It's rare when any kind of Major League Baseball comes to your own town.
That happened Wednesday when Tampa Bay Devils Rays coach Fernando Arango
held a tryout camp at Total Park.
"This has always been a good baseball area," Arango said. "There are a
lot of good players in this part of Oklahoma."
At Wednesday's tryout camp, Arango said two key facets were going to be
looked at when the players performed.
"We look for athleticism and ability to play the game," he said. "They
need to show they can put those things into practice.
"The two main things you see in tryouts are a 60-yard dash to see their
running speed. The other thing is to throw, in both the infield and
outfield, to see whether they have arm strength."
All the athletes had a card, on which valuable information was written
-- such as speed in running and throwing.
"The information is taken to the front office, and we may use future
tryout camps to follow these athletes in most cases," Arango said. "We'll
watch them this summer or next spring. Depending on their eligibility and
whether they can be signed, we may even go sign someone. We just send
the information to the
front office, and they make the decision."
Each position has certain needs and "tools" needed to be potentially
the best qualified.
"Different positions need different tools," Arango said. "For example,
first base, third base, left field and right field -- or commonly
called the corner positions, hitting and power become a very important
part. Behind the plate, you want a person who can catch and throw the
ball, and also hit. We look for someone in centerfield who can really
run. At shortstop, you need somebody who can really field the ball, go
into the hole (to field the ball) and have the arm strength to get it
(to first base). At second base, we look for someone who can really
hit. His arm doesn't have to be as good as a shortstop's The rule we
like to use is to take a shortstop and move him to second base because
their arm may not be as strong. On the mound, you always look for arm
strength."
Also running speed is a crucial factor.
"For first base, third base, catcher, right field and left field, running
isn't critical, "Arango said. "One of the things we report on is if a
guys' running ability is not what you want it to be and does he clog the
bases or not. We don't want them to clog the bases when speedier runners,
like Kenny Lofton, hits a ball that would normally be a stand-up triple,
but has to stop at second base because the runner ahead of him can't run
and is calling for the paramedics when he gets to third base."
Arango said the young players should not get their hopes up to start
tryout camp or hopes dashed when tryout camp ends.
"Kids have to understand one tryout camp doesn't mean that just because
you don't make it doesn't mean you can't play," he said. "They shouldn't
be
discouraged because there are days you won't run well or throw well. The
main thing they need to understand is there's always room for
improvement."
Arango, who works a five-state area in this region of the U.S., said
tryout camps prepare him for the following year.
"It gives me a head start on being able to go out with a list ready for
next year of the younger players," he said. "That's why we do these
things -- to get an idea of talent out there that's able to help us."
Ardmore and KKAJ/Post 65 Cardinals Legion baseball teams coach Roger Byrd
said Wednesday's tryout camp bodes well for Ardmore as well as Southern
Oklahoma.
"It's an honor to have a professional organization come in and use our
facilities to look at players from southern, eastern, western Oklahoma
as well as north Texas," Byrd said. "We're excited to have (Arango) here,
and it's a great pleasure to have him here. We appreciate the time he's
taking to look at these young men in the area. All these organizations
have these tryout camps. They're looking for ball players for the future,
maybe someone immediately. You never know."
