By By BRUCE HIXON – Sports Editor
More than 30 area participants took part in the First Annual Most Valuable Player Baseball Camp held at Jefferson Davis Community College last week.
The clinic was for players age six to 18. Players were placed in different age groups.
Among the camp instructors included Chicago White Sox scout Warren Hughes, San Diego Padres scout Bob Filotei, Los Angeles Dodgers minor league pitcher Alvin Hayes and Faulkner State College assistant coach Nick Brister.
Hughes has been a scout for 13 years, all of which have been with the White Sox. Hughes covers most of the southeastern United States including Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi.
Hughes said there are a lot of things scouts look for in position players.
Hughes said there are occasionally players he will take notice for the first time at clinics such as the MVP Camp and follow their progress.
Filotei, who also covers the southeast, just finished his 13th year of scouting, the last four of which have been spent with the Padres. Filotei scouted the nine previous years for the Cincinnati Reds.
As far as pitchers are concerned, Filotei said there are a lot of things to study.
Hayes, who played in rookie league level of the minor leagues in 2005, added pitchers need to stay within themselves.
Brister is in his first year of work at Faulkner State and actually succeeded Blevins in that position after he took the head job at JDCC. Brister spent a lot of the camp working with catchers.