Does anyone know how many pitchers threw 90 or better at the recent 17U WWBA? Just curious.

Can someone pls provide a breakdown of 17U this year? It appears from the WWBA website that rain really impacted the tournament. What players stood out? What teams?

My son's team went to this tournament and yes rain impacted big time, just as it did last year. I spoke to parents who attended last year's event. I cannot answer about who the good players were but would like to comment on this event.

1. Why do they hold this event in Georgia where it seems every year the games are impacted by thunderstorms/rain?
2. As a showcase event, if your day at the main complex is rained out, you lost your chance to be seen by scouts/college coaches. Very few showed up at the outlying fields where most of your games are played.

The opinion of the parents were, why fly clean across the country to sit at your hotel all day waiting for the make up game call to come in. The team had to sit around in game jerseys all day. I'm glad I did not go, I know I would have been greatly disappointed.

Pop Up Hitter dad,

Welcome... But I don't understand your first post.

Alpharetta was the farthest field from the complex. There were over 100 scouts and college coaches there for one game.

The week before was the 18U. There were no games rained out. It didn't even rain until the semi finals.

So far this week it has not rained during the 16U. In case you haven't heard, the Atlanta area was in a serious drought!

The opinions are OK, but this tournament is very popular. In fact, it is the largest tournament ever held for this age group. You might have been greatly disappointed, but you didn't go! Many who went were not dissapointed.

Sorry, I get a bit skeptical when someones very first post is negative and comes from someone who wasn't even there.

College coaches and pro scouts go where they want. There were around 650 of them there last week. If they missed a good player, we didn't. We had scouts at every game. If that player was impressive, everyone in baseball will know it before long.

There will be a large number of players who will be very happy they were in Georgia last week. I suppose there will be many others who will not gain a lot out of the event.

It did rain nearly every day. In fact, one day it rained more than it has in two years in the Atlanta area. It does get in the way when that happens.

We don't force anyone to go to the tournament.

My son's team was in Marietta for the 17U WWBA last week also. I will admit the rain was a mess as far as holding a baseball tournament goes. The PG group did a fantastic job juggling 192 teams around to get as many games in as they did. We played a rain shortened game at the East Cobb Complex and spent the rest of the time at outlying fields. There were a lot (10-15) schools in attendance for those games at least from what we could recognize. My son communicated to several schools that he has interest in his schedule for the tournament and the changes that occurred during the week. My belief would be that you should be prepared before the tournament with your contacts to be seen. Although my son has received two calls already from schools he did not have previous contact with. Thanks again PG Staff! Your scheduler will need a long vacation when this tournament season is over!!!
To Garse: I know we had 2 players on our team over 90 and saw 2 others that were 90+ in our games.

PG did an unbelievable job running a giagantic tourney in rainy conditions. First class operation from top to bottom. Keep up the great work guys.

garse,

We will be posting all the pitchers you asked about in your original post. Thanks for the nice compliment.

PCballdad,

That is exactly what it is all about. Best of luck to your son. Thanks!

My son is only 15 and played in 18U and 17U. Pitched at least once in each tourney. Even though schools can not contact him, he had a great time and got seen by a lot of scouts. I would disagree with no scouts at outlying fields. There was several scouts at every game we were at and we were with a team from California the first week, EC Indians the second week.
The scouts talked to our parents and coaches. They even commented on my son's pitching performance (LHP 89 mph) and the fact that he was from Tennessee playing with a California team.
I don't see how PG could make very much any better. Every team gets a chance to play at EC complex. They have someone at every game evaluating and communicating. They tried their best last week in the midst of a terrible rainy week. Thanks again PG.
We are back next week with his 15U team and they get two games at EC.
What an experience for a sophomore kid and his parents. 3 weeks out of the summer at one of the greatest tourneys. Everyone here keeps telling him that he is one of the best, it was good for him to see that there are big kids out there who can really throw and hit a ball.

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
Pop Up Hitter dad,

Welcome... But I don't understand your first post.

Alpharetta was the farthest field from the complex. There were over 100 scouts and college coaches there for one game.

The week before was the 18U. There were no games rained out. It didn't even rain until the semi finals.

So far this week it has not rained during the 16U. In case you haven't heard, the Atlanta area was in a serious drought!

The opinions are OK, but this tournament is very popular. In fact, it is the largest tournament ever held for this age group. You might have been greatly disappointed, but you didn't go! Many who went were not dissapointed.

Sorry, I get a bit skeptical when someones very first post is negative and comes from someone who wasn't even there.

College coaches and pro scouts go where they want. There were around 650 of them there last week. If they missed a good player, we didn't. We had scouts at every game. If that player was impressive, everyone in baseball will know it before long.

There will be a large number of players who will be very happy they were in Georgia last week. I suppose there will be many others who will not gain a lot out of the event.

It did rain nearly every day. In fact, one day it rained more than it has in two years in the Atlanta area. It does get in the way when that happens.

We don't force anyone to go to the tournament.

PGSTAFF, Old timer.
My post was more about the bad weather, maybe it was our week again to get it all. I did not intend to knock PG or their staff, after all this may be the only place large enough for such a tournament and if one wants to be seen by East Coast people you have to go. Yes, no one forced us to go, we just got hammered by the rain that evidently Atlanta needs with their current drought conditions.

This is a tremendous website for High School baseball fans and players, I cannot begin to absorb it all.

Pop up hitter dad,

We get just as frustrated as the teams when dealing with rain. Dry weather makes our job much easier. It’s no fun dealing with massive schedule changes. It’s not only the teams that need to be rescheduled, but everything from the various sites, umpires, staffing, PG scouts, official scorekeepers, etc. need to be rescheduled. It is all very much worth it in the end.

Some get frustrated by the cost involved. I can understand why people might think it is too expensive. However, people might not understand the cost of running these type events. During the month of July alone, we will pay umpires over $400,000. Then there’s the fields, Turface purchased and delivered when it rains, baseballs, etc. Then there is the staffing of over 80 PG people including a few that work on these tournaments year around. Travel, meals and lodging are very expensive for all of us, teams and staff. There are many other expenses like awards, rings, insurance, and ongoing expenses long after the event ends with writing reports and entering volumes of data to the database. These are just some of the costs involved. The tournaments don’t end with the championship game. It is still profitable in most cases, but not as profitable as some might think.

It is all worth it to many players, scouts, advisors and college coaches that attend. BTW, there were lots of west coast college coaches in Georgia for this event. Also several from Texas and other western colleges. It’s not just an east coast thing at all.

Unfortunately it rained a lot during the 17U. We got a few nasty emails that said we should have known it was going to rain. Well… We have been doing this for a long time and we actually do not know when it will rain. The 18U the week before it only rained about one hour all week. The 16U played the week after the 17U hasn’t had a drop of rain all week. Yet, if it would have rained, there would have been people telling us we should have known it was going to rain. BTW, it works that way no matter where an event is held. Two years ago we were washed out of several big events in Southern California. We’ve had rain outs and delays in Texas, New York, California, Florida, Arkansas, Ohio, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia, etc., etc. We’ve also had a lot more dry weather in all of those places. Rain is not fun for anyone associated with a baseball event, but most other people who live in Georgia were very happy to see that rain.

Anyway, I do understand your frustration… I’m sorry that you feel you would have been greatly disappointed had you actually been there. Sorry your sons team sat around with there game jerseys on. I wish your team could have done well in the playoffs because that tends to change the opinions that teams and players have.

Best of luck to your son. Our people will see him at the Area Code Games. I hope he ends up realizing all his dreams. That’s what this stuff is all about!

I apologize if this sounds like I’m a bit paranoid. Truth is… I am paranoid and sometimes feel like a punching bag with some of this stuff. Good business people have advised me to not respond here to the negative things. I am not a good businessman or good at ignoring anything.

I hope you continue to offer your opinion to this site. You’re correct… This is a tremendous website for baseball!

PGStaff,

I think it's really helpful that you do explain some of the history and behind-the-scenes stuff, so that our posters can better understand what is involved. I am always amazed at your patience!

PCballdad, just a little side note about your quote:

"Thanks again PG Staff! Your scheduler will need a long vacation when this tournament season is over!!!"

I'm pretty sure that PGStaff (Jerry) is one of those who needs a long vacation when this is over. When I visited with him here in Minneapolis at the end of May for the National Showcase at the Metrodome, he had only 3 hours of sleep the night before - and that was for an indoor showcase with a few hundred players. I can't imagine how he gets any sleep while juggling rain delays for hundreds of teams and making sure everyone gets seen as much as possible.


Julie

It is true that you'll pick up more of the lingering scouts when you play at East Cobb, or even across the street at Kell.

But it's the team's (and its players') job to get scouts to your own darned games.

If you just go there hoping someone will notice you out of the sea of kids there, get real. There were probably close to 3,000 kids there! Trying to pluck a kid from the pack and then get them interested in your program is a tough job for a scout. He would prefer to go looking at kids who've already expressed interest in his program. That work generates a better yield.

Identify those you hope to have at your games BEFORE you go, then keep them informed of the where and when of all your games. They do tend to show up if you take the initiative.

It's an ongoing job, because no matter where you go, you're apt to get at least some rain and rescheduling in the course of a week. It's thunderstorm season, after all. Take your laptop and make sure you have access to the internet where ever you're staying -- heck, even the cheapest hotels have access now, so there are no excuses for not taking 10 minutes per day to e-mail the 4-5 scouts you're trying to generate interest with.

That's probably why one team had 100 scouts at Alpharetta while others got few. Some teams understand the task and tend to it. Others just go to play and expect it all to be done for them. That ain't the way it works, folks.

PG, maybe the tourney's advance info should include a tips sheet on how to take maximum advantage of these tourneys? (What's one more sheet of paper in the coach's packet?)

I just wanted to write a quick note from a mom's point of view about the 17U WWBA tournament weather. Even if the bad weather had been predicted a month ahead of the event I cannot imagine telling my son he would not be going. Rain or shine-it was a great experience for a first timer. We brought our two little girls and everyday they wanted to go to the American Girl doll store but they knew baseball was first and we were there to support their brother. Each day it rained I would email Mr. Rawnsley/staff for a schedule update and whether they knew or not they always immediately emailed us back. Our teams came with a good attitude and left with a better one and more motivated. It is a fantastic tournament and loved Atlanta rain or shine. And yes, my girls got to go to the American Girl Doll store-can you just imagine have all three of your children happy???
Thanks to the PG staff!!

My son was there 17u. He has been playing travel ball since he was 10. He said, "It was the best baseball experience I have ever had"

That pretty much sums it up for me.

Rainouts and re-scheduling are as much a part of travel ball as hot 90 degree days.

I second Sunshine Mom's and TripleDad's comments. We were lucky enough to be there for the 18U and 17U. It was a tremendous tournament, and we would go again in a heartbeat, rain and all.

Yes, it was easier to communicate with the scouts about where and when you would be playing the first week, when there was little/no rain. And if the scouts were interested in seeing you, they DID drive to all of the locations, near or far - we saw many scouts at many of the very remote fields at our games and for games before and after us. It was more difficult when all of the rain hit, because there was no certainty when or where you would play. For example, we were told one time that there would be no game that day due to rain. So off we went to do laundry, and just as we were finishing (one coach was with us), my son called to say he had a call from our other coach that we had a game. So we had 40 minutes to make it from the laundramat to the hotel and then to the field (a 40 minute trip). We made it, but unfortunately did not have time to contact college coaches. (PG - this is not a complaint, we completely understand the need to get all games in as best as possible - and the PG staff did a fantastic job with all of the rescheduling - to get it all in as best as possible, and make sure the fields were playable, etc).

Hats off again to PG for another great event.