Random data point

[ashbury]

Not sure where to put this (or even if it's worth putting anywhere). We need a "For What It's Worth" department here.

 

Yesterday at the Rhode Island chapter meeting of SABR, area scout Steve Payne of the Marlins was a guest speaker. Afterward I got a chance to chat with him and I mentioned I was a Twins fan. "Great organization to work for" was his response. I took it to mean from his perspective as a scout. He didn't have to say that, so I take it to be a genuine opinion from a knowledgeable outsider looking in. Maybe you can interpret it negatively ("country club atmosphere"?) but I don't.

[rukavina]

From what I've heard, scouts get yanked around a lot and are paid little.  Good to know that someone with a lengthy track record respects the organization.

[old nurse]

Payne’s decisions can have life-changing consequences for the teenagers he watches. And despite all the tools of his trade—the speed guns, the number crunching—he says some of it comes down to instinct.

“The hard part is figuring out what a guy is made of on the inside,” Payne says. “Some guys have all the skills, but there is something missing mentally and the talent doesn’t translate. Other guys don’t have the natural ability, but when the lights are on and it’s time to perform, they thrive.”

[ashbury]

That was kind of the theme of his remarks on Saturday, too.