Hear ye! Hear ye! The court is in session. Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
“I do, Your Honor.”
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State your name and occupation.
“My name is Clyde King. This is my 51st year in baseball. I am a special-assignment scout for the New York Yankees.”
What does a scout do in spring training?
“You look for the raw talent that can get a player to the big leagues. Power and speed in a hitter; velocity and control in a pitcher. And you look for desire and determination.”
How do you judge desire and determination?
“The player who doesn’t want to get out of the batting cage. He’s taken his 10th swing; he’s allowed only eight. You have to run him off. And the guy who takes extra ground balls and when he’s finished he comes back for more. A lot of people may not remember Rocky Bridges. He had great desire. His uniform was dirty in the bottom of the first inning. And Pete Rose. Everyone knows who he is.”
Have you seen some good young ballplayers?
“Lots of them. Baltimore has an outfielder, Alex Ochoa. He’s got an arm like Carl Furillo’s. He’s been sent down, but he’ll be back. Wes Chamberlain of the Phillies was having a great spring until he got hurt. He hit a home run over the center-field fence, and then one down the left-field line. So many power hitters-all they do is pull the ball. This tells me he can hit the ball where it’s pitched.
“I like a catcher named Carlos Delgado. He’s with Toronto. All sorts of talent. He hit a home run the other day. Two innings later the guy hitting ahead of him was in the on-deck circle and he was 3 or 4 feet in front of him watching the pitcher, checking out the break of the ball. That reveals intelligence. He’s reconnoitering. He can play the outfield, too.
“But you’ve got to be careful and slow to judge. If a young hitter can’t catch up with a high fastball, you don’t turn him off if the pitcher is throwing 93 or 94 miles an hour. If the pitcher is only throwing the heater, he could catch up to it and hit it over the center-field fence.”
Have the players changed since your time?
“I had a bad arm in ’51 and was phased out after that. They have changed. We used to read the Sporting News. Now they fly in chartered jets and read the Wall Street Journal. But that doesn’t mean the players today don’t have desire. It just isn’t as unanimous as it used to be. All we talked about was how to get the hitters out. Now they talk about investments.”
Do you use a radar gun to clock the pitchers’ velocity?
“No. If I have to use a watch, it’s time for me to get out. Two days ago, in Clearwater, there were seven guns, five from the same manufacturer, and there was (a big) difference in their timing of the same pitch.
“Mickey Mantle, batting left-handed, on a swinging bunt, got to first base in :03.1 seconds. I never saw anyone faster, not to first base. The average time for a right-handed batter is :03.7, :03.8. That isn’t bad.”
Do you share information with other scouts?
“I don’t think it’s proper to scout the other scouts. I listen, but I don’t say much. I don’t like to sit next to scouts who are talking because I can’t concentrate. I have to see every pitch. If you miss a pitch, the sequence is interrupted. I want to know what a pitcher throws on 3-0 with nobody on base and with the bases loaded. I want to know what they eat for breakfast, not only what he ate but how many times he chews before he swallows.”
What about trades?
“I call in at least every other day and talk to Gene Michael, our general manager. He tells me, `We’re interested in this guy and we’re talking to his club about him.’ I’ll follow that player for four or five games. We already know a lot about him. But now we want to know if he’s healthy. I can tell by watching him throw. You’d be surprised where I pick up information. I talk to the umpires, sportswriters, too. They know what’s going on.”
What’s it like working for George Steinbrenner? Is he as difficult as everyone says?
“I couldn’t have worked for someone for 19 years who wasn’t a decent person. I’m not saying he’s perfect. But when he’s good, he’s very good. A few months ago I gave a speech about him at a men’s group in Goldsboro, N.C., where I live. For 38 minutes, I said nothing but good things about him and got a standing ovation. They weren’t standing for me. They were applauding for what I said about George. They had never heard or read about it.”
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Thank you, Mr. King. Your cooperation is appreciated. Bailiff, call the next witness.