ANSWERS: 2
  • Get a scout to see you playing baseball. But know that anyone who plays organized baseball for more than a handful of games has probably been seen already by a major league scout, whether it's at the level of high school, junior college, college, American Legion, pony league, Minor Leagues, anything at all. There are tons of scouts combing the United States and Canada looking everywhere. Also, every major league team has an open tryout once a year. Anyone can attend. These tryouts are in fact mostly intended as fun and exciting events for fans, not with the expectation that anyone will show up with big-league talent. But it does sometimes happen. For example, Art Howe came to the big leagues that way at the age of 26. [Added in response to sushant Rana] There isn't a simple answer to your question. The top-notch pitchers in high school ball are throwing about 90 mph fastballs. Those guys get scouted like crazy. However they are also the early bloomers in terms of physical maturity. Some teenagers reach physical maturity faster than others do, and those are the biggest and strongest on the playground. The others might be late bloomers, but they will get there. So although there is ultimately no difference in what they are capable of, at age 14-15 the early bloomers will throw harder, in the low 90s. Another thing: Velocity is not the most important thing in success as a pitcher. The most important things, in this order, are: location, movement, and velocity. I will explain. Location is most important. That means a pitcher needs to put his pitches where he wants them--inside, outside, high, low. Throwing strikes when you want, and throwing the ball outside the zone when you want, are the most important things for a pitcher. It's called "hitting your spots." Second in importance is movement. That means having a good break on your curveball and slider, good sinking action on your sinker, etc. Third in importance is velocity. That means just what it sounds like: high-velocity fastballs. Another old piece of wisdom says that the formula for pitching success is: "Work quickly, throw strikes, and change speeds." Working quickly means not wasting time in between pitches. After the catcher throws you the ball, get the next one to the plate as soon as reasonably possible. Throwing strikes keeps the pitcher ahead in the count. Being ahead in the count gives the pitcher the advantage. Being behind in the count gives that advantage to the batter. Changing speeds keeps the batter off balance and confused. Batters who see different speeds of pitches miss more often. A final thing: A human body of age 14-15 is still growing. Trying to throw for maximum velocity is a good way to injure a growing body. My point is this. Don't worry too much about velocity if you are 14-15 years old. There are lots of ways to get batters out. Learn how to pitch, not just how to throw. Good luck and have fun. :)
  • I believe these are still the 2004 tryout locations but they should be updating the locations soon. http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_info/about_mlb/tryout_club_04.jsp http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_info/about_mlb/tryout_us_04.jsp Also, some events like Winterfest hosted by the Schaumburg Flyers have speed clocking setups: http://www.flyersbaseball.com/team_news/full_story.asp?ID=121 Unless you are active in a college level league or can get a scout to take time off to look at you these tryout camps are probably your best bet.

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