The following are excerpts from the Business Monthly article “Baseball Factory Touching More Bases Via New Partnership”:

Steve Scalfani hears the same thing every day when he’s marketing his ample stable of high school and college baseball players: the colleges he markets want him to help them find the next Mark Texieira, a slugger for the Texas Rangers, or the heir apparent to Mark Prior, a hard-throwing pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.

His company has signed a substantial barter agreement with Baseball America (BA), considered the top trade publication of amateur and minor league baseball, to enhance the publication’s scouting input for its newsstand edition and online editorial, thus increasing Baseball Factory’s exposure and financial success in the process.

A key element of the partnership is BA’s sponsorship of Baseball University, the first interactive, online, distance-learning program, designed by Baseball Factory to educate and certify amateur and high school coaches.

The company, which works with about 4,000 kids annually, has led more than 5,000 players to college programs, attracted $65 million in scholarships and seen more than 100 players selected in the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft in its 12-year history.

“Baseball Factory’s unique roster of former college coaches and major league scouts is one of the most extensive in the industry,” said Catherine Silver, president and CEO of Baseball America. “As a result, the scouting information gathered by these experienced professionals will greatly enhance BA’s coverage of the high school prospect market.”

On the other side, many prospects subscribe to BA, as it provides “valuable information these young athletes need as they develop,” said Mac Seibert, Baseball Factory vice president and former national crosschecker of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

“One of our main functions is to serve as the eyes and ears for BA throughout the country,” said Siebert, which Baseball Factory accomplishes via its national scouting network. It includes eight former MLB scouts among the full-time staff of 35. “Even our in-house people travel extensively to hold tryouts and camps.”

He also pointed to the web effect. Baseball Factory provides video footage on its site, which will now be linked to the BA site, which Silver estimated gets 800,000 hits per month and has writers dedicated to high schools, colleges, the draft and the minors, as well as features like The Daily Dish, which keeps readers returning often.

All told, the partnership “will provide a great opportunity for players to gain more exposure through Baseball Factory, as well as Team One,” Siebert said.

Baseball University incorporates professional digital video, educational lectures and detailed written materials offered online in a variety of 10-week courses on such subjects as college recruiting, scouting, player development and instruction.

It will also offer specific coach certifications, for age groups beginning with 5-year-olds through the high school level.

“I think kids today often miss the boat on development,” Sclafani said. “They want to jump from showcase to showcase, but they need a good mix. Just think about what a player can accomplish if he works on the development angle first. That is what separates us from other companies.”

Interestingly, Sclafani thinks that major league scouts are perhaps turning some of their focus a bit away from players that have “great tools (skills)” toward “guys who do the little things” that help build a winning organization.

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