My son received an invitation from the Baseball Factory to attend one of their tryouts for a National team.

They are a player development company for the lack of a better term. They also provide information to scouts, colleges and Baseball America for their top High School player list.

Just wanted to see if anyone out there knows more about them than their literature, or knows anyone who has attended their programs.

Thanks!

PAR

Pretty much a scam, like all "pay showcases". If your kid is good enough to raise the eyebrows of scouts, buying his way onto a team (and that's what it is...you pay $200 for a tryout to pay $3500 or something like that) isn't really necessary.



IMHO.

How old is your son?

These things can tend to be a waste of money as they usually are looking for the diamond in the rough. Usually all but one or two positions on a roster for a team like that are filled through word of mouth by coaches or scouts.

You want your son to get exposure? Send him to MLB tryouts. Find and contact some of the major schools in your area with a reputable baseball program and see if you can get information on when they are. There really isn't much to them. You field, you run, you pitch. Never been to one with any hitting.

PM for more info if you need it.

I know a lot of these showcases are nothing more then a $$ pit, that is why I am trying to find some anyone who has dealt with them specifically. Some of their alumni is impressive: Prince Dielder, Roy Halladay, Mark Teixeira, Ryan Zimmerman.

My son is 14, has been playing LL for 6+ years and travel ball for 4. Been playing up in travel ball, named the caption of his team while being the youngest player. Typically lead off, .300+ BA in TB and high OB%. I have been involved with coaching his teams up until now, and he has helped take us to an All Star division win, 2 Top Team wins, and two Tournament Championships in Travel Ball. He was named MVP of one of those tourneys.

This is his freshman year and the coaches had him playing on both the Varsity and JV team for the fall. He catches and plays SS (middle infield). He has the potential as a utility player but his catching is what is his best.

We did the tryouts just to see what feedback we got on his abilities as a catcher & ss, not expecting much as he is a freshman. One of the scouts doing the grading is a scout from the Atlanta braves. The only thing hindering him right now is his size, 5' 9" @ 130, but he is growing like a weed. He has literally grown 6 inches this year. 11.5 shoe, so he still has room to grow into them.

Ozzie Smith was 5'10, Kirby Puckett wasnt much taller.

Good luck to you and your son!

Get him in the weight room and work on his flexibility. The weights will pay off his jr and sr when he devolops his power naturally, and the flexibility will help with range and decrease his chance for getting injured.

I played ball most of my life and I quit a baseball scholarship because college baseball felt like a job. Biggest mistake I made. Let him have fun with it.

I hope he didn't peak before high school as many kids do. As long as he works at it, he'll be fine.

My son plays for one of Zimmerman's former coaches. I'll ask him what he knows about them.

ETA- IM incoming to you PAR-

Thanks, that is what we are presently working on for him.

He has no problem working at it. We home school, he got all his schoolwork done for the week Monday and Tues morning so he can go hit in the cage and conditioning.

His biggest issue is getting a team mate to throw and long toss with him off season. He is beyond my ability and he is so driven at it, they are not as motivated.