down the line, which only shows bad body language and the inability to handle failure. Go hard, make the shortstop panic, beat out a throw, and raise the level of intensity of the game. GET NOTICED!
This column represents the thoughts and opinions of the author and are not necessarily those of Perfect Game.