For Love of the Game: My Time at MLB Scout School

Source: www.fangraphs.com --- Wednesday, May 02, 2018
Scout school can be stressful, but it can also be quite rewarding. (via Minda Haas Kuhlmann) More formally known as Major League Baseball’s Scout Development Program, scout school is “a one-week seminar with classroom instruction and on-field evaluation exercises. Our goal is to improve and better prepare qualified individuals for a career as a professional scout and/or front office administrator.” That’s how it’s described in the first form the scouting bureau sends its candidates, anyway. Scout school is run by MLB’s scouting bureau. Each participant has to be sponsored by one of the league’s 30 franchises. Those in attendance are expected to have a baseline understanding of the game’s nuances–knowledge derived from hundreds and hundreds of games watched or played–they can draw on throughout the program. The idea is that what students learn at scout school will supplement the knowledge they already have, allowing them to be scouts, advance to other areas in their own departments, or just learn some of the finer aspects of the game and what is going on out on the field. For the class of 2016, scout school took place over a week of Arizona Fall League action. I was one of two people sponsored by the Blue Jays to attend that year. There were fewer than 50 people in my class, a fact that made my selection feel like an honor. And despite the fact that everyone graduates at the end–I didn’t realize that until we had finished–it was ...

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