Hall of Fame Scout Gives Tips on Living Good and Making the Team

There is nothing like a cruise. But when you combine a cruise with presentations by a Hall of Fame baseball scout, you have an unbeatable combination.

Lunch aboard the Celebrity Eclipse with Al Goldis

Such was the case a few weeks ago when Al Goldis, who worked in scouting and player development for the Orioles, Angels, White Sox, Brewers, Cubs, Reds and Mets shared his knowledge of baseball with those of us aboard the Celebrity Eclipse on its seven day cruise of the Caribbean.

Goldis is intelligent, animated and engaging and even if baseball isn’t your thing, he’ll make you consider becoming a fan. He talks not just of teams, players and statistics, but also spells out why things happen on the baseball field and how the traits that make players succeed or fail can also lead to success or failure in business and in life.

Goldis’ baseball knowledge is irrefutable. He also has a great sense of why things happen from a physical and psychological sense. That stems from his degree in physical education, motor learning and biomechanics from Columbia University.

He started his scouting career with the Baltimore Orioles in 1978. He served as the director of scouting and player development for the Chicago White Sox from 1986 through '90 and fashioned the team's '90 draft, one of the best ever. He was voted into the Pro Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame in February 2009. He worked with such well-known owners as Gene Autry (Angels), Marge Schott (Reds) and Jerry Reinsdorf (White Sox).

Among Goldis basic tenets is that “physical talent gets you signed but intellect and makeup  cause you to improve.” He also says “successful players have great self-esteem” such as some of those he recruited like Frank Thomas, Robin Ventura and Jack McDowell.

He says that “All-Star players play in All-Star games, but not necessarily on championship teams.”

He talks of numbers. “What are the odds of a team getting three straight hits in a game?” asks Goldis. Answer: a remarkably low 1.75%. What are the odds that a player signed to a contract by a major league organization never makes it in the Bigs? Goldis says between 93% and 94%. “You have a better chance of becoming a neurosurgeon,” he adds.  What is the most important count in baseball? 1- 1. Batters that go 2-1 hit between .240 and .315, while those that go 1-2, hit between .180 and .235. Reason: after going 1-2, a batter becomes defensive at the plate.

Scouts look for left-handed prospects who can run from home to first in 4.2 seconds; 4.3 seconds for righty. Scouts also like to see minor league players with a slugging percentage of .460, an on-base percentage of .350 to .360. They look for hitters who strike out no more than 17% of the time, unless the player is a home run hitter and then no more than 25% of the time. Goldis says pitching prospects should give up less than one hit per inning and average one strikeout per inning.

While the Hall of Famer went on to talk about angles and spacing and speed and quickness and the importance of concentration, it also became obvious that he wanted his message to be about more than baseball. As a scout and now a speaker, he tries to instill in his audiences a formula for success that works for anyone regardless of who they are or what they do. He uses the acronym FISHES for family, intellect, socialization, health, economics and spirituality, the six areas of life that given the proper attention will create positive results.

FISHES. A concept as good on land as it was at sea.

Remembering Furman Bisher

I have two books on my night stand. Both are sources of inspiration. One is Bill Curry’s Ten Men You Meet in the Huddle, an account of leadership lessons learned by the former NFL All-Pro and now Georgia State head football coach.

The other book is The Furman Bisher Collection. It offers inspiration of a different kind for Furman Bisher was the writer we would all like to be.  Furman passed away over the weekend at age 93, but the retired Atlanta Journal-Constitution sports columnist leaves with us a treasure trove of magnificent stories on everything from baseball to weightlifting to a very personal memoir on the passing of his mother.

Furman is among a handful of the greatest sportswriters of all time. He ranks up there with the likes of Ring Lardner, Grantland Rice, and Red Smith—all with New York papers— Shirley Povich of the Washington Post, Hal Lebovitz of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Joe Falls of the Detroit Free Press and Jim Murray of the L.A. Times.

I had the pleasure of being with Furman numerous times over the past seven years in press boxes, lockers rooms, and the dugout at Turner Field. He was truly a great writer but also a wonderfully warm human being. He treasured the little chateau in the woods that he shared with his bride Lynda. I can remember him often coming to the stadium to grab an interview during batting practice and then heading home so he could have his evening cocktail with Lynda.

Furman was very much the traditionalist. He was not a fan of wild cards and designated hitters and instant replays. He hated the noise at Phillips Arena during Hawks games. He loved the beauty of golf and was planning to cover the Masters again in 2012. I remember once having to explain to Furman what a half pipe was—a term used in extreme sports, something he didn’t quite “cotton to.”

Furman never learned to type. He would hunt and peck using just his forefingers, which moved across the keyboard at the speed of light. It is said he wrote his last column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2009 on the same typewriter he used when he started as a reporter at the Atlanta Journal in 1950. At the urging of his stepdaughter, Furman took a leap into the high tech world after his retirement, writing a blog titled Bisher Unleashed. His last post was January 16 of this year.

It may sound trite, but it really made me feel good when Furman started to remember my name. We became friends of sorts and the thought that I was on a first name basis with a journalistic icon—one I grew up reading in Sport magazine and other national publications—was quite an honor.  

Lewis Grizzard, who like Furman was another brilliant AJC writer and author, penned the introduction to the Bisher collection.  In it he says that Furman “was profoundly different from most of the other sportswriters I read. He had a way. A style.  He stood back from the tumult and shouting and found truth and real meanings. The words from other writers marched drone-like.  Furman’s danced.”

I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of The Furman Bisher Collection. If you are too young to remember Furman in his prime, you’re in for a real treat. If you read him throughout the years you’ll enjoy the trip down memory lane. Either way, as Grizzard said.” If you read the book you will be reading journalism at its best. “

Furman you will be missed. Selah my friend.

The Variety Store: Tourney Topics; a Josh Smith Trade Rumor; and the V Foundation

It was interesting to hear the reaction of two prominent coaches whose teams were eliminated from their respective post-season tournaments over the weekend.

Coach John Calipari said something to the effect that if he was going to lose, as Kentucky did on Sunday against Vanderbilt, he wished it would have happened sooner. Coach K, when his Duke team went down to NC State on Saturday at Phillips Arena, was almost euphoric. He said that, even in defeat, his team played well and ended the tournament on a high note (read: I’m glad we got this over with so we can concentrate on the NCAA).

I have always questioned the value of the league tournaments. The Big 10 and PAC 12 lived without them until 1998 and did just fine. The Ivy League still has no tournament—but that’s the Ivy League.

League tourneys are good for marginal teams, bad for the good teams. Duke, Carolina, Kentucky and others, sure to go the NCAA tournament, may alter their seeds slightly, but have little to gain and a lot to lose. For example, the emotional energy expended in a league tournament would be better saved for the NCAAs. Then there’s the possibility of injury such as that sustained by John Hensen of Carolina among others.

Marginal teams who win the championship and an automatic bid obviously benefit. Also coming out ahead are teams like Florida State, which wanted to show the basketball world it belonged in the upper echelon of the ACC.

Of course the big winners are those whose coffers are enhanced by playing an extra round of games—the leagues, the schools themselves, and the networks, which can air many more marquee matchups. Factor in new media revenue and this becomes even more of a financial bonanza.

Obviously nothing is going to change at this point. Maybe if more Ivy League schools take basketball as seriously as Harvard, even that ancient league will cave. But when top teams with nothing to gain start holding back and not playing their best, post-season league tournaments may begin to lose their luster.

Quick takes… Among the local media at the ACC tournament, the majority say that the Hawks should trade Josh Smith now. Smith has requested a move and now would be the time to receive maximum value. One rumor involves Josh and the Lakers’ Pau Gasol…  Dick Vitale was at Phillips on Saturday and Sunday broadcasting for ESPN. He’s trying to raise interest in a V Foundation fund-raising dinner here in Atlanta. The V Foundation, named after former North Carolina State Coach Jim Valvano, has raised millions in the fight against cancer….790 the Zone’s Chris Dimino, also covering the ACC, spent a few days in spring training interviewing the Braves for CSS. He’s impressed with shortstop Tyler Pastornicky, calling him very poised and very confident. Overall the 790 morning host said he’s optimistic about the Braves despite their poor record thus far. We’ll have a look for ourselves this week in Orlando... Finally, the out-of-town press and ACC officials liked what they saw in Atlanta. They were especially impressed with the outdoor Fan Fest. Problem for Atlanta is that the addition of Pitt and Syracuse has created more competition for the tourney. Also, the league likes Greensboro because of its location in the heart of ACC country.