Should I Walk-On?

Rob Naddelman: Through a Parent’s Eyes

I can’t tell you how many of our Baseball Factory parents and players have asked this question over the past 15 years. For anyone not familiar with the term “Walk On,” it is in reference to a player that decides to attend a college and earn a spot on the baseball roster without having a scholarship commitment, and in some instances, without even being recruited. It certainly is a very tough decision and there is no blanket answer to the above question. Each family and each baseball program is a unique circumstance.

The New York Times had a great article recently entitled, “For College Walk-Ons, a Road Less Traveled Makes All the Difference.” It detailed the stories of Brett Gardner (current CF for the NY Yankees), Ryan Howard (former MVP for the Philadelphia Phillies), and Eric Karros (former 1B for the LA Dodgers). All three of these players walked on to their college baseball programs and then turned into Major Leaguers. While these stories are very inspirational and are a testament to their hard work, it doesn’t mean that “walking on” is the right decision for each family. For every Brett Gardner success story, there are hundreds of players that get cut from their college program and never have a chance to pursue college baseball.

Kelly Kulina, our Senior Vice President of the Exclusive Program, has told me time and time again that when he was the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at the University of Maryland, they had 75-100 players each year that would try to walk on. The program might keep one or two of the players and the rest never had a chance to play college baseball. Kelly believes that the majority of these players could have been college baseball players, just not players at the University of Maryland. They were a better fit for smaller programs and not the right match for the rigors of playing Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) baseball. Most of these players probably didn’t market themselves to a variety of college programs or did not have any other college baseball coaches showing interest. With no other baseball options to consider, they most likely chose University of Maryland for academic or social reasons.

My advice to Baseball Factory families on this topic has always been consistent. Have as many options as possible before making a decision to walk-on. Your son may decide that he wants to try and walk-on, because in the end, there are just too many things about that particular school that he loves and can’t pass up. However, I would want that player to have to say “no thank you” to a number of other schools that have shown interest in him for baseball.

In my mind, if you explore all your options, and can make an informed decision one way or another, you can’t go wrong. It is only when you make a desperate move, or when you haven’t given the process 100% effort that regrets seem to set in.


Rob Naddelman is the President of Baseball Factory. Naddelman is a former two-time All Ivy League Third Baseman at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competed in a College World Series Regional. He has served as the President of Baseball Factory for the past 13 years, and also is the Executive Director of Baseball Factory's charitable arm The B.A.S.E. - H.I.T. Foundation. Naddelman and Steve Sclafani (CEO) have been featured in Business Week and CNN for their work in building Baseball Factory into the nation's leader in player development and college placement.

Tool Talk: Hitting

Andy Ferguson: Another Day, Another Double Play

Throughout my travels, I always try my best to take some time and catch up with each tool. It is always interesting to learn about players from the point of view of the tools themselves. Some have more to say than others, not only about their own particular importance and value, but also about the relationships they have with other tools.

Recently, I had a chance to chat with the tool Hitting. Hitting’s job is defined by the ability to get base hits, but as people have begun to look at the statistics that support Hitting a little differently, his job description is beginning to change as well. He is particularly outspoken about his fellow tool Power, and how Power can’t truly exist on its own.

Andy: Hitting, good to see you again. It’s been a while hasn’t it? Thanks for spending some time with us today.

Hitting: No problem. You and I didn’t spend much time together while you were playing, that’s for sure, but now that you are scouting you have been spreading my good word. Always a pleasure.

Andy: Thanks for pointing out that I wasn’t a very good hitter…AGAIN. I am sure everyone knows that by now. If you keep it up, I may go and try to make friends with Running – even after all my comments about how the 60-yard dash is overrated.

Hitting: Oh, all right. I’m sorry. My cousin, Five O’clock Hitter, said you and he got along real well. That’s gotta count for something huh?

Andy: Well, he's right. I certainly could hit in batting practice, just not when the game started...but enough about me. I wanted to talk to you today about your relationship with one of your fellow tools, Power.

Hitting: Oh, him. He always gets all the credit. Oh, look! A homerun! Blah, blah, blah. I’m so sick of hearing about him. He’s nothing without me, at least that’s what I’ve been trying to tell everyone for years.

Andy: Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I didn’t realize it was such a sore spot for you, but since it seems to be on your mind, why don’t you tell us about it?

Hitting: Now we’re talking! First of all, just so we all are clear, players use me to get base hits – not just singles, but any kind of base hit. That counts doubles, triples, homeruns, and heck even walks too. Players that can really use me well go to the plate with a good plan, they swing at strikes, and they make a lot of hard contact.

Andy: Yeah, yeah. We know all about that. Matt Schilling has been saying a lot of good things about you in his blog entries.

Hitting: Really? I’ll have to check those out. Running told all us other tools that all he ever heard Matt talk about was 60 yards this, 60 yards that. After all, he did coach at Coastal Carolina you know.

Andy: Of course I know that, and believe me...we have all heard his claims about runners. Back on task please?

Hitting: Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. As I was saying, if a player doesn’t have a good enough grasp on how to use me, he may be able to use my friend Power in batting practice but he sure won’t be able to use him in games consistently. He won’t be able to make good enough contact, especially on good velocity and off speed pitches, to be able to get to Power.

Andy: Can you give us an example? Maybe a Major League player that we would all know?

Hitting: Just use my friend Ryan Howard as an example so far this year. He’s struck out 38 times in 96 at bats, or almost 40% of the time. He only has 17 hits so far this year, of which 5 are home runs – nowhere near the pace he has been on for the last couple of seasons. Bottom line: he just isn’t making enough contact for his power to matter. His start to 2008 reminds me of how a lot of high school players try to come to the plate with only Power, it just doesn’t work. Don’t worry, Ryan Howard will come around. I’m not making fun of him, he and I get along real well. As for young hitters with these kind of numbers, they need to realize that all players must first be hitters and then worry about power.

Andy: Thanks Hitting, that’s good stuff. I know all of us in the scouting community realize this, but it's clear that young players don't understand that yanking and jerking balls out in batting practice just really isn’t all that impressive.

Hitting: Glad to be of service. As I always say, “any day, any hour, hitting is always a lock. If you only have power, you better have fun at five o’clock”. By the way, is that a haiku?

Andy: Uh, no. Not a haiku. Too many lines, too many syllables and it rhymes. Close though... Thanks again for your time.

Hitting: One more thing. You think you could skip the double play for me today? We, uh, don't get along very well.

Andy: No problem. Something tells me I won't get that request from your friends Fastball, Curve, Changeup or Control...

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.