The cream riseth not

When it comes to judging major league talent, scouts rely mainly on physical ability, often missing key factors such as motivation, love of the game, and sheer tenacity -- elements that elevated borderline prospects into some of baseball's best talent.

By Bryce Martin
6/16/2001

Major League Baseball's annual June amateur baseball draft of college and high school players brought to mind an intriguing quote I remembered from Hall of Fame second baseman Frankie Frisch: "There are better players walking the streets than there are in the big leagues."

He was right, of course, if you give it some thought.

I only had to recall a young lefthander with great pitching form who mowed down batter after tough batter in a high school game against a powerhouse team. The Kansas farmboy fanned 16 and made it seem routine. He threw hard. His form was perfect. That was close to the last game he ever threw. He was from a working farm family and chores at home left no time for baseball.

Was he a prospect? We'll never know for sure, but he seemed to be at the time. His name is not important. He is just one of the nameless that lives in the shadows of fame, glory and competition that Frisch knew so well.

With the passing of time and more examples to witness, Frisch's words became relevant, true. That farm lad was not odd or unique. It was a way of life, I decided, that the cream doesn't always rise to the top. Some great players will emerge from this year's draft. They always do. Some of the best, though, may never get the chance. They're too busy giving out speeding tickets, programming computers, and tuning up your car's engine.

A few will be overlooked simply because of the way baseball talent is primarily judged --physical ability. The five keys for position players include the ability to run, field, throw, hit, hit with power.

Sometimes it's an easy pick. How could a scout, even if he had never seen him play, not opt for Pete Incaviglia after the career he had at Oklahoma State? As a junior in 1985, Incaviglia set NCAA single season records for home runs with 48, RBIs with 143, and an astounding 1.140 slugging percentage. He ended his college career with other NCAA records: 100 homers and a .915 slugging average. Incaviglia was selected in the first round of the 1985 draft by Montreal and traded to Texas, where he became one of only five position players since 1965 to go directly from the amateur ranks to the big leagues.

In the big leagues, Incaviglia only consistently displayed one of the five keys scouts concern themselves with in the first place. He could hit for power. That's not so bad when you consider that all-time hits leader Pete Rose had just two: he could hit and was a better than adequate fielder. That was in the big leagues. Starting out in the minors, Rose was thought to be lacking in all areas.

An important factor, other than physical attributes, is motivation. Some players in Rose's day openly admitted that they could never be as single-minded (as Rose) in the pursuit of baseball excellence, that they had their limits. Guys like Rose, and Maury Wills, who labored for nine years in the minors before he got his chance to shine, and a few others who seemed limited, are the exceptions. These are the ones the scouts miss. Not enough can be said for patience, motivation, courage, optimism, a love of the game, pride in personal and team accomplishments -- factors that might rate higher than sheer physical ability.

But how do you make these judgements? Look at all that Ken Griffey Jr. has accomplished since his 1989 rookie year, yet have you seen anyone look more miserable in doing so much? Judging talent is not that complicated. Judging people is.
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