[quote=“Steven Ellis”][quote=“RHP…”]
Let’s face it. Some people just aren’t meant to play baseball. Some are. I am getting sick of seeing people post videos and ask for advice when what they really need is for someone to give them an honest opinion on where they stand.[/quote]
OK, OK, I have to get on you about this, RHP 
Look, at 13 and 14 years old, it’s impossible to judge someone’s potential. I never once in three years of Little League made the All Star team. (That stayed with me all throughout my career, because all my friends were on the team and I felt left out.) Yet three years later, at 15, I was throwing 80 mph and starting for the No. 2 high school baseball team in NY. All those Little League All Stars? They were playing JV or had already quit to play other sports or video games.
My point is that if someone had looked at me when I was 12 and 13 and said, “this guy sucks, he’ll never make it, he can’t even make the LL all star team” it wouldn’t have been accurate. And it wouldn’t have been helpful; it would have been hurtful. Sometimes, kids just develop later. For a couple of kids I played with in pro ball, it happens a lot later, like after high school.
I’d rather see someone with a sincere work ethic, than someone with a lot of talent at 12 and 13 years old. The kid with work ethic always wins. Always. And posting and asking questions on the forums is, in a sense, a kids way of showing that he really cares, and that he’s willing to work at it despite the uphill challenges ahead. That’s the kid I want on my team … but I still want you on my team, too, RHP :-)[/quote]
I completely agree. My freshman year of hs I made the freshman team as an outfielder. Sophomore yr I made it as a pitcher but pitched like 3 innings couldn’t throw a strike and couldn’t throw hard. Jr yr I was cut from varsity. Sr I made it, my velocity increased a little, maybe the high 70s thats it only pitched in like 3 games. I didn’t have a growth spurt or anything like that, in fact I’ve only grown 2 inches since I was 13 and I’ve actually lost weight since I was in high school. I now just turned 21 this month, I pitch in college now and throw in the high 80s consistently and have reached the mid 90s before. I’ve come a huge way from where I was and according to RHP, I probably should have been told I’d never make it. I met people like RHP when I was in high school who constantly reminded me how slow I was throwing and I have to thank them, because whenever I felt, or feel like stopping or I’m out of gas or I need a little more on a pitch, I think of people like RHP and it gives me the motivation I need. I remember a kid my freshman yr in college say why do you watch all these clips and read all these books, and I told him because one day I’m gonna throw 90 +, and he laughed and said its impossible to increase that much and I just said to him that’s why you’ll never make it anywhere because with that attitude there’s no way you’re going to keep improving. He never improved and he doesn’t play baseball anymore.
Another example of great improvement is a good friend of mine. He got cut freshman year of hs, didn’t play soph yr, came back jr year at 16 yrs old throwing 88 mph, he now sits 93-95 and has about 15 scouts at every game he plays.
Yet another example is my brother. Never made an allstar team in little league, was never the most coordinated kid, but worked his ass off and by sr yr in hs he was the best pitcher on, and team captain of his hs team and got a scholarship to college and went on to be rookie of the year his freshman year putting up some of the best numbers in his league.
Could there be more examples? Yes! A friend of mine from hs was a mediocre lefty. Walked on at a CC, transfered to a real weak d2 school. Through gradual improvement hes now hitting 90 and just signed on to play independent pro ball in TX.
I have another friend who never played varsity ball and is now pitching on a D1 team. And another that was cut is fr year and is now playing D1 and has 2 or 3 big league teams looking at him. and another who was cut twice in hs and went to a school for medicine that had a d3 prog, by the time he graduated college he was hitting 97 mph and was drafted in 2005.
There are so many more examples I could give but I think I got my point across, I think telling a kid he can’t is ridiculous, there’s no telling what he can do. I don’t feel anyone on this site, even if Greg Maddux, Sandy Koufax, Pedro and the Rocket were members of this site, are worthy of making that kind of definitive judgment that a kid has no chance what so ever. Everyone has the right to an opinion but if you don’t think a kid is good enough and you don’t have enough knowledge or compassion yourself to try to help him out, you should just keep you mouth shut and not say anything to him, not go and possibly crush his dreams by telling him he’ll never make it.
Sorry now I’m ranting, I just don’t understand who some people think they are.
Look, at 13 and 14 years old, it’s impossible to judge someone’s potential. I never once in three years of Little League made the All Star team. (That stayed with me all throughout my career, because all my friends were on the team and I felt left out.) Yet three years later, at 15, I was throwing 80 mph and starting for the No. 2 high school baseball team in NY. All those Little League All Stars? They were playing JV or had already quit to play other sports or video games.
I see a lot of kids in my area give up on baseball because of attitudes similiar to RHP. You must always be realistic, but anyone can get better. I can tell alot by a video, but I have never been able to quantitate a players, attitude, work ethic, or potential just by watching him on camera.