JUPITER,
Fla. – In this day and age with Perfect Game’s intensive and exhaustive player
rankings and scouting reports, it seems hard to believe a high school-age
player could suddenly burst upon the scene out of nowhere.
But
Matt Hyde insists those under-the-radar sightings it still happen.
“It
happens because guys get better,” Hyde said. “Kids are playing more fall
baseball and all of a sudden they mature, they get a little stronger, and all
of a sudden that kid throwing 82 is throwing 89. Then you start saying, ‘Yeah,
OK.’
“That’s
the value of this. It gives you another opportunity to scout them.”
Hyde
was speaking Friday afternoon from the Roger Dean Complex here, where Perfect
Game is staging its 13th annual WWBA World Championship. The event
has become the top scouting attraction in all of amateur baseball, and one Hyde
considers a must-see.
He
has been a Northeast Area Scout for the New York Yankees, a position he has had
for five years. He covers a territory that includes New York, New England and
Pennsylvania.
“We’re here just to see players we already
know about and we’ve indentified and see them compete against other good
players,” Hyde said. “We’re also trying to find talent that we might have overlooked
or heard about. You hear a name, and to be able to see them down here, it’s
obvioulsy easier going from (fields) Blue 4 to Blue 7 then from Massachesetts
to Pennsylvania.”
Hyde
is also heavily involved with the East Coast Pro Showcase team and the Area
Code Games team. The East Coast Pro Showcase and Area Code Games are two top
amateur events held in early August, with the EC Pro Showcase held in Florida
and the Area Code Games in California.
“The
teams are comprised of the best players from … all the different regions in the
country,” Hyde said. “It’s really a great chance to see good players competing
against each other.”
Hyde,
36, was also a former collegiate assistant coach at Harvard and Michigan. He
was employed in the college ranks for nine years.
Since
he got into scouting, Hyde has made sure to be present at Perfect Game events.
He considers himself a good friend of PG President Jerry Ford and assumes the
events will meet his requirements.
“This
sort of thing is really posititve, just having venues where you can watch good
players play,” he said.
The
WWBA World Championship is unique in that is staged in late October. The timing
gives scouts and college coaches a different look at the athletes.
“Some
of the kids might not be in peak,
100-percent mid-season form, but at least you get to see some tools and actions
and get an idea of what type of player you’re dealing with,” Hyde said. “I
think especially for the position players it’s good, because a lot of the
pitchers have gone through a long summer and they get to this time and you
don’t know what you’re really getting.”