RU Senior Dreams of MLB
Mike Perry
Issue date: 2/25/05 Section: Feature
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Kansas City, MO. - Every spring the buzz of Rockhurst baseball starts to fill the campus air.
Senior shortstop, Ray Chang might just be the reason for that. There are not many times you can say you had the opportunity to watch a future Major League Baseball player. Well, Chang is just that.
Chang started his baseball career when he was just eight years old, playing for the Kansas City Monarchs, a select league where kids play 40-50 games a summer.
This then allowed him to attend Rockhurst High School and start all four years.
When Ray was a senior at Rockhurst High he signed a letter of intent at Hutchinson Community College, "I always wanted to go to a community college," Chang said. "I felt like I had a chance of getting drafted sooner."
But on the final day of his high school playing career, coach Burns, of Rockhurst University, offered Ray a scholarship, "I never really thought about RU," Chang said. "But the offer coach Burns made was too good to pass up."
As far back as sophomore and junior year of high school, Ray said that scouts have always been looking at him.
Ray attended his first Major League Baseball camp his sophomore year of high school. These camps continued all throughout high school and now into college.
"My first camp was in Jupiter, Fla.," Chang said. These camps were put on by ex professional players that the sponsor, Perfect Game, brings in.
Along with the ex players, you can find anywhere between 100-150 scouts standing around watching every move.
At these camps, all the players are split up into 12-15 different teams with about 18 kids on each.
Putting the players into teams, allows the scouts a better chance to pinpoint who they are looking at.
"We did some other things besides just playing full games," Chang said. "There was also a skills part of these camps."
All of the players in attendance for these four day camps had to run two 60 yard dashes, the outfielders were timed in throwing to a particular base and the infielders would also be timed in throwing the ball from shortstop to first base.
Senior shortstop, Ray Chang might just be the reason for that. There are not many times you can say you had the opportunity to watch a future Major League Baseball player. Well, Chang is just that.
Chang started his baseball career when he was just eight years old, playing for the Kansas City Monarchs, a select league where kids play 40-50 games a summer.
This then allowed him to attend Rockhurst High School and start all four years.
When Ray was a senior at Rockhurst High he signed a letter of intent at Hutchinson Community College, "I always wanted to go to a community college," Chang said. "I felt like I had a chance of getting drafted sooner."
But on the final day of his high school playing career, coach Burns, of Rockhurst University, offered Ray a scholarship, "I never really thought about RU," Chang said. "But the offer coach Burns made was too good to pass up."
As far back as sophomore and junior year of high school, Ray said that scouts have always been looking at him.
Ray attended his first Major League Baseball camp his sophomore year of high school. These camps continued all throughout high school and now into college.
"My first camp was in Jupiter, Fla.," Chang said. These camps were put on by ex professional players that the sponsor, Perfect Game, brings in.
Along with the ex players, you can find anywhere between 100-150 scouts standing around watching every move.
At these camps, all the players are split up into 12-15 different teams with about 18 kids on each.
Putting the players into teams, allows the scouts a better chance to pinpoint who they are looking at.
"We did some other things besides just playing full games," Chang said. "There was also a skills part of these camps."
All of the players in attendance for these four day camps had to run two 60 yard dashes, the outfielders were timed in throwing to a particular base and the infielders would also be timed in throwing the ball from shortstop to first base.