What was once the purview of Major League Baseball scouts has become a tool for rugged entrepreneurs looking for a baseball buck. The tryout or "showcase" for athletes, who desire to play at a higher competitive level, has morphed into a weekly affair throughout the USA.

Originally organized to allow players from urban and rural areas to be seen by scouts from the relatively few Major League teams, the tryout lasted one day in which all comers were observed demonstrating their five "major league" tools -- throwing arm strength, running speed, hitting for average, home run hitting ability, and fielding range and ability.

The organized tryout permitted rural youths the chance to be seen by traveling scouts who might not have been able to cover games or leagues throughout their allocated regions.

Showcases are modeled on the professional tryout system in which players designate their preferred position and execute the fundamentals related to it. Pitchers may be asked to pitch in a bullpen setting, having the radar gun time pitch velocity.

They may also be asked to pitch in simulated games in which they face showcase hitters. Their pitch velocities are timed in these games.

Related to pitching, these variations exist among showcases:

• Pitch two innings, a maximum number of hitters per inning
  
• Throw a bullpen under the radar gun
  
• Throw 65 pitches from mound, no game situation

Dr. James Andrews