for a 3rd Fall Showcase team in the Tidewater area?

A friend asked me this and I figured I would get input from all of you.

Are you talking about a scout team where players are refered or asked to participate by MLB scouts?

FieldBuilder

....you teach me baseball and I'll teach you relativity...No we must not, You will learn about relativity faster than I learn baseball.
--Albert Einstein

Redbird

If that team were based on the Peninsula, I'd say yes. But it's not a slam dunk.

There is usually enough talent over here to support such a team. But there is not yet/right now the culture that would allow it to work.

2 big factors:

1-Legion baseball is still strong here, far stronger than on your side of the river. Probably 90 percent of the best players here play Legion ball. And, though that is a summer league, it runs into the beginning of the fall campaign.

2-Schools/competition. Unlike the Southside, you have the big schools/small schools thing. And it is a big deal. The small schools kids here still get significant pressure to play football and/or basketball, more so than the bigger-school kids, where the numbers allow them some "protection." And, because the school lines are such that Legion ball breaks down by big schools/small schools, and that the big schools have dominated, some kids that would be contenders for a showcase team are overlooked. In their one chance to compete with the big boys, they are seen as failures because their teams aren't as good.

Whoever put together such a program would have to be astute enough to pick players well. Because while I believe there is enough talent to form a competitive unit, there is not a lot of wiggle room in that pool of talent.

Fieldbuilder,

Yes, like a scout team. One like the Devil Rays or the White Sox.

OldVaman,

Thanks for the Peninsula insight.

I have been told the Penn White Sox already water down the talent....

that is from college coaches that need to schedule their time well. They dislike for an area to have a tean of "projects" and "politicals"?

i do not know just passing info

Peninsula White Sox? Who are they?

redbird,

I think there is potential for Hampton Roads to have a 3rd Fall Showcase Team. The total rosters for both the W/S and Devil Rays were 51 players, also there were 4 or 5 players from this area who played for the NJ Twins. There should be enough talent from both sides of the water to have 3 teams, made up of JR's and SR's.
That basically equates to 60 to 70 quality baseball players.

If you think about it, when AAU was first introduced there were 3 Premier Teams from this area that were very competative on the National Level

The concern is who is qualified to coach. What I mean by that, is someone needs to have the connections with colleges and other scouts to make it successfull for the players.

is the general perception among college coaches that their needs to be another team?

There are 30-40 DI caliber jr & sr players in the eastern region each year? I don't know. What will happen is no one comes to the fall teams w/o the best players. Problems problems problems. PENN WS sorry you know the Churchland (Portsmouth) White Sox?

excuse me. No one comes to see the teams w/o.........

LSUTiger,

Who said they all had to be D-1 prospects?
There are plenty of D-II, D-III and Juco colleges that attend the showcases in the Fall.

I not sure of your comments regarding the Tidewater White Sox, but to date, 5 players have committed to D-1 program, 1 to a D-3 and one to a Juco. So what is your point!

LSU Tiger,

If you would do your homework on the Tidewater White Sox you would find that many players have gone on to D1, D2, D3, and professional programs.The 2002 Fall team had 13 D1 recruits, @ D2 recruits, 4 D3 recruits and 1 professional draftee. The year before that I am aware of at least 6 D1 recruits, 2 D2 recruits, @ D3 recruits and 1 professional draftee.

VaDad,
Thanks for the additional history.
The figures which I am refering to is the 2003 squad.