I heard that Baseball America put out their top prospects for the State of MD. Does anyone know who they are? UNCW's site said that Daniel Cropper was the #1 prospect in the state of Md according to Baseball America. Thanks

Haven't seen any rankings by state yet. But, I wouldn't argue with Daniel Cropper being #1. He was the best kept secret on the Eastern Shore until a breakout summer with the Monarchs and fall with the Oriolelanders this year.

Cropper is highest ranked player from MD. #92 in the country.

Tell us about this young man. Where does he go to school, etc.? Living on the other end of the state, unfortunately I've never heard of the young gentleman.

Daniel goes to Snow Hill on the Eastern Shore.

I like his demeaner on the mound. He's one of those, give me the baseball type players.

He certainly created a bunch of attention on our bus trip from UNC Charlotte, Elon, and UNC Wilmington.

Al McCormick
http://www.mostvaluableplayer.biz

I had a young man this fall who was quite shy. VERY talented though. We went to a tournament where we played against some older competition. After Saturday's games, he came to be in the hotel and said emphatically, "Coach, I WANT to pitch tomorrow morning. I want the rock." I've been advocating that I wanted the players to take this type of attitude into each outing and now the most unlikely player on my roster shocked me with it. I couldn't say no.

To my delight, he threw a fantastic game and got the upset win. I love players like that! They just want to win.

Your story about this young man reminded me of this experience. You just can't measure heart.

Awesome story.....congrats Daniel! His dad and mom are super people (go 'EERS!). Check out the article below for more.

http://www.delmarvanow.com/worcester/stories/20051117/2223392.html

quote:

Originally posted by CrusaderDad:
He was the best kept secret on the Eastern Shore until a breakout summer with the Monarchs....

Didn't Bernie 'find' Cropper in the spring
during MSABC Tryouts?

Will Dan be returning to the Monarchs for 2006 summer season?

Regards
Bear

My son received a letter this fall from the Monarchs.Do you know the number of games they play and locations?

Bear,

Don't know where Bernie found Daniel...just glad he did!

Kss8890,

Don't remember number of games, but they play darn near every day from Memeorial Day weekend through end of July. They played in a wood bat league administered out of Delaware and also fill-in games against local teams from other leagues. They also participated in a local tournament and two major national tournaments.

I think they are changing a few things this year (new league?), but not sure.

Thanks for the info.

They played in a league we invited them into a couple of years ago. The administrators of the league (in Delaware) have decided not to invite them back because they didn't show for a tournament at the beach, and they missed 3 games (no-showed) that had originally been scheduled.

Larry,

Wasn't that from the previous year? The Monarchs won the tournament at the beach this year and I don't remember not showing up for any games. Of course the only schedule I had is what the coaches handed out. I never saw a league schedule or anything official.

CrusaderDad...I am just going on what the guys in Delaware told me about a month ago. Coach Donovan (Reds) confirms your account however. He said that the no show last season at the tournament at the beach was a miscommunication and unfortunate. He was unaware of any Monarch no-shows during this past season. The guys in Delaware said they got 2 different complaints (a single game and a double header) from teams that the Monarchs didn't show, and then later admitted they had double scheduled for particular days, and forgot to move or cancel the other game. Just going on what they told me.

Nevertheless, the league out of Delaware is disbanding. Ever since the original guy with Grand Slam got hired to scout for the Phillies, the league administration has gone way down hill. The guys in Delaware don't like coming to Maryland on week nights, and want to leave the weekends for showcase tournaments.

I want to reiterate, my original post was based on info. given to me by the league admins.

Good luck this season Monarchs.

The Maryland Monarchs are the #1 18U Summer Team in Maryland, period.

What more can be said?

regards
Bear

That is a preposterous statement!

Let me clarify my last statement. As someone who has actually "managed" at the 18 & under level for 16 years, it is ridiculous for someone to state that a particular program is the #1 team in MD.

In 1998 my club marched through the Baltimore Metro League regular season with a mark of 35-1. We breezed through the Regionals and went on to the NABF World Series. Never for one minute did I think we were the #1 team in MD. Heck...we didn't play everyone in MD. We played a few teams in the BML, and some additional games against out of league opponents.

Mr. Bear states his own opinion, which he is entitled to, as fact. By doing this, he is discounting numerous programs for which he probably has little or no knowledge (ie. Frederick Hustlers, Harford Sox, Maryland O's, Mt. Airy American Legion, etc...).

I could have let his statement go if he had defined what went in to his pronouncement.

Bear...I suggest that someone in your position, someone who loves baseball and makes it his business to have his finger on the pulse of baseball in Maryland, not make such an outrageous and unsupported statement again. It serves no obvious purpose other than to promote your agenda.

Folks, building a championship team is more than recruiting the top 18 players from the All-Metro list. It is about putting together a group of guys who know their roles, play at or above their ability, and have the heart to move forward when things are tough!

Looking at the Monarchs lineup they are talented one through nine.Pitching wins championships and they have it.Understand that they didn't play everyone in Maryland but besides the metro league which to me wasn't as strong as past years there is not many other strong 18u teams.From what I've seen If there not number one they are in the top three.

As the parent of a player for last year's Monarchs, I can tell you that the coaches for that team absolutely do not spend their time reading the papers to learn who the all-county, region and metro kids are and then go off to recruit them. They are out there watching games, at camps, and who knows where else trying to put together the best team they can with the available talent. Bernie found my son at a camp and I am unbelievably grateful that he did. The opportunities that my son has had made available to him are beyond our wildest dreams. He plays for a high school where we have had no assistance at all; he has had a new coach each year, stats are not kept, coaches do not attend the meetings where players are nominated for all-county honors, coaches do not belong to the baseball coaches association -- I could go on and on. Playing for the Monarchs this past summer brought him tremendous opportunities in the fall and now a scholarship to a D1 school -- things just fell into place because he was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time and because the right pair of eyes fell upon him.

This is not only about Bernie -- the coaches who work with him are terrific as well -- but I know that neither my son nor I could ever appropriately express our gratitude for being given the opportunity to be a part of a program that showed us that there was another, higher level to which my son could aspire. We have been so incredibly lucky to have met the people we have met through playing with the Monarchs; my son has made friends for life -- and has developed a relationship with the young man with whom he will be rooming in college.

After having been through the Baltimore Metro League for several years and having had a significant amount of heartache and negativity, I look forward to the opportunity for my son to have one more year with the Monarchs before he leaves for college and begins another phase of his life.

It isn't only about the sport, but also about building character and allowing these boys to become men. The coaches on the Monarchs did that for my son. Consider yourself lucky if you get the chance to tag in.