Re: Eye for Talent.

First of all, I’m happy you had enough interest in scouts and their tremendous contributions to the game to read Eye for Talent. That’s one mission accomplished for me on their behalf. Sadly, however, you missed the entire point of the book.

Please allow me to explain it to you.It was done at the request of one veteran scout, Dick Wilson, with other veteran scouts who remained faithful to their profession for decades, sometimes because of changes, but mostly in spite of them. My time spent with them consisted of several recorded interviews, conversations, and letters about their backgrounds and experiences in baseball, their knowledge and love of the game, and why they became scouts. It was a way to introduce fans to the invisible men who prefer to remain anonymous as they find, identify, project future development, and bring the steady flow of players to the game.

It was NEVER INTENDED as a book teaching readers how to scout. That would be impossible! Scouting is an innate skill that requires knowledge of multiple facets of the game and human characteristics that cannot be taught, only sharpened by guidance of other scouts with the same ability. It takes years on and around baseball diamonds to become a successful scout and anyone who thinks it can be learned by reading a book or two simply doesn’t get it. If this offends, I’m sorry; but sometimes the truth does that.

Second, you missed a point that as these gentlemen told their stories they revealed much about baseball history, heroes of the past, and life in leagues that no longer exist as they experienced them first hand. In some cases they provide information and fill in holes where official records are sketchy at best.

Third, perhaps if you reread the material you will find that many of the “stories” to which you refer concern how they found and fought for various players for their organizations, such as the Craig Counsell story, or Garry Templeton, or Nolan Ryan, or Jack Clark, and many others.

Fourth, if you do interviews perhaps you prefer to interject yourself into your work. My style is different. The book is about SCOUTS….not about me. Any thinking reader would certainly understand that and immediately glean it from the text.

Fifth, you mention a failure to focus/discuss key points. Amazing. I’m also disappointed that you did not recognize the significance of their comments about the impact of the Draft, corporate ownership as opposed to the family owned clubs of the past, the rise/power/influence of agents, the million dollar plus contracts for unproved high school amateurs, and other salient issues as key points. Perhaps those things didn’t seem like key points to you, but then, you’re not a scout.

Sixth, I’m gld that when you mentiond their universal concern about low pay, meager pensions, and lack of recognition you were not insinuating they were whinig. Scouts don’t whine, they endure and persevere as they sign players who make millions of dollars while they wonder if they’ll get an adequate pension.
Fortunately that’s one point that is improving. For the record, they do not get any kind of commission or other compensation for those players signed, merely personal satisfaction as they succeed.

Thanks for the opportunity t set the record straight.
Oh yes, speaking of nuggets, every one of the scouts in this book is a nugget in and of himself as a part of the history of his profession as well as the game. Oops….seems you missed that, too.

Finally, everyone has complaints about his job, but whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of thinking scouts don’t think they have the greatest job in the world. To a man they’ll tell you they do!

Here’s one for you. Do you know how many scouts are in the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown?