JUPITER RIDE-ALONG

Perfect Game’s World Wood Bat World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., has long been one of the biggest events on both the recruiting and scouting calendar. For scouts, its impact is clear: it’s the biggest and best fall event, drawing premium players around the country to one place for a weekend.

That used to be the draw for college coaches as well. But as the recruiting process has sped up, it has become rare for high-end players to be uncommitted going into the fall of their senior year or, in many cases, their junior year. Still, dozens of college coaches come to the event every year to watch their commits and the uncommitted players that do participate.

PG’s decision a few years ago to move its WWBA Freshman World Championship to the same weekend in nearby West Palm Beach gives coaches another event to see players and many split time between the two tournaments. But baseball’s new recruiting calendar, which went into effect in August, shrunk the fall evaluation period. With less time to go out on the road, the question was would the Jupiter/West Palm Beach double bill still be the crown jewel of the fall? The answer seemed to be “yes,”