TAYLOR & STAFF ASSEMBLE 14TH AREA CODE TEAM

TAYLOR & STAFF ASSEMBLE 14^TH AREA CODE TEAM

BY KEVIN MAX – COPYRIGHT 2011 – HOUSTON 5A BASEBALL

Every summer since 1998, Randy Taylor and his staff of coaches and scouts have the unenviable job of telling some of the best players in Texas “thanks but no thanks”.  This is not to say those players are not good, as that couldn’t be further from the truth.  Randy runs the Texas Rangers team that participates in the Area Code Games and when selecting the best players, some very good ones get left out.  Just ask his own son who was cut from the tryout; of course, with the bad comes the good.  For 14 summer seasons, Randy Taylor and his staff of coaches and scouts have had the enviable and sometimes difficult job of coaching some of the best players in Texas.

This isn’t an open cattle call tryout that one will see every so often buried in the small print of the Houston Chronicle sports page.  Players must be nominated by a professional scout or a coach, and even that doesn’t guarantee them a tryout.  Every year Randy fields calls from high school coaches, college coaches and other scouts in the days leading up to the tryout, trying to get one more kid in.  “Sorry can’t do it” sometimes has to be the answer.  One has to keep in mind that upwards of 250 players are invited to take part in the two tryouts (Taylor goes to North Texas and Houston for tryouts) that will eventually be whittled down to a roster of roughly 20 players.  There is also no fee to try out for the Rangers Area Code Team.  “I could charge a hundred or two hundred dollars and people would pay it” said Taylor “but it isn’t about that”.  Selecting this roster is about one thing and one thing only; the ability to play baseball at a very high level.

The high temperature in Houston reached 97 on June 29, of course without a drop of rain.  The heat only adds to the stress on the players who are trying to impress Taylor enough to convince him that he absolutely needs their services.  After a few rounds of 60’s and taking some fungos, players start to drop out.  This first batch of players realizes they aren’t quite at the level required for a team of this nature and pull the cord and head for the parking lot.  Pitchers down in the bullpen realize their velocity isn’t in the same realm as others and quietly pack up their gear and head out to grab some lunch.  This is as close to baseball’s version of survival of the fittest that many high school players have ever encountered.  Being invited to the tryout is something to be proud of.  Making the cut to participate in the simulated games is a victory.  Being selected to the final roster is a milestone.

Shortly after 9:00 pm when the last players have left the field, Randy has been at Baseball USA for roughly fifteen hours.  He has seen more than 140 athletes do every imaginable baseball measurable out there.  Keep in mind, this procedure has happened twice now, including the tryout in North Texas.  It’s now time to sit down with his trusted circle of evaluators and start the process of selecting the 2011 Texas Rangers that will travel to Long Beach to play against the best competition from across the country.

The Texas Rangers Area Code Team will open their 2011 Area Code Schedule vs. Yankees Area Code Team on Tuesday Aug. 9 at 4:30 (central time). That game along with Tuesday’s entire schedule can be seen on ESPN3.com. Visit H5AB.com again soon for more 2011 Area Code Games coverage.

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