Scott Sharp began playing organized baseball at the Little League level around age 7 in Finksburg. One of his first youth teams was called the Orioles.

When he was older, he would watch the Major League version of the Birds at Memorial Stadium on 33rd Street.

He was on hand for the last regular-season game in 1982 when the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Orioles for the American League East title, and he was in the stands the next year when Baltimore pitcher Mike Boddicker shut down the Chicago White Sox in the playoffs on the way to the team's last World Series title.

Sharp, a 1990 graduate of Liberty High School, loved to watch and play baseball, but he was not quite good enough to make it to The Show.

After a successful career at George Washington University he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds and topped out as a catcher at the Class AA level — two stops from the big time in Cincinnati.

But while many of his college and pro teammates have gravitated to the 9-to-5 world of work, Sharp has stayed involved in pro baseball.

After scouting for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers, the Sykesville native is now director of player development for the Kansas City Royals.

He joined the Royals in 2006 as assistant director of player development and was elevated to his current post in August 2008.

Sharp is in charge of nearly 220 players in the minor league system of the American League team. He oversees a budget in the millions -- taking advantage of his degree in accounting from GWU.

"I always wanted to play in the major leagues. When I was little I would check box scores and look at the teams," said Sharp. "That was the pre-cursor of putting teams together, which essential is what this job is.

"It's 24 hours a day, every day of the year," he said. "The information flow is constant. You have to be a good listener. You have to have a plan and not deviate from that plan. It is a long process."

If a Royals' minor league player must be released, promoted, demoted or suspended — that decision comes through Sharp, who keeps in contact via game reports, calls and e-mails with eight minor league managers in the Kansas City system.

Dayton Moore, general manager for the Royals, played college ball at George Mason (Va.) University and covered the mid-Atlantic region as a scout for the Atlanta Braves. Many of the people he has hired in scouting and player development with the Royals have ties to Maryland and Virginia.

"(Sharp) is a superb evaluator of talent," Moore said June 22, while watching the Royals-Nationals game in Washington. "He is a non-emotional thinker, which is important in this job.

"He has a terrific way of leading players," he said.

Two of Sharp's mentors are John Barr and Ed Creech. Barr, who worked for the Orioles as scouting director 20 years ago, is assistant to the general manager in scouting with the San Francisco Giants, while Creech is a senior advisor with the Giants.

Barr and Creech hired Sharp as a scout for the Dodgers.

"Scott has the ability and talent to be anything in this game," Barr said. "Do I think he could be a general manager at some point in time? Yes, I do. I root for him. I hope he does well."

"You could tell from the start he was destined for higher places," said Creech.

Minor leagues are the lifeblood of many major league clubs.

That's especially true for the Royals. Dubbed a "small-market franchise" by most industry leaders, the Royals can usually not afford to go on the market each winter to buy free agents.

Success in the minor leagues is "paramount" Sharp said in a recent phone interview from Arizona, where he was supervising rookie ball in the Arizona League for many first-year players.

"For us to be successful, conservatively, 60 percent of our players have to be homegrown. I would almost have to say 100 percent of the skill (catcher, second, short and center field positions) have to be homegrown," he said. "You can't go out and buy that type of player. We have to develop it ourselves."

That keeps Sharp busy, though he still manages to throw batting practice while visiting minor league clubs. He lives in suburban Kansas City with his wife, Kimberly, and two young sons.

Grover Sharp, his dad, remembers when Scott was playing in an all-star game in Hampstead when he was 11 or 12.

"People started coming up to me and said he was something special," Grover Sharp said. "They said, 'He has got a future in baseball. The least you can hope for is a college scholarship.' "

Grover Sharp, a one-time police lieutenant, said his wife, Dianne, would often take Scott to Memorial Stadium to see the Orioles.

Scott Sharp played in the Brooks Robinson All-Star game at Memorial Stadium while in high school, and got an autographed bat from Robinson, according to his father.

While in high school, he was recruited by Towson and James Madison universities and several other colleges.

"But he fell in love with GW," Grover Sharp said.

Scott, a strong math student at Liberty, was interested in majoring in engineering in college, but baseball coaches convinced him that would be too demanding while playing Division I baseball.

His father suggested accounting, and pointed out that if baseball didn't work out, he could get a job as an accountant for the FBI.

So far, though, Sharp has made a career of baseball.

As a minor leaguer, he played against such future stars as Kevin Millwood (Orioles), Andruw Jones (White Sox) and Vladimir Guerrero (Rangers).

Now, he's trying to get as many quality players in the Royals' system to the big time in Kansas City.

"It is a long process. You have to be fortunate that guys do not get hurt," Sharp said.

Sharp said it was not difficult adjusting from playing pro ball to scouting — or from scouting to player development.

"I played so I feel I can relate to them," he said of Kansas City minor leaguers. "I always put myself in their shoes on how I would want to be spoken to."

SCOTT SHARP FILE

Current job: director of player development (minor leagues), Kansas City Royals, since August 2008.

Hometown: Sykesville.

High school: Liberty.

College: George Washington University.

Drafted: Cincinnati Reds, 25th round in 1994.

Pro career: 1994-97, mostly as a catcher.

Playing experience: pro ball in the Cincinnati farm system; reached Class AA.

Residence: Lee's Summit, Mo.

Family: wife Kimberley and sons Hayden and Myers.

Did you know? Sharp was L.A. Dodgers' scout of the year in 2000. The first player he signed, Eric Junge, made his big league debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2002. Sharp was also a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers.

(As seen in July 4 issue, titled, "Sharp eyes on the diamond")

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