When I asked Yankees general manager Brian Cashman about baseball scout Matt Hyde his first response was that Matt is the first call he makes when it comes to the amateur baseball prospects. Cashman said that Hyde is a true ambassador of the game of baseball.
That’s high praise when the man who’s been running all of baseball operations for the most storied sports franchise ever says that about you.
This past Friday the Hot Stove League had its annual awards ceremony. This event honors the scouts from major league baseball.
Matt Hyde was crowned Scout of the Year. When you notice that scouts like Gene Michael and Tom ‘T. Bone’ Giordano and Cesar Presbott have won this award and Cashman can make a statement about Matt like he did, then you realize what a big deal this is.
To his credit, Matt took his time in his acceptance speech to make sure that he acknowledged all the people who supported him and the scouting community.
I was proud of the Yankees for also showing support for Matt getting such a prestigious award. To see that Yankee scouting head Damon Oppenheimer was present along with cross-checker Tim Kelly was enlightening.
Kelly said that no scout was more deserving than Matt. He also stated that the North East area of the United States is definitely one of the most difficult to scout and year after year Matt continues to do an outstanding job.
I carefully listened to Matt’s speech and got teary-eyed when he mentioned super scout Giordano, the man who taught me the true importance of what scouting in baseball was and is really all about. The blood sweat and tears that go into this truly difficult job. However, like Giordano when you see the passion that Matt puts into it then you know that our young players with a dream also have a fair chance. For that, I am grateful to Baseball’s Scout of the Year, Matt Hyde, and all baseball scouts because I was once one of those kids with a dream hoping that the area scout would give me his business card.
Analytics in the game today is important however the true heads of baseball also understand that nothing will truly ever take the place of the baseball scouts.
A special thanks go to longtime Chicago Cubs scout Billy Blitzer for keeping this wonderful event alive.
