21 replies to this topic

[mabrowndog]

Courtesy of lurker RSNKiwi from Auckland, New Zealand. Thanks for the tip, Robert!

link

Kiwi teenager Beau Bishop has secured a dream opportunity, signing with Major League Baseball franchise the Boston Red Sox.

Bishop had an opportunity to trial in Auckland in front of six Major League scouts last month, with the Red Sox deciding the young softballer could have a career in baseball.

New Zealand under 16 coach Aaron Campbell says Bishop has a good shot at making the big time.

Campbell says not many people want to be a catcher because it's the toughest position to play.

The Red Sox will officially announce the signing this week.

FWIW, his U-16 coach is the younger brother of ex-Blue Jays infield prospect Scott Campbell.

[soxhop411]

does anyone know Anything about this guy?

cant find any stats/vids on him by doing a google search?

[Kull]

does anyone know Anything about this guy?

cant find any stats/vids on him by doing a google search?

It's not quite the same as the two guys pitching contest winners from India, but a softball player from New Zealand isn't likely to make the Sea Dogs, much less show up on the major league roster.

[RSNKiwi]

does anyone know Anything about this guy?

cant find any stats/vids on him by doing a google search?

Five and half years and my first post...

Sorry, no stats, but:

Beau Bishop comes from a fast pitch softball background. It should be noted that New Zealand punches well above its weight in fast pitch softball at the international level, with the National Team, the Black Sox (to match the All Blacks in rugby, the Tall Blacks in basketball and the Black Caps in cricket), winning the International Softball Federation World Champs in 1976, 1984, 1996, 2000 and 2004, and coming in second in 1988, 1992 and 2009:
http://www.softball....al Records.html

We can see that Beau rose very quickly in the New Zealand national softball world:
http://www.lionsclub...9999&clubid=429

I would imagine that with baseball being such a marginal sport in New Zealand, Beau has not been playing it for more than a year, though he obviously has a lot of raw talent, and there are enough similarities between fast pitch softball and baseball that many of his softball skills are transferable to baseball. Hopefully those shared skills and innate raw talent can be developed with good professional baseball coaching in the Sox organization.

[RSNKiwi]

It's not quite the same as the two guys pitching contest winners from India, but a softball player from New Zealand isn't likely to make the Sea Dogs, much less show up on the major league roster.

That may very well be true, but one former New Zealand softball international, Travis Wilson, did make it as far as AAA in the Braves organization:
http://www.baseball-...id=wilson002tra

[Lose Remerswaal]

That may very well be true, but one former New Zealand softball international, Travis Wilson, did make it as far as AAA in the Braves organization:
http://www.baseball-...id=wilson002tra

So he's already ahead of Eri Yoshida?

[Orel Miraculous]

I believe Kottaras played softball for most of his life, too. Should be interesting to watch this guy develop.

[CoRP]

the National Team, the Black Sox (to match the All Blacks in rugby, the Tall Blacks in basketball and the Black Caps in cricket)

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

Pic: (from 2010 Friendship Series, where he was named player of the Final):



link

Edited by wade boggs chicken dinner, 08 February 2011 - 09:56 AM.

[RSNKiwi]

Further update:

http://nz.sports.yah...s-with-red-sox/

Kiwi teenager Beau Bishop has a long road ahead of him before even being considered for Major League Baseball.

Bishop has been signed by the Boston Red Sox after getting an opportunity to trial in front of MLB scouts last month.

Red Sox scout John Deeball says Bishop will head to the US next month for extended spring training before being based on the Gold Coast at an Australian training camp.

Deeball says Bishop will have an idea of whether he's going to play in the major leagues in four or five years.
He says Bishop's strong throwing arm is what stands out.

[SoxScout]

Te Wera Bishop has never played the game, but when scouts from the Boston Red Sox saw him on 3 News last year, they tracked him down and signed him up.

He's now their latest signing.

Number 35, Te Wera Bishop, from Porirua Wellington.

And it's a story that ran on 3 Sport last December that made Red Sox scouts take note.

Today Bishop signed for seven years, and pocketed a six figure fee.

“He's a catcher, and in my reports I put in to Boston I said he has a chance to be a power hitter, to hit the ball over the fence,” says Red Sox scout Jon Deeble.

http://www.3news.co....20/Default.aspx

FWIW, 100,000 New Zealand dollars = 76,940 US dollars

Here is a video interview: http://www.3news.co....13/Default.aspx

Edited by SoxScout, 10 February 2011 - 03:46 AM.

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

I found some statistics for Te Wera Bishop for what appears to be two series in 2010.

Here's a story about his call-up from the Junior Black Sox to the Black Sox in December 2010.

One other related story - one of his teammates on the Black Sox apparently throws "A buck thirty" or 130 km per hour. That would be just north of 80 mph. Assuming the mound is closer than a baseball mound, I would guess that Bishop is used to reacting quickly at the batter's box.

[OttoC]

In U.S. fastpitch softball, the pitching distance is 46 feet, or 76.03% of the distance for baseball, so a batter facing an 80 mph pitch in fastpitch would have the same time to react as a baseball player would facing a 105 mph pitch (roughly speaking as release points haven't been taken into account). Top pitchers in fastpitch can hit 100 mph. I batted against one and I couldn't take a full cut; I had to stand way up in the box with a completely wide-open stance and just wrist-hit. If you stand deep in the box, the ball has too much action on it.

[czar]

Speier also had a writeup on Bishop a few hours ago on EEI.

Deeble, the National Head Coach for Australia’s baseball team in international play, had been tracking Bishop for some time, and was impressed by his bat speed and his actions as a softball catcher. While it might seem strange to make such judgments about a softball player, Deeble suggests that fast pitch softball actually presents an interesting venue in which to observe a player’s actions, particularly defensively.

“It is amazing how hard they throw over 40-45 feet, it looks way faster than baseball and the ball gets on you in a flash,” Deeble wrote in an email. “This kid handles catching the fast pitches with ease.”

So, it didn’t take long for Deeble to be convinced of Bishop’s good hands. But that is not his only tool. The Sox saw a player with plenty of projectable talent, though for obvious reasons, he is extremely raw, and for him to advance in the professional ranks, it will take a great deal of work by both the player and the player development staff to help his transition to a new sport.

That said, the Sox were impressed by the early glimpses of what might be possible for the catcher.

“We have been following Beau for a while now. He is one of the best softballers in [New Zealand]. He is a catcher with good arm strength and real good hands, he shows good raw power,” Deeble wrote. “He needs to make some adjustments both offensive and defensively. He showed in our workouts the ability to make those adjustments quickly.”

[kazuneko]

If he could make it would be a great story. He would almost certainly be the first Maori to ever play in the Majors..

[Dutch_Spaceman]

I've talked about this one with my brother quite a bit, he's a softball pitcher for the Netherlands, and this guy is the highest rated offensive prospect in softball. He has been hitting some of the best softball pitchers in the world and he might be young enough to adjust his swing to baseball. His bat speed and his ability to pick up different types of pitches is already there and so is his power, so i think he'll need some months to adjust and then go on to do well the low minors by the end of this year.

Hope he sticks around longer then Freddy Terkelsen, a danish softballer who was signed by the Angels but quit after a couple of weeks because he didn't like baseball.

[SumnerH]

If he could make it would be a great story. He would almost certainly be the first Maori to ever play in the Majors..

The Sox do have 2 Maori prospects (brothers) who are currently closer to the bigs than Beau, though neither's all that likely to make it:
http://www.soxprospe...anaroa-boss.htm
http://www.soxprospe...anaroa-moko.htm

[Buzzkill Pauley]

The Sox do have 2 Maori prospects (brothers) who are currently closer to the bigs than Beau, though neither's all that likely to make it:
http://www.soxprospe...anaroa-boss.htm
http://www.soxprospe...anaroa-moko.htm

I've thought this for several years, but has there ever, and I mean ever, been a name better suited for the now-batting call than Moko Moanaroa?

I think not. It's smooth like butterscotch pudding. It beats all the Alou's like a red-headed stepchild.

[RSNKiwi]

If he could make it would be a great story. He would almost certainly be the first Maori to ever play in the Majors..

I just finished watching a replay of a recent episode of a sports show produced by Maori TV called Hyundai Code (warning, they promote the show as 'putting the fun back in dysfunctional'). One of the guests on today's show was Beau, who when asked where he sees himself playing in the future, answered catcher and first base. He obviously isn't too familiar yet with the Sox organizational depth chart as far as first base is concerned...I can also say that it may be a wee while yet before he is ready to handle an interview.

[edit for spelling and clarity]

Edited by RSNKiwi, 27 February 2011 - 03:08 AM.

[Puffy]

I just finished watching a replay of a recent episode of a sports show produced by Maori TV called Hyundai Code (warning, they promote the show as 'putting the fun back in dysfunctional'). One of the guests on today's show was Beau, who when asked where he sees himself playing in the future, answered catcher and first base. He obviously isn't too familiar yet with the Sox organizational depth chart as far as first base is concerned...I can also say that it may be a wee while yet before he is ready to handle an interview.

[edit for spelling and clarity]

This is silly - he's 17 years old. He's a long shot to make upper minors, but he'll be 25 at the end of Adrian Gonzalez' contract anyway, so I don't think he's blocked at this stage.

[mabrowndog]

This is silly - he's 17 years old. He's a long shot to make upper minors, but he'll be 25 at the end of Adrian Gonzalez' contract anyway, so I don't think he's blocked at this stage.

I think Kiwi's remark was tongue-in-cheek.

[RSNKiwi]

I think Kiwi's remark was tongue-in-cheek.

Lesson learned: When engaging in cyber communication, keep tongue far removed from cheek. In all seriousness, however, the Sox should be prepared to treat him this spring with the same expectations/precautions that they would afford a kid his age coming to camp for the first time from rural Latin America. He is a very shy and inexperienced youngster heading off into a hugely different world and culture, far from the family and community support he has experienced up to now. He may have an advantage over Latin kids in that he speaks English, but unlike them, he will really be learning how to think and play baseball (the former skill set being of crucial importance for a catcher) for the first time.