WEBVTT
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When exposure becomes the product baseball, recruiting has never had more information.
00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:18.559
More profiles, more showcases, more video, more rankings, more metrics, more databases, more people calling themselves scouts, more recruiting services, more ways to get seen.
00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:22.800
And somehow, I'm not convinced we understand players any better.
00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:24.160
That's the problem.
00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:27.120
Twenty years ago, the issue was visibility.
00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:30.559
A good player could genuinely be missed.
00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:52.640
Today, a kid can upload video from his phone, post his numbers, build a profile, email 300 schools, attend a showcase, get ranked, get reposted, get tagged, get written up, and be seen by people all over the country before he ever plays a meaningful inning of college baseball.
00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:54.320
So the question has changed.
00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:57.520
It's no longer, can anybody see him?
00:00:58.079 --> 00:01:01.759
The question is, who should see him?
00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:03.119
And why?
00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:05.760
Because exposure is not opportunity.
00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:07.599
A ranking is not fit.
00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:10.079
A profile view is not interest.
00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:13.280
A camp invitation is not recruiting.
00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:16.560
And being scouted does not mean you've been understood.
00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:19.280
That word carries way too much weight.
00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:24.159
Parents hear there are going to be scouts there.
00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:25.200
Okay.
00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:27.680
What kind of scout?
00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:30.000
A major league scout?
00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:32.400
A college recruiting coordinator?
00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:34.560
A perfect game evaluator?
00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:36.799
A prep baseball evaluator?
00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:38.879
Someone collecting radar numbers?
00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:41.120
Someone writing event coverage?
00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:46.239
Those are different jobs, different eyes, different levels of authority.
00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:49.920
But from the stands, a radar gun is a radar gun.
00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:53.280
A logo is a logo, and optics are powerful.
00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:58.239
Put a perfect game logo beside a number, and it feels more important.
00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:02.959
Put a prep baseball ranking beside a player and it feels like progress.
00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:04.560
Sometimes it is.
00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:07.359
There are good evaluators in those organizations.
00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:09.280
Real baseball people.
00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:11.919
People whose opinions matter.
00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:14.719
I'm not taking anything away from them.
00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:24.240
But one day is still one day, one bullpen, one batting practice round, one sixty, three at bats, a great day, a terrible day, a nervous day, a tired day.
00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:25.759
That's a sample.
00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:27.680
Not a complete player.
00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:30.719
And this is where recruiting gets loud.
00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:32.719
A player attends an event.
00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:40.000
Now he has a headshot, video, metrics, a scouting note, maybe a ranking, maybe a graphic.
00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:43.280
The family drives home feeling like something major happened.
00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:44.719
Sometimes it did.
00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:48.639
Sometimes the player was simply documented.
00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:51.199
And documentation is not development.
00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:52.479
It's not fit.
00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:55.599
It's not automatically meaningful exposure.
00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:59.840
Baseball has become really good at making things look like progress.
00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:09.360
Rankings, follower counts, profile views, emails sent, camps attended, showcase invites.
00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:12.000
But here's what actually matters.
00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:14.080
Does the school need him?
00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:17.520
Does his skill set fit what they recruit?
00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:19.919
Does the academic piece work?
00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:21.759
Does the roster window work?
00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:23.680
Is the player trending up?
00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:26.319
Is the information even current?
00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:28.080
What is verified?
00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:29.680
What is opinion?
00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:31.120
What are we guessing?
00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:32.639
That's recruiting.
00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:35.680
And more information can actually make that harder.
00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:40.960
Give a coach 8,000 profiles instead of 800.
00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:43.039
You didn't necessarily solve his problem.
00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:46.319
You may have made the haystack 10 times bigger.
00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:51.840
That's why I think the next phase of recruiting cannot be more exposure.
00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:59.280
It has to be better filtering, better context, better signal.
00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:04.479
Because the future of recruiting should not be about making everybody louder.
00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:07.520
It should be about seeing everybody more clearly.
00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:10.639
Baseball has always exposed people eventually.
00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:11.919
The game does that.
00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:16.959
It exposes preparation, habits, decision making, discipline, emotional control.
00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:22.079
And eventually, reality catches up with the story.
00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:29.279
So before we ask whether a player is recruitable, we need to ask something more important.
00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:31.680
Do we actually understand the player?
00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:33.040
That's part one.
00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:36.079
And part two is where this gets uncomfortable.
00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:43.519
Because once we start looking underneath the profile, we have to ask how much of the information we're using is actually true.
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.879
When exposure becomes the product baseball, recruiting has never had more information.
00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:18.559
More profiles, more showcases, more video, more rankings, more metrics, more databases, more people calling themselves scouts, more recruiting services, more ways to get seen.
00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:22.800
And somehow, I'm not convinced we understand players any better.
00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:24.160
That's the problem.
00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:27.120
Twenty years ago, the issue was visibility.
00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:30.559
A good player could genuinely be missed.
00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:52.640
Today, a kid can upload video from his phone, post his numbers, build a profile, email 300 schools, attend a showcase, get ranked, get reposted, get tagged, get written up, and be seen by people all over the country before he ever plays a meaningful inning of college baseball.
00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:54.320
So the question has changed.
00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:57.520
It's no longer, can anybody see him?
00:00:58.079 --> 00:01:01.759
The question is, who should see him?
00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:03.119
And why?
00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:05.760
Because exposure is not opportunity.
00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:07.599
A ranking is not fit.
00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:10.079
A profile view is not interest.
00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:13.280
A camp invitation is not recruiting.
00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:16.560
And being scouted does not mean you've been understood.
00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:19.280
That word carries way too much weight.
00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:24.159
Parents hear there are going to be scouts there.
00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:25.200
Okay.
00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:27.680
What kind of scout?
00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:30.000
A major league scout?
00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:32.400
A college recruiting coordinator?
00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:34.560
A perfect game evaluator?
00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:36.799
A prep baseball evaluator?
00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:38.879
Someone collecting radar numbers?
00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:41.120
Someone writing event coverage?
00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:46.239
Those are different jobs, different eyes, different levels of authority.
00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:49.920
But from the stands, a radar gun is a radar gun.
00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:53.280
A logo is a logo, and optics are powerful.
00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:58.239
Put a perfect game logo beside a number, and it feels more important.
00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:02.959
Put a prep baseball ranking beside a player and it feels like progress.
00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:04.560
Sometimes it is.
00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:07.359
There are good evaluators in those organizations.
00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:09.280
Real baseball people.
00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:11.919
People whose opinions matter.
00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:14.719
I'm not taking anything away from them.
00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:24.240
But one day is still one day, one bullpen, one batting practice round, one sixty, three at bats, a great day, a terrible day, a nervous day, a tired day.
00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:25.759
That's a sample.
00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:27.680
Not a complete player.
00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:30.719
And this is where recruiting gets loud.
00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:32.719
A player attends an event.
00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:40.000
Now he has a headshot, video, metrics, a scouting note, maybe a ranking, maybe a graphic.
00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:43.280
The family drives home feeling like something major happened.
00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:44.719
Sometimes it did.
00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:48.639
Sometimes the player was simply documented.
00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:51.199
And documentation is not development.
00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:52.479
It's not fit.
00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:55.599
It's not automatically meaningful exposure.
00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:59.840
Baseball has become really good at making things look like progress.
00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:09.360
Rankings, follower counts, profile views, emails sent, camps attended, showcase invites.
00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:12.000
But here's what actually matters.
00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:14.080
Does the school need him?
00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:17.520
Does his skill set fit what they recruit?
00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:19.919
Does the academic piece work?
00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:21.759
Does the roster window work?
00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:23.680
Is the player trending up?
00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:26.319
Is the information even current?
00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:28.080
What is verified?
00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:29.680
What is opinion?
00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:31.120
What are we guessing?
00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:32.639
That's recruiting.
00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:35.680
And more information can actually make that harder.
00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:40.960
Give a coach 8,000 profiles instead of 800.
00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:43.039
You didn't necessarily solve his problem.
00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:46.319
You may have made the haystack 10 times bigger.
00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:51.840
That's why I think the next phase of recruiting cannot be more exposure.
00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:59.280
It has to be better filtering, better context, better signal.
00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:04.479
Because the future of recruiting should not be about making everybody louder.
00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:07.520
It should be about seeing everybody more clearly.
00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:10.639
Baseball has always exposed people eventually.
00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:11.919
The game does that.
00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:16.959
It exposes preparation, habits, decision making, discipline, emotional control.
00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:22.079
And eventually, reality catches up with the story.
00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:29.279
So before we ask whether a player is recruitable, we need to ask something more important.
00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:31.680
Do we actually understand the player?
00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:33.040
That's part one.
00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:36.079
And part two is where this gets uncomfortable.
00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:43.519
Because once we start looking underneath the profile, we have to ask how much of the information we're using is actually true.
