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AABC is still top dog at the 18/17 year old level. Why good teams like TeamD and the Austin Slam don’t play AABC is a mystery to me. Last year at the regional I saw just about every Big 12 and SEC coach sitting in the stands watching the D-BAT and Mustang game. I believe teams from the south that don’t play AABC are doing their kids injustices. What else is going on July 15th? You can’t tell me that there is a better event going on in late July then the AABC regional. I have a theory why some teams don’t play AABC at the 18/17 year old level. Coaches are afraid that the season will end early and they will have no World Series to play in. They would rather buy a spot in a World Series and end the season with a bang. Yes AABC can be a heart breaker and end your season early but that is what makes it so great. Take your lumps and let the kids have the rest of the summer to themselves. If you make it to the regional you have done enough. Your kids will be seen by more coaches then buying your way into a bootleg world series.
NewGuy
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| Posts: 45 | Location: Dallas | Registered: March 20, 2007 | |
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Member
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quote: Originally posted by Newscout:
AABC is still top dog at the 18/17 year old level. Why good teams like TeamD and the Austin Slam don’t play AABC is a mystery to me. Last year at the regional I saw just about every Big 12 and SEC coach sitting in the stands watching the D-BAT and Mustang game. I believe teams from the south that don’t play AABC are doing their kids injustices. What else is going on July 15th? You can’t tell me that there is a better event going on in late July then the AABC regional.
I have a theory why some teams don’t play AABC at the 18/17 year old level. Coaches are afraid that the season will end early and they will have no World Series to play in. They would rather buy a spot in a World Series and end the season with a bang. Yes AABC can be a heart breaker and end your season early but that is what makes it so great. Take your lumps and let the kids have the rest of the summer to themselves. If you make it to the regional you have done enough. Your kids will be seen by more coaches then buying your way into a bootleg world series.
NewGuy, I wouldn't want to speak for the head coach of Team DeMarini however, in my humble opinion, hear are a few reasons why Team DeMarini chose not to play in the AABC you reference: 1) the mission this season was to play in venues that scouts were scheduled to attend. Quite a bit nof research was done to understand the mission of each tournament they attended. The venues chosen by DeMarini were those that could provide exposure in multiple locations throughout the US, not just in the great State of TX. 2) every tournament you don't win can be a "heartbreaker". We advance to the TeamOne UnderArmour SemiFinals only to lose to the Chet Lemon Juice, a perinial national powerhouse. What a great experinece to be ahead 1-0 through 5 innings! Unfortunately we lost. 3) After hearing about the AABC shenanigans in AZ that all the TX teams experienced this season (and rumored to have happen in many other seasons), what makes that experience so special. Sounds like good old fashion "politics" to me. We've seen no such antics in the tournaments we have chosen to enter. In addition, when you reference your experience last year, DBAT vs Mustangs, yes there were many scouts. However, if you were to attend some of the other "less glamourous" games, the scouts were scarse. AABC seems to be popular in the S.Central and S.West US but many from other parts of the US don't seem to know or care about AABC. 4) In past years the "teams" that make it to Farmington don't seem to be the same teams/rosters that played together earlier that summer. By the time the teams added 3-5 pitchers, an additional catcher and a few guys that hit bombs, the concept of "team" seems to be tainted. The original team that invested the sweat equity during the early dog days of summer are no longer playing an active roll for the "team". Many of those who started with that team, evaluated the team talent, assumed they would be able to contribute, get left to only watch from the dugout as other strangers wander up at game times, at premier events, to take there spots. In no way am I saying that the AABC isn't a quality program nor series. They'll have many good stories and memories that also get created. Much like many other tournaments across the country (Perfect Game WWBA, Perfect Game BCS, UnderArmour, TeamOne, Pastime and many others) These opinions were not meant to be disrespectful of anyone elses decision to attend any/all other events or play for any/all other teams/programs. Team DeMarini simply chose to take a different path for the summer baseball season. Thanks for the interest in Team DeMarini. Team D |
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| Posts: 18 | Location: Texas | Registered: June 12, 2008 | |
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HSBBWeb Old Timer
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Over the past 15 years I have taken teams to many major tournaments throughout the country at 18U. While I understand that certain tourneys work better for some than others, IMO there is no better competition at the Connie Mack level than AABC. Period. The Regional Qualifiers, World Series Qualifiers and the Regional provide the stiffest competition at 18U for teams from this area. Without doubt, there is no better venue in amateur sports than the Connie Mack World Series and getting there is a tough road - participation must be earned. Playing in front of 10,000 fans, major league scouting directors and against the best ballplayers in America is an experience that players will never forget. The fact that your season could end with a second loss in State or the Regional gives games an edge that simply cannot be found in other events. The showcase tourneys around the country are nice but for what it's worth they are not win-or-else for the kids....most often they are just another tourney. The best teams compete for the brass ring and their kids focus on that goal from the time they set foot into the summer arena. The players that excel there are recognized and usually rewarded for it. I can count on one hand how many players from teams I was associated with garnered collegiate opportunities from being seen at out-of-state tourneys while I have many, many stories of players making a name for themselves and receiving next level opportunities by showing their mettle on the big stage of a State or Regional. As for pick up players, AABC only allows 20 players on a CM roster and most teams carry 18-20 players for the summer. I believe that the five BBI teams that have made it to Farmington over the past three years (LH Wildcats (twice) , DBAT (twice) & Tigers) picked up a combined total of five or six players. Last year we picked up one player (LHP) for the Regional and that was it. Hardly what I would consider a wholesale roster change. By the way, that one extra arm was needed because he was on the mound (and the bottom of the dogpile) for the final out of the Regional. On the other hand, non-affiliated and showcase tourneys around the country typically allow for unlimited rosters and mass pickups which does not jibe with the latter part of Team D's argument against playing AABC. It seems to me that a team could opt to stick to it's original roster just as easily in AABC as it could for a PG event. As for large numbers of scouts at events, it has been mentioned in this forum numerous times that player info is turned in for players from this area by scouts from this area....not the east coast scouts. Just my $.02.....
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| Posts: 1061 | Location: Dallas, TX | Registered: August 20, 2003 | |
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Member
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quote: Originally posted by RETIRED GM:
Over the past 15 years I have taken teams to many major tournaments throughout the country at 18U. While I understand that certain tourneys work better for some than others, IMO there is no better competition at the Connie Mack level than AABC. Period.
The Regional Qualifiers, World Series Qualifiers and the Regional provide the stiffest competition at 18U for teams from this area. Without doubt, there is no better venue in amateur sports than the Connie Mack World Series and getting there is a tough road - participation must be earned. Playing in front of 10,000 fans, major league scouting directors and against the best ballplayers in America is an experience that players will never forget.
The fact that your season could end with a second loss in State or the Regional gives games an edge that simply cannot be found in other events. The showcase tourneys around the country are nice but for what it's worth they are not win-or-else for the kids....most often they are just another tourney. The best teams compete for the brass ring and their kids focus on that goal from the time they set foot into the summer arena. The players that excel there are recognized and usually rewarded for it. I can count on one hand how many players from teams I was associated with garnered collegiate opportunities from being seen at out-of-state tourneys while I have many, many stories of players making a name for themselves and receiving next level opportunities by showing their mettle on the big stage of a State or Regional.
As for pick up players, AABC only allows 20 players on a CM roster and most teams carry 18-20 players for the summer. I believe that the five BBI teams that have made it to Farmington over the past three years (LH Wildcats (twice) , DBAT (twice) & Tigers) picked up a combined total of five or six players. Last year we picked up one player (LHP) for the Regional and that was it. Hardly what I would consider a wholesale roster change. By the way, that one extra arm was needed because he was on the mound (and the bottom of the dogpile) for the final out of the Regional.
On the other hand, non-affiliated and showcase tourneys around the country typically allow for unlimited rosters and mass pickups which does not jibe with the latter part of Team D's argument against playing AABC. It seems to me that a team could opt to stick to it's original roster just as easily in AABC as it could for a PG event.
As for large numbers of scouts at events, it has been mentioned in this forum numerous times that player info is turned in for players from this area by scouts from this area....not the east coast scouts.
Just my $.02.....
Thanks for the comments. We all try to learn from the vast experience of those before us. Perhaps others from outside this region would have other experiences and have similar convictions. As far as you comments about scouts goes, that restriction is only on MLB teams, not colleges. As far as the pickup players goes, Team DeMarini has been dedicated (as many other teams are)to it's players while many who chase the AABC format were not. Does picking up players late in the season that then run off those who started with the team count? We've seen it happen and it continues to happen every year. It can happen on any team but when you put coaches/programs in a situation of win-at-all-cost situations, they will, and do, make late season changes to replace that original team player with some new/strange face late in the season (pitchers, hitters, etc). Just a different definition of team makeup. It also does not, nor will not, suprise me that those that frequent this forum (including the DBAT contingent) will vehemently support the AABC format. All I was trying to say is that there are many other formats to address competitive baseball. Every tournament, and season, must come to an end at some time. Knowone likes it when that happens. On to another task....just my two cents..... |
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| Posts: 18 | Location: Texas | Registered: June 12, 2008 | |
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HSBBWeb Old Timer
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quote: Originally posted by TeamD:
Perhaps others from outside this region would have other experiences and have similar convictions.
The very best 17/18 teams from every baseball hotbed in the country play for Farmington. I have never understood why some teams from those same areas do not. IMO it is a shame that players on those teams do not at least get to experience trying to get to the AABC CMWS much less getting there. In light of this thread's topic, I am curious of something from you posters. For 18U summer ball teams, what are the non-AABC tournaments where you will see a team enthusiastically dogpiling after winning the championship game?
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| Posts: 1061 | Location: Dallas, TX | Registered: August 20, 2003 | |
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HSBBWeb Old Timer
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I love the PG events. Jerry and gang do a great job promoting and staging their individual showcases and team showcase tournaments. Our teams have used PG tournaments events for exposure purposes on a national level since we have been fortunate enough to have players that drew national attention. However, I personally see a big difference between such showcase tournaments and a league-based association such as AABC that has one winner at the State, Regional and World Series levels. The comparisons are simply not apples-to-apples. Jerry gave us one example of a team feeling enough sense of accomplishment at 18U to dogpile. Does anyone have another?
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| Posts: 1061 | Location: Dallas, TX | Registered: August 20, 2003 | |
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Member
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Mr. Virginia, Have you ever heard of the Midland Redskins, Arizona Firebirds, Dallas Mustangs, East Cobb Yankees, DBAT, or the Florida Legends? They play in Farmington year after year. If you don’t think these guys are playing for a National Championship I would like to see your list of teams that play in your real National Championship.
NewGuy
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| Posts: 45 | Location: Dallas | Registered: March 20, 2007 | |
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