Hindsight is always 20/20, and sometimes, it’s fun to look back at old scouting reports – especially so when they end up so very, very wrong, whether that be a panned player who became an icon or a can’t-miss prospect who did indeed miss.
New York fans by now know very well the story of how scout Dick Groch once said of the Yankees’ worry about Derek Jeter’s commitment to the University of Michigan that “the only place he’s going is Cooperstown.” Groch was right (even if Jeter’s induction weekend was postponed due to COVID-19), but not every scouting report turns out that way.
Tom Seaver once held the highest percentage of Hall of Fame votes, and earned that right after one of the greatest careers in baseball history – and in the case of his scouting reports, well, in the case of the one unearthed after Seaver’s passing Wednesday night, what’s first notable is that the scout’s name was Tom Lasorda (yes, that one), and what’s next notable is that despite an average report, Lasorda did say that Seaver “has plenty of desire to pitch and wants to beat you.”
Over 20 years in the Bigs, Seaver did just that to his opponents 311 times.
Check out the scouting report below, courtesy of @checkraiseyou on Twitter.