TRENTON — When Rob Naddelman graduated from Hightstown High in 1991 as an all-state baseball player, he was fortunate enough to continue his baseball career at a high level while attending the University of Pennsylvania.

Even so, Naddelman felt that Penn was his only option. His goal, one that became realized in 1994, was to help kids continue on in their baseball careers after their high school days were over.

And so he founded the Baseball Factory, a program that videotapes players digitally, edits them and sends those tapes to college coaches and professional scouts.

Back in 1994 when Naddelman founded the Baseball Factory, it had three members.

Yesterday, though, nearly 100 players were at Mercer County Waterfront Park for a workout.

The company has grown in the last seven years from those three, to the nearly 4,000 high schoolers
who participate in the program, in just seven years.

“The goal is to give kids the opportunity to play college baseball,” Naddelman said. “Being from this area I know that there were a whole lot of kids that for one reason or another just fell through the cracks and didn’t get to play in college. So we also help kids get scholarships so they have a shot at the next level.

Naddelman said 90 percent of the kids who participate in his program get placed into colleges.

High school juniors and seniors pay $397, and freshman and sophomores pay $199 for roughly 10 minutes
of edited videotape, and 2 1/2 pages of evaluations by Baseball Factory coaches and pro scouts.

The difference in pay, according to Eastern Regional director Tony Roberti, is that the Baseball Factory
doesn’t send out the tapes of the junior players to colleges.

The participants, though, don’t mind the cost if it helps them get into college.

“This is my first time at one of these things,” said Ewing pitcher Craig Benner, who was 8-2 for the
Blue Devils as a junior this season. “I am just hoping that colleges look at me. It (the money) will
be worth it if I get to play in college.”

“I am doing this just to get the exposure,” said Peddie catcher Jonathan Johnston, who will be entering
his senior year this fall. “I am looking at some pretty good schools, like the Ivies. Wake Forest is
a reach for me. But I want to play Division I, and, hopefully, this will help.”

The Baseball Factory measures the abilities of the players on five levels: running speed, arm strength,
hitting for power, hitting ability and defensive ability. Once those tapes are edited, the scouts create
an evaluation form not only for the player to use to hone his skills, but also for college coaches.

“Because the evaluation comes from a pro scout, it gives the coaches something real to look at. Often
the coaches are skeptical about getting a recommendation from a high school coach or an uncle or a father,
and this provide instant credibility. What we’re giving the coaches isn’t a highlight film of these kids.
It’s viable things they can look at to judge if it’s a kid they want.”

The work is tedious, between organizing the practice showcases, to editing down the videotape. But in the
end, Naddelman says it pays off.

“When you get that letter from a parent thanking you because his or her kid got into a school and is
playing ball,” he said, “that’s when it’s worth it.”