JUPITER, Fla. – Working as the Kansas City Royals’ Midwest
Regional Scouting Supervisor, it is Mitch Webster’s job to find the top players
in the country, snatch them up on Draft Day, sign them and get them started
moving through the Royals’ minor league system.
The Royals did sign 21 of their top 22 selections from the
2010 Draft, including No. 4 overall pick shortstop Christian Colon.
Webster, a former Major League outfielder, is good at what
he does, and he spent last week at the Perfect Game WWBA World Championship
keeping an eye on who he hopes will be the Royals’ stars of the future.
“It was good,” Webster said of the time he spent at the
World Championship. “It was good to measure the guys out of our region and
compare them to guys from all over the country. It just gives you a better
overall picture.”
The Royals’ farm system is growing in stature and gaining
respect thanks to the players Webster and other organizational scouts are able
to identify at top events like the World Championship.
“We’ve all got names of players who we want to see and get
as many looks as you can,” Webster said. “It’s very beneficial to be doing that
no matter where you’re doing it at. To get here in this good warm-weather
climate is really beneficial to the northern tier guys, especially.”
Webster played 13 seasons in the Major Leagues with the
Toronto Blue Jays, Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates
and Los Angeles Dodgers and was a career .263 hitter.
His most productive seasons were 1986 and 1987 with the
Expos. He hit .290 and stole 36 bases in 151 games in ’86, and hit .281 with 15
home runs and 33 stolen bases in 156 games in ’87.
Webster worked as a scout in the Dodgers organization for 14
years before joining the Royals in 2009.
He’s thrilled to still be working in baseball, but is
disappointed the good times have not exactly started to roll in KC just yet.
“No, it’s not fun yet because we haven’t won yet. When we
win, it’ll be fun,” Webster said. “I feel like we’re on the right road to do
that and we just need to keep adding championship quality players.
“We’ve got some work to do and we want to win a ring, and
that’s what we’re geared to do. So, right now it’s not all that fun but it will
be fun when we win.”