Has anyone had experience with this showcase? It's being held in September at the University of Maryland. I'm assuming that underclass means that seniors are not eligible to attend. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

We are still sorta new to the showcase route... how does one get an invite/letter to this one?Son is a Jr. catcher hoping to play in college...

Go to the Perfect Game web site and get the information. I don't think this one is "invitation only", I think it's open to anyone with $499 to spend. But PGStaff can correct me on that if I'm wrong.

There are certain showcases that are invitation only, but again I don't think this is one of them.

$499 ????? Do all you baseball parents do lots of these at these prices??? We want our son to play, but wonder if our priorities are right...

You have to be selective, that's for sure. There are lots of folks ready to take your money. You shouldn't try to go to all of them.

Our son just participated in the "Battle of the Ship" at Univ. of Md. He did fine, but have no idea if anything worthwhile will come of it... there were so many kids! At worst, it was a workout for a mere $95~ We may check out the Perfect Game one also at Md.in the fall. I hear they run a good showcase??? Does anyone ever get feedback from anyone that spotted your sons??? If you are not a pitcher, does anyone even look at you??? Please, anyone, educate us on the showcase business (and business it seems to be!!)

Let me just say this about attending a PG showcase. My son attended the Atlantic Coast Underclass Showcase the summer after his freshman year. I think it was around 450.00 to attend. The event was outstanding. The players were timed in the 60. Then they held a pro style tryout. The pitchers threw on the field and they evaluated by PG staff. The outfielders were also evaluated and the gun was put on all outfielders and posistion players as well. The players were split up on four or five teams and they played games. All during the event PG coaches took kids to the side and gave them advice and instruction. Also the kids took BP on the field and they were video taped during BP and evaluated by the PG staff. On the final day a game was played between two teams that were picked by the PG staff they call it the top prospects game. After the event all the players attending are rated by PG based on their performance and potential as players. PG is regarded by college coaches and professional scouts as the leader in evaluation of HS players. In my opinion it was the best 450.00 I have ever spent on baseball for my son. He got the opportunity to get outstanding feedback instantly from PG staff and some quality instructional tips. One bat cost 300.00. One glove can cost 200.00. My son is currently ranked the #157 player in the nation in his 08 class. He wants to be the best player in the nation. If you want an honest , professional evaluation from people who make a living doing just that I feel 450 or 495 dollars is a good investment. The fact is PG is the undisputed leader in prospect evaluation in the nation. If you want to know where you stack up and you want to get and honest evaluation of where you are right now it is more than worth the money spent in my opinion.

One more note. I do not believe that you should go to a PG showcase in order to be seen by college coaches D-1 or any level. You go to be evaluated by the PG staff. You go to see where you stack up against the other players in attendance and all the players that have been previously evaluated by PG staff. If you want to be seen by numerous scouts then attend a WWBA event where there are countless scouts in attendance such as Jupiter or East Cobb. There are events other than WWBA events that PG puts on that are heavily attended by scouts. But if your intent is to be evaluated and given professional feedback see my earlier post.

Coach May, Thank you for saying that and please forgive me for what I've written here.

BEAR,

You have effectively ruined my day. JERRY’S CASH COW! WHAT YOU HEARD??? What you HEARD??? Skill & Talent NAIA & D3..maybe?
What is your need for saying that?

Your addition is inaccurate but not bad. Your subtraction stinks! Our business needs revenues of roughly $14,000 each and every day of the year… IN ORDER TO BREAK EVEN! Add that up!

I don’t know about others, but here is how we operate…

Usually a coach from a college will contact us wanting Perfect Game to hold an event at their site.

A full time employee makes the appropriate contacts and coordinates everything and then schedules the event.

Other fulltime staff members in our organization go over the request and discuss logistics and then if agreed upon, OK the event.

The full time employees who will work the event are then notified of their schedule and our full time employee who handles travel sets up flights, lodging and rental cars and any other things that are necessary.

Our full time office staff then gets the proper insurance papers and other paper work in order.

Then full time employees print brochures in our in house printing department.

Then full time employees take the printed material… stuff them and mail them.

Our full time tech staff designs and enters all information on the website.

Our office staff then receives signups, enters all the information creating a file for the player. Then they prepare confirmation letters to make sure the players info is correct and mail these back out to the players. Then as the confirmations are returned any changes and added information is added to the players file.

Then our full time staff at BaseballWebTV plans for the event, once again using our fulltime travel person. Baseballwebtv, then creates a file for the player so when his video is edited it can go right up.

Then each players file is sent to our fulltime staff at pgcrosschecker so that the players report and information is prepared to enter after the event.

A fulltime staff member then tracks the event players and charts by position and teams. About a week before the event date he creates rosters for printing and website posting.

Our fulltime equipment and merchandise people are notified to prepare shirts, hats and anything else needed including baseballs, helmets, laser equipment, etc. for shipment or if trucking ourself coordinating with our fulltime driver who travels the country.

Then as the event fills up, our fulltime staff prepares and prints the programs for each event… in our own printing department. They also prepare and print the scouting information that is often requested by many colleges. In fact, there are some very major colleges who pay to get every player info sheet we print all year. Our staff takes care of this task.

Fulltime staff coordinates umpiring, trainer, coaches, and any other help we need to hire for the event.

Our fulltime web people prepare and post all information and enters each players info in profile format.

There are probably several other important items that take place that I’m forgetting.

The above is the cheap part of holding the event.

Then at the event, our fulltime staff meets and goes over details the day before the sign in.

At the event the players receive their game shirt and hat. Have their photo taken and their video introduction.

Then our fulltime cameramen film every single thing each player does during the entire showcase. This video is available to every college coach in America and every MLB scouting department.

The normal costs take place to run an event. This could include anything that the staff needs.

Then after the event is over the biggest expense starts for us.

The video is used along with all other information gathered to write an accurate report on every player in attendance… Yes, this is done by fulltime PG scouts. The captured film is sent to editing to prepare it for Baseballwebtv. This requires labeling each player and dragging the players info from our master database, where the scouting report and other info is listed.

Then the edited video and reports are checked by Baseballwebtv staff (employed by PG) and then added to the content. It’s really much more difficult and time consuming than I’m making this sound.

This video becomes part of the streaming video package we pay Akami $160,000 to stream. Then we pay another company for Rac Space to store the video.

Then our tech who works fulltime on pgcrosschecker, develops each players personal profile after a fulltime office worker has proofed everything for mistakes or omissions.

Everything is posted on a developmental page and scouts who wrote reports go over their information once more.

Our fulltime PG Web guy enters the appropriate info in the profile of the player that goes on the PG site.

If a player ends up going into the national rankings or state rankings list another fulltime staff member assigns the player an id number in the database that recognizes that player as such. Many fulltime staff work together in compiling national and state rankings.

Our fulltime PR person then emails colleges and scouts that the information from that event has been posted.

The our fulltime accountant compiles an estimate of the complete financial report on the event. This is the part that would surprise a lot of people who don’t understand running a small business this size.

Then we answer any questions someone including college coaches and scouts have on any player who has ever attended one of our events. This information can be brought up quickly on the aforementioned database that contains everything we know about a player.

I’m sure there is much more that I’ve not mentioned above. Things like building costs, insurance, taxes, telephone, computers, printing equipment, mailing, vehicles, the list of expenses is endless.

The process never ends. Often it takes a month or more to get all the work done for a two day showcase.

Do you really think all of this costs $5,000? $5,000 doesn’t even pay for the on site bills. The on site costs are a very small % of the total cost of running our events.

I just hate it when people view what we do based on what others might do.

By the way, Jerry’s Cash Cow, probably makes Jerry less money than nearly everyone here could imagine. I could be doing many other things that would be much more rewarding financially. I don’t do this because of money, but we couldn’t continue to do this without paying the bills.

BEAR, A bit more… Seeing you’ve ruined my day with your comments.

The DI coach you quoted would be doing his program a grave disservice by not going to another one of these events. If he is a good DI coach I expect to see him at one of our events yet this month.

Bear, I’ve always gotten the feeling that you were the enemy, your slanderous remarks intended to harm us/me kind of proves it.

What is your purpose in this “slanderous” attack on our business and me personally? How do you know what things cost us? Are you aware that we will spend 4 million dollars this year and right now it looks like we will end up in the RED?

Who said it was a nonprofit organization? Quotes are easy to spout out, when they come from the unknown! Is that really a QUOTE or is it just a comment made by you? I wish you could experience Jerry’s cash cow and exactly what we do. There are not many who would do the things we do for the financial reward we receive.

Now regarding the cost and benefits and profit you felt obligated to PUBLISH! Every player, BP, the 60, the infielders, the outfielders, the catchers, the pitchers, the entire showcase can be viewed by every college coach and scout in America on Baseballwebtv. Does anyone else do this and how much do you think it costs to do it? Cameramen, editors, streaming video service, etc. Ask Rick Stephenson, Matt, Ashley, Tom Koerik, Skillshow, etc. if they do this service free of charge? Or if there is a large expense in producing and making this available.

For your information, using your numbers, Perfect Game has a payroll that $34,000 would account for less than one weeks payroll. We don’t work out of our house and rent a facility and then go on to the next one. The work and the expense start long before an event and doesn’t end for a long time after the event is over. We have no volunteers, they’re all on the payroll. Jerry’s cash cow can barely keep up with it. I consider that insulting and degrading.

If a player shows our staff enough he will benefit greatly. That is the way it has been for 14 years. We have the ability to make someone very well known in a hurry. It is well documented. Before making your degrading comments, take the time to investigate the facts. Call the top programs in the country and ask their opinion. We had a kid attend an event with zero coaches or scouts. He was immediately recruited by three major powers. He ended up at Clemson and was drafted this year. It would be real easy to check that out.

While you have decided to take a cheap shot at us, was it necessary to take a cheap shot at the kids who attended this event? That’s just… well… CHEAP!!!!

By the way, I don’t know if you read USA Today, but there was a story this week about someone winning an 11 million dollar lawsuit from someone who made accusations on a message board that was damaging to there business and occupation. Another one of the many expenses of ours is having a very good attorney. We have never sued anyone yet in 14 years, but there’s always a first time.

It’s really too bad you don’t bother to find out how much money PG donates around the country to help young players and promote the game. Perhaps you would change your opinion if you’d take the time to find out.

If you really think expenses of flying in staff, camera people and other workers… paying umpires, providing equipment, paying people to write reports, paying insurance, paying salaries… let alone other expenses you’ve mentioned, comes to $5,000… you are extremely confused regarding how we operate. Come to Cedar Rapids sometime and see the way we operate before making more degrading comments about something you know absolutely nothing about!

I have email and a phone… You can contact me if you have a problem. That way you can’t be sued for PUBLISHING slanderous comments intended to harm someone. I hope you UNDERSTAND what I’m saying? We’ve been around the block… You’re in over your head on this one! I expect a written apology!!!! Ask your lawyer if that might not be a good idea?

Finally, to all others. I apologize for this post. I realize every event we do is not exactly the same. However, to do things the best way, it gets expensive. If someone wants to complain or has concerns about anything we’re involved with, please feel free to email us/me. jerry@perfectgame.org

We do care and take great pride in being honest. You don’t last long doing what we do without being honest. We are entering our 15th year. We are not perfect! We do appreciate first hearing concerns privately rather than reading them on a message board. I know it’s not good business to post things I’ve posted, but I’ve been saying for a long long time… I am not a good business person. Words like Cash Cow don’t fit.

The fact is… I’ve never cut down any person or business on this site, no matter what I really thought or knew. If there is a problem I’d contact the person rather than publicly insult and degrade. I only expect the same in return. To read about quotes where no one is quoted, let alone the other comments about us, me and the players who attended the event, shows a lack of class and definite intent to harm. Just so someone doesn’t get the wrong idea… I’m ****ed off and plan to address this further if needed. If anyone thinks this is not serious, I’ve spent more than the past 5 hours on nothing other than this.

I may be out of line here , but I'm gonna chime in here anyway.
I can't speak for that event , but I have PM'ed Jerry about attending a PG showcase for my son (this particular event as a matter of fact) and after hearing my evaluation of my son,(a control pitcher who doesn't exactly light up the gun , but just gets you out.) his recomendation was that perhaps showcasing wasn't the best way to display his talents and that he should probabaly concentrate more on travel ball and tournaments than showcases.
I guess maybe I'm a stupid hillbilly but it doesn't sound to me that he was trying to take my money!
I don't always agree with his posts but I really don't think it's the money that drives him . He just may be very truthful , which can in some circles be misunderstood as being unkind.
If your trying to get a scholarship or trying to get your son drafted think very seriously about the money you spend on showcases , camps etc.
The average college scholarship will not repay the money you spend on these things as there are not many to go around and many of them are split up among many players to get the maximum effect.
If however you are like me and just want to give your son a chance to play 4 more years of baseball while getting a good education( cause reality will come crashing in way too soon!) then you spend the money anyway just to give him the chance.
I love my son ,just as we all do ,and will spend money I don't really have just to give him that chance.
I can't speak for the particular showcase , but I think you have wrongly and undeservedly impuned this mans integrity.
As to DIII and NAIA talent , whats wrong with that? Have you ever heard of Marietta College?
A DIII school in Ohio(multiple time DIII world series winner) who could on a regular basis beat up on many DI schools, and they get guys drafted out of there also.
Just my opinion for what it's worth.

We appreciate PG in the Northeast. Every event my son has attended there were many college coaches, scouts and great baseball players. Best money we spent. Speaking of money spent, did you know that PG is willing to work the financial aspect with its players? Does not sound like they are just interested in taking your money.

Call PG any time and you actually get to speak to a person. They offer advice and try to help point you in the right direction for your son.

I know several guys who went to PG events and they are in the minors now. They all felt PG events helped them get ranked where they were basically unknown.
We never went to any PG events but if things had not turned out we were planning on attending some.
I think bear was entitled to state his views but he went too far, If he kept to facts I don't think he would have a problem but he obviously tried to hurt PG and shows a lack of understanding of running a business. I have never felt the cost of the events were outragious and would have gladly paid the price.
Guys that I know like D Davison and N Weglarz probably, according to them would probably not be were they are today . Both had scholarships to Oklahoma State and chose to sign a MLB contract.

Jerry,

Take heart - he ruined my day a few years ago as well. Although it was personal - and not business.

Just a little insight from a parent who has had an "experience" with Bear.

Just the facts.

Several years ago - my eldest son went to one of his tournaments. My son had a leg injury at the time - but was still able to play.

Bad weather - but we got a few games in. In the last game we played - we played Bear's team.

My eldest son - from a baseball perspective - destroyed his team. He hit - fielded and stole bases at will - and basically buried them. I got a kick out of it.

About a week later - Bear posted on this site about the tournament he ran.

He ran down the list of kids - and when he got to mine - he basically called him a "dog". I believe his comments included "he runs well - at times when he wants to". Insinuating he wasnt a hustler - which was both hurtful and a bold faced lie as well. God only knows what else he said to others.
He did this because he was ****ed that my son manhandled his squad.

How about this Bear - he ran all over your teams face and made them look like little leaguers. That is what you should have wrote. LOL

That is my experience with this guy that comes on this site and attempts to degrade PG and Jerry Ford.

Let me repeat for you Bear - he ran all over your teams' sorry *** - and all you could do was just watch it and wince - and then of course - post some nasty false stuff about my son on a public website.

And I still remember every bit of it - as well as every single time he made your squad look like little boys. LOL

Think about that folks, when you read this guys whacked out garbage. IMO.

Bear, there is a hide post feature in the upper right hand corner of your post.

Might want take that feature for a test drive.

Its and PG take heart, been there with Bear also.

deldad

Haven't we all !!!!!

It's unfortunate that Jerry felt the need to have to defend his business. Perfect Game is nothing less than stellar in the services they provide. And the amount of revenue, or more importantly, profit, that PG, MVP, TeamOne, Maryland Baseball Academy and others make, should be irrelevant to us as "consumers" as long as they provide the services promised.

Have programs like PG changed the landscape of youth sports and college recruitment? Sure. Have they profited? Absolutely, because there was a market and need that wasn't being fulfilled, hence look at the past alternatives. An outstanding accomplished athlete was going to get seen and recruited regardless. However, the good solid athlete who was a step below the All-Met standout might instead be relegated to depending on his moonlighting high school English teacher/coach to open the recruitment doors...coaches who many times were limited in their ability or desire to help. The end result was many would-be qualified college players found their last game of their high school senor year to be their last at-bat ever. PG and others have embraced and utilized the Web and video streaming technology, giving every player who has the desire to play at the next level, the ability to be seen.

For every All-County, All-American athlete, there are hundreds of quality prospects who have, at minimum, the talent and ability to be considered for playing on a Juco, NAIA, DIII, DII or less popular DI program. And even occasionally, there is the kid who is diamond in the rough who previously has been ignored, missed or forgotten about that could play at any level if given the chance. Perfect Game and the likes of Jerry Ford have afforded all us the opportunity to help facilitate the dreams of our children, and he should be compensated for doing so. If you don't like the cost or can't afford it...don't sign-up.

I always smile at the fact that organizations that provide services to parents for their children, have to somehow be careful not to seem like they're in it to make money. I say to Jerry and the rest of his business sector...MAKE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN! This is America, and if Jerry doesn't make a buck, he won't be around to help the thousands of players who might not get a foot in the "college baseball or professional" front door.

I appreciate the fact that $500 is relative as to your financial situation; however, I'd rather give my bucks to Perfect Game or Al McCormick of MVP for a weekend full of baseball evaluation and possible interest from some scouts and colleges for my son, than to Target or Abercrombie and Fitch for weekends full of Xbox games, trendy clothes, Mall carousing, and couch sitting with his buddies.

In the end, 952 former Perfect Game participants drafted and countless others now playing college ball, is enough testament as to the quality of Perfect Game.

Jerry, keep up the good work and try and keep the books in the black!

Wow, I'm sorry I missed this thread earlier. I don't know what Bear said in his post, but I have a feeling I would also have been very offended by it.

Jerry and Perfect Game, I'm sorry you had to defend yourself here. Absolutely unfair - if people knew the stories I have heard of PG going "above and beyond" to help players and parents, without regard to cost. Yes, PG does need to charge for their events, or they would not be able to keep fulltime people on their payroll to provide the level of exposure they do provide. I'll just repeat this very true quote by Coach May:

quote:

PG is regarded by college coaches and professional scouts as the leader in evaluation of HS players. ... If you want an honest, professional evaluation from people who make a living doing just that I feel 450 or 495 dollars is a good investment. The fact is PG is the undisputed leader in prospect evaluation in the nation. If you want to know where you stack up and you want to get and honest evaluation of where you are right now it is more than worth the money spent in my opinion.

Well, it looks like the hide post feature worked.

Nice job, PGStaff.

FO,

I'm not sure how that post got deleted, but it wasn't by me.

In fact, not once have I ever asked a moderator, Julie, or Bob to delete a post. (good or bad)

People have often told me not to defend these type things because it is unprofessional. I suppose that is the proper business approach, but sometimes it just seems like its necessary.

People also get the impression that this is all fun baseball stuff and we are rolling in the dough. The kids are the fun part; the rest of it sometimes gets very hard to deal with.

Those who know us the best, know we are not rolling in the dough and that is not our #1 goal. However, if that ever happens, it wouldn't really bother me all that much.

A little known fact... The first 6 years of Perfect Game... Every day (for 6 years) we should have gone bankrupt. We couldn’t pay our bills on time and it was only because it was baseball, that kept us going. Not once did we sacrifice what we were doing because of financial problems.

Our main staff was paid $14,000 a year salary. (When we could afford paying it). These were all college graduates and/or former professional baseball people. If making a pile of money was the only incentive… we would have given up a long time ago.

The one thing that I am most proud of… The original staff is still here starting their 15th year with PG. It actually amazes me that everyone stuck with it, given the circumstances. Every one of those people could have easily secured a job for 4 times what they were being paid. If money were the only objective, there would not be a Perfect Game.

Perhaps this will allow people to partially understand the sensitivity when I hear all the PG money talk