Last Sunday, the 15th July, the 2018 MLB Showcase took place for the second year in a row at Melbourne Ballpark. Around 150 kids from all over Victoria converged on Melbourne Ballpark to test their skills against the rest of the country.
The Showcase consisted of a series of tests designed to measure each player’s baseball tools.
Participants were split into three separate sessions over the duration of the day, beginning at 12pm and running through until 4:30pm where they rotated through five different drills; a broad jump, a direct sprint from first to third base, an agility workout, a throwing exercise to measure arm strength and a hitting drill to measure bat speed.
The Showcase is a chance for children aged 13 or 14 to demonstrate their baseball attributes in front of high performance coaches, players and scouts. Along with a host of Victorian State level coaches, Baltimore Orioles scout Grant Weir, Chicago Cubs scout Gavin Young and Kansas City Royals scout Neil Burke were all in attendance.
General Manager of Team Australia, Glenn Williams was also present and was impressed with the number of children interested in being involved in the Showcase. He credits Victorian High Performance Manager, Damian Shanahan and his coaching staff for the strong turn-out.
Damian agreed, saying that there was a large number of juniors from the Victorian baseball community interested in advancement.
“Victorian players want to improve and that’s a great thing. I think the Aces Academy is a good goal for kids to have in mind and this is one of the steps towards achieving that. You can really tell that these kids are all here for the right reasons – because they all want to reach the highest level they can and that’s excellent to see.”
The players with the best statistics will be invited to a High Performance camp in Lismore in August where they will be provided with national level coaching and further opportunity to play in front of Major League Baseball scouts. The statistics from each state’s Showcase will go into a national database for future reference for coaches and scouts and will help chart each participant’s progress from year to year. The types of testing involved are also a good guideline for club coaches to use during their own seasons so that players can stay up to date with their improvements.
The Showcase itself is just the start of an incredibly valuable pathway for Victorian baseball players and a great opportunity to get some exposure to the highest level of coaching available. The response to the Showcase has been overwhelmingly positive – Victoria had the highest number of participants of any state around the country and the enthusiasm from the players themselves was clearly evident on the day. The large attendance is a real testament to the success of the Aces High Performance Academy and also an indication of the widespread motivation amongst Victoria’s junior players to achieve at an elite level.