1 of 2
Photos courtesy of Sports Facilities Management.
About 150 of the top-rated high school baseball players in the eastern United States showed off their skills to hundreds of Major League Baseball scouts, college coaches and sports agents at the 2019 East Coast Pro Showcase at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on Aug. 1-4, 2019.
2 of 2
Photos courtesy of Sports Facilities Management.
About 150 of the top-rated high school baseball players in the eastern United States showed off their skills to hundreds of Major League Baseball scouts, college coaches and sports agents at the 2019 East Coast Pro Showcase at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on Aug. 1-4, 2019.
The East Coast Pro Showcase, an event that allows the top high school baseball players in the eastern United States to display their talent to hundreds of Major League Baseball scouts, college coaches and sports agents, has agreed to stay in Hoover through at least 2022, an East Coast Pro representative said.
Plus, chances are good that the organization will stay even longer, officials for East Coast Pro and the Hoover Metropolitan Complex said.
The event comes back to the Hoover Met for the third time on Aug. 2-5. The original contract was for three years, plus an option to extend for two more years, and that option has been exercised, said John Castleberry, a scout with the San Francisco Giants who is heavily involved with East Coast Pro.
Now, the two parties are in serious talks for another three-year deal extending to 2025, Castleberry said. “Chances are pretty good we’re going to do it,” he said.
Hoover Met Complex General Manager John Sparks said Hoover is excited about it. “They don’t want to go anywhere, and we don’t want ’em to,” Sparks said. “They’ve been a good partner for us. They love Hoover, and they’re a very classy organization, classy group of guys. It’s a win, win for everybody.”
The showcase features the top 150 to 160 high school players in the eastern U.S. They are divided into six teams representing different regions of the eastern part of the country. They practice together and play games against one another as the scouts and coaches evaluate them.
Last year, nearly 490 scouts were present, but those numbers may be lower this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Castleberry said.
Pro teams serving as sponsors for the six teams this year are the Cincinnati Reds (Ohio Valley states), Colorado Rockies (Southeast states), Milwaukee Brewers (Georgia and northeast Florida), San Francisco Giants (Florida and Puerto Rico), Arizona Diamondbacks (mid-Atlantic states) and Boston Red Sox (Northeast states).
There typically are three games each day, some with seven innings and some with nine. Most of the showcase is closed, but the public typically is invited to watch games on the final day. Admission would be free, Sparks said.
More than 90 percent of the players who come to East Coast Pro end up signing contracts to play professional baseball, Castleberry said.
For more information about the showcase, go to eastcoastpro.org.
