Dallas Green and scouting "Head and Heart"

Old school baseball people in the Philadelphia area certainly know the name Dallas Green.  The manager of the 1980 World Champion Phillies was a no nonsense, hard nose kind of manager that demanded a lot from his players.  I guarantee the phrase “players’ manager” was never used in connection with his name.  He also managed briefly with the Yankees and Mets and even was the Cubs Executive Vice President / General Manager from 1981-1987.  Currently, Dallas Green is a senior advisor to Phillies General Manager Rubin Amaro.

He recently was brought into the TV booth and was interviewed by two Phillies announcers.  They touched on a number of topics but talked at length about the importance of scouting in major league organizations.  He said a lot of things that were informative but here are a few lines of what stood out to me.

I can send my wife to a game and in five minutes she can tell who the best players on the field are.  You don’t need scouts for that.  What you need scouts for is to read “head and heart.”   

“Head and heart” means a lot of things that, if explained fully, would take up a lot of print space.  However, If you want more specifics, read/re-read the following posts.  The concept of “head and heart” is all over these and many others on this site as well.

• What is meant by a player’s make-up?
• The forbidden conversation.
• The mentality of a thief. 
• Show up, Suit up, Shut up, and Play Hard!

If you want more, check out the Make-up, Scouting, and/or Mental side categories of posts. If you are a player or a parent of a player who wants to play beyond high school, it’s in your best interest to read up on this subject.  Especially since “head and heart” is, along with physical skills, what the scouts are ultimately judging.