Latest / Chasing Baseball Dreams / Episode #13 Todd Greene | The Truth About Travel Baseball, Rankings & Player Development
Transcript
- Bobby Minor: All right, welcome to Chasing Baseball Dreams. And today I am joined by Mr. Todd Green. If you don't know Todd, ⁓ let me tell you about Todd. He was an all-American at Georgia Southern. He hit 88 home runs over his career, and it's crazy. We were just talking about this. It's that still ranks third all-time in Division I home run leaders. ⁓ he's in the top five in several other categories. But he did go on to play ⁓ parts of eleven seasons in the major leagues with six different teams, including the Angels, Yankees, and my hometown Rangers. ⁓ after his playing career, he moved into scouting and today works as a special assignment scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks. And we'll have to ask you what, Todd, exactly what does that mean? ⁓ but you also founded the TG D backs program. You have helped at this point, ⁓ Over three hundred and fifty players go on to play baseball at the collegiate level, including sixteen draft picks. So Todd, you've seen this game from just about every angle. I know you have lots of knowledge and wisdom to share with the parents, and I really appreciate you taking the time. Todd: Yeah, Bobby, I appreciate you being here. It's a great introduction. I appreciate it. And and ⁓ I I love the topic of travel baseball and I I appreciate what you do on this platform as well. Bobby Minor: Okay, well I appreciate you guys that have have a lot more experience in this game than ⁓ than I ever did coming on and sharing with the parents. ⁓ so what is so what is a special assignment scout? Like I've ⁓ I had a guy on a buddy of mine ⁓ about a month ago, Justin Cryer. He was an area scout with the Astros for six years, went through six drafts with them, drafted guys like ⁓ Tucker and Bregman. But what's a special assignment scout do? Todd: Well, it's essentially just a pro scout a and My main focus is the Arizona Diamondbacks. My responsibility is to see all of our players in our organization and and place the value for us. ⁓ I'm not the only one that does that. We have three or four guys that see our entire organization as well. So ⁓ and then the special assignment part is is I have targets after that. So I'll go through our organization up to ⁓ in and about early June, mid-June, and then I'll have trade deadline targets ⁓ for the diamondbacks, which would be if we're buying, then I'll be in Major League Parks, if we're selling, I'll be in my Iron League Park. So ⁓ and then after the trade deadline, I usually get get a week or so off for vacation and then then back out into our organization to see our newly drafted players if they're out in affiliates. Or ⁓ like this year we'll we have a chance to get in the playoffs. I could go advanced scout starting the first or second week in September or go see potential free agents for for the offseason. So ⁓ it it's a cool title that just means I'm a scout. ⁓ Bobby Minor: So okay, that's that's no, that's that's awesome. ⁓ so when the Rangers and the Diamondbacks were playing a couple of years ago, who you played for the Rangers, you worked for the Diamondbacks, I guess you're rooting for the Diamondbacks? Todd: Yeah, I I always root for for for the for the logo that's on the paychecks, Bob. You ha y you know what I mean? So a and now I've been here sixteen years. I mean I I I'm invested, but sweat and tears with this organization. I wanna see us win. ⁓ I I grew up a lifelong Braves fan, so ⁓ I I I still ⁓ hope the Braves win unless they're playing the Diamondbacks. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Okay, fair enough, fair enough. ⁓ so your program, like I said, you founded the TG ⁓ D BAX program. So your programs had over three hundred and fifty kids go on to ⁓ commit to playing at the college level. You had sixteen get drafted. So when you think back to all of those kids, the ones that have that of the college signees, college players, the draft picks, when you think back to when those kids were 12, 13, 14, what did they have in common that actually mattered later? Todd: They just love baseball. ⁓ the the ones who end up playing past high school or the ones who love it. But here's what I tell ⁓ i almost exactly at fourteen, Bobby, like you mentioned, is is if is if you want to play college baseball, then there's a place for you. Play is the key word, but we have to remove the ifs. It it can't be if it's division one, if it's the SEC, if it's the ACC. That if you want to play college baseball, then we're gonna give you the platform and help you do that, because there is a place for you as long as you love it and still want to do it. And so that's always been ⁓ w what I teach. Teach our kids, it's what I tell parents when they call and ask about my program. That's just what we believe is if you love it enough and you have enough skill to make your high school team, then we can help you play after high school. Bobby Minor: That's good. That's good stuff. Do you think too many parents, well, too many players, maybe with the parents, do you think they get hung up too much on the name on the front of the jersey? I mean D one, like they're so D one focused that they're they don't realize that now on the current landscape of college baseball, you know, D one, especially, you know, power four, that's not a realistic path for a majority of high school players. Do you think do you think do you think they can tend to sometimes get too hung up on that? 'Cause like you said I agree with you when you said there's a place that everybody can play, but what ends up happening is maybe they've been dreaming of playing at University of Georgia, ⁓ but their best opportunity is gonna be at Ranger Junior College, you know, in Ranger, Texas. Do I mean do you see that happening a lot? Todd: ⁓ yeah, well it i it happens a lot. And again, I'm thankful that that they they trumped the rosters, especially on the division one level, because there was a whole lot of kids ⁓ and parents ⁓ too that just wanna tell their kids, Hey, my son plays baseball at Georgia. Well, he's on the team but he doesn't play. ⁓ I I think there ⁓ There's a lot of kids ⁓ that grow up and realize they're not good enough to go play in Division I, but are good enough to play Division II. And in Georgia specifically, the the Peach Belt's a great Division II ⁓ conference and and there's several schools in our state, but they would rather go to Auburn or Georgia and just be a student than go to those schools and play. And and what that tells me, you just didn't love it. And and ⁓ to do what I did and lucky enough and fortunate enough to to to play in the big leagues, you have to love it. And and and I loved it. I still love it, that's why I'm still in it. Bobby Minor: That's awesome. That that's such great information. And I think that's something a lot of parents need to realize that your son is gonna be faced with a decision. Does he want to go to Podunk Junior College in the middle of nowhere because he loves the game and wants to keep playing? Or does he want to go to, you know, Texas AM and be a frat boy ⁓ for the college experience? So ⁓ yeah, I c it's definitely a grind. so you were drafted in the twenty seventh round out of high school and then obviously didn't sign Then you went on to become one of the best best power hitters and probably overall hitters in college baseball. And then you played 11 years, you know, in the big leagues. What should that tell parents about trying to figure out like how good their kid is at 12 or 13? Todd: Well, th there's no twelve year olds getting drafted, right? So it it ⁓ and and in fact I I'll tell you a quick story and come back to myself. But I had a kid who was a national player of the year for perfect game at eleven U and twelve U. he he was super strong kid at the age and and Because I know what's gonna happen. I had the conversation with him and said, Hey man, those days are over for you. And and and and you can either embrace that and understand it, or when you graduate high school, you're not gonna be playing baseball anymore. So and he's still on our team now, the Arizona Dynamax Scout team, and and 'cause I I promised him, if you stay with me, I'm gonna help you go play college baseball and he's getting ready to commit to a division two program in the next week. So I'm super proud of that. ⁓ I'm super proud of him that he took me telling him he's no longer gonna be the player of the year anymore. or a after 12 U, ⁓ he's still playing baseball today and there's so many kids who are the best team at tw best on their team at twelve, one of the best players in st ⁓ in the state that they're that they're from at twelve and don't play baseball when they're 17 because they can't handle not being the best player on the team anymore. And and I believe if more programs, if more coaches were honest with these kids about what's getting ready to happen when you go from from from the little field to the big field, ⁓ I I think we could we could continue to have really good players continue to play the game. And I really believe that. And I'm not gonna say his name, but I'm super proud of that kid and and and he's one of my favorites I've ever had. So ⁓ me personally, ⁓ I had just turned eighteen when I got drafted ⁓ by the Braves, ⁓ which which was again, I told you I was a Braves fan, so was really hard for me to say no. ⁓ my mom and dad won and they were offering me second round money back then, Bobby. They used to bring all the draft picks to Fulton County Stadium and they had a workout. And I hit a couple of homers in the scrimmage game and and they they offered me what back then was a lot of money. Bobby Minor: ⁓ well. Todd: And my mom and dad thought I was really crazy for not signing. But I was so immature that that that I really believe if I had signed out of high school, I'm not sure I would have been a big leader. I I just don't believe I could handle going away from home and and ⁓ being myself. So I went to Georgia Southern, ⁓ got drafted again after my junior year, didn't sign again and then went back and ended up signing with the Angels ⁓ as a senior sign. So I ⁓ Bobby Minor: Really. Todd: think big leaguers are big leaguers. Again, if you love it, you you're willing to put the work in and of course you have to have the the ability. you're either a big leader whether you sign when you're seventeen, eighteen, or twenty two, it doesn't matter. Big leaguers are big leaguers. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Man, that's good. I think the thing's kind of crazy, you know, you didn't sign out of high school because you knew you weren't mature enough, but then you made a very mature decision, you know, in recognizing. So yeah, so and it definitely worked out. So so going back like you mentioned like I mean kid that was, you eleven U, twelve U PG player of the year, and I I think, you know, a lot of parents see that and they think, Okay, now he's you know, he's gonna be a, you know, P four starter. Todd: Yeah that Bobby Minor: as a freshman out of h you know, out of high school, which you know, that doesn't happen. So how much attention should a parent really pay to rankings and and accolades like that when their kid is eleven, twelve, thirteen, even fourteen? Todd: None. I d they mean absolutely nothing. And I can assure you, Major League teams don't pay attention to who Perfect Game or P VR or these other ⁓ publications think it's the number one player in the country. I c I can assure you of that. it is a good starting point. ⁓ but basically if you go to their showcases, specifically PG, the more you pay, the higher you get ranked. That that's just as simple as it is. I think ⁓ P VR does a better job with that. They they watch the games, the people who make the rankings actually go watch the kids play in the games and and they use a combination of of the the showcase metrics for sure ⁓ but but pg is more metric based than than it is performance based and and so that's the difference the the the ⁓ rankings mean absolutely nothing ⁓ and and again i the 2028 class specifically i know more than any because my youngest son has been in that class since we were nine we've been one of the better teams and and there's really good players that we saw at 16 you that we've never played against and we've played all the top tournaments so ⁓ there's really really good players everywhere And just because PG says you're the number one player in your state, there's there's three other players that no one even knows about there that are really good. Bobby Minor: Yeah. That's good. That's so important for parents to realize and it it's just I you know You with perfect game, this is something that parents need to understand. Like, do not get caught up in comparing your son to other players based on what you see like on perfect game social media, because I'm I'm a reference, they just had their you know Select Fest. So 13U Select Fest, they really hyped up their top eleven. You know, they had 11 players, though 85 or higher at the 13U Select Fest, and they're hyping them up. Well, when you look at that those those 11 players, only one's actually 13. The other 10 are all, you know, over 14, almost 14. And a half. And so, you know, if you're the parent of a 13-year-old and your son's only throwing 76, you might think, my gosh, like he's so far behind when he's not. You know, it's just, yeah. So you just need to recognize like what matters and what really doesn't matter. So, okay, this is something I didn't realize this because I've always just known you as a catcher. ⁓ you're an outfielder your entire life. You know, the Angels draft you and then they turn you into a catcher. So Tell us a little bit about how that happened, how you received it, but then answer this question, how early is too early for parents to lock their kid into one position, or for a coach to lock a player into one position? Todd: Well ⁓ Me specifically, I got drafted as a third baseman by the Braves out of high school. So when I got to Georgia Southern, we had an all American third baseman already there. So the only place for me to play because I could hit was in the outfield. So at Georgia Southern I became an outfielder and I and I just never went back to the infield. And then when I got drafted by the Angels, I went to short season and played the outfield ⁓ my first year. And then they talked to me about halfway through the the short season's ⁓ season. Well, what you know, what do you think about catching? I'm like, I just want to be a big leader. Bobby Minor: Okay. Okay. Todd: league, I don't care what position I play. And they said that's the mentality that's gonna work behind the plate. So ⁓ it was this I I mean, it was Bobby Minor: Mm. Todd: It was a slow process for me, but it in reality, I mean I made it to the big leagues in less than two years with that position change. So ⁓ it it went really fast considering the the the the age I was when I was converted. But ⁓ I loved it. I wanted to be good at it. ⁓ me failing was not was not an option and and I wasn't very good by my first year at Lake Elsinore. I had forty four pass boss that year. ⁓ Bobby Minor: Mm. What? Todd: And so I I I still have and and I I tell the I have I won a lot of awards. The only trophy I have still out at my house is my most improved player award from nineteen ninety four in the California League. The managers voted me the most improved player and and I took a lot of pride in that. ⁓ 'cause I was really bad to start the season in nineteen ninety four. ⁓ and and ⁓ that most improved meant the most to me because it was recognized that I worked my tail off and got so ⁓ Th that's kind of how the transition went for me. As far as ⁓ one position, I mean the reality is if you can hit, they're gonna figure out a place for you to play. So ⁓ I wouldn't get too caught up into where a coach has your son playing. ⁓ you know, the I I am such a big advocate for baseball at the rec level, all the way up to the elite travel ball level. ⁓ the at the end of the day, regardless of what position your son's playing, it has to be fun. And and and if if you if you think your son should be playing shortstop, and he's not very good at it, you know who knows he's not very good at it is your son. And so baseball's not going to be very fun for him if he's doing something he's not very good at. So as long as your son is having fun on his team, it shouldn't matter what position he's playing. Bobby Minor: So and 'cause I was gonna this I'd about to ask you, so you almost answered this question. So I was gonna say so if my s if my eleven year old is the best shortstop on the team, I shouldn't care if he plays shortstop every weekend. Todd: Yeah. No. He's it again, there's only look, there there's thirty major league teams. ⁓ there's about fifteen real shortstops on the planet. They there's somebody just playing there, but they're not a real shortstop. And and so and it's the hardest position, ⁓ second hardest position in the world to play, which catchens the first for sure. and then and then so my point is is if your son's a shortstop, he's getting his work in, he's getting his reps in and practices. doing stuff at home. And if he's not doing stuff at home, throwing a tennis ball against a wall and and fielding it or a lacrosse ball and fielding it, then he's not gonna get better anyway. Now the game reps do do matter. They do help. ⁓ and and when you're playing a team that's equal or better than you, ⁓ just from a safety perspective, you should probably have your best stop playing shortstop. But but if if you're playing a team that that ⁓ is confidence building or or not as good as your team, then yeah, let the other kids play there and see how they do and and and And maybe they can develop into one day being a shortstop. But ⁓ I don't believe you should get too caught up into your son never playing a shortstop or your son ⁓ conversely has to play there every game. That's just ridiculous. Bobby Minor: All that's good stuff. So who's the who's the best shortstop you ever played with? Todd: Well, I mean I play with some good ones. ⁓ defensively probably Omar Vascale. ⁓ the the overall pride player, ⁓ best player is is probably Alex Rodriguez. ⁓ my my f my favorite shortstop that I ever played with, ⁓ th this tied for first is is Derek Jeter and and ⁓ and Gary D. Sarcina. ⁓ Gary D. Sarcina he taught me how to be a big leader when I first got to the big leagues with Angel. This is one of the smartest baseball guys I've ever been around. ⁓ Bobby Minor: Mm. Yeah, okay. ⁓ wow. Todd: And and going back to Jeter, the the one thing about Derek Jeter that made him so great is he was the same way every day. He he he whether you wouldn't know if he was ⁓ for his last ten or eight for his last ten by the way he approached the game, he he's just d the one of the most true professionals that I ever played with. Bobby Minor: That's good stuff. That's good stuff. ⁓ and it's funny that you say that. I ⁓ I've shared this before, but I was actually talking to a golf coach ⁓ one time, the head golf coach at TCU, ⁓ Bill Monogal, and I was asking him, I was like, Coach, when you're watching a high school golfer, what are you looking for? And he said, When I see him walk off the green, I don't want to be able to tell whether he just made birdie or bogey. And it's same same concept. So, ⁓ really, really good stuff. So you've warned parents against kids playing one sport year round. ⁓ you know, I interviewed Dustin Pedroya this week and it was a big topic of our conversation. So for a serious, you know, ten to fourteen year old baseball player, what do you think a healthy year should look like? You know, let's say a calendar year. Todd: Well, i i it should look we grew up we played baseball, which we played little league baseball, we played fourteen games. If you made the all star team, you went in the all stars and then you played 'til you lost, right? So we ended up maybe playing no more than thirty games up until I was twelve. And then you put the glove in the closet and you got ready for football. And and then we played football until that was over, then we got ready to play basketball. Did then it just started again. I I think now i if if you play baseball for for three months That's probably all you really need. Again, that's what we did. I again that there was a whole lot of big b before fifteen or so years ago when travel baseball became as big as it is, there was there was 14,000 big leaguers before then that didn't play travel baseball. And somehow they made it. You know, and they didn't play year round. So ⁓ everyone th it's not a country club sport. It's not like golf and tennis where you have to play all year. That that that's a different that's a different animal. So Bobby Minor: Yeah. Todd: ⁓ baseball is a sport. Yeah, if you love it and you want to play more, play more. ⁓ but the ⁓ I I you didn't ask this, but but I I really believe that the the the pitch smart is actually not a good thing because parents think, well, if my tenure the pitch smart says my my ten year old son can throw sixty pitches a week, yeah, but that doesn't mean he can do it sixty pitches a week for ten months, right? It means during the baseball season, right, w which should be condensed. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Todd: into a three no more than four month ⁓ stretch ⁓ for most kids. But but the pitch smart ⁓ parents who are who are not educated enough to know that they they they say the pitch smart things my s Dr. Andrews created this thing and he says my son can do this. Yes, that's during the baseball season though. That's that's not for ten months. So i i it it it's a gift and a curse kinda. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Well, and if if you live in Arizona or Texas or Florida or California, it's many times even more than ten months. You know, I see lots of teams playing tournaments, you know, having a turkey trot tournament, you know, or around Nov you know, November. And it's like if you're lucky, you know, they're taking off, you know, maybe a month out of the entire year because they start practicing again in January and everything. So at what age does specializing in baseball actually start to make sense? Todd: Well, I I I really believe the high school age and and again I played football and and I was a good football player too, all state football player, right? So but in Georgia specifically, the the the football coaches have made it so hard for kids to play both because they demanded they have to be at football practice in July. And as you know, the the the biggest tournaments of the year for high school, the the the biggest stages ⁓ and I and I'll you know, I I didn't mean to I wasn't railing on perfect game earlier. The one thing perfect Bobby Minor: ⁓ no. Todd: Perfect Game does very well is is the platform they have, right? They they've created a platform, they're very good at it. And the college coaches are coming to watch high school players play in July. And so it's hard to do both. The football coaches in Georgia have have kind of made the kids pick which one you want to play. And so it's gone away. So and I don't want to be hypocritical 'cause because my son played football too until he got to high school. And then it became do you do we really want to spend three hours a day in the 110 degree heat in August in Georgia, playing football, which you have no chance to play football in college. Or do we want to get bigger, faster, stronger, train and do all the things we need to do ⁓ skill wise from a catching standpoint, but we don't throw. And and so ⁓ and he gained fifteen, twenty pounds and made the varsity as a freshman and was ready to go. But ⁓ I I believe you should play multiple sports at least until you get to to fifteen years old. Bobby Minor: That's good. I mean, and ⁓ that's kind of a consistent theme amongst a lot of guys that I've you know, that I'll talk ⁓ I actually interviewed Cameron Rupp yesterday. I don't know if you know Cameron, he was a catcher with the Phillies and everything. He's ⁓ coach assistant coach at UTA. He was a football player. T played football and bat you know, baseball through high school. It's just it's unfortunate how many parents that don't know you don't they don't know what they don't know and they're so ⁓ my god, stupid fly. Something flying around here. They they they just get Todd: I do. Yeah. Bobby Minor: so caught up in the in in FOMO thinking that if my son's not doing what everybody else is doing, it's just it's crazy. And even back to perfect game. I there's some perfect game events that I think are phenomenal. I I you I'm still a fan of WWBA, you know, Jupiter, some of those things like that. Parents need to understand, and this is really parents of younger kids, ⁓ 14 and under for sure. Everything that they do 14 and under, in my opinion, is just designed to make as much money as possible because none of it matters at all. You know, nine new team rankings do not matter. They don't matter to anybody other than the parents. And so, you know, that's all. So same thing. I'm not really on on perfect game, even though a lot of people think that I've that's what I like to do. No, I just I want parents to understand how the whole machine works. So now your your program, like you talk about player development and person development, you know, develop them as players and as people. So if I'm Choosing the travel team for my son, what should I look for that tells me that this coach is actually going to make him better, not only on the field but off the field? Todd: Well I I tell people all the time ⁓ our program I like to teach life lessons through through baseball. I I think baseball's the hardest game to play, ⁓ f from a failure standpoint. And and but you also can learn a lot about yourself and a lot about life. When things get hard, wh how are you gonna handle it, right? So you you you talked about earlier about ⁓ the the golf coach ⁓ wanting to s he shouldn't be able to tell if you've made a bogey or a birdie. Well well the same thing is true in baseball. How are you gonna handle failure? Like I still do that today, even watching big leaguers. I mean, i it's easy to go in when somebody's eight for ten and say this guy's really, really good, but how's he gonna Going to handle the 0 for 10 with six strikeouts because everybody's going to have that. The best players in the world have that. So, how are you going to handle it? That's what that's what's going to ⁓ help you be successful, and so can dumbing that down to kids, we're trying to teach them lessons to help them be a man when they grow up. Because guess what? The real world will chew you up and spit you out too. It's not just baseball. So, how are you gonna handle that adversity? And we try to teach them the life lessons, and that that doesn't matter if you're on a rec team, a double-A team, or an elite main. Team in the country, the lessons are the same. Like the life lessons are the same because no one knows what we're gonna be at 10. But but but you should strive to be the best at whatever you're doing that day. So ⁓ if I can make them understand that, then when when they get older, they'll be the best math teacher, they'll be the best lawyer, the best doctor, that that or strive to be at least. No one's ever gonna know who the best are, but but at least strive to be the best you can be, and and and and that's gonna carry with you in everything. And do in life from this point forward. So that's what we try to teach them. we're very honest with them, the skill level. I mean, we lose players every year because they're not on the top team in an age group or whatever. I'm like, all right, man, that's not what's best for your son, though. So if you think you can find that somewhere else, then go do it. But we're we're gonna be honest with what we think you are and who your kid is ⁓ at this point in time. ⁓ and it's not a reflection who they may be in the end, but this is what's best for his development now. We're we're just very honest. with that kind of stuff and and that's how I chose to do it when I started this program sixteen years ago. Bobby Minor: No, that's good stuff. And I think that's so important and it's unfortunate that your mindset is not That's not the mindset of to me a lot of organizations out there because it's all about how many, you know, how many players can we get, you know, how many teams can we start? Because, you know, the more players, the more teams, you know, the better the bottom line. And they need somebody that will speak truth to them. And it's, you know, it's unfortunate that that's not, you know, that's not the norm. ⁓ so let me let me ask you this. I'm gonna ask I'll kind of I'm gonna break it down by ages. So if I'm the parent of a player, eight or younger, what should be the most important thing? Todd: To have fun. ⁓ and enjoy playing the game. So th there's a common myth in Georgia. There there is some there's some travel programs in Georgia specifically that that are telling these parents, these these rec players that are when they're seven, eight years old, that if you don't play travel baseball starting at eight you, you're not gonna have a chance to to make your high school team. And that couldn't be further from the truth. ⁓ and I tell people that. Like look I I I fought against having eight U teams. The last two years I've had one and and it's i if I don't then they're gonna go somewhere else. And so I have family friends or whatever to say Todd just please do it whatever so I do it but I think it's crazy and and so it it it your son playing travel baseball has nothing to do with whether or not he's gonna make his high school team. So what can happen though is the experience can be poor for your son getting into a program that you don't know or who's doing it just for the money and sees you just as as revenue for their company or whatever and don't have the real ⁓ ⁓ what's the word of it that they don't have the the right mindset for your son to grow into it. So there's no rush to get into travel baseball. If your son's really good and and and ate you and and he's you're worried about the first baseman catching the ball he's throwing from shortstop then yeah you probably should pr find a different level team. But there's a whole lot of kids that aren't playing travel baseball until they're 10 or 11 that make their high school team and beyond. So i it it just depends on the player specifics and there are no absolutes baseball even at AU. So I wouldn't buy into that type of stuff. Bobby Minor: Yeah, that's good. And I I think this is the thing that a lot of parents don't realize. That that topic that you just spoke on is something that's come up in comments on a lot of my posts. And it's almost like like, you know, I'm I'm a reference perfect game again. Like, yes, like ninety percent of the draft picks this past year, you know, in ⁓ in July have played in a perfect game event. That's just sheer numbers and sheer volume because if you're a good baseball player, probably at some point you're gonna play in some perfect game event. So that's what people don't realize. Like same thing when it comes to making your high school baseball team. Yes, probably most of the players that make the high school baseball team did play travel baseball, but it's not necessarily they didn't make their high school team because they played travel baseball. It's just because they're serious, you know, they're baseball players that have been playing a lot of baseball. Does that make sense? Todd: Yes, because they're good. And and like you talked about in my program we've had over three hundred and fifty guys go to college. Well, I didn't do that for ⁓ They did it. Like they they earn that. It's it's not like I I I called Georgia Tech and say, Hey, this guy's good enough and they said, ⁓ okay, Todd, we'll sign him then. That that's not how it works. So ⁓ travel baseball is a platform for these kids to to to be seen and be recognized and most importantly, ⁓ be humbled. everyone thinks they're really good until you get out and play play kids that no one's ever. heard of or or teams from other states and and so whether you get humbled at 9 U or or 15U you're gonna be humbled eventually and so I I think that's the one of the best things about travel baseball is your kids gonna get humbled and and hopefully the parents do too. Bobby Minor: Yeah. That's good, that's good. Okay, so eight and under main thing should be having fun. What about from nine to eleven? What should be the main thing? Todd: I think it's the same. ⁓ again, the experience and and and it has to be fun are still the most important things. Again, like I said, at some point you do have to start stepping up the level of your competition for a couple of reasons. You need to be humble, which just means you need to know what you gotta get better at, you need to know what you're striving to be, ⁓ not just from an individual player perspective, but ⁓ but from a team perspective. So I I really believe that's when you start trying to step up the competition. Maybe not national, but at least, you know, if you if you live in in Savannah, Georgia, and you have a really good team. team and and you're just dominating that that area, then go play a tournament in Atlanta or Jacksonville and and see what it looks like there. so that's the advantage we have in Atlanta by the way is we don't have to travel very much. People come to us. So ⁓ it it it's been nice to live there and and be able to do it. But ⁓ it I think it's the same in those ages. Have fun, have the good experience, but start getting start getting humbled a little bit, start getting ⁓ challenged. Bobby Minor: Yeah, that's good. That's what I tell like if you like I live in Dallas Fort Worth. You literally would not have to leave the area and you can play some of the top talent not only in the state but in the country. So like, you know, I mean people just get caught up in it. I think it's always crazy too when you you travel, you know, you're five you go five hours away, you spend a bunch of money on hotels and then you're playing a team that's you know, fifteen minutes away. ⁓ Todd: Yeah. Right. Bobby Minor: So explain, okay, this is something I've asked, ⁓ I've asked an somebody else that's been on my show, I've asked them the same question, but explain to people, because you have the Diamondback Scout team. Explain to explain to parents what an actual scout team is, and that that nine you scout team that you just spent five grand on for your son, it's not a scout team, it's just a name. Todd: Yeah, people use that name. ⁓ d the the advantage of s of having the Arizona Dynamic Scout team, which I don't ⁓ I only have one of those right now and then we're gonna we're gonna start doing more of it. It is it's not like you have an affiliation with that major league team. I get to do it because I'm a scout for the team and and and have that name. The the advantage is we have that is I get to know the kids personally. I get to know their makeup, their work ethic, all the things that we need to know. So one day if they if they're good enough to be drafted, we we have knowledge of who and what they are, right? So that's the advantage for us using that name. but scout gets thrown around very, very loosely. Most of these people who who have the the the rights to use ⁓ a major league team's name, they're not scouts and they really don't know much about baseball. They're just good at business. So i it it's it's but there's there's some there's some people who use the word scout that aren't affiliated with major league teams and and are not scouts and don't have permission to use it. So you just have to be careful of everything and and do your research to know exactly what you're signing up for. Bobby Minor: Yeah. That's good. I remember, you know, for a while, ⁓ and my youngest is twenty one. So but you I remember you know, back when he's ten, eleven, twelve, it was all about, you know, if you're a double A, triple A, or majors. So you wanted to be a twelve U majors team. And then being a majors team wasn't enough, so you became the you know, the twelve U majors elite team. And then elite wasn't enough, so now we have scout teams and we have national teams and it's Todd: Yeah. Bobby Minor: It's most of all of that stuff parents need to understand is just marketing and branding. It's better for their brand, and you know, but it means nothing. So ⁓ all right, so let's do something. It's like I like I said, I like to call it in and out. It's just gonna be four rapid fire questions. You give me, you know, give me quick little nuggets for answers if you can. I always say that it's rarely does anybody ever give me a 15 or 20 second answer. So if it goes long, don't worry about it. But if you can, these are just these are just nuggets. So it's ⁓ time for some in and out with Todd Green. So all right, first question, Todd. What are your thoughts on a twelve year old playing seventy, eighty games a year? Todd: I think it's too much. I it's way too much for the kids and and again th that that that is it's just too much. Again, the pitch smart stuff, all the stuff, you can hit a baseball all year but you shouldn't be throwing one all year. Bobby Minor: Okay, good stuff. Second question. ⁓ should a parent want is it better for a player to take the last roster spot on a national team if it means your son gets half the reps? Or was is it would it be better to be on a good local or regional team where you're getting good reps? Todd: It's better to be on d a team where you're gonna be a priority player and get more reps, especially at that that nine through twelve year old age group. Bobby Minor: All right. ⁓ third question. ⁓ what are your thoughts on showcases before kids in high school? Todd: They're meaningless. I i if you want to send send your kid to one at thirteen or fourteen just to get experience f when they get to the fifteen year old age group, but they're meaningless and and the metrics mean absolutely nothing. Bobby Minor: All right. And last question, this is the slow roller. ⁓ what are your thoughts on dad breaking down the breaking down his son's swing on the car ride home after a bad game? Todd: I think you y you should not talk about the game on the way home. You should just tell your son you loved watching them play and you love ⁓ and whatever happens doesn't matter. And and you know, I I had a thing with my sons 'cause I coached both of my sons and still do coach the youngest one in the summer, but you know, i it it's it's sounds really corny or whatever, but if I have the hat on I'm coach, if it's not on it's dad. And so y you have to be able to separate that, especially when you're coaching your son. Bobby Minor: That's good stuff. That's good stuff. So all right, that was In and Out with Todd Green. So, all right, Todd, just a few more questions and and we will wrap up. what ⁓ so these are things that parents, okay. I'm just thinking of things, what are things that parents have c have kind of asked or or disputed or whatever? So let's talk a little bit about, again, a player being So when we talk about like a player being a bottom of the roster guy on a really good team or being a, you know, three-hole hitter on an okay team. And and I've had some parents say, well, yeah, you know, but you know, it doesn't matter if my son's not playing, just being on the better team, being around better players, practicing with them, that's gonna help him get better. And my thing is I always say is you want your son to be on ⁓ and I know it's all subjective, but the best team with the best coaching, getting the best preps reps possible against the best competition. That may mean that you're playing on a double A team. You know, it may mean you're playing on a lower tier triple A team, but what are your thoughts on that and what would you say to that parent that thinks that his son's gonna get better just because he's practicing with better players? Todd: Well again, you you could argue both sides of that. Right. So so the d I I think you made the best point. The best competition for where he's at. Right. So so if he's a double A player, then you should be playing try to play the best competition at that level. But if you think you're a double A team and you and your kids a good player on a double A team and you're gonna go play against an elite majors team, that's not gonna be a good experience. They're just not ready for it. Doesn't mean they're not gonna be one day. They're just not now. And so I I've always believed that that that it's better to be one of the good players o on on a mid level team than be the last. Last player on a really good team. Because to your point, the the the kids who hit first and second over the course of of if they played ten tournaments or how many of the tournaments they're playing, the kids hitting first and second are gonna get at least seventy or eighty more bats, at least minimum. Right? So they're gonna be more reps. So ⁓ now if you're on an elite majors team that's just killing everybody, one through ten is gonna get plenty of bats, right? You know, and I had a team like that. So it it it's it I could argue both ways. But it's always better if you're a priority player. Are you gonna get better playing against and with good players? Yes. But it can't be a a huge level disparity where your kid's a double A player and and a major team said they would take him because little his little brother's on the team or his big brother's on the team and and it's just not gonna be it's not gonna end good. Bobby Minor: Yeah. That's good stuff. I I wanna I wanna get your thoughts on this. And this is this is the way I describe it. It may not be accurate, but this I want people to understand I that when you start your son early in travel baseball and the grind and everything, there's a thing that I call I'll say it's the law of diminishing return. Like, you know what I mean? Like like your son, like he may get like like in, you know He's gonna get he may get better a lot faster than other players, but you're gonna reach a point to where you're not getting that same return on all of that effort. You know, it may it may accelerate it a little bit in the beginning when it doesn't matter, but he's gonna level off, whereas a lot of these other guys that are maybe not on that same pace, they're gonna catch up and many times pass them up. What do what are your thoughts on that? Todd: Well, ⁓ again, this this the skill. As long as they have skill. A a lot of really, really good players at sixteen and seventeen were just really small when they were ten and eleven. But they had the skill, they just weren't strong enough to compete with with the d the the ⁓ early ⁓ bloomers, right? So, ⁓ w look, i if you're getting the reps and and you're you're getting everything you're supposed to get, ⁓ i i it's not gonna matter, right? So what you invest, ⁓ a and you mentioned getting better. Look, if you play baseball a lot, you're gonna get better. But but at but at what scale, right? So just because your son's getting better, the kids that are better than them at 10 years old, they're getting better too. It's not like they stop getting better. Now, we talked about earlier when you get to 12 or 13, when when puberty happens and some of those smaller kids that are that are skilled really good, that they start growing and catching up in size and strength, that that's that's a difference maker. So My point about the positive experience and having fun earlier about the nine to twelve year olds, that's why. Because is we just want to keep them having fun, ⁓ keep them having a good experience, keep them getting better. And then when they grow and they catch up with with with the the the kids who are already grown men at at eleven, they're gonna pass them. And so that's just reality. And so that's why I really believe the experience and and having fun is super important from from nine to twelve. Bobby Minor: It's good stuff. It's crazy to me. Like when I talk to somebody like you that obviously has the knowledge, has the background, has the experience and everything, and you're saying what you say, it's crazy to me when I get comments from parents that push back on things like this, where ⁓ if they're you know, if the kid's the best at twelve, he's probably gonna be, you know, still be really good when he's seventeen or eighteen, which it does happen. You know, they talk about late bloomers, that that being, you know, something that, yeah, does it happen, but it doesn't hardly happen. And I'm like, I've seen it with my own eyes tons of times. You know what I mean? And like I hear people like you saying the exact same thing, but then you get these parents out there that thinking, I don't know, maybe it's because, you know, their son is the big eleven year old and they don't want to realize that he may not be the, you know, be the dude in three or four years. And so anyway, I I appreciate your perspective and everything that you, you know, just everything that you bring to the table. Todd: Yeah, well I mean again you made another good point. Sometimes the best players at twelve are still the best players at seventeen. That that's like you don't just all of a sudden become really, really good if you were never good, right? As long as there's a constant level of improvement, regardless of what you are. Again, for the most part, I was the best player on my team until I got to the big leagues. I mean, that's from nine, ten, eleven, high school, college, single A, double A, triple A. I was always the best player for the most part. Right. I won the MVP in every league I played in except the big leagues. And so that was different. Again, I I pretty much didn't get humbled until I got to the big leagues. But so there's exceptions like that, right? It it's Shohei Otani was probably the best player on his team from the time he was born, right? So I mean it it it it's ⁓ but there's a whole lot of kids that play in the big leagues that weren't the best player on their team when they were ten, eleven, and twelve. And so in fact there's probably more of those. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Yeah no, I that's a great point. I think of guys, I don't know why this his name just came into my mind. And so I'm not saying he's not a good player or anything, and you may know him, but like I think guys like Adam Rosales that, you know, are just like they're just grinders. You know what I mean? Like they're, you know, they play multiple positions, they play, you know, they played on a bunch of teams, but they're big league ball players. And like he may have been the best player on all of his teams, but he he might not have been. Todd: Well, exactly. Well well but what d again his home run tribe is epic, right? I mean he he was so watched hitting home runs. ⁓ but but that's kinda he he's kinda reminds me of of the way I was. I just wanted to play. I just loved playing and I wanted to win. I didn't care what position I played, I didn't care where I hit. I just wanted to play, compete, and win. And so he's definitely that type of player. ⁓ and I tell people in in in in my real world now with with the Diamondbacks, ⁓ there's two kinds of there's only two still only two kinds of players. There's winning players and losing players. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Yeah. Todd: And there's Hall of Famers in both of those categories. Right. So I try to make sure our our kids who come through our program understand what being a winning player means. And and so which means you play right, you play selfless, ⁓ you have to love it, right? So and I firmly believe that. Bobby Minor: Yeah, that's good stuff. So let me I'm gonna shift gears. I'm gonna ask you a couple of ⁓ personal questions and then we'll c we'll wrap everything up. So I just started asking this question because I you know my favorite all-time baseball memory as a fan was I was at Nolan Ryan's seventh no-hitter, May 1st, 1991, the old Arlington Stadium. So for you, Todd, either as a player or just as a fan of the game, what is what is your favorite all-time baseball memory that you've experienced live and in person? Todd: Well, it has to be catching the first pitch from President Bush ⁓ in two thousand one World Series game three, which we're coming up on the the twenty-fifth anniversary of that in in the next couple of weeks. So that by far ⁓ is is my best baseball memory, whether I was a part of it or not. So ⁓ it's gonna be really hard to top that one. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Yeah. And that now makes my memory kind of just seem like, ⁓ although Ryan seven's no hitter still is pretty special. So ⁓ all right. ⁓ favorite all time baseball movie. Todd: Yeah, for sure. The natural. Bobby Minor: Okay, okay. ⁓ I think I asked who did I ask the other day? Metabin Petroya and he said the first major league, which another good baseball movie but yeah, but sec the second and third one kinda diminished the first one. But yeah, you gotta love the natural. Mine mine's Bull Durham. I don't know. I just love Bull Durham. ⁓ Todd: Those are good. Yeah. I love Bullderum too, they're all good. Bobby Minor: Yeah, lots of great baseball movies out there. And actually, this may surprise you, Todd. Next month I got invited to play in a celebrity baseball influencer softball game at the Field of Dreams. So So any words of wisdom. Pedroya told me just don't get hurt. So I'm gonna try not to get hurt. Any other words of wisdom? Todd: ⁓ nice. Yeah. Don't get hurt and swing hard in case you hit it. Yeah. Bobby Minor: Okay. That that's good. I have my ⁓ Marucchi Maruchi hooked me up with a really nice softball bat, Justin Cryer. So yeah, that's what I'm gonna do. You know, I might get lucky out there. So all right, Todd, I really appreciate your time. There's lots of great stuff ⁓ that you've shared with the parents out there. Hopefully they're listening. Any any any parting words? Where's the what would you say to that twelve year old the parent of a twelve year old out there right now who, you know That just they just dream, they just want to make sure that they're making the right decisions and give their son the best opportunity to play baseball beyond high school, whatever that looks like. Todd: l let let the let the kid drive look look I don't I don't believe in in saying I'm gonna I'm gonna let my twelve year old son decide which team he's gonna play for, what program he's gonna play for. I don't believe I mean we don't let our twelve year olds decide if they're gonna do their homework or not. We don't let them decide if they're going to the dentist or not, right? So we the parents have to do their research on the program that cares about your son's experience. and th that that's it. Who who's gonna teach him life lessons? Who's gonna make sure that they if if it's a dad coach team Bobby Minor: Right. Todd: Do you have oversight? Can can you know, everyone says there's daddy bought this and daddy ball that? Well well that's not always true. ⁓ so you have to do the research and and and make it ⁓ a positive experience for everyone. So make sure you do your research on who's running these teams and and don't get don't get caught up on on sales pitches or or or this. I tell people all the time, I'm not a salesman, I was a baseball player, right? So I I I didn't make a whole ⁓ a a whole life and run a business and ⁓ by selling things. It it's This is real baseball if you wanna play great. If you don't, that's fine too. But do your research. Make sure you have your son in in a place where ⁓ he's gonna have a positive experience and still have fun so that when he gets to that puberty age and stage, he still likes it. And when he gets that help from nature, he's gonna continue to get better and be able to make his high school team and hopefully beyond. Bobby Minor: That's good stuff. So, okay, I said that was my last question, but you made me think of a couple of other good questions. So I want to ask while I have you. So what are what are some questions that a parent could ask to organi organizational director or a coach that you would say, you know what, if this is if you ask this question, if you get this answer, it's probably a red fac or red flag. You're probably getting you're, you know, you're probably it's probably a pitch versus hey, this is a this is an environment that's probably a good fit for your son. Todd: Well, you you wanna know the roster size, ⁓ how many kids are gonna be on the team, ⁓ what their philosophy is playing time wise. Like I I have a rule in my academy, no kid sits two games in a row, right? Y if you everybody plays two out three games no matter what. And so what their philosophy is on the playing time. I don't believe in splitting games, right? Up until you get to eleven or twelve, everyone should hit anyway. Like you should if you had eleven players, eleven players should hit, right? That's the way we always do it. And so Bobby Minor: Right. Todd: and if you wanna not do that, then you have to have twelve players so you have two kids sitting at one time and not just one kid sitting. Right. So but that everybody, even the best player on the team, is not gonna play every game in my program. ⁓ everyone needs to learn how to be a good teammate. That's the only rule we have in my academy is be a good teammate. ⁓ so ask roster size playing time when practice is gonna start and and and how many tournaments and when that tournament's gonna end. ⁓ so you don't wanna be on a t a ⁓ nine U team to plays till mid-July. ⁓ that's that's too much. ⁓ and I'm and again I'm sp speaking specifically in the Atlanta market when we start and should finish. I know other states are different, especially up north or whatever, but you know it it's know all the specifics on that. And then, you know, make sure that you're not you're not dealing with with people who have been run off from different organizations and they've coached in five different organizations over the last five years. That's not a good sign either. Bobby Minor: Right. Yeah, that's good stuff. ⁓ what do you think what's a good healthy game to practice ratio in your opinion? Todd: ⁓ speaking like for ten year olds. they should at least practice twice a week. a and try to play once the season starts, maybe two tournaments a month. depending on and try to get scrimmage games in there too, right? So if you can actually we have our best practice when they're live scrimmages. You you can actually teach teach you can stop the game and teach the kids what just happened and how to do it better for both teams. And so I prefer doing that ⁓ as the practice every now and then. Bobby Minor: Yeah. Todd: But but I would say two to three practices a week. Again, doing doing more work on your own at home by yourself. and and two tournaments a month are probably good for those kids. Bobby Minor: That's good stuff. So Todd, I really appreciate your time. If somebody is in in Georgia, in your area, and they want to learn more about your academy and your program, where's the best place for them to find out that information? Todd: TGDBAx dot com should have all the information, contact information, and we look forward to talking to you. We're advocates for baseball, whether you play with our program or not. We just want to help your kid have a positive experience. Bobby Minor: Awesome, good stuff. And if somebody wants to follow you on social, where can they find you? Todd: At Todd Green20. ⁓ that was my number, Georgia Southern twenty, so at Todd Green Twenty and I think it's at Todd Green eighty eight seventy one on Instagram. eighty eight homers in in college and seventy one in in the big leagues. So that's where I come up with my numbers. Bobby Minor: Okay, that's good stuff. So all right, Todd, I appreciate you, man. Thank you so much. I'd love to have you back on ⁓ on again sometime in the future. Todd: Absolutely. I enjoyed it. Appreciate you having me on.