O's get #5 pick in 2021 draft

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, GuidoSarducci said:

What I'm wondering is, if this stuff is so important, how are there so many international prospects in the MLB that don't come from as rich countries?  Maybe this is bias on my part , but how do the players coming out of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, who presumably don't have access to those resources, compete just as well as the ones coming out the US?

Because they get pulled out of school and play baseball full time.  That's what the Buscones are for.

[LookinUp]

2 hours ago, GuidoSarducci said:

What I'm wondering is, if this stuff is so important, how are there so many international prospects in the MLB that don't come from as rich countries?  Maybe this is bias on my part , but how do the players coming out of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, who presumably don't have access to those resources, compete just as well as the ones coming out the US?

I'm not sure if the full-time out of school story is true, but they do play a ton of baseball down there. It's a 12-month season with little competition from basketball, football, and even soccer in a lot of those countries. All of their athletes play baseball, they play it often and they get very good starting at a young age.

[scOtt]

On 10/19/2020 at 9:29 AM, DrungoHazewood said:

The percentage of parents who think little Timmy is going to be a professional is about 1000 times higher than the percentage of little Timmys who will actually go pro. That's probably a low estimate.  But the parents will pay for that.

When my kids were playing baseball the most common launch angles for their teams were -30 degrees, +25 degrees backwards, and (undefined - never made contact).

I don't know why but that strikes me as hilariously funny! Literally LOLing alone at my computer. +25 backwards!

[DrungoHazewood]

3 hours ago, GuidoSarducci said:

What I'm wondering is, if this stuff is so important, how are there so many international prospects in the MLB that don't come from as rich countries?  Maybe this is bias on my part , but how do the players coming out of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, who presumably don't have access to those resources, compete just as well as the ones coming out the US?

My off-the-cuff guess is that the impact of not having enough food to eat and the prospect of making enough money to be comfortable for the first time in your life is a bigger factor than knowing your launch angle before going back home to your McMansion to play four hours of Forza Horizon 4 on the Xbox.

[SteveA]

On 10/17/2020 at 7:57 PM, andrewochs615 said:

If youth sports and college football are happening now then I am sure they will play in the spring 

A lot of youth sports are not happening now in many places.

College football is happening because it is a multibillion dollar business propped up by TV money..

[DrungoHazewood]

2 minutes ago, SteveA said:

A lot of youth sports are not happening now in many places.

College football is happening because it is a multibillion dollar business propped up by TV money..

My kids are playing full seasons of U14 and U13 soccer, including tournaments.  And there's no money, no TV deals.  Although I guess I've spent a fair amount at gas stations in Northern Virginia.

[Jammer7]

2 hours ago, DrungoHazewood said:

My off-the-cuff guess is that the impact of not having enough food to eat and the prospect of making enough money to be comfortable for the first time in your life is a bigger factor than knowing your launch angle before going back home to your McMansion to play four hours of Forza Horizon 4 on the Xbox.

True. I have gotten to know former Orioles Minor League Manager Bien Figueroa. He grew up in the Dominican Republic very poor. He told stories of knocking coconuts out of trees to eat and using milk cartons as gloves as a kid. He talked about the determination, or "hunger," in poorer kids from the islands to succeed. They will go to much greater lengths just to have an opportunity that most U.S. kids take for granted. 

[DrungoHazewood]

52 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

True. I have gotten to know former Orioles Minor League Manager Bien Figueroa. He grew up in the Dominican Republic very poor. He told stories of knocking coconuts out of trees to eat and using milk cartons as gloves as a kid. He talked about the determination, or "hunger," in poorer kids from the islands to succeed. They will go to much greater lengths just to have an opportunity that most U.S. kids take for granted. 

I think it is true that across almost all major sports that people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds succeed at higher rates than people who were better off.  My kids' fallback if they don't become pro soccer players (and they won't) is to go to a four-year college and get a good degree and a good job.  No such fallback plan in the DR.

[Roll Tide]

58 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

I think it is true that across almost all major sports that people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds succeed at higher rates than people who were better off.  My kids' fallback if they don't become pro soccer players (and they won't) is to go to a four-year college and get a good degree and a good job.  No such fallback plan in the DR.

Those kids in the DR spend many hours a day playing baseball. If you or my kids spend that much time working on those skills the hit rate on players would be more comparable IMO.

I don’t have statistics but I’d bet the hit rate for players from Florida have a much higher success rate than a similar sized area up north. They simply get to play year round in Florida due to the weather 

[Jammer7]

2 hours ago, Roll Tide said:

Those kids in the DR spend many hours a day playing baseball. If you or my kids spend that much time working on those skills the hit rate on players would be more comparable IMO.

I don’t have statistics but I’d bet the hit rate for players from Florida have a much higher success rate than a similar sized area up north. They simply get to play year round in Florida due to the weather 

You are right about the hours played each day. It is a big part of the culture on the islands. I have been coaching kids for the last 15 years in Central Florida. Like Drungo said, kids have more options and distractions in the US. It can be tough to get a kid to put the work in away from the field when we only practice two days a week in the younger ages. The higher end travel teams do not practice in the high school years, not at all. They can't because their kids are from all over the state, or even the nation. They show up and play for a week to ten days and go home until the next tournament. Meanwhile, the DR kids are at a Baseball Academy year round for 2-3 years before they sign a contract. It really isn't a level playing field, developmentally. There are a few places where you can go to a high school that is a baseball academy, TNXL is one here in Altamonte Springs, Florida. TNXL is run by the Scorpions organization. 

More kids in Florida play baseball than many Northern states, but the burnout rate is high in Florida as well. Year round baseball, or any sport for that matter, is not a good thing long term. Overuse injuries, such as all of the elbow and shoulder issues for pitchers are a direct result of this. College coaches all want to know what other sports a kid plays. The three sport stars are discouraged from playing three sports. Football is still king in Florida. Baseball also does not develop athleticism, although it demands it. So you have to play explosive movement sports, and/or train at a complex to develop the athleticism. That gets expensive, along with everything else you have to do to have a chance. My son worked out at the same place that Ryan Mountcastle and Blake Bortles worked out at. Excellent results. 

The gap is closing with the proliferation of indoor facilities. Kids can work on their skills year round now. Seeing more kids from Pennsylvania in recent years who play the game at a very high level. That is a very good thing IMO. 

[DrungoHazewood]

7 hours ago, Jammer7 said:

You are right about the hours played each day. It is a big part of the culture on the islands. I have been coaching kids for the last 15 years in Central Florida. Like Drungo said, kids have more options and distractions in the US. It can be tough to get a kid to put the work in away from the field when we only practice two days a week in the younger ages. The higher end travel teams do not practice in the high school years, not at all. They can't because their kids are from all over the state, or even the nation. They show up and play for a week to ten days and go home until the next tournament. Meanwhile, the DR kids are at a Baseball Academy year round for 2-3 years before they sign a contract. It really isn't a level playing field, developmentally. There are a few places where you can go to a high school that is a baseball academy, TNXL is one here in Altamonte Springs, Florida. TNXL is run by the Scorpions organization. 

More kids in Florida play baseball than many Northern states, but the burnout rate is high in Florida as well. Year round baseball, or any sport for that matter, is not a good thing long term. Overuse injuries, such as all of the elbow and shoulder issues for pitchers are a direct result of this. College coaches all want to know what other sports a kid plays. The three sport stars are discouraged from playing three sports. Football is still king in Florida. Baseball also does not develop athleticism, although it demands it. So you have to play explosive movement sports, and/or train at a complex to develop the athleticism. That gets expensive, along with everything else you have to do to have a chance. My son worked out at the same place that Ryan Mountcastle and Blake Bortles worked out at. Excellent results. 

The gap is closing with the proliferation of indoor facilities. Kids can work on their skills year round now. Seeing more kids from Pennsylvania in recent years who play the game at a very high level. That is a very good thing IMO. 

Two related but kind of random thoughts:

1) Just think what would happen if you combine the kids from the DR with the training facilities Ryan Mountcastle had.

2) None of this stuff existed, at least in modern form, 20, 30 years ago.  More for the huge pile of evidence that baseball today is far higher quality than even when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s.  Pre WWII is like the Korean League, if that.

[NCRaven]

7 hours ago, DrungoHazewood said:

More for the huge pile of evidence that baseball today is far higher quality than even when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s.  

I love the Orioles.  I don't like three true outcomes baseball.  The more it happens, the less I'll care to pay attention or spend money on it.  I'm 60, and some of this might come off as stay off my lawn stuff.  But many of the games are not that interesting, at least for me.

[Can_of_corn]

30 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

I love the Orioles.  I don't like three true outcomes baseball.  The more it happens, the less I'll care to pay attention or spend money on it.  I'm 60, and some of this might come off as stay off my lawn stuff.  But many of the games are not that interesting, at least for me.

I'd just as soon watch a 3TO at bat as watch a can of corn or weak ground ball to second.

[Moose Milligan]

On 10/19/2020 at 4:18 PM, DrungoHazewood said:

In Europe the systems are very different, but Lionel Messi and his dad moved from Argentina to Spain join the Barcelona youth academy when he was 13.  Harry Kane joined the Arsenal youth academy when he was eight, was released after one season because he was "a little chubby and not very athletic", joined Tottenham, was promoted to the senior team as a teenager and has now led the EPL in scoring several times.

And I complain a bit taking the boys to Winchester from Southern Maryland for a match...

Bro, if you're ever out here in Winchester, hit me up.

[DrungoHazewood]

9 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Bro, if you're ever out here in Winchester, hit me up.

Were just there in September at Sherando Park, and then the next weekend in Front Royal.  But not scheduled out that way the rest of the year.  I'd never been downtown in Winchester before, but we ate outside a decent Mexican place in the pedestrian area.  Wanted to go to Macados for the nostalgia (there is/was one in Blackburg, haven't been since college) but the line was out the door.