Does Baseball Beginnings think it’s always going to be right?
Oh, hell no! Any good scout will tell you that predicting amateur players who will become professionals is the hardest thing to do in the business. Statistical analysis is perfect for proven major leaguers, but amateur baseball is the wild, wild, west. Major League games are almost always played in a controlled environment with consistent competition, fields, mounds, umpiring and scorekeeping. Amateur baseball is simply not (and frankly the minors are still pretty crazy despite all the new parks), which makes accurate player evaluation crucial. Despite the Moneyball revolution, amateur scouting is mostly performed the way it has always been: experienced eyes having the courage to make a call on a player’s ability. Nobody buys amateur players sight unseen. Though there are some Major League teams that will trade for an organizational minor league player based on statistics alone, there are still many clubs that will not trade for a minor league player or sign a minor league free agent u
