by Steve Hammond
I recently had the pleasure to catch up with my former coach, Deskaheh Bomberry, from Sacramento City College. ‘Bomber’ has been around the game a long time and has enjoyed a very successful run with the Panthers. As he prepares to hopefully have a chance to take on his field manager role for the Rochester Honkers of the Northwoods summer league, I thought it would be a good time to do a little Q & A on athletic development and what it takes to be a college Ballplayer.
SH - “What are 2 traits you look for in a potential player?”
DB - “You need to have ability that is better than the majority of your peers. You need to standout among your peer group.
You also need to have potential for growth. Most players coming out of high school aren't talented and/or strong enough to play immediately.”
SH - “How much of a role does academics play in your player decision making?”
DB - “We don't look at academics from an admission standpoint. We look at academics from a behavioral standpoint. Guys that have good grades are responsible. Players with good grades are usually organized and manage their time well. Those skills carry over into their baseball career. We also look into academics to get an idea of the type of school the player may be able to transfer to.”
SH - “Do you have any metrics that you look at in terms of evaluating position players (hitters)?”
DB - “We really don't have an opportunity get a lot of hitting metrics from recruits. We do look at 60 times or Home to 1B running times. Any time you have a sub 7.0 60 or sub 4.5 Home to 1B time, you have a decent runner. When we get guys on campus, we can evaluate hitting metrics using Blast Motion. We look at bat speed, exit velocity, and attack angle. We use them primarily a tool to measure improvement.”
SH - “As it relates to pitchers specifically, what do you look for? Size, Velocity, other factors?”
DB - “Athleticism is really important when recruiting pitchers. Ideally, the pitchers we recruit aren't PO's (pitcher only). They don't have to be two-way guys, but if they are, it tells you a little bit about their athleticism. I wan't to see guys who know how to compete. I think a lot of high school players confuse trying hard with competing. They are not the same thing. Competing is about staying in the moment regardless of the circumstances and situation. Someone who isn't competing gets upset about "bad calls", they get upset when guys make mistakes behind them, they have bad body language.
We don't really have a velocity threshold. Obviously, higher is better. To compete at the Junior College level, you need to have one really good pitch and decent command. Having those qualities won't make you a D1 pitcher, but you can compete at the JC level. I've never made a pitching decision based on velocity. Higher velocity makes it easier to transfer to a D1 school. If you're a RHP who doesn't throw 88-90, you will have a hard time getting a D1 offer.”
SH - “What’s a recommendation for a high school player to focus on?”
DB - “Any high school player that is interested in playing at the next level needs to work on their body. Most high school players aren't strong enough to compete at the college level. If you are strong enough, it is very likely you lack the mobility to move efficiently. By the time a baseball player is 16 years old, he has literally had thousands of baseball specific reps, but very little strength and movement work. I think all high school athletes should take a 4-5 month break from their sport and just work on strength, speed, and mobility.”