I don’t know where I got it in my head that a baseball scout drives around the country in a beat up Fleetwood Cadillac convertible. It might be from watching the Bad News Bears several dozen times, not that Mr. Morris Buttermaker was a scout; he was the manager, but he had a similar car and he drank beer and whisky and taught me about boilermakers and come to think of it, he did recognize star potential in Kelly Leak and he knew about Amanda Wurlitzer’s pitching prowess.
Anyway, nowadays with launch angle, exit velocity and endless metrics that make little sense to my math and physics challenged mind, I’d have no chance to be a scout. But wait a second, I doubt Bill Veeck had any metrics at his disposal when he discovered Harold Baines as a 12-year old and then drafted him in the first round, first overall pick of the 1977 draft. I wonder how many first round, first overall picks went on to be elected to the hall of fame?
I love believing in a young player’s potential and then watching them become consistent players at the MLB level. Unfortunately, I haven’t had too much success. I messed up in thinking Zach Davies had a little Greg Maddux in him and I screwed up with Cavan Biggio (took me months to spell his first name too) seduced by his ability to take a pitch, work a count and what not. Davies is a free agent and Biggio recently got traded from the Blue Jays to the Dodgers.
Still, I wouldn’t mind cruising around the country in a Fleetwood Cadillac watching high school and college baseball games, staying at dinky motels and sitting out front sipping boilermakers and talking with the other people staying at the motel and then wandering over to the local bar and talking some more.
brewers baseball and things 