Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Major League dream

A narrow strip of shade protected Tony Shockley from a scorching sun at high noon Tuesday at Cashman Field, where he squinted at more than 10 dozen baseball players.

"It's just a competitive environment," he said. "I've got to be good to get what I want."

Shockley wasn't talking about separating himself from his peers at the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau's open tryout at Cashman, although he was the only player wearing shorts.

A 22-year-old outfielder, Shockley was referring to his quest to fly fighter jets in the U.S. Air Force. He graduated from the Academy three weeks ago, and he's scheduled to begin pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas, in January.

If no scout takes an interest in Shockley, he will soon report back to the academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., for developmental and organizational training, and to earn his private pilot's license.

He has a much better chance of becoming a fighter pilot than playing baseball on a major league field.

MLBSB coordinator Craig Conklin said he told everyone who showed that an older player with better-developed skills often does not have an edge over a younger player who lacks experience.

Although Shockley impressed two scouts with strong throws from right field, evaluators, such as Philadelphia Phillies area scout Rick Cerrone, take more interest in someone like Cameron Johnson, who will be a senior at Las Vegas High in the fall.

"I'll keep the younger player, because he's more 'projectionable,' " Conklin said. "In time, he has an opportunity to get a little bit better, a little bit stronger, than the 23- or 24-year-old guy who maybe just got out of college."

The dozen scouts who attended Tuesday's tryout were mostly looking for younger prospects, juniors or even sophomores in high school. Playing at Air Force also has its drawbacks.

"It's a rarity for someone from Air Force to get drafted," Shockley said. "We incur a five-year commitment, but they just established a program in which we could play baseball full-time. Not too many organizations know about it, so they haven't been scouting the academy."

Shockley, who lives in Gilbert, Ariz., caught a flight from Phoenix on Tuesday morning to participate in one of the 35 open tryouts the bureau conducts nationwide every June. Scouting information is sent to each of the 30 major league teams.

Tuesday's was the fourth annual tryout at Cashman, and Conklin agreed with a few scouts that speedy center fielder Dave Krynzel is its most celebrated alumnus.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Krynzel, 21, attended the first tryout here, caught the eyes of Milwaukee bird dogs and is now hitting .319 at Double-A Huntsville (Ala.) in the Brewers' chain.

Johnson earned all-Southern Nevada prep honors as an outfielder this season.

"It's a learning experience," Johnson said. "I wanted to see how it works, see how I stood with the other players in the area."

Four of his teammates joined Johnson for the tryout, and he also saw players from Centennial, Cimarron-Memorial and Mojave.

Cerrone will run an invitation-only Phillies tryout for about 30 prospects at Lied Field, at the Community College of Southern Nevada in Henderson, on June 28. By the time he left Cashman, he had invited four or five prep players to the camp.

He said it would have taken a pitcher to hit 94 mph on the radar gun and a hitter to smack nine or 10 balls over the fence for either to leave an indelible mark on any of the scouts.

Neither happened.

"There are a lot of hopefuls," Cerrone said, "and it's a good location to come to."

An infielder who just graduated from high school in Erie, Pa., and plays for the semi-pro Henderson Mets was one of those hopefuls. With a buck in his wallet, he also hoped a teammate or two would help him out with Tuesday night's pizza bill.

Brit Ray, an 18-year-old infielder who starts his senior year at Seattle Lake Washington High in the fall, also plays for the Mets and has been relishing using a wooden bat.

"It's a good experience being here," he said. "You get a chance to get looked at and, hopefully, they'll come see you play and you'll get drafted."

Conklin, 40, knows the harsh reality of the business. He played center field in junior college, then started a family.

A few 30-something players showed up Tuesday, which made Conklin smile.

"They're trying to fulfill their dream of becoming a professional baseball player," he said. "I appreciate it and respect it, even though the odds of one of them making it are slim to none. But I appreciate that they're here, and their passion.

"They risk embarrassing themselves, but they don't care. They have just enough passion to come out and have fun with it."

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