2008 Area Code Baseball
RIPS Baseball Training Complex and the Washington Nationals have set the date for the 2008 Area Code Tryouts. The tryout date for the 22nd playing of the Area Code Baseball games will be held July 1, 2008 @ Bellevue Community College from 9am-3pm. Registration will be at 8am. All players MUST be invited to the tryouts. An invitation to the tryout is based on recommendations from scouts in the area code network. The player profile gets sent to the area code office and is then forwarded to the regional director, who then makes his recommendations on whether a player is to be invited to the tryout. In addition, the player’s profile will be input into a database accessed by Student Sports and Area Code staff, so that players can be notified on any area code updates. A spot on any of the teams is based on the performance of the athlete at an Area Code Tryout. The scouts conducting the tryouts will assess the players and be the sole decision makers for the roster. The team selection is made after the tryouts.
The Fourth Annual Major League Baseball symposium will take place on August 6th at the Long Beach Marriott. At this event, players will have an opportunity to meet with scouts from all 30 Major League Teams, along with scouts from the Major League Scouting Bureau. A panel of MLB Scouting Directors will inform the players and their families about the MLB Amateur Draft, life in the minors and the communication between scouts and families.
The 22nd annual playing of the Area Code Baseball games will be held on August 5-10, 2008 @ Blair Field in Long Beach, California. This year, teams will compete with players from around the nation with the Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and Washington Nationals, bringing teams back in 2008. The Washington Nationals Area Code Staff will be Ryan Fox, Aaron Horrocks, Bill Stubbs, Frank Ambrozic, Larry Minaker, Dave Wainhouse, Dave Smart and Ron Hall.