Leaving no stone unturned

While the signing of 17-year-old New Zealand fast-pitch softball player Te Wera Bishop may ultimately go down as little more than a curiosity — the odds, after all, are against him — his signing is still a fascinating example of the lengths to which the Red Sox will go to acquire talent.
The team’s Pacific Rim scouting coordinator, Jon Deeble, checked in last night via e-mail with the story of how the team found Bishop, and it’s an interesting one. Here’s what Deeble wrote:

“We have been following Te Wera (Beau) for a while now mainly through video and two weeks ago I was in New Zealand managing the under-17 Australian (baseball) team in a world championship qualifier. It was my intention to work him out whilst I was over there.
“I was halfway thru a game when I went to the bathroom and saw this kid throwing in the park adjacent to the field. I was walking towards these two kids throwing the baseball and as I was walking I was saying to myself, ‘Wow, that kid has a great arm.’ It was so smooth and throwing over a long distance. I said to myself, ‘No that couldn’t be him could it?’ So I went up to him and asked him his name. He told me Beau Bishop. I said, ‘You’re the kid I’m looking for.’
“I was at a junior softball tournament the week before and had heard a lot about this kid but he wasn’t playing. His younger brother was.
“I worked him out and although raw, he should the tools we look for in signing a player –  he had a good arm, strong with carry, he is a catcher, he threw the ball well to second and he showed a very good ability to catch and frame the ball behind the plate. Although his swing was built to hit a softball he showed good raw power and hit some balls out of the park during batting practice.
“He showed me three tools we look for and although this will be a very hard adjustment for him, he showed aptitude and made some good adjustments. We need to be patient with him as he will take some time, he is a big strong kid who has never lifted a weight.
“He will go to spring training and extended spring. He will then go home to New Zealand for two weeks before attending the MLB Australian Academy, where he will get 40-plus games and at least 150 at-bats. He needs experience in hitting a baseball and also catching it. It’s amazing how he catches softballs at great speeds over 40 feet. Hopefully he can make the adjustments over 60 feet with a baseball.”

While softball remains more popular than baseball in New Zealand, the two sports have talked about joining forces to develop talent. Bishop could end up being a face of this movement, should he have some success in the Red Sox system.