Scoutspeak: What Does It Mean?

A glossary of words, phrases and terms from the scouts’ world:

Kid, boy: Any player, good or bad. “Kid” is more commonly used by younger scouts. “Boy” is favored by older scouts and carries no racial connotation.

Cross-checker: A scout employed by a club to travel the country assessing players who are highly recommended by area scouts. The cross-checker is responsible for rating players nationally and preparing an ordered list for the June amateur draft.

Area scout: A scout with a specifically assigned area of coverage. Detroit Tigers scout Dick Wilson once covered the Northwest for the Giants. His territory consisted of eight states and British Columbia.

Bird dog: A part-time scout who works for an area scout, providing tips on players and reducing the number of trips an area scout must make. Bird dogs are usually given a commission if one of their discoveries is signed, but they are otherwise unpaid.

Signability: The estimate of a team’s ability to sign a player. The easiest sign is a college senior who has no other option if he wants to play baseball. A tough sign is a high school senior who has a college scholarship and a father with a good job.

The five tools: Hitting, throwing, running, fielding and hitting with power. A player with all five is known by most scouts and all agents.

Big leagues: Not “majors” or “The Show.” Emphasis is placed on “big,” as in “he looks like he could make it to the big leagues.”

The numbers: Players are rated on a major-league scale. Because of that, a high school hero who hits .650 even when his girlfriend doesn’t keep score can still be graded as a below-average hitter. In rating a player’s overall ability, the Giants operate on a scale of 1-5. The breakdown: 1--Definite major-league prospect; 2--above-average major-league prospect; 3--average major-league prospect; 4--possible major-league prospect; 5--organizational help.

Organizational help: A player, usually a college senior, who has displayed leadership qualities that may be helpful on a Rookie League team filled with 18-year-olds away from home for the first time. An organizational help often goes on to become a minor-league coach or a probation officer.

NP: Scouting abbreviation for a dog. “NP” stands for “No prospect.” Once a player is labeled as such, he must settle for Sunday leagues and a lifetime of blatant exaggerations about his talent.

Run: Movement on a pitch. As in “his fastball really runs in on right-handed hitters.”

Dart-board material: Marge Schott, owner of the Cincinnati Reds: “What do we need scouts for? All they do is sit around and watch baseball games.”