Pan American Games Are Crowded With Major League Baseball Scouts

Major league scouts attending the Pan American Games have the best seats in the park and possibly the worst job in baseball.

“You can make a terrible mistake,” said Terry Ryan, a scout for the Minnesota Twins. “You could really miss on a kid. This is a very humbling profession.”

Scouts from virtually all the major league teams are in attendance at the Pan Am Games and clearly, the United States, Cuba and Canada have the only legitimate major league candidates.

“The U.S. and Cuba, talent-wise, are the class of the tournament,” said Glen Van Proyen, a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers who signed the club’s current right fielder, Mike Marshall, and New York Yankees designated hitter Ron Kittle.

“The Americans have plenty of talent and potential, and the Cubans have several players who could play in the major leagues.”

Ryan and other scouts were very impressed with Cuba’s team, which has won four straight world championships and is easily the best amateur team in the world.

Outfielder Victor Mesa, infielders Omar Linares, Luis Ulacia and Antonio Pacheco and pitcher Pablo Abreu are those who impressed some of the scouts.

But no matter how impressive the Cubans are, they are unlikely to be in any major league parks soon. There have been no diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba since 1960 and, at the most, only a handful of native Cubans have joined the majors since then.

Does that frustrate scouts like Van Proyen? “Nope. It doesn’t bother me because nobody else can get them either.”

And it’s not that they haven’t tried. The Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly made an offer to Linares, without success. Linares has repeatedly said he has no interest in playing for the major leagues, only against them.

“Basically, we’re here to watch the Americans,” Ryan said. “We’re trying to get a good evaluation for next year’s draft. The Americans have a young team and they’re very impressive. Some of the Canadians will get a look, too. All those guys (Americans and Canadians) have the playing tools we’re looking for. What’s tough about this job is the other stuff, the mental and emotional aspect.

“Canada surprised me. They’re a very scrappy bunch and they play well. They showed me some ability.”

Of course, one of the rules of scouting is never give a name because someone else might be listening. However, Van Proyen insists there are no “sleepers” at an event like the Pan Am Games.

“You’re just not likely to stumble on someone at something like this,” Van Proyen said. “Everyone knows all the players. Someone who has not been playing well might emerge, but the name would not be unfamiliar. The difference in this game is scouting.”

Van Proyen and Ryan said the overall quality of the teams is down.

“I think you’re seeing the extremes of baseball here . . . very good and horrible,” Van Proyen said.

Added Ryan: “Aside from the top three teams, I haven’t seen anyone.”

The players from the other participating teams--Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua and Venezuela--are unlikely to send any players to the majors.

“One reason is age,” Ryan said. “A lot of these guys are in their upper 20s, some in their 30s, so if they’re not in the league by now, it will be tough. That’s one thing the U.S. and Canadian players have on their side--youth. Plus many of the Canadian players are in U.S. colleges and are in pretty good programs.”

Van Proyen said with the extensive scouting system in Latin America, “if someone has good ability down there, someone has seen them and they’re probably already in some team’s system. Basically, what you see here is what you get.”

Ryan, who signed current New York Mets pitcher Jeff Innis, said he is primarily interested in pitchers and likes U.S. Coach Ron Fraser’s style of using four of five in a game.

“That really helps us,” he said. “You get a chance to see a kid two or three times against international competition and in a bit of a pressure situation. That’s nice. It makes our job just a little easier.”