Just to try to keep it simple, I feel as a Dad whose son has played TOS,PG WB(Marietta,Jupiter)and currently highly ranked by PG here's my take. Outright exposure, Perfect Game hands down. Talent is also PG dominated. Area Code tryouts invite very huge also. Underarmour in which my son was also named does provide benefit, there will be talent there and scouts.Last years was operated real professinal and my boy developed some friendships there with the staff and scouts. He for sure wanted to go back. It is a great time of year to go to Arizona, if you can afford the trip. I feel any experience is an experience( is that a Yogism?). PG is having an underclassman in December, but this time of year we are hunting, and the boys need a break. My only complaint with PG is that event wise their's are domiciled in Florida and California, a lot of Texas kids would enjoy one here. They all have a value of some sort, but you cannot broadly swipe an event's importance, because each kid has different needs. But, PG has the domination of talent and exposure at this time. What is interesting down here is the emergence of Scout teams,this will cause some shifting with the organized summer ball programs, which will affect exposure on a local basis and eventually showcases as seen in Jupiter. The one my son played for was not fee driven, but was actually a HUGE investment on the MLB team getting to know the boys over the course of a few months. HIGHLY IMPRESSED with KC Royals, as they assembled some top talent. Better yet, they defintley created some relationships. Anybody have any take on the Scout team concept as seen in other parts of the country?
IMHO, All these newbies that are trying to get into the showcase events (Triple Crown, Under Armour, etc....), do nothing more than make PG look even better.
You can almost take a whole team to a top PG event for what Under Armour is charging per player.
"You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time"
Posts: 266 | Location: Swamps and Quicksand | Registered: October 21, 2008
When son was entering HS, TeamOne and TripleCrown were the top dogs in the business. I actually was very unfamiliar with PG until we attended a qualifier for the World Tourney in Ft Myers. That was in 2002. What you have to consider is how quickly PG has become the top promoters in a few short years. Back when son was asked to attend PG National in 2003, the selection process was quite different. I have also seen a huge change in their events, they have worked hard at being the best. So as PG has moved forward quickly other companies are still struggling to follow their model. That's ok, that is a huge compliment to PG. I don't think that some of these venues should even be compared anymore to PG events. I don't always agree with what PG does, but one thing you can't do is take away the fact that they work hard on what they do, and that is to make sure that they bring to their events what YOU want, hundreds of coaches and scouts and the best teams to compete.
If you want to attend another event other than PG to another part of the country to enjoy some good baseball, good weather and some quality time with your player, that's great. Do it. Just remember that many of these events that are held during the holiday time is the quiet period for D1 schools and time for scouts to be with their families before things heat up again. January is when coaches are practicing with their teams and waiting for season to begin, the best time for them is summer/fall. If you are looking for them to be out in full force, that is the best time. If you are looking for exposure, it may not be the best investment at this time for that purpose. Definetly get a definite answer on who will be attending.
JMO.
Forget the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey instead...anonymous
Posts: 13463 | Location: South Florida | Registered: July 28, 2003
Thanks, TPM. I've been flattered at the response to my original post, and think I'm going to be on this website a lot for the next few years. It seems the consensus is that the "all-american" term that you have to pay to receive is the cause of most of the displeasure with Baseball Factory. And justifiably so. Having said that, I also get the impression that the folks who actually attended the event enjoyed it, and said it was well ran and the talent level was good. Now my parents have offered plane tickets for Christmas, as they know we both would love to go. Never been to Arizona! As for scouts, BF makes no claim that colleges will be in attendance, they only mention pros. They say 22 of 30 MLB teams were represented last year. I would love for my son to play college baseball, and am confident he will, it's just a matter of at what level. I don't expect he will get drafted out of high school, so from that standpoint it's probably somewhat pointless to attend. Still torn.
Posts: 237 | Location: Alabama | Registered: November 24, 2008
Wayne, Go because you want to go away with your son and have a great vacation to Arizona. If this is son's first experience in front of scouts it might be a good time to start. Also know that often times scouts also make suggestions to coaches when they see a player that might fit their program. Also their may be schools there, D2,D3, JUCO but most likely close to that state. If that is a goal (to go to school out that way) it may be helpful. Just be aware of all these invites, you have to research. All American sometimes is a word used to get your parental pride flowing. And the recruiting process can become very expensive, IMO best time to spend is when needed most. I see you are from Alabama, if your son has talent and you give him exposure, there are many good programs within the southeast. Hope that this helps.
Forget the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey instead...anonymous
Posts: 13463 | Location: South Florida | Registered: July 28, 2003
Tpm's advice is solid, especially when he stated you can find S.E. schools right there in your area, or better yet, they find you. We live in a rich baseball climate here in the greater Houston area, which lends to what TPM related. Realistically between summer ball in this area,local tournaments, and camps,YOU WILL BE SEEN by tons of MLB scouts,D1 schools, D2, and Jucos evrywhere.So, if you were on a limited budget, then Houston would be your heaven. Now, if you want to do a tournament out of town, do as you wish, enjoy your trips and time, it is going by in a hurry.
Sorry rbinaz When you asked the question whether the 13 players had to pay or not pay, I saw you listed a website address, which I figured had some facts relating to your comment. When I checked your site, it was mostly fee driven, so I assumed you had "inside" scoop you were sharing with us all. Sorry, looks like a great site though.
My point was that when these types of events have top level players attending, its a good bet they are attending free of charge or at a greatly reduced rate so as to be human sandwich signs. Meanwhile, the rest of the attendees are paying full freight.
