There are two types of tryout camps - open and closed. Open camps are just that - open to anyone who views himself as a pro prospect. An organization may run as many as a dozen of these each year. It typically gets the word out by running an advertisement in the local papers or by telling high school and college coaches. If you have written to a ball club asking for a tryout, they will notify you about any open tryout camp in your area.
As you can imagine, open camps draw hundreds of players, sometimes as many as 500 in one day. The camp usually starts at 9 a.m. and runs all day.
I once ran a camp at which 99 pitchers showed up. Since I wanted each kid to pitch at least one inning in a game situation, the camp lasted until dark. Open tryouts can mean a long day at the ballpark; with a lot of nervous waiting around to show your stuff.
Although you no doubt dream of being offered a contract on the spot, realistically, your purpose for attending a tryout camp is to let the scouts know that you exist, that you have some professional talent, and that they should start a follow-up card on you. If you accomplish those goals, you can consider the camp a success. Most kids who attend tryout camps couldn't sign a contract anyway, because they're still in school. (There are strict rules and regulations covering who can be signed and when. See Appendix A for more in- formation, including selected rules from the Baseball Blue Book.)
A closed tryout camp is by invitation only, and only select players are asked to attend. The tryout may be held at a major league stadium; others are staged at local college or high school fields. Wherever they are held, scouts 'try to keep news of them quiet to avoid attracting crowds.
Scouts usually extend invitations to closed tryout camps through the mail; sometimes a scout will have verbally invited you first. Such camps are normally restricted to between 12 and 30 players; you can assume if you're invited that the scouts are serious about you as a potential prospect.
Normally, the scout will have seen you play several times during the season, or has seen you at an open tryout camp. The closed session is another opportunity to compare you to other top prospects. Occasionally, a scout will, invite a ballplayer who's been released by another organization and still wants to play pro ball. Or he may invite a player who looked good last year but suffered a serious injury, to see whether that person can still be considered a prospect. Sometimes a local college coach recommends a senior whom he feels has been overlooked by the scouts - that player may be invited as well.
Closed camps rarely run as long as open camps, simply because there are fewer players present for the scouts to observe. The activities, however, are typically the same: You can expect to be tested on your ability to throw, run, hit and field. In fact, in the closed camp setting you're likely to get an even more extensive workout.
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