Well, let me tell you, this baseball thing, it ain’t as easy as it looks on that TV. Wanna be a baseball scout, huh? That’s what they call them fellas that go around watchin’ the young’uns play, seein’ if they got what it takes to make it big. It’s a tough row to hoe, I tell ya.
First thing, you gotta love baseball more than a hog loves slop. Gotta eat, sleep, and breathe it. Watch it all the time, know all the players, all the teams, all that stuff. You gotta know the game inside and out, like the back of your hand. And it ain’t just about knowin’ the rules, neither. You gotta know the feel of it, the heart of it, you know?
They say you gotta go to school for this now. Some fancy college. Four years, maybe even six. Learnin’ about… I don’t know, spin rates and swing planes and all that fancy talk. Back in my day, you just knew a good player when you saw one. But I guess times are changin’. This how to become a baseball scout is not easy. They got all these numbers now, too. Stats, they call ’em. Lots and lots of numbers. More numbers than you can shake a stick at. Some of ’em don’t even make no sense to me. But you gotta learn ’em all, I reckon. That is part of how to be a scout.
Now, these baseball scout fellas, they look for certain things in these young players. They got what they call “tools.” Like a toolbox, but for baseball. They wanna see if a fella can hit the ball good. Not just hit it, but hit it far, too. That’s power. And they wanna see if he can run fast. Like a jackrabbit. And catch the ball, too. Glove work, they call it.
- Hittin’ for average
- Hittin’ for power
- Runnin’ fast
- Catchin’ the ball good
Some kids go to these camps. Tryout camps, they call them. Show off what they can do. Runnin’, throwin’, hittin’. The baseball scout fellas watch ’em close. They got some scale, 20 to 80. Don’t ask me what it all means. Just know that higher is better. Much better. If you get a low number, you ain’t gonna be playin’ no professional baseball, that’s for sure.
But it ain’t all about how fast you can run or how hard you can hit. These scouts, they look for somethin’ else, too. Somethin’ you can’t really teach. They call it “athleticism.” It’s like… bein’ a natural. Movin’ easy, lookin’ like you were born to play the game. That’s what they really want. They say that’s the number one thing. More important than all them other things, even. To be a good scout you need to know it.
And you gotta be tough, too. Long days, travelin’ all over, watchin’ game after game. It ain’t for the faint of heart. And you gotta be able to spot that special somethin’ in a player. That spark. That thing that makes him stand out from all the rest. You gotta be a good judge of character, too. These young fellas, they gotta be good kids. Hard workers. Gotta want it bad enough. Want to know how to become a baseball scout? Need to know what to look at.
Become a baseball scout is no easy work. Now this here baseball scout job, it ain’t just one kind of job. They got different kinds of scouts. Some of ’em go ahead of the team, watch the other teams play, figure out their secrets. Advance scouts, they call ’em. Like spies, kinda. But the main kind, the ones everybody thinks about, they’re the ones lookin’ for the new talent. The young’uns. Talent scouts. That’s the name.
So, if you’re thinkin’ about bein’ a baseball scout, you better be ready to work hard. Learn everything you can about the game. Go to them schools if you have to. Learn them numbers. Watch all the games you can. And keep your eyes peeled for that special somethin’. That spark. It ain’t easy, but nothin’ worth doin’ ever is. Good luck to ya, sonny. You’ll need it. This baseball world is a tough one, but if you love it enough, maybe, just maybe, you can make it. If you ask me how to become a baseball scout, I will say it is about love of the game.
