Comments on: John Scott

By: Ennui Willie Keeler

Ennui Willie Keeler — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:44:51 +0000

13. Society of American Baseball Research, Ian. A link can probably describe it better than I can.

http://www.sabr.org

By: Ian Capilouto

Ian Capilouto — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:46:53 +0000

12. 9 Thanks Ennui. So what is the SABR conference? I guess I can just look it up, but I would like to hear what it is from someone who was there.

By: Ennui Willie Keeler

Ennui Willie Keeler — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:30:34 +0000

11. I was there, Josh. I think that my favorite part was an author's roundtable at the Cleveland Library (the Spaceman's old hangout.) It featured Rob Neyer, Charles Alexander, and Tom Swift. There were a few other presentations that I liked, but the best part is probably meeting up with some of my cyberbuddies and shooting the shit. I know that your fellow Toasterer Bob T was there, but I never got a chance to say hi to him. I met a couple of your other devotees like Craig Calcaterra. Craig had some posts about the convention, as did Bob. The Hardball Times has a wrapup. So does aarongleeman.com. I was a good boy. I didn't drink or play poker. But it was still fun.

By: Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:32:25 +0000

10. 9 : Hey, Ennui, were you at the SABR conference? If so, any highlights come to mind?

By: Ennui Willie Keeler

Ennui Willie Keeler — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:26:22 +0000

9. Ian, that's a pretty cool story. Guy was traded for the one and only Jim Willoughby! He also played in Japan and Mexico according to the BR Bullpen. Sounds like I missed an eventful week here.

By: Ian Capilouto

Ian Capilouto — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:32:08 +0000

8. 7 I am not sure what the word is, maybe serendipity, but I definitely believe in random chances such as 11 year old me actually meeting Scott at the batting cages at Family Fun Center. The guy on the card seems similar to the guy I remember at the batting cages. In this case, I am going to believe that they are the same guy because I always really appreciated that moment and the hitting exhibition he put on for us. It was an odd moment because it seemed like the guy just pulled up out of nowhere at those near empty batting cages to give us a few hitting tips, put on a show and tell us a good story. No problem on the Yeager, I figured that you and the other readers would like the article.

By: Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:52:32 +0000

7. 6 : Great story. Thanks for sharing that. (Thanks also for the recent link to the Steve Yeager article in the comments for the Steve Yeager post. If anyone wants to know what Yeags is up to now, the article is highly recommended.) Is it at all possible that the guy you saw at the batting cage was actually John Scott? According to this card his place of residence was Los Angeles, CA. What he told you of his experiences certainly matches Scott's bio.

By: Ian Capilouto

Ian Capilouto — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:32:10 +0000

6. This may be a good post to share this story, so I will. When I was about 11 years old, a friend and I were spending an afternoon in at the batting cages at The Family Fun Center in Anaheim, CA. It was sometime in the fall and it was cool and overcast. We were taking turns batting when in the parking lot pulls up a beat up, red early 1980′s Chevy Monte Carlo. The guy brought his own bat, no helmet and a few bucks in quarters. He went straight to the 90 mile an hour cage which was next our 50 mile an hour cage. He not only proceeded to hit every single pitch, but with exceptional authority that the two of us pre-teens had never witnessed. I mean he hit the ball hard! We soon stopped our light hitting exhibition to stand by his cage and observe this guys true talent. Every pitch that was offered was launched with lightning quick authority to the “home run” sign at the back of the cage. A beautiful, quick swing that to us was way more deadly than our stupid, loping attempts at batting.
After a few rounds he stepped out of the cage and looked at us. We told him “damn, that was amazing,” or something like that. He was soft spoken and told us his story of being drafted from high school as a top prospect, mostly played in the minors and played “a little bit in the big leagues.” I have always remembered his explanation of the hardships of pro-ball. There wasn’t much money in it and it was a hard life. He told us that he was the top player in his county, but what he soon realized that in the pros he was facing the top players from everywhere. He was an African-American man, with a slender build and a little moustache. And the look on his face was one of the saddest I have ever seen. He hit one more round, left the cage, waved at us and drove off.
I always wondered who that guy was and who he played for. Maybe someday his Cardboard God will pop up, that would be cool. The effect that his talk with us had immediately made me realize how damn good even a minor league player was. From that point on I realized just how hard it was to make in the major leagues. Maybe that beat-up old Monte Carlo was what was left of his signing bonus I have often wondered. A guy who never quite made it, who couldn’t pass up the odd batting cage he would occasionally drive by. Just to prove that he could hit the ball much harder and further than 95% of the world.
Josh, this post really brought back that moment for me. Thanks.

By: Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:55:55 +0000

5. When I picked his card put of the ol' shoebox at randsom his existence surprised me, too. I wonder if he registers with Blue Jays fans, at least, what with him having the first at-bat in team history.

By: dianagramr

dianagramr — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:47:49 +0000

4. 4 perhaps way too generic a name? (didn't flip a switch for me either)