Scouts Are In Search of the Pro and Con

You spot him standing down the first base line and take a gulp of air. A major league scout is here. At your game.

You know he came to watch the opposing shortstop. Everybody wants that guy. But you know in your heart that you’d make a good professional ballplayer too. It’s all you’ve ever wanted.

How do you make an impression?

“Play hard, show us that you want to play,” said Scott Stanley, a Montreal Expos’ scout whose territory includes the Valley and Ventura County. “You don’t see that from many guys. If you play hard, I’ll notice you.

“There are a lot of stories of guys who went out with below-average tools, but because of their work ethic, they end up taking someone’s job.”

The very best players are obvious to every scout.

But scouts pride themselves in seeing potential in a player no one else notices. In last year’s draft, a record 1,719 players were chosen. Many were players who caught the eye of a single scout.

So you don’t throw 90 m.p.h. or run to first base in four seconds flat.

Here’s the ticket to becoming a middle- or late-round choice:

* Show at least one skill at close to an average major league level. Either throw or run well. Either hit with power or hit all kinds of pitching hard. And if you’re a pitcher, it doesn’t hurt to be tall or left-handed.

* Demonstrate that your skills will improve. You’ve got a shot if a scout files a report that reads, “below-average present skills but high projectability.”

* Remain unemotional during games. Never show displeasure with yourself, teammates or an umpire. Professional baseball teams play nearly every day and keeping an even temperament is crucial.

* Let scouts know that playing professional baseball is the most important goal in your life. You bet, tell them, you’ll sign for little more than a handshake and an airline ticket. Bus rides and bad burgers you can handle. You just want to play ball.