Petyon Manning---2008
It was the spring of 1998 and another
Friday night of SEC baseball. I was in
Knoxville to see Tennessee's Luke
Hudson pitch for the Vols vs. an
opponent I can't remember. What I
do remember, was my chance
meeting with a future NFL star
quarterback.
Lindsay Nelson Stadium, the home of
the baseball Vols, is not the most
friendliest for scouting pitchers. With
a grandstand that rises some 15 feet
behind home plate, the angle is
difficult to judge a pitcher's
movement, especially a curve baller
like Hudson. However, with a
coaching staff that would
accommodate the scouts, we were
allowed to venture underneath the
stadium to a small video room behind
home plate for the first few innings to
check out pitchers from a ground
zero vantage point. It was there in the
bowels of the stadium I met Peyton
Manning.
Manning was preparing to make one
of his last tosses at the University of
Tennessee, throwing out the first
pitch of the game. He was a nice
young man as we scouts kidded him
about putting the radar gun on him
for the toss.
I vaguely remember the pitch to be in
the 50 mph range, but we all know he
could have thrown harder. When he
came off the field, the scouts chided
him about a workout, but he just
smiled and said he was all set.
As a scout we can all dream about
finding that unique athlete in another
sport. However, most of the time it
doesn't work out, as in the White Sox
experiment with signing former Bears
quarterback Bobby Douglass in 1979.
The Sox had hoped to harness
Douglass' strong left arm that was
frequently off the mark, as he
completed just 43% of his passes
during a 7-year NFL career.
Unfortunately, Douglass' wildness
carried over to the mound, as he
walked 13 batters in seven innings of
work for Triple-A Iowa. In his four
minor league outings the southpaw
gave up just six hits, but allowed
seven earned runs. With a final ERA
of 9.00, Douglass failed to fool any
hitters, as he didn't register even one
strikeout.
Having completed 65% of his passes
when he entered the ''09-'10 season,
I have a feeling that Manning would
have fared a little better than
Douglass. I know one scout who
would have loved to have given him a
chance on the bump in the middle of
the diamond... though I think
Manning made a wise choice in
turning down the scouts behind home
plate that Friday evening in 1998.
(2/6/10)
Friday night of SEC baseball. I was in
Knoxville to see Tennessee's Luke
Hudson pitch for the Vols vs. an
opponent I can't remember. What I
do remember, was my chance
meeting with a future NFL star
quarterback.
Lindsay Nelson Stadium, the home of
the baseball Vols, is not the most
friendliest for scouting pitchers. With
a grandstand that rises some 15 feet
behind home plate, the angle is
difficult to judge a pitcher's
movement, especially a curve baller
like Hudson. However, with a
coaching staff that would
accommodate the scouts, we were
allowed to venture underneath the
stadium to a small video room behind
home plate for the first few innings to
check out pitchers from a ground
zero vantage point. It was there in the
bowels of the stadium I met Peyton
Manning.
Manning was preparing to make one
of his last tosses at the University of
Tennessee, throwing out the first
pitch of the game. He was a nice
young man as we scouts kidded him
about putting the radar gun on him
for the toss.
I vaguely remember the pitch to be in
the 50 mph range, but we all know he
could have thrown harder. When he
came off the field, the scouts chided
him about a workout, but he just
smiled and said he was all set.
As a scout we can all dream about
finding that unique athlete in another
sport. However, most of the time it
doesn't work out, as in the White Sox
experiment with signing former Bears
quarterback Bobby Douglass in 1979.
The Sox had hoped to harness
Douglass' strong left arm that was
frequently off the mark, as he
completed just 43% of his passes
during a 7-year NFL career.
Unfortunately, Douglass' wildness
carried over to the mound, as he
walked 13 batters in seven innings of
work for Triple-A Iowa. In his four
minor league outings the southpaw
gave up just six hits, but allowed
seven earned runs. With a final ERA
of 9.00, Douglass failed to fool any
hitters, as he didn't register even one
strikeout.
Having completed 65% of his passes
when he entered the ''09-'10 season,
I have a feeling that Manning would
have fared a little better than
Douglass. I know one scout who
would have loved to have given him a
chance on the bump in the middle of
the diamond... though I think
Manning made a wise choice in
turning down the scouts behind home
plate that Friday evening in 1998.
(2/6/10)
