Dan Cevette
New York Scouting Director

PBR New York was fortunate enough to pick the brain of St. John's Pitching Coach and Recruiter Coach Corey Muscara.

The million dollar question from parents is what do schools look for, and that answer is not as easy explained as one might think, Here's what one of the hardest recruiters in the Northeast has to say about it.

Coach Muscara: To me Make-Up is key. We want guys who want to compete, and are willing to do all the little things necessary to find ways to better the program.

PBR: What is St. John's recruiting philosophy?

Coach Muscara: At St. John's our player recruitment philosophy is simple, we are looking for hard nosed, blue collar athletes that can play baseball at a high level.

PBR: Let's talk about the player, what tools are you looking for?

Coach Muscara: Athletically we are obviously looking for the most talented players we can find and look for the five tool players, but Make-Up is the sixth tool that can't always be quantified. Guys that are not afraid of failure and that only think about being successful. Guys that move runners, work their ab's, run every play out...All of those small things are so big to me.

PBR: Any message you have picked up while on the road recruiting prospective student athletes?

Coach Muscara: A very smart man once told me talent alone can win you regular season championships, but Make-Up wins you the tournaments.

PBR: I know your very passionate about baseball, how do you feel about the game?

Coach Muscara: It's such a beautiful game because you can go to a D1, D2, D3, or Juco but still get drafted by an MLB team and develop into a pro. You can get drafted and make a big pay day before you ever play a MLB game because the game is about knowing how to grind, development, and dealing with failure. Former MLB Manager Ron Gardenhire said it best in my opinion " there are only two type of people in this game, those that have been humbled, and those that are about to be humbled!"

PBR: Does this sort of philosophy help you when going after kids?

Coach Muscara: I want to find kids that have the inner belief that they are going to be great and that have zero fear of failing. If you can find kids that have that and can buy into the structure of the program than you got a player we want.

PBR: How do you feel about PBR New York?

Coach Muscara: I like PBR as a whole all across the United States, and I am super excited PBR is now in the Empire State. It allows players from within NY to compete against each other, its very cost effective for families so they don't have to travel down south to be seen and spend lots of money. It allows College Coaches to see how the players stack up against all the best players New York has to offer.  With the absence of the Empire State Games this is really the only vehicle for the best players to compete against the best players in your State. They do game formats which are very helpful getting to see that competition.

PBR: What do you look for in Pitchers?

Coach Muscara: When I look for pitchers I look first and foremost at how he competes. Does he give his team a chance to win with his mound presence? Does he hold the running game in check? Does he command the Strike Zone? What about his off speed pitches? Than I look at their body type and arm action. I try to determine his upside and how clean his delivery is, does he have any signs of injury? Is his arm clean and controlled? I also look for hitters reactions to the pitches stuff. Is the hitter comfortable in the box? Is he making good swings on all pitches? Does he barrel up the pitches consistently? Coach Blankmeyer always says that there are all different kinds of animals in a Zoo, and in order to have a complete pitching staff you need to have guys with different looks, different stuff, and that can attack different hitters.