“We picked this tournament because a lot of players have played in good tournaments over their lifetimes,” Baseball Factory CEO Steve Sclafani said. “But very rarely do they get to play against top notch international talent. Professional baseball is moving toward the international game and this will give them a look at what they will have to face in the future.”

Team One Baseball and Baseball Factory merged their organizations earlier this year. This is one of the first public joint efforts in the newly formed group.

“This team means that the Baseball Factory and Team One leadership are coming together to come up with new features that give the top players in the country another vehicle to showcase themselves,” said Sclafani, who played college baseball at the University of Pennsylvania. “Just as important it gives them a vehicle to develop and get better. That’s the beauty of having Team One and Baseball Factory together – you get both.”

Ironically, the tournament that the all-star team will participate in is a first year event as well. The event is being brought together by Ted Heid, Director of Pacific Rim Scouting for the Seattle Mariners.

“We do a Senior Fall Classic two weeks before the international,” Heid notes. “We’ve had 60 teams on the waiting list for that event.

“We decided to create another event for the open-high school kids two weeks later. [The reason for bringing international teams into the event is that] I wanted to make my job a little easier and I could scout some of these kids internationally in my own backyard. Plus it allows those kids to showcase themselves in front of our college and pro scouts.”

Heid said that two Baseball Factory teams will participate in the Senior Fall Classic. He added that he enjoys working with both Baseball Factory and Team One. He believes Baseball Factory contacts will eventually help the international tournament grow.

“I’ve worked with Baseball Factory a few years,” Heid said. “It’s nice to have an organization like that because I don’t have to worry about their players or program. They are a very professional outfit. I don’t have to worry about their teams.

“I think Baseball Factory being involved long term will open doors for our tournament in other countries because they are involved internationally as well.”

The Team One all-star team will be managed by former Colorado Sky Sox Triple A manager Rick Sofield. He will manage the team with two former professional players. The team is comprised of players participating in the four regional Team One Baseball showcases throughout this past summer.

“The thought behind this is to put an all-star team from Team One in a tournament for the first time,” Sclafani said. “If we pick an all-star team from all four showcases we should be pretty good. Part of the whole things is for these kids to get with big time higher level professional coaches like Rick Sofield.”

While the team will consist of some members of the Team One National Showcase – many of the participating players will be top prospects from the regional showcases. This goes hand-in-hand with Baseball Factory’s goal of getting players college scholarships – first and foremost.

“The all-star team is designed for the top notch Division I college-bound players,” Sclafani said. “Most of the players at the Team One National have a chance to be high draft picks come June. This is not to say that members of the all-star team will not be drafted, but those players seem to be leaning toward playing college baseball for at least the next three years.”

One of those players is senior outfield Blair Dunlap from California, who recently verbally committed to UCLA. He’s using the tournament to get more experience against top players to prepare for his entrance to UCLA in the fall of 2005. “I was shocked I was invited. I don’t see myself as playing for a team like Team One,” Dunlap said. “It should be fun and I’m looking forward to it.”

Steven Lynch, a senior outfielder from Florida, is still uncommitted and looking at the tournament as an opportunity to get extra exposure in front of college scouts. He is excited to be representing Team One Baseball in an international tournament. “I foresee it as great exposure in front of a lot of colleges,” Lynch said. “Plus it gives me the opportunity to play great baseball.