The wide world of anonymous sources - a discussion.

As a "tipster," I guess I mean. You mean to tell me that parents on your beat didn't gossip with the media? From injuries to dissension in the ranks, there are always a couple of parents who have a pretty good pulse on the team.

 

Right, so you approach the conversations with a certain amount of skepticism, of course. No different than handling it with any other source.

 

I'm sure it depends on the program, too.

 

What about when it comes to college sports, when the assistant coaches tell you that they're preparing for a visit this coming weekend from the player ranked No. 1 in his high school class?

That's news (to me, and probably to most fans), and you won't be able to get it on the record because of NCAA guidelines.

So what do you do?

 

That's exactly what I do with them.

 

But what about scouts? No baseball scout I've run into wanted to be quoted by name. It was always, an American or National League scout said about Player X. Of course you have opinions from the manager, GM, player development, etc. I have never written a story with a scout's name in it.

 

I can see why in that situation it can be a problem. But what about if a scout is giving his assessment on some particular pitchers in the league like "Zebra looks like he is fully recovered from rotator cuff surgery because he has that zip back on his fastball."? Or "Orville has one of the best curveballs in the league." Does a scout have some kind of agenda in those situations?