Scout Day and Scrimmages Highlight Baseball Weekend
10/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
TUCSALOOSA, Ala. ?? The University of Alabama baseball team will host “Scout Day” and a pair of baseball scrimmages this weekend at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Alabama will welcome Major League Baseball Scouts to “Scout Day” on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. (CDT), where all of the Crimson Tide’s draft-eligible players will go through a pro tryout-type camp. A nine-inning scrimmage will follow at 3:30 p.m. (CDT).
The camp will consist of a 60-yard dash, throwing from the outfield, pregame batting practice and pregame infield. Then the Tide will hold a nine-inning scrimmage with all of its draft-eligible pitchers throwing two innings each for the scouts.
“We are expecting a big turnout from the scouts,” Alabama head baseball coach Jim Wells said. “They will work the players out with speed and run a pro tryout-type camp, then scrimmage with the guys that are juniors and seniors. The scouts will then be in a position to interview the players. This is a good day for the scouts and the players and you get all of this done early and they can get all the information they want.
“More importantly, they see them in a scrimmage, so it’s everything you want to see like when we run a showcase. You look to see who can run or throw and who moves well. In a game, you can pick up on instincts in base running and who can handle different types of pitches. So you walk away from that day, you really wish recruiting was like this, plus they can sit down and talk to those kids.
“Everyone’s needs are met on that day and you can walk away, and through conversation and meeting the kids, get a feel for their character and personality. Over the course of three hours, see how hard a guys plays. For one day you cover about as much as you can for learning as much as you can about that player. It gives us another opportunity to evaluate our guys.”
On Friday, Alabama will hold a nine-inning scrimmage. The gates will open at 5 p.m. for the fans to watch the Crimson Tide take pregame batting practice and infield. After pregame player introductions, the nine-inning scrimmage will begin at 6:15 p.m.
“We wanted to have a game-like scrimmage the night before the Alabama-Tennessee football game,” Wells said. “We hope a lot of the fans in the motor homes will come out and enjoy some baseball. This will be a lot a fun. It will be fun for the players and coaches and have a game-like atmosphere. I think those two days will be very beneficial for a lot of people and I am really looking forward to it.”
