AREA CODE TEAM GOES 4-1.......
The Seattle Mariners Area Code Team made a strong showing with a 4-1 record at the 2005 Area Code Games in Long Beach, Ca. The Northwest team opened the tournament with a 6-3 win vs. the Cincinnati Reds followed by a 9-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers (White) and a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox (Midwest). The only loss came at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers 6-1 who eventually won the tournament. A 2-1 win over the Texas Rangers secured second place for the M's. The team was led offensively by outfielder, Travis Snider, of Jackson HS (WA), Drew Rundle of Bend HS (OR), Cody Bartlett of Kentwood HS (WA), and Brian Barnes of Mount Lake Terrace HS (WA). Top pitching performances were turned in by Ben Guidos of Highline HS (WA), Tyler Mead of Skyview HS (WA), and Cam Nobles of Jackson HS (WA), and Jorge Reyes of Warden HS (WA). Over 300 college coaches and professional scouts attend this top showcase event.
2005 AREA CODE GAMES
Baseball Northwest caught up with Seattle Mariner Scout, Phil Geisler to ask him some questions regarding the Northwest Area Code Games and all he and the Mariners do for players in the Northwest. . .
What are the Area Code games? . . . . . the Area Code games were started in 1987 to bring the best professional prospects together on one field. The players were grouped by their Area Code numbers.
What type of players do you look for? . . . . . Ultimately we are looking for next years' High School draft class. We had 13 players drafted from our 2004 team. We would like to increase that number every year. We may not choose the best high school players. We try to choose the players that have the highest potential in the future, that have the best opportunity to play professional baseball.
Why are the Mariners involved? . . . . . We get the opportunity to meet and get to know players and parents in our local area. We want to promote pride in our area having our local players represent their hometown Major League Baseball Team.
How do you do the selection process for the team? . . . . . I get recommendations from high school coaches, summer coaches and some other MLB scouts.
Why should a player go if he is selected? . . . . . The Area Code game is the first step in preparing a player to make the jump to professional baseball after his high school season. It is the only showcase where the players are chosen by professional baseball scouts.
How does it help baseball in general in the Northwest? . . . . . It raises the level of competition and gives the players an opportunity to play against the best players in the country and to be exposed to the players they will be competing against in professional baseball or college.
Do most of the players on the area code team also play in the Northwest Championships? . . . . . The goal is to identify a good crop of the better players in the NW and put them all on the same field. It is better for the kids as most high school level amateur competition is very watered down. Our goal would be to have every player on the Mariners Area Code team play in the NW championships. The Northwest Championships is the best representative group from the NW Area.
How do you see players benefiting from playing in the Northwest Championships? . . . . . The Pacific NW Championships is becoming the premier venue in the NW for college coaches to see a good group of player from the are a on one field and to compete against those players. It is also well attended by many local area scouts and even MLB West Coast Cross checker scouts. The players also get to meet other players from around the area.
What is the Mariners Fall Scout Team? . . . . . The Mariners Fall Scout team is another opportunity for the Mariners to spend time with the better players in the NW area. We [Geisler, Phil /SEA] typically play in the Seattle Area so most of the players are Seattle area players. This team does have some underclassmen on its roster as opposed to the Area Code team which only takes draft eligible players.
How have you seen programs like the Area Code games, Northwest Championships, and Fall Scout Teams help baseball in general in the Northwest? . . . . . The biggest disadvantage to playing baseball in a northern state is the length of the growing season. The weather is rainy and our baseball seasons are short. Because of the weather we are not able to play as much or as often as players in the southern states; i.e. California, Texas, and Florida. The Mariners select teams as well as Baseball Northwest offer the opportunity to play at the highest possible level by putting the best players on the same field and by playing when the weather is best, the Fall. The Fall Scout Teams also attend the Senior Fall invitational tournament played at the Peoria Sports Complex, the Spring Training Home of the Seattle Mariners in October. This is a national tournament with 65 teams from all over the country.
2005 AREA CODE GAMESThe 2005 Area Code Games are August 6-10 at Blair Field in Long Beach, CA.The Seattle Mariners sponsor and select the players from the Northwest for this event. Some major league organizations select their area’s top high school senior-to be players (2006 grads for this year) and showcase them for professional scouts and college coaches. The Area Code Games has a history of having the largest collection of the country’s top players in one spot along with the Perfect Game Showcase in the fall in Florida. There are no open tryouts for the Northwest team. High school underclassmen must be invited to participate in Seattle Mariners workouts designed to identify the next years draft class. Northwest Mariner area scout, Phil Geisler, also selects the team from observation of players on their spring and summer teams, recommendations from other Northwest professional scouts, and by attending Baseball Northwest’s Prospect Games in Oregon, west Washington, east Washington, and Idaho. Phil also works closely with BBNW on rosters for those Prospect Games and Northwest Championship Tournament. The Mariners and Phil need to be commended for their efforts for providing this opportunity to northwest players. The 2005 Northwest Area Code team roster will be posted on the baseballnorthwest.com website.