Latest / Chasing Baseball Dreams / Episode #11: Cameron Rupp | College Baseball Recruiting, Travel Ball & What Coaches Actually Want

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Episode #11: Cameron Rupp | College Baseball Recruiting, Travel Ball & What Coaches Actually Want · Chasing Baseball Dreams

• Bobby Minor: All right, welcome to Chasing Baseball Dreams. And today I am joined by a Dallas Fort Worth native. I don't know that I've interviewed anybody yet that's this close to home, but I'm joined by Mr. Coach Cameron Rupp. He is a former MLB catcher, played five season with five seasons with the Phillies. you A Dallas area product graduated from Preston Wood Christian Academy. I know you started at the University of Texas, played in the 09 College World Series. You're all Big 12, drafted in the third round in the 2010 MLB draft. And I think it's safe to say that the draft has changed a lot since then. and then after playing professionally for you know a little over a decade, you moved into coaching. I know you were you were an assistant at at Blend, you're assistant at UT, and now you are an assistant at UTA here, University of Texas at Arlington. but I I know you bring just a ton of insight, wealth and knowledge to to this whole journey, this whole process. So Cameron, thanks for taking the time. Cameron Rupp: Love you. Thanks for having me, man. I'm I'm excited to be here. Bobby Minor: All right. so let we'll just kind of jump right into it. So like from your time like as a college and professional catcher, now as a coach, what do you see what do you see as the biggest developmental mistakes parents and young players make, especially say from the ages of of twelve to sixteen, specifically around things like specialization, the number of games. what's your parents prioritize instead? Cameron Rupp: Prioritize your kid, man. that's number one. Yeah, parents gonna do what they think's best for their their their kids and and but a as far as specialization goes, man, like I played all sports until I graduated high school. And I'd say graduated high school, but I stopped playing basketball in middle school just 'cause I wasn't any good at it. But I played football all the way through my senior year high school. played football and baseball. I didn't participate in fallball. that was my break from it. You know, you play all spring, all summer. Like there's a time to put it down and and and kinda find that love for the game again. You know, everybody gets burnt out at some point. you know, my dad was he played in college, played a little bit professionally and so he had a pretty good idea how the lifestyle of a of a professional baseball player worked and what you know, what it looked like. But I also really loved playing football. So I was not I was I whatever I was gonna do, I was gonna be all in at. Right. And so during football season it was all football. I might go hit and work out, throw a little bit once or twice a week. But It was football in the fall and then once that last game was played, then I turned it into baseball. and you know, that that's that's the biggest thing. It's just you know, you you hear a lot of kids and you know, I don't wanna get hurt. You don't wanna get like you can get hurt stepping off a curb walking into Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: the parking lot. it you know, to me it's just yeah, there's there's a little more risk in playing football, but I I think at the end of the day like it makes players more athletic, it makes them myth me more mentally tough. it there there's a lot of advantages to being able to play multiple sports. especially when it comes to your body, being control of it. Bobby Minor: So okay, so you played multiple sports all the way through high school. What would you say though to the parents out there, what's the earliest age that you would say, like, look, if your son is just gonna play baseball, this is probably the earliest that I would specialize? Cameron Rupp: I mean I you high school, right? Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: Like, you know, when they're when they're playing, you know, really you year round. I think that's when you kind of you know, you know when your child is obviously loves it, but also like don't let it be your decision for them to specialize in it. Let it be their decision. It's like, hey, I want to do I this I wanna do baseball. So you know, they it's that I think when they say it yes, but I it wouldn't be till high school if it was my son. Bobby Minor: I think that's good and it it's funny because that's I was talking to Dustin Pedroya yesterday and basically the exact same thing, you know, like he said that's the earliest, like fourteen or fifteen, once you get to high school. Cameron Rupp: Yeah, and and I mean and let's be honest. I'm not looking at anybody that's under a high school player to be like, yeah, you know, parents will say like, he's twelve years old, he's gonna be a division one player, this and that, you need to come out like he's six years away from anything. Like there's a lot that's gonna happen in six, seven years. The the change in the body, the the ability, like I there was a lot of kids that were bigger, stronger than me when we were twelve and they didn't grow another inch. Like you know, everybody's everybody's development's different and that doesn't mean that players that are twelve that are really good at that at that are playing in in Williamsport right now. Right? Like those kid there's gonna be some of those kids that are on division one campuses and and things like that or get drafted. but there's not a college coach in the world that's watching to be like, I'm gonna recruit this kid next year. Right? Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: Like Just reality of it. Bobby Minor: Yeah. no, I I think those are great points for parents to hear. So, okay, being that you grew up in in the Dallas area, who'd you play travel ball with? Or I we call it select I'm I've adapted to calling it travel baseball, but down here we call it select baseball. But who'd you play select who'd you play select baseball with in high school? Okay. Cameron Rupp: Legball. I was with D Bat. and it was before it was the D Bat Mustangs and Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: all the like there was one D bat. and there was one team per age group. I was with them. I was on a pretty special team that had Clayton Kershaw, Brian Holliday, Jordan Walden. Zach Britain Bobby Minor: Man. Cameron Rupp: I mean we it we had I think it if I seven or eight major leaguers that were within three years of each other all in that group. Bobby Minor: Man. Cameron Rupp: I played up my last year or as a I as a junior or sophomore junior I played with the juniors and seniors. and I mean but we had We had a ton of talent. And the bet and and he probably won't agree, but because he's so humble, but I don't know if you know the name, Sean Dollison. If you remember him pitching the big leagues. Yeah. So he Bobby Minor: Yeah. He was a pitch for the Rangers. Yeah, pitch for the Rangers. Yeah. Yeah. Cameron Rupp: had Tommy John his senior year at high school. He was better than Clayton Kershaw out high school and Jordan Walden, who were longtime major leaguers, all stars. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: but that injury He didn't end up pitching his senior year and went to Baylor and then ended up making it to the big leagues. But and out of high school Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: that guy was better than the best two arms. He was the best arm owner Bobby Minor: Wow. Cameron Rupp: somewhere. Bobby Minor: That's amazing, man. That people hey, that's why You know, here in Dallas Fort there's a lot of areas like that are like Dallas Fort Worth. Let's Dallas Fort Worth, Houston, you know, Southern California, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, places where you literally would not you don't have to travel anywhere. I mean, unless you just want to you know, just take a trip somewhere. But there's more than enough good competition to, you know what I mean, fully develop and fully go through the journey without ever leaving, Cameron Rupp: Yeah. Bobby Minor: you know. Cameron Rupp: We played in a league every Tuesday. We had doubleheaders every Tuesday and Thursday that we played in against teams in the Metroplex. Like Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: and then we would play in a handful of tournaments throughout the summer. But like now there's no league. There's no like it's it's just tournaments every weekend that you're playing six games in three days or whatever it is, like I don't it it's just it's a lot different. It's a it's a lot Bobby Minor: It's crazy. Cameron Rupp: different business Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: than it was back when when I played. Bobby Minor: No, you're spot on. So, okay, let me ask you. So as as a college coach and you know, so UTA, I've UTA is a mid major, D1. so when it comes to recruiting What's kind of the process for like how does a player the normal path I know it happens all sorts of ways, but like how does it how does a player typically let's say a high school player, because I'm not talking about the portal or Juco guys right now. So a high school player, at what point what what point in the process do they do they get on your radar? what does it look like? Where in this whole thing do you ever go to their perfect game profile to see what their ranking is or anything? Like, what does all of this look like for the parents out there? Cameron Rupp: I I don't go to perfect game and look and see what they're ranked. I'll you know what? I see a lot of videos that get put on the on Twitter. I I go to games, and that's where you're evaluated. you know, obviously the showcases are great. You know, I think they're I think some of like you do see what guys can do, what they can you know, their ability, you know Maybe some, you know, that you're not gonna get to see because they're coming from out of town. You're not gonna so you do it's an easier way to follow from a showcase standpoint. You you can see but I go watch. I go watch. It's not so much the the video that Perfect Game puts out or or any of those. It's what my eyes tell me. I wanna go see, you know, how what not I don't I don't honestly I don't wanna see go four for four. Like everybody's great when they're four for four. I wanna see how they handle when they're failure. Like I'm coming to watch you because I think you're a good player. you're gonna if you come to U T R and you're gonna go for four. You're gonna go four for four. Like your days are gonna they're gonna play ping pong with each other, right? Go back and forth. It's just more about how do you handle yourself? How do you Are you controlling the strike zone? Are you you know, or are you executing your situational hitting? Or are you just going up there with a to be a one trick pony and see how far you can hit it? All right, like what do you do in the game? that's what I wanna see. I it's not so much yeah, like of course, yeah, it's good to see get hits, but I wanna see like what happens when they fail. Are you gonna throw a fit or they you go back to the dugout and sound like they're building something in there? Like, you know, what what does that look like? 'Cause it this game is based on around is based around failure and and how you handle it. And that's that's important to me. Bobby Minor: So, okay, literally Dustin Pedroya said the exact same thing yesterday, okay? And I had somebody comment saying, like, college coaches don't care. Like, you know, they don't if they don't care about your character. If you can play, you know, that's what's the most important thing to you. So as a college coach, what would you say to that person that left that comment that thinks that you Cameron Rupp: No. Well Bobby Minor: you don't care how they handle failure? Cameron Rupp: That is absolutely untrue because one, there's a university that has policy on how you carry yourself and how people act and how things go. so there's that part of it. But two, like there's also other players on the team that's like that w we're not you're here already. So it's not about getting to a place now. Now it's about winning games. So if your attitude and the way you carry yourself and how you handle failure is not very good, like I don't want you in the dugout and I get guarantee you there's thirty three other guys in the on that ball code that'll get tired of it. it's just not a it's not a formula to help a team succeed to help a team win. It Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: doesn't it it just doesn't work that way. I don't care if you're like there there's exceptions to it, but at some point it gets tired. It like it's just like it's exhausting, not only for us as coaches, but the players is like how much longer are we gonna have to deal with it? Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: Like you start counting down and that's w that's the worst place you wanna be as a team. Bobby Minor: Yeah. I I'll tell I'll tell somebody, I Yeah, okay. Maybe if you're Bryce Harper or Wotani, you know, you can get away with a little bit more at a certain point. Yeah. Yeah. Cameron Rupp: There's there's a leash based on the player, but at some point players gotta grow up too. Bobby Minor: Yeah. So okay, so your your roster for this, you know, the the twenty six, twenty-seven season, just off the top of your head, what percentage of it would you say is made up of portal guys, JUCO guys versus high school guys? If you were to guess. Cameron Rupp: I th if I'm I think we have like three or four portal guys, a bunch of junior college guys, and then we brought in four high school players. It's Bobby Minor: Okay. Cameron Rupp: majority junior college. Bobby Minor: Okay. I that's I that's why like I believe this and I was interviewing TJ Bruce a couple of weeks ago and you know that's where I asked him, I said, what percentage of high school players do you think should go the JUCO route? And I he said like sixty to seventy percent. I think probably eighty to ninety percent, you know. could benefit from it, you know. Cameron Rupp: Yes. you know, I've been on both sides of it, right? I think a lot of it is it's what What's the player you know, the it's what's the player want? Does he want to develop in a division one play at a division one school? Yes. I think they all do. I think at junior college, like there's there's a lot of pros to it. Like I loved my time at Blen Junior College. we were very successful. We had a lot of really good players. We sent a lot of players to power force schools. We send a lot of players to mid major schools. there's there's an opportunity for everybody to play. But also too, like at the mid major level, like there's there's places that there's kids that can come in and play as a freshman. And, you know, they're like i there may be some growing pains in it. But also like you're learning to play a game at a faster pace. that every level you climb up, the speed of the game ticks up just a little bit. So it may start, you may have some growing pains, you the speed of the game, the way it moves. Like there will be some growing pains in it. But there are players that can come that have a whole fall to develop to get better, get in a weight room and get ready for that first game in February. And junior college, like it's just go out and play. Like, it's play. You know, you're gonna play twenty games in the fall. so the d like that's your development is k getting in between the white lines, right? versus here, like now we do have the ability to play four games in the fall against outside competition, but also like you're getting to spend time in the cage, get really you know, down to the nitty gritty of of your the of the way you play the game, the way that you move, the the body, everything. And then in the weight room, right? Like y you can't get anywhere without that w that weight room. Bobby Minor: yeah, no doubt. That's that's good stuff. so you've been an assistant at the University of Texas, which is a Power Four school. You're an assistant now at the University of Texas Arlington, which is a mid major D one. What's what's how does recruiting look different between those two environments? Cameron Rupp: Well, so when I was back at school, I went back and I was just kind of the student assistant at Texas. So I d I was more so on the learning side of what goes on behind the scenes, how you recruit, how you do but f from doing it f watching how it happened there versus how it's happens here is like those guys go to watch about four or five different players. I go to watch everybody that's on the field. you know, I'm I'm recruiting everybody. I'm on watching what every player does. Yeah, I'm probably there to see somebody, but I usually always leave with more than one name. If that makes sense, right? Like, Bobby Minor: Hmm. Yeah. Cameron Rupp: I like this guy, yeah. I'm gonna I'm gonna follow him, see what happens. you know, there's something there. You know, can't see everybody, right? So, you know, you're going to a game with the expectation of watching A player, maybe two, and then all of a sudden it's like, hey, this guy's catching my eye. I want to follow him again. I want to go see him again with my intent to go watch him and then it it just kinda snowballs into several different players and then you know you're trying to figure out which one best fits your program. Bobby Minor: I think that's good and I think that's really important for parents to hear because I talk about that a lot too, especially at the bigger schools. Like, you know, they have they have their guys that they're going to see and when you know that you know kid's not on the mound, he's not at the plate, they're returning text messages, emails, you know what I mean? Like, but it's important. So like mid-majors, you know, D twos, D threes, NAIA schools, they go, and that's gonna be your best chance, you know what I mean, of of getting looks from a coach that you're you're not already on their list. So so let's talk about catching for a second because catching is definitely one of the most demanding positions mentally and physically. what What traits and habits separate kids who stick at the position and they advance versus those who, you know, burn out or get passed over? And how can parents support that development without overcoaching? Cameron Rupp: Athleticism. Okay. and I say that because the position has evolved from when I played. My last year was in twenty twenty. And if you look at twenty twenty catchers, maybe even you can go back to twenty eighteen, right? Like there's a little bit it's starting to evolve and then you look at catching now. Way different. You don't have the big body big guy that's back there behind the plate. You've got a guy that looks like he can play shortstop. and that's that's the requirement of the way catching is is kind of become like it's about being an athlete, being able to move fast. be quick in a small area. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: you're you know, the with the way that framing is it it's it's about moving your hands fast through the zone. so i it it's You gotta be athletic. You gotta be able to move. You gotta have quick feet. Strong hands. Strong forearms. Like that's the that those are k some of my, you know, I don't know say requirements, but like that's what I'm looking for. I'm watching guys how they move. Are they quick? obviously good arm. understanding the game, you know, backing up bases, being where they're supposed to be, knowing where the ball is supposed to go, right? There's There's a lot of those things that all go into it, but like the biggest thing for me is what kind of athlete are you? Like how how well do you move the the flexibility? Like it's that's just as important as being able to to have a pop time under two. Like those all kind of play into each other's hands. Bobby Minor: Okay, you just you you mentioned pop time. This made me think of something. What do you think when you see somebody post a pop time of a sixteen year old at a showcase, a pop time that would be better than any major league catcher currently playing? Cameron Rupp: Maybe their watch is broken. I don't know. I it's you know, it it's it's I don't Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: have it's just I it I can't call somebody a liar if I don't see it. Like it's just like okay, like hey, Bobby Minor: Right, right. Right. Yeah. Cameron Rupp: maybe I need to watch this guy a little bit. Like Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: you know, it's but you know it's not just about the pop time too. Like guys gotta understand, like, it's the entire operation of it, right? Like it's the pitcher giving you a chance to throw the guy out. It's the Getting a good pitch to throw on, it's it's the second baseman catching the ball, playing tackle. Like there's a whole operation to it and then there's a whole clock to it. Right? Like if a pitcher's a one three five to the plate and it's just a your average to above average runner and you throw a two on the bag, that guy should be out. Like, period. He should be out. That's the whole the entire operation, right? Now, like guys that ha get these vaulting running leads and go before you even lift, like you could throw whatever and you're probably not gonna throw out because of the jump, right? But also too, like I expressed to our guys was like, if you throw a one nine four, that's all I want you to throw. I don't want you to try to throw it faster. I don't want you to try to be more accurate or i I w Throw a one nine four every single time. You're gonna give yourself the best chance to throw every runner out if you do that. Right? Bobby Minor: Just being consistent. Cameron Rupp: Yeah, be consistent. that's that's the name of the game in all aspects, right? Like how many times can I do good over and over and over again? Bobby Minor: That's good. That's good. And I think, and I'm glad that you're a catcher because I I don't you're the first person that I've had on, I think, that was a catcher and it's such an important position. So let me ask you, so as a college coach, what would you say are the four most recruited positions? Not saying that the obviously not the only ones, you know what I mean, but like what the four mo for four most recruited positions? Cameron Rupp: Catcher, pitcher, center fielder, and shortstop. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Bobby Minor: Okay, up the middle. pretty much. that's what I tell people. I tell like every t you know Yeah. Yeah. Cameron Rupp: Gets up the middle, right? That 'cause that's where your best athletes usually are. I mean that's not that doesn't mean that third base and first base aren't Bobby Minor: Yeah. It's it's crazy. Right. Yeah. Cameron Rupp: good. You know, there's gonna be some big boppers that Bobby Minor: Hmm. Yeah. Cameron Rupp: that are that are at those positions, but you're not building your team around that player. Bobby Minor: Yeah. And I was talking man, gosh, this has probably been Four or five years ago I was talking to James Cooper. He used to be the coach at Grambling and now he's a manager in the Yankee system. But I was asking him what does he look for? And he was saying like he when he looks at players, he wants to see one thing that can change the game. You know what I mean? Either, you know, a guy that has, you know, he's gonna hit a d you know, hit extra base hit, you know, when he comes up, a guy that can may get a single, but he has speed where he can turn a single into a double, into a triple. you know, a pitcher, a pitcher that has, you know, like, you know, this outpitch or whatever, but he's looking for one tool that can change the game. Cameron Rupp: Yeah, absolutely. Like it I mean that's y i in in that's where it can be a good arm in the outfield. you said a guy that can can take the extra base. a wipe out slider or an outlier fastball, something that's unique on the mound. obviously a catcher behind the plate that can catch and throw. you know, the bat I think is is important as well. You wanna but I think it's more about the bat to ball skills. as well. not striking out, being able to walk. the it's not just about your home runs and you know, there those come, right? But you gotta be able to you gotta be able to do more. Bobby Minor: That's good. Are are you seeing This is what I see. So, you know, a few years back when all the data and analytics took over, and it was the you know the three true outcomes walk, strike out, or a home run. That's what everybody is focusing on. I I I feel like I'm seeing now in the past year or two a swing, you know, kind of a trend away from a lot of that. You see more major league teams bunning and doing things like that, but also swing and miss rate is is it matters now because I've seen guys that at the college level that you know had hit a decent amount of bombs, you know, in the past year or two, whatever that didn't get drafted and it's because their swing and miss is like sixty percent. Cameron Rupp: Yeah. No, I mean it you gotta have bats ball skills. You have to. Like you can't be striking out thirty, thirty five percent of time. even if you are hitting twenty five homers in college, like that's a that's a very high percentage. obviously I think that guy will get drafted if they're hitting twenty five plus homers. however, like it the swing miss, like it's a big like it's a concern. And you gotta think like how many of these players in college are the ones getting drafted and then you know, they're swinging and missing at these and they're not even the best at what they do. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: So you're gonna put this kid that's swinging and missing in college, but he you know, he runs into some balls, but then you're gonna get him in to the minor league system against the best in the world, some of the best in the world, and then get all the way to the top and the swing and miss, like it It's gonna Bobby Minor: Yeah. It doesn't get easier. It doesn't get easier the higher you go. Cameron Rupp: No, no, no, no, no. Definitely doesn't. Bobby Minor: so okay, this is such good stuff. Parents, I hope that you're listening out there. So we talked about the most recruited positions. I wanna how important is it for a player to be able to play multiple positions? Cameron Rupp: That's huge. Like especially, you know, 34 men roster, right? Like we're 17 pitchers, 17 position players. Okay. So you think about, you know, being versatile, right? Being able to plug somebody in, like, you wanna play? Right? Like everybody wants to play. Learn to do multiple things. Like be a Swiss Army knife. Right? Be able to go play in the outfield or go play, you know, if you're a shortstop, like, hey, can you play second base too? And don't don't be all high and my well I'm the shortstop. No, dude Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: like you wanna play, you wanna be in the lineup? Like yes or no? Like if you do, great. Then you're gonna learn to play second base. Or you're gonna go play third, or you're gonna go play in center. Like be able to, right? Like there's there's always gonna be somebody better than you. So why not be able to do different things? All things are equal, right? Maybe split time. Like, hey, you're gonna play short today, you're gonna play second tomorrow, then you're gonna go back, right? Like be able to do multiple things. It makes the team better. Because what happens if somebody gets hurt and then well, we can't you know, somebody's gotta play. Somebody's gotta fill in. Well, if you can't do something, well we're not gonna we're gonna find somebody else. So it it just I I think you that's part of being athletic, being able to move, being able to do different things. It's just you know, back to the whole specialty thing, right? Like Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: I'm just a pitcher only. Some of those guys need to be pitcher only, but then Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: But like be able to do multiple things. That's that's how you you that's the fastest way to get in the lineup. 'Cause let me tell you, if you can hit, you're gonna be in the lineup. But if you can only do one thing and play one position, like it's makes it tough. Bobby Minor: Yeah, I I think I sort of the high school freshmen, high school freshmen if you're watching this, or mom and dad if you have a high school freshman, the fastest path to varsity is for a position player is be able to hit and I I say be able to play an infield and outfield position because you know what I mean? Like your the varsity coach may love your son's bat, but he needs somebody that can play right field and is your son gonna say, Well, I'm only a third baseman, you know, and Grady Emerson just drafted number two overall by the Rays. I I remember his freshman year when he was at Argyle, Pascal, the school that my son went to, they played Argyle in a tournament and Grady was playing first base. He played first base in that game, I think batted six. You know what mean? But could could he have said, Well, no, coach, I'm just a shortstop, so I'm not I don't wanna play, you know? He's out there playing first base. Cameron Rupp: You wanna play those and you wanna hit, like, they'll find a place for you to play. Bobby Minor: So what would you say what would you say to the select coach out there, is coaching an eleven U double A team, but he's gonna te he's telling the parents, but no, your son's your son's a right fielder, your son's a left fielder, your son's a second baseman. What would you say to that coach? Cameron Rupp: Let play, man. Like n you're I mean, teach the kids how to play. Teach the kids to w you know, want to win. I think th like I don't think you just say, well, you know, I don't want to win, so I'm gonna do like I don't think you do that. Like I think you you teach the kids like be able to do multiple things. Right? Like, teach Don't tell me that they're not. Like, teach Your coach. Like you're Your job is not to like nobody's gonna remember who won this tournament when they were eleven years old. And I'm not trying to be rude by any means, but like Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: dude teach these kids to play the game. Teach them to be able to do different things. Not just be a a a one position guy. Like learn the game from a different point of view. Right? Like, who knows? You you may say this kid's a right fielder, but he could be your best shortstop. Like how do you know? You don't unless you let try it. Like it's Bobby Minor: Yeah, but the kid the coach's son is playing short, Cameron. So that's why your son's No. Cameron Rupp: I wasn't gonna say anything, but Bobby Minor: No. You're right. That to me, and I unfortunately I think a big part of it is because anybody and everybody can start a team. They can call it whatever they want. And but I think a lot of guys don't know how to coach, really how to coach and develop players. So it's a whole lot easier. Let's play 80 games. I can rat out a lineup card. You know what I mean? But I don't have to worry about. teaching this kid how to play, you know, middle infield and his, you know, angles on ground balls and also teaching him how to play outfield. You know, I can just put him out in a position where I, you know, it I feel I feel safe putting him there in a game and just, you know, running them out there multiple times, you know, multiple times a month instead of actually spending time developing players. Cameron Rupp: Yeah, like that I mean I think eleven years old you're playing eighty games in a year, like that's a little it's a little crazy. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: you know, like it's it's a lot. But man like let just let play. See what happens, right? You you just you never know. You never know. But i i if you don't give that chance, then you really will never Bobby Minor: Absolutely. so you've lived like the recruiting and draft process from the player side, and now you see it as a coach. What do college coaches actually value the most in high school players today? And what what common like parent-driven resume building activities matter less than than people think? Cameron Rupp: I mean obviously it's the ability the player has. Like you you know, there you kinda have kinda like a scale. I don't maybe not a scale, but like you you're watching a player and you're like, When will this kid help me? Like is it next year? Is it like do you see him if if I'm recruiting a freshman, like I know we're gonna sign him, like do you see him getting, you know, forty at bat? Do you see him getting a hundred at bats? Or is this guy an everyday player? Like, what are w where do they fit? Right? Like, you're recruiting a player to form a a team, right? Like, so it's like where do they fit? Where I mean, is it hey, you're gonna come in like we've got older guys here, but you're gonna learn and you're gonna s you know, we'll give them a day or two. You'll you'll get some some at bats in here and there, but like watch how they do things, watch the way they work, watch the way they carry themselves, right? Like is is it that or is it like, hey man, like I see this pencil and this guy in our lineup, you know, day one. so on that that perspective, like you got it we're always thinking about the roster, right? And how every player fits in. Now you go to like what we value and like seeing in a player like I won't want you play the game. Like we go back to what we're I was talking about with the showcase, like you know, hey, they're great, but if you don't have anything to showcase, like don't showcase. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: you know, like it's it's you know, think about the kid too, like, yeah, you want your kid to go to these things and go play in college, but make sure your kid wants to do it as much as you want them to do it too. you know, that's not for everybody. It's But the like the showcases are good, like but understand like who's watching them at these showcases. Right? Like if it's just a bunch of power force schools, like what's the reality of you know, you think about how many high school kids these guys really they sign, right? Six, how of actually make it. Bobby Minor: And okay, out of those five or six at a P four school, 'cause you just said, like, y'all are a mid major and you have maybe four high school guys coming in. At Cameron Rupp: Yeah. Bobby Minor: that P four, if they bring in five or six high school guys, how many of those guys do you think are gonna be pitchers? Cameron Rupp: Jordan. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: I I mean three out of the five at least. Maybe a catcher, maybe shortstop, center fielder in there. but also just depends. But you know, also a lot of those players that they sign, they they might sign more, but think about how many of end up getting drafted. Right? So you know, y you take into that, it's like how many of them actually make it to campus. And then how How many of get a phone call that's like, Hey man, we just got this guy out of the portal and you know, we're gonna have to let you go because we don't have a spot for you anymore. I I mean it's the reality of college sports. Bobby Minor: It you know, when my son Julian, I think maybe we were like maybe his junior year, he had did a camp at Abilene Christian, another mid-major, you know, n not too far from Dallas Fort Worth. I'm saying I know you know, but I'm saying for the people out there that don't know. Cameron Rupp: Right. Bobby Minor: Good great program. And he was interested in Abilene Christian. And what when I kinda walked him through, I said, dude, here's the thing that you have to re you have to realize is that, you know, when you go on you step on campus that fall as a freshman, They may tell you, hey, you know what, you're a shortstop, but we we s we project, you know, you have a chance to compete for you know a lot of playing time at second base, okay? So you think you're good, you have a good fall. Well, in December, a guy that's been at TCU for three years, you know, that he won he's not getting all the playing time or whatever, he transfers in. Who do you think's gonna play second base in the spring? You know, the the 18-year-old kid right out of high school or the you know, 21, 22-year-old with, you know, three years of P4 experience. And so Cameron Rupp: Right. Yeah, like it's Bobby Minor: It's just the reality of it. Cameron Rupp: it's a challenge but like I always tell guy like I've told our ball club since they've got back to campus, it's like, hey look, man, you guys are all in the same place. I don't care where you started and how you got here or you know, if you just come here as as a true freshman or junior college or a portal guy, we're all in the same place. We're all in the same team. So therefore, like It's not about like seniority, you know, once you get out on the field. Like it's I'm gonna play the best player that that's gonna help us win. And and so you you kinda that's something I learned as a player. When I got to I think when when I was drafted and I went to short of season, you know, I was thought I was all high and mighty, I'm a third round pick and you know, it back then there was fifty rounds and then you know there'd be a forty six round player coming in. But guess what? Like, dude, we're in the same place. Like Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: we're we're in the same place. Like it now it's about performance. And whoever's going to perform is going to get the opportunity. Now professional baseball's a little different because there's money involved and there's investment and opportunity for a higher drafted player. versus the later round. But at the end of the day, like you're in the same place, you gotta perform. Or else you you know Bobby Minor: That's good, that's good. So kind of along those lines, so like mental toughness and handling failure were like clearly keys to your path from from Texas to the majors. How did you personally develop like that resilience? And what are some practical things that parents can do to help their kids build it instead of trying to shield them and protect them from all adversity? Cameron Rupp: So, my dad always told me, I mean, and it's I think it came from his dad. it was like every pitch is a great opportunity. Right? Like whatever just happened doesn't matter. Like you you can't f change it. So let's focus on this next pitch. Because I could be down two, took two pitches right down the middle, and then I'm sitting there complain or you know, mad at myself, whatever. I can watch the third one go by or I can be ready to hit the third one. And you know what? Maybe he hangs a break and ball, throws it out over plate, and I hit a home run. Right? So it's like every pitch is a great opportunity for something to happen. Okay. I tell this story a lot. I was like, you wanna know who has a N C double A record for most strikeouts in a game? I do. Strikeout six times in a game. Now, there's some it was twenty five inning game. But that's besides the point, right? Like, I went two for eleven, for God's sakes. Okay. And the next day, like I played. I went four for five. So, like, I said the worst record you could probably set in college to the next day being the player of the game or whatever, right? Like Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: you it's you can't dwell on it. You can't let anything in the past affect you. You can only build and get better. just wash it and move on. Like it doesn't matter. Because yeah, like yes, coaches are like always watching, but they're gonna they're gonna be more impressed with how you bounce back than how you fail. Bobby Minor: That's good. That's good. so okay, looking looking back, like what advice would you give to your own parents or any baseball parent about the role they played or didn't play in your development, especially around like pressure and expectations and like letting the player own the process? Cameron Rupp: learn from your mistakes. Like I I think it's my dad was I mean, I think he was really hard on me in in a way that it like don't accept failure but like learn to deal with it type way. Like he yeah, it wasn't about how I got out or you know, getting out. was how I got out. Did I get myself out? Did I you know, did I swing at bad pitch? Did I, you know, take a pitch I should have swung at, right? Like those are the kind of things that he I was always helped with. I think as far as like the parent like I know recruiting is way different than it was when I was coming up. social media Right? Like I think every player that plays now, like there's a camera at them on at all times and you know, if they don't get a hit, it doesn't get put on Twitter. Or if they strike out, like, you know, it it gets so you know, a pitcher, you know, gets the video of the strikeout. So there's a kid so these kids like they're constantly seeing social media and how it's reflecting what they play like easier said than none to just ignore it all. 'Cause, you know, like you're you're facing your buddy and you get you strike out and he posts it on Twitter or whatever, just poking fun, like, good strike out today, strike out my buddy, yada yada yada. Right? They go back and forth. Well, one player's gonna it's gonna affect more than the other. But at the end the day, like, it can't bother you 'cause guess what? The longer you play this game, you're gonna strike out. way more times than you're gonna have success 'cause it's just for whatever reason we play a ridiculous game. i it's it's just not like you can't worry about it. You can't worry about their failures, but help get through it. I think that's the the biggest thing. It's like they're going to fail. Let's help get through that. Don't let it snowball to get to a point where it's like There's no coming back from it. Bobby Minor: Yeah, that's good. That's good. again, parents, I hope you're listening. So, all right, now I'm gonna do something. I call it in and out. I mean, I know you're a catcher, so in and out's probably pretty boring for you. You're just kind of standing there. but it's gonna be four questions, rapid fire, 15 to 20 second answers, and we'll kind of jump in. So it's time for in and out with Cameron Rupp. So first question: what's the best piece of advice you ever got as a young catcher? Cameron Rupp: stay locked in. Right? Like every pitch, every pitch you like you don't get pitches off. stay locked in, man. Like just just stay stay focused on what's going on in front of Bobby Minor: All right, that's good. Second question. One thing every youth baseball parent needs to stop doing immediately. Cameron Rupp: I for the youth side, like Let's just stop telling your kid that he's a division one player right now, just let him play. Let him play. Like just where let play until they can't. Bobby Minor: That's good. Third question. This is this is easy. I should have made this the last question, 'cause the last question is the slow roller. But so this is an easy question. What's what's your favorite what's your favorite memory from your time with the Phillies? Cameron Rupp: so this one it it may be a little bit longer than fifteen and twenty seconds, but when I got called up, when Bobby Minor: That's okay. That's okay, yeah. Yeah. Cameron Rupp: I got called up to the big leagues, so my little brother was the very first person I told. I called him on the phone, called my mom, called my sister my mom and my sister were together and I think I called a couple buddies, but my dad was in the stands in the game, at the game that we played that day. And so I got to tell my dad in person I was going to the big leagues and that was that was probably the coolest you know, I s my first home run was in Yankee Stadium off a Hall of Famer, like my first hit, like all those stuff's really cool, but I think being able to tell my dad I was going to the big leagues is probably the coolest moment I've had in my career. Bobby Minor: Man, I can imagine. All right, here's the slow roller. That was that was good. That was better than a slow roller. Here's here's a slow roller. Last question. If you could tell every fourteen year old catcher one thing, what would it be? Cameron Rupp: Yeah. Try to be unnoticed at every game. Like i if if somebody's there to watch a baseball game, they should never notice the catcher. And what I mean is like, you know, unless you're absolutely throwing guys out, blocking balls left and right, those are the good things. But if if they see the ball going back to backstop all the time, like you don't want to be seen. Be invisible. Be invisible at the game. Bobby Minor: Good stuff. That was in and out with Cameron Rupp. All right, Cameron, just a couple more questions and and we'll we'll wrap things up. who's the who's the best player you ever played with? Cameron Rupp: Ooh. I I was very fortunate to play with some really good players. I played with Clayton Kershaw in high school in our summer ball, so like I think that's he wasn't the Clayton Kershaw that everybody saw in in the major leagues, but I did play with him. if we're going that direction. But in in in the big leagues I mean I played with Jimmy Rollins. I played with Chase Hutley, Ryan Howard, Cole Hammels, Roy Halliday. like that core that won a World Series in Philadelphia. Like it it's hard to say one. I was very fortunate to play with a a lot of really good players. Bobby Minor: Yeah, it sounds like you just rattled off several just right there. So I know there's more to the list. So all right, so l last question. This is for this is for the parent out there that let's just say, man, it's this is a struggle financially for them. They wanna they wanna do the best thing for their son, but they just wanna make sure that they're spending their money wisely. Do you think it's a better investment for them to Go to a showcase or is it a better investment for them to send their son to a camp at a school that potentially could be a good fit for them? Okay. Cameron Rupp: camp. I think at camp you're gonna get a lot of more that's gonna be a one it's gonna be a smaller group. a lot I know a lot of schools will do like recruiting talks with the co with the parents and the players. we do that at our camp. we do there there's a lot of time for one on one questions versus at a showcase like there's hundreds and hundreds of kids. Right, that are there and coaches are kinda off, they're making notes, watching everybody. There's a million things going on. Whereas at the camp, like the coaches that are there, they are focused on you and what you're doing in that moment. Right. Like there's not other things going on. Like there's one player fielding the ground balls, that's it. And then the next guy, right? The next guy. Then there's a guy in the outfield making the throws. The catchers don't like it's a it's a real evaluation. not that the showcases aren't real evaluations. It's just there's it's more of a personal evaluation. It's more hands on. You can talk to You know, you can you know, we we played games at our our camp this year. so you're able to watch guys on the mountain face hitters and hitters face the pitcher. Like it there's just a lot of good in the camp, right? It's it you know, I don't know how much it costs to go to these showcases. Yeah, there's a lot of college coaches there, but it's also not the the one on one personal interaction as there is Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: at showcases. Bobby Minor: So that's good stuff. So what would you say to the parent that says, Well, aren't college camps money grabs because that's how the assistants supplement their income? Cameron Rupp: I mean, not really, because it's like we've signed multiple players out of our camps over the last few years. I know they we signed I'll just tell you this, the guy that was our closer last year. He we signed him out of a camp at a at a h out of high school. A guy came in here, he pitched a few innings as a freshman, was our closer last year and guess what? Got one the portal and he's making a bunch of money in Oklahoma. Like There it there's opportunity for every kid. Now is that the same story for everybody? No. But he's not where he is if he didn't come to that camp either. Bobby Minor: Yeah. okay, I lied. I have one more question because I just thought of another good question. Cameron Rupp: That's my Bobby Minor: Cause it's kind of along these lines. So so like I you know, I've seen on social media, like parents start you start getting all these camp invites from all these big schools in the mail and you think you know, you think something special is going on, but you don't realize that the only thing going on is that your son is on a list and that same letter went out to, you know, 10,000 other players. How can a parent tell if the communication that they're receiving is actually coming from a school that has interest in their son versus some sort of just mass communication from a marketing list. Cameron Rupp: I think when there's when there's dialogue back and forth between both. Like and you know what? Sometimes like there are mass I don't want to say mass emails, but like there's a big email that goes out to players that we've seen that maybe we don't have their contact that we got it from hey, an you know, this kid roster that had his email but not his phone number. Like And we would like to get in touch. Like we invite you to camp. Come to camp. We'd like to see you more. Right? Like those things like like i when there becomes dialogue from both sides, like when you're getting emails back or you're getting text messages back, like back and forth, you know, it doesn't mean that it's it's full go interest. Like it just means like, hey man, like you're on a list, like we're we wanna follow you. We wanna come see you more and you know what, there we may Think that it's a fit, we may not. And we may think that you know what, there's a better fit out there for you than U T R L. Bobby Minor: Yeah, that's good. what age do you start do you at what age do you actually put a player on your recruiting board? Cameron Rupp: I mean, I think you see sophomore or junior year, you know, depending on the you know, who knows? I may see a kid that blows me out blows my eyes up and he's a freshman. I'm like, well, I'll write his name down, but if he's doing this as a freshman, I'm probably not gonna get him at UTA, but who knows? Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: you know, it's sophomore going into junior year, like it's you've always got like I got a stack of pay stack of rosters back there on that bookshelf that I go through like marking guys off that I've seen that I need to go see. Like it's it's it's it's a never ending thing, man. Like two, like I could recruit somebody and be like, man, like I like this guy, but he goes to Texas for a year and then didn't work out in Texas. Guess what? That guy's in the portal. I'm gonna recruit him again. Right? Like I think he could help us. So like it's a revolving door. Like players just 'cause they start somewhere doesn't mean that's where they're gonna spend their whole career. Bobby Minor: Yeah, you hardly see that. You know, I mean it's rare now, it seems like. Yeah, so all right, this is the last question, I promise you. I'm not gonna I won't ask you a follow-up. Is there anything that a parent can do that would cause you to cross a player off your list? Cameron Rupp: I mean, yes. Like it's it's I understand the parents' involvement in the kid's career. 100%, right? Like when you I always ask mom and dad them, I always ask them for questions. I always ask for, you know, like, what are you looking for for your son? Right? Like, because at the end of the day, like Not everybody's getting their school paid for. So mom and dad do have a a little bit of a say in the whole dynamic of it, right? Like it's like, okay, so what you know, what are you looking for? You wanna you want your kid to be safe in a good place, and like you can feel like people you can trust, right? Or it's like, you know, I think well, I wanna know, you know, when my son's gonna play, when it like Well, yeah, I don't know when he's gonna play. I he's gonna have to show me he can play. But I think when when it starts getting into like the players career and like why isn't he playing now? Why isn't he where you know, like is he gonna be guaranteed this? Is he gonna be guaranteed well, no, he's gotta earn it. Right? Like I think those things they it doesn't necessarily make me cross somebody off, but it it kinda gives you like A red flag. It's like, Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: hey, like if they're asking like guarantees for what he's gonna come in and hit lead off and play short as a freshman, like well if any coach tells you that they're probab they're lying to you because Bobby Minor: Yeah. Cameron Rupp: that's not gonna happen. It's gonna be you're gonna come in, you're gonna have every opportunity to play and show what you can do and whether or not you're going to take care of your business or not. Like it's up to you. And it's up to us to help you. So Bobby Minor: And no, that that's good stuff. So any any parting words of wisdom for the baseball parents out there? Anything that you think that they need to know that we haven't talked about already? Cameron Rupp: I would tell every kid, man, run your own race. Don't worry about what your buddy over here is doing, or your buddy over there, or who's called there. Like there's gonna be players that end up at that start out at the University of Texas that end up at a division two school somewhere, or players that start out at UTA or junior college, that end up at Texas or Oklahoma or LSU. Like they're run your own race. Everybody develops at different times. Yeah, would it be cool to have all that? Of course. I get it. But be patient and continue to develop, work on you as a player. and you'll you'll have the opportunity that that you work for. and and do what's best for you, not what you know is best for anybody else. Bobby Minor: Good stuff, man. All right, Cameron, I really, really appreciate it. If anybody wants to follow you on social media, where's the best place to do that? Cameron Rupp: I'm on Twitter and it's just Cameron Rup, I believe. I have Instagram but I don't post anything on it very often anymore. but no at Cameron Rup it's it's I post a lot of baseball stuff. I I interact with people too. I enjoy it. it it's just not I don't have it just have it. Bobby Minor: Good stuff, man. I appreciate you, Cameron. Cameron Rupp: Absolutely, Bobby. Thanks you for having me on.