Perfect Game Showcases?

Could some of you "Guru's" here in the NC area give me your opinions about the perfect game showcases?? I have read and seen some good things about them over on the Highschool Baseball Website. But was just curious if some of you have experience here in our region? Thanks!!! Man I wish opening day for highschool ball would get here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :xyzthumbs

 

Great question: Excluding grades, you have to ask yourself a couple of questions:

1. How good am I (or my son) as a player?
2. What is a realistic goal that is obtainable?
3. Do I want to challenge myself?
4. How important is In-state tuition?
5. How important is athletic money?

You can possibly compare your talent to other players ahead of yourself/your son that you know and come come up with a rough idea.

Broad-brush strokes will place you in a couple of categories:
1. Can play anywhere in the nation (coaches drooling everywhere)... Rare
2. Can play for a top program regionally (coaches want you from Virginia-Georgia)
3. Can play for a top program in-state only (This isn't just the ACC/SEC. There are some other top-programs in-state).
4. Can play for a small D1 program in-state, a good D2 or a top D3.

Once you have your category (and dream) established, then look where you need to be to reach that dream.
1. If, realistically, you fall in the #2 thru 4 categories, then Impact baseball can probably meet your needs. Every college in the state attends their programs.
2. If you wish to play regionally out-of-state, then you probably need to attend a PG Showcase IN ADDITION to Impact.
3. If you want to play for Miami, Florida, Stanford, Texas etc, etc then Perfect Game is a must (plus a lot of luck).

Attending a PG showcase is good. They do a great job of tracking the players and have a great reputation. If you wish to play in the SoCon, or in the Big South conferences, it isn't needed.

Got some news for you guys ... the State of North Carolina is probably the BEST baseball state for college baseball to be born in. Here are some raw numbers to look at.

Colleges/Universitys playing baseball by State: D1 & D2

1. New York, 34
2. California, 32
3. North Carolina, 30
4. Pennsylvania, 28
5. Texas, 25
6. Florida, 24
7. South Carolina, 22

Colleges/Universitys playing baseball by State: D1

1. New York, 23
2. California, 22
3. North Carolina, 17
4. Texas, 16

Now compare that to the number of D3 baseball programs by state

1. Pennsylvania, 45
2. New York, 40
3. Massachusetts, 32
4. Ohio, 22
5. Illinois, 21
6. Wisconson, 21

North Carolina is 20th on that list

People wonder why Duke and Wake recruit so heavily out of state?? It's because the opportunities for players from other states is so poor compared to North Carolina. There is some GREAT college baseball programs here.

Compare Florida & Georgia (Heavily populated, two of the best areas for HS prospects in the nation) with North Carolina

State, D1 Programs, D2 Programs, D3 Programs, Total Programs
North Carolina, 17, 13, 5, 35
Florida, 11, 13, 0, 24
Georgia, 6, 11, 4, 21

A higher percentage of NC players will go on to play college baseball than virtually any other state (except for some of the heavily populated states rich in D3 programs, like Pennsylvania and New York).

This EXCLUDES NAIA (which isn't common in our area but is HUGE in other sections of the country and Juco's (Huge in Florida and other areas).

Why show the numbers? Due to the number of players moving around from states (Florida, Georgia, etc) that are NOT rich in baseball programs, there are more opportunities to play IN-STATE in quality programs. You can look outside, but you really don't need to unless it's your dream.

Deciding to concentrate in-state only, you can meet your recruiting needs by going to Impact, some selected other showcases and attending a few selected college camps. Coaches also want to see you play. They may need to see you at a showcase or camp before they know it's YOU they want to make an effort to go see play.

Two final points:
1. Since I have no association with any program or recruiting service I can be blunt. I think Impact does a good job ... I think PG does a good job ... I don't think that Blue-Gray does a good job.
2. One of the reason that so few players out of NC have a national reputation is that so few NC players actually travel outside of the state to play. There are so many opportunities in state that it really isn't necessary.

 

Here looks to be a good place to announce this one too.

Winston-Salem State has announced that they have petitioned the NCAA to move from D2 to D1 status. The move to D1 will require them to add more men & women's sports. The trial period of the move will be for the 2005-2006 season, but provision status as a D1 program was requested to be granted as of December 2004.

Yes ... one of the men's sports that they are planning to add is baseball.

That will bring the # of D1 programs in the state, playing baseball to 18.

 

NC I would agree with what you said above about PG and Impact and also that Blue Gray was not up to par with those showcases. But you never know who is watching and where you get the payoff. My son went to PG, went to a couple of Impact showcases but was recruited directly from Blue-Gray showcase. :huh:

 

I'm not anywhere close to being a guru, but my son and I have attended two PG national showcases in Ft. Myers -- one an underclass event last January and the other an academic showcase in June. We've been pleased and would generally echo what you have heard on the hsbaseball site. I do think the PG tournaments are better, more fun and more real-life, and would recommend your first priority be to play on a team that can get in the PG national tournaments. But the showcases serve a purpose and I'm not aware of anybody, anywhere that runs them as efficiently as the PG guys do.

Here are the positives:

Having PG experience and getting a PG rating and a PG analysis, and now that all their showcase attendees who are rated (and that is almost all of them) get a listing in Baseball America's Prospects Plus, certainly can get guys noticed who might not otherwise be noticed. Being able to refer a recruiter to a PG report on the PG website provides instant credibility that can supplement ad confirm what the recruiter hears from coaches and other sources, particularly if you can't otherwise list a scout who has seen you play.

It is a great father-son trip that at least the father (and hopefully the son)will cherish.

PG events are great places to meet other serious baseball people and see and compete against talented players from other parts of the country.

If you are a pitcher, the format tends to favor the pitchers -- wood bats, no walks -- just a rule you have to throw fastballs to a batter after 4 balls, and no HBP, so the better pitchers can live just off the plate the whole time. Umpires tend to have big zones, probably because of the rules.

The "Skillshow" folks are always there selling their services and they do a great job with a high quality video if you want that, and they provide a discount at these events. If you are a high profile recruit, you will never need a video; otherwise one will be requested by every school you deal with, and the skillshow videos I've seen are extremely well done.

The Red Sox minor league training facility in Ft. Myers is a great place to have events.

The negatives:

It is pricey, but the experience is great if you can afford it.

Over a two day period position players run the 60, take 5 or 6 balls from their primary position and make 5 or 6 throws, take about a two or three-minute batting practice (about 15 swings) and then participate in three games, where they probably hit a total of 5 or 6 times. Plenty for the PG guys to make thorough evaluations, but not enough for some folks to feel they are getting their money's worth.

Over that same two-day period pitchers run the 60, take BP if they want to, and throw about three innings in the simulated games. Innings have 6 or 7 batter limits, but they rarely reach the limit, so a pitcher will probably face only 10 to 15 batters total.

If you are a hitter who knows the strike zone well and is selective at the plate, see above about the format -- you need to be ready to swing away at these events. I remember one plate appearance where the sequence was wide CB strike, hit by FB, 4 straight balls away off the plate even wider, 2 of them FB and 2 of then CB, inside FB ball, another wide FB that was fouled off, and then a ground ball on an inside FB. A new definition of "battle up there."

If your best attribute is covering ground in the outfield, don't count on being able to show that off. Because of the format, there just aren't many balls hit hard in the gaps. You will have to dazzle with your 60 time and your speed on the bases.

I think the PG ratings tend to be a little high and sometimes raise expectations above where they might should be. Having said that, I realize they are looking at potential and not necessarily at where a player is now, and they certainly have forgotten much more about that than I will ever know.

In summary, if it won't cause financial strain and you want exposure or a really good father-son bonding experience, I recommend attending. If you are already getting exposure, or if you play on a team that goes to PG national tournaments, it is certainly not a can't miss thing. Also, Impact and others do a good job of doing this sort of thing on a regional basis for significantly less, so if you want to play at the next level in North or South Carolina, those events are probably sufficient. If you are a good student and want exposure to a wide variety of schools around the country, including D2 and D3 schools, a PG event is IMHO by far your best bet.

At worst, you will have a good bonding experience and make some new baseball friends. At best, you may open some doors that would not have otherwise been available.

 

Wow

Wow, Pops, you are the man, AND the guru. The only place where we may disagree is with the category 4 player. I think those players need the exposure the most and get the most out of a PG showcase. You find that some D2 and D3 coaches use PG as a tool to identify prospects and some calls begin with "I saw the Perfect Game report on you, and I'd like to see you play in person."

The Category 1 guys don't need any help, but the PG national top prospects showcase helps their draft potential and relative position, and it lets recruiters from distant schools see them in a setting with other top-notch national prospects.

The Category 2 and Category 3 guys can expand their horizons by getting PG exposure if they want to. Again, the showcase is not necessary for them to do that IF they play on a team that attends PG and other national tournaments.

But the Category 4 guys can gain a much-neeeded introduction through PG, and they can IMHO benefit the most.

Also, while I don't disagree with your overall assessment of the showcases you list, I will say this: Gus Bell cares more about the players that come through his showcases than any of the other guys and he will do anything he can to help out. It is just that his ability to help out has declined recently. Still, his events at Wake, William & Mary and to some extent Coastal still draw well, and while he is appropriately third on your list, in my book he is still miles ahead of the many, many guys who are at the showcase game only to line their own pockets.

 

I agree with you about Gus ... I was looking at results though...

There is no doubt that the outside state exposure that comes from a PG event can help with some of the Category 4 players, particularly for the very good students. Down at Jupiter during the 2003 fall WWBA tournament, I saw Princeton traveling around scouting players. They had their list sorted by SAT score and were working their way down the list .... that really tells you something !!!!!

Outstanding academic programs exist out there in a lot of D3 institutions. Many of these institutions have strict academic standards, forcing the coaching staff to search nationwide for quality players who can handle the academic load at their College/University. The smaller the D3 and more exclusive the academic standards, the more difficult it is for them to recruit directly out of their area and the more they have to rely on programs like Perfect Game and Blue-Grey. Impact has made such tremendous strides INSIDE the state of NC, that, if your goal is an NC Institution, there isn't many reasons to look outside of that venue.

If you are a good baseball player and an outstanding student, you CAN find a place to play baseball ....

 

Question?

has there ever been a "perfect game" in the "percect games" hohoho! Don t like the sound of it but the info here is great!

 

NCBBALLFAN,
You have to be the smartest guy that i have never met. Looking forward to it some day. How could anyone look up this much info and hold down a job? You have got to be retired!

 

No.......but he might be old enough......

Seriously....he IS the master.... :xyzthumbs :xyzthumbs