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Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve
I don't see how it is possible not to know when any certain high school player is being heavily scouted, mentioned daily in the newspaper, or makes it to the pros. And when they are in the pros, the announcers say, "_____ played his HS ball at ______ High School" if they are homegrown talent. All you have to do is remember if you umpired that team during the period the athlete attended.
I certainly couldn't mistake having umpired Troy Glaus, for example. It seemed he either struck out, or hit a tape measure home run every time up. He was a local superstar out of Carlsbad HS in the northern part of the city.
And how could I forget working the plate for guys that were the cream of the crop pitchers in HS? Aaron Harang, Mark Prior, Barry Zito, Esteban Loiza, Sergio Mitre, Jose Silva, Benji Gil (who went on to be a shortstop in MLB), are just a few that spring to mind. Every time they pitched, the stands were full of scouts with Jugs guns.
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I don't recall a request...........
I don't look into the stands. I know beforehand there are special players on some teams.....sometimes. I don't get any special thrill out of umpiring these players or their teams. Just give me a good game between two good teams. Last spring worked the, I believe 17th pick in the first round. Before the game we're alone in the bathroom together (form your own opinions). I said, "This don't look good" and he let out a big laugh. We both zip up. He says, "I remember what happened last year". I say, "That wasn't me, that was my partner". Says he, "I know, I should have known better. Since this is my last year, I going to try and not let all that stupid stuff that goes on bother me". I replied, "That's all you can do. Enjoy you last year, Ace."
If I hadn't of known him for so long, I probably wouldn't have remembered this. He'll say something dumb that will make the local papers from time to time. Such is life.