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Kansas City Royals Hold Tryout Camp at Murnane Field
August 14, 2002 Utica, New York - Murnane Field was stirring with baseball once again today. Three days after the New York State American Legion Baseball Tournament was held the Kansas City Royals held a tryout camp for local players on the high school and college levels. Sponsored by the Hitting Machine, a locally owned baseball clinic, the camp was by invitation only. Over thirty of the areas best players were decked out in uniforms ready to display their tools for the scouts.
On hand to witness these players talents decked out in Royal Blue workout uniforms and armed with stopwatches, were longtime scouts Steve Connelly, the Royals regional supervisor, and Sonny Graci, who coaches the Schrub Oak American Legion squad in Yorktown Heights in New York City, and Hector Garcia, a former semi-pro player.
The day began with about a half hour of stretching and then running drills. Each position player, pitchers were exempt from the running session, were timed twice as they sprinted the 100 meter dash. Some of the kids ran the 100 under 7, Graci said. That was real good.
After the running, the infielders took infield practice with the 66 year old Graci. Graci looked like a forty year old just-retired player as he smacked hits all over the infield for the players to field. As Connelly called out where he wanted the ball to be positioned, Graci dutifully placed each hit. I said I would only make three mistakes, Graci told former Adrean payer and current Thomas R. Proctor Junior Varsity coach Steve Strife. He made a few more, but no one seemed to mind as this genial man had Adrean Manager Mike Macchione, Utica College Head Coach Don Guido, and Notre Dame Assistant Varsity Coach and former Mohawk Valley Community College Coach Joe Milazzo laughing throughout the session.
When asked about how the players did in the infield, Graci felt they all had one problem. The kids need to throw to the chest more, not the base. Although he felt their arms were pretty strong for their ages, he wanted to see them be more accurate. This comes from a man who entered the Baltimore Orioles organization in 1954 at the same time the legendry Brooks Robinson did. While he did not make it past Double-A ball, his coach at the time, another Hall of Famer, Earl Weaver, taught him what it took in the infield. It is what he looks for when he travels to the Empire State games, legion games, and special workouts throughout New York State.
Garcia, a youthful looking 57 who had a chance to sign with the San Diego Padres after barnstorming for a couple of years but turned it down because he didnt feel I wanted to play ball with the Padres, is a super-organized man. It probably comes from his days as an X-RAY technician at the famed Mt. Sinai hospital in New York City. He had the boys fill out cards with their information and assigned each one of them a number to eliminate any possible bias like when names are used. He constantly took notes and wrote numbers down. Baseball, if one did not already know, is definitely a numbers game. The radar guns came out when the pitchers took the mound, and Garcia propped himself up on a backstop protected by a fence to check the speed of each hurler. It was good to see that he was not just doing a job enjoying it as well by calling out encouragement before each pitch.
Connelly was mostly quiet except for barking out a request here and there to the participants. He could be constantly seen scribbling notes down on his clipboard and consulting with Graci and Garcia. I did not want to disturb the one the others affectionately call the boss, so I have no commentary to report from him.
As for the day it was simply wonderful. The scouts were looking for speed, hitting, accuracy, and fielding and the players gave their all in displaying their skills. There was plenty of encouragement from player to player amid all the friendly rivalry. Each player was giving it their all in order to maybe make a dream come true. Graci and Garcia, both of whom have been scouting since 1986, have seen it all before. As Graci put it I go wherever there may be someone to see, and I like it.
Imagine young players who are playing for love of the game, and scouts who are looking for raw talent that can be cultivated into tomorrows stars. And no one is thinking of anything more than making it. Dollar signs, while unfortunately there with the impending strike, are furthest from their minds. Everyone knows those minds will be clouded if it comes to contract time, but in the meantime, it is simply hit, run, throw, and field! Perfect!
Lou Parrotta
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