Many of the best high school baseball prospects will be making their way to Russ Carr Field on the campus of Westmont College next month to participate in the Area Code Tryouts.
“The Area Code Tryouts are run as a typical pro-style workout and evaluation that attracts a large number of college coaches and major league scouts,” said Westmont Baseball Head Coach Robert Ruiz. “It’s a consolidated workout with some of the best talent in the state. Since California is such a great baseball state, it’s a pretty exciting event.”
First established in 1987 as a showcase for California high school students, the Area Code Tryouts have become a premier national event for the evaluation of high school baseball players. Over the course of the summer, major league teams conduct regional tryouts across the country with the aim of putting together a team to compete in the Area Code Games in August. This year’s games will be held August 5-10 at Blair Field in Long Beach.
In 2002, Student Sports, Inc. acquired Area Code Baseball and since that time, the percentage of Area Code players selected in the MLB Draft has reached new peaks. ESPN purchased Student Sports, Inc. in 2008.
Participation in the event is by invitation only. Players must be nominated by major league scouts to be considered for an invitation. Unlike other showcase events, athletes are not charged to tryout or to participate in the Area Code Games.
The Milwaukee Brewers conduct the Area Code Tryouts for California and form two teams to compete in the August event. The first of these tryouts was conducted on June 16 at Delta College in Stockton for high school athletes from Northern and Central California.
The remainder of the tryouts will take place at Westmont. On Tuesday, July 6, tryouts will be held for Los Angeles County and San Fernando Valley region players. Tryouts for players from Orange County, Riverside, The Inland Empire and San Diego regions will be held on Wednesday, July 7.
A final tryout, which will feature the best of the players from the initial rounds, has been set for Thursday, July 15 at Russ Carr Field. The public is welcome to watch the tryouts which begin at nine o’clock on each day. There is no charge to attend the event.
“It is a great opportunity for us to bring high profile players in large quantities to our campus. We get a chance to evaluate them at our field, on our campus,” said Ruiz regarding the benefits to Westmont of hosting the event. “As a result of the Area Code Tryouts, the Westmont name will go into different parts of the baseball community in a very positive way. That is beneficial to the development of our program. It is also a huge tool for recruiting and we are really looking forward to serving as hosts.”
For a complete list of all 2010 Area Code Tryouts, please visit the ESPN Rise website.
In addition to the tryouts, ESPN RISE will conduct an Area Code Baseball Instructional Camp on Monday, July 5. According to the ESPN RISE website, “Anyone of high school age can sign up and attend an Area Code Baseball Camp, which teaches training skills, so that a player can go into his season with a proper background for his position.”
