Performance vs Ability

Andy Ferguson: Another Day, Another Double Play

“Why are all the scouts here to watch ______ (insert that guy on your team’s name here)? I’m hitting .500, and he isn’t even hitting .300. They should be watching me instead.”

Answer? Tools (no, not those over there...)

Having a .500 batting average does not necessarily mean a hitter has exceptional hitting ability. Now, don’t get me wrong, that is pretty darn good…we’d certainly all like to have guys on our team hitting .500.

This is basically the performance versus ability debate. I don’t have any interest in boring you with this, you’ve heard it before I'm sure. Instead, we’ll make it as simple as it really is. Tools are the ability, production is the performance. Ideally we would have both, but that doesn’t happen very often. There, easy as that. Make sense?

Though the ability to produce in games is the ultimate goal, the ability to produce at the high school level alone is not a sure sign that a player can or will produce at the college level (and certainly not at the professional level).

There is simply no way to account for a standard level of competition at the high school level. Since there is no baseline, there is really no way to compare players using most statistics (like batting average and earned run average). Thus, arguments based on these numbers are not even worth having.

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TODAY’S DOUBLE PLAY
Two more baseball pet peeves (I have lots...)

1. When outfielders throw to the wrong base, don’t know where to throw it, or throw over cutoff men.
Come on, let’s be honest here. All you really have to do as an outfielder is listen, and you’ll know where to go with the ball. Sure, it helps to have some feel for the game – that is always ideal – but in most cases, just throw it to the cutoff man. Trust me, he is there for a reason. Oh, and one more thing. On a sac fly (or any other do or die type throw) if you can’t carry it there in the air (most guys can’t, it’s OK), at least give your teammate a long hop to work with.

2. Striking out looking on fastballs away.
Maybe it’s just how I was taught, but I just don’t get how it happens so often. I know there are differing opinions, but I am of the theory that it is best to “look away, react in”…ESPECIALLY WITH TWO STRIKES. In other words, make sure you can handle pitches on the outer half, and simply react and try to fight off pitchers on the inner half.

A two strike approach should also involve choking up on the bat, and widening the stance – both help to shorten and simplify the stroke, making it easier to simply put the ball in play. If a pitcher can run a fastball across the inside corner and freeze me that way, I’ll tip my cap and have a seat – but seriously, think about it, there are just not that many pitchers that pitch inside AT ALL, let alone with two strikes. If I am looking away, it allows me to track the ball longer – since I am trying to hit the ball out of the back of the strike zone. That way, I have time to recognize spin on a breaking ball or at least fight off a pitch I think has a chance to be called a strike.
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But if not stats, then what else do we have to compare players with?

Answer? (Hint: same as last time) Tools.

I know what you’re thinking…“but what about that guy on my team that hits balls over the lights in batting practice? He hasn’t done much of anything in games this season, but scouts and coaches are always coming to see him play. Same with the pitcher on our team that throws 90. He doesn’t throw a lot of strikes, and gives up quite a few runs in each outing. If they can’t help our team win games, why would scouts and coaches want them for theirs?”

Answer: (Seeing a pattern yet? If not you will if you read the next word) Tools.

There simply are not that many guys walking around that can hit balls over the lights. Tools like that are rare, and give players potential to impact games in a big way.

For example, if that light tower power ever ends up in the same package with a good swing and hitting approach, that player has potential to hit a lot of home runs in the Major Leagues.

Back to production (we switched to that term instead of performance earlier) one last time before we wrap up. It is important to note that the ability to play the game is considered particularly important to most college recruiters (compared to professional scouts, who are looking more into the future). They do not have the luxury of letting players learn how to use their tools in the minor leagues before calling them up into action.

So, while we cannot deny production and performance as ideal for any player, ultimately the players with more in the tool box are always going to be scouted more. They may look a little crude now, and maybe they aren’t having all that much success right now, but those big tools give them more potential to play the game longer and against better players in the long run.

Andy Ferguson is currently the Senior Director of Baseball Operations with the Baseball Factory.

Ferguson joined the North Carolina State baseball team as a walk-on, and went on to solidify his role on a team that participated in four consecutive NCAA Regionals. He later coached with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and then served as an Associate Scout with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Diego Padres.