Lexington Spoke - April 23, 2012
April 23, 2013
Cloudy rainy day, 64 degrees.
Steak tips, green beans and potatoes were our fare for the day.
28 Rotarians and four guests were in attendance. One of our visitors was the esteemed Doug Lucente from the Lexington Lions Club and he was in visiting to defend his fellow Lion and our dear Michelle G. who was fined for a Patriots Day photo.
Raffle gifts were provided by Vail Studio Hair Salon, Lexington Periodontics, Patriots Bank, Arlex Oil and Lexington Ace Hardware
PP Don M. led the Pledge of Allegiance. CharlieV for our America and a very fine Invocation from PDG Jack M.
Happy Dollars from Bob C, PP Don M, Steve K, Susan C, PP Don M, PP Nick C, PDG Jack M, PP Ed G, Jim S, Michelle G, PP Dan O, PP David B, PP Dan B, Charlie V. Two of guests felt happy enough to support happy dollars as well, Doug L and guest Paul R.
Pres. Murry announced a very nice donation the club will make in Memorial for Dan Busa Sr. who passed away on April 4. He also read a few thank you notes from recipients of the scholarships the Club awarded to our local high school students.
Thanks to PP Ed G who was the driving force to get our Guest Speaker, Gus Quattlebaum who is the Boston Red Sox Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting.
We had a very candid and fun discussion with Gus about the basics in Baseballs Major League Scouting approach. Gus worked for the Yankees, then the Baltimore Orioles and then the Red Sox hired him in 2006. He graduated in 1997 from college, and then received an invitation from the Baltimore Orioles to play in an instructional league, but he never was signed.
Gus moved to Lexington just last year. Why he moved next to PP Ed G is what inquiring minds want to know.
His work as a pro/major league scout mainly involved evaluating professional talent to advice on player acquisitions. Gus played baseball at Phillips Andover. Then went on to Davidson College where he was Captain for 96-97 team. Until very recently he held the NCAA title for most homers in one game – 4. He played the Cape League after that.
Gus explained the layout of how scouting works. There are areas of scouting that they divide into categories. The first is the “Pro Department”. The Pro Department has 4 scout’s that will do advance scouting of upcoming opponents during the season. Then the “Major League scout” follows injuries of the players. There are also “Minor League scouts” who follow future talent in the farm leagues. And lastly there is the “International scout” who will travel the world looking for much younger players who might still be in high school. As you can imagine, the challenges the International scout faces trying to gauge talent for a high school age athlete is very difficult. How can you know for sure if a 16 year old will have the temperament and talent 8 or 10 years in the future?
Gus was very humble in sharing the current woes the Red Sox are feeling. He did remind us we are only 14 games into the season and there is still lots of baseball to be played.
PE David S.