Look at this image. 23,133.
When Tina Nunez shared this in December 2024, it marked her son Nasim as the 23,133rd human being to ever debut in Major League Baseball. I am incredibly grateful to the Nunez family for allowing us to use this photo to talk about the reality of the “long road.” Our relationship with them over the years has shown us that while the destination is elite, the journey has to be grounded in something deeper than just “stats.”
To understand the scale of what your child is chasing, you have to look at the 15.5 Billion.
Reduction to the Ridiculous: The Great Human Filter
Since the inception of the Major Leagues in 1876, an estimated 15.5 billion human beings have walked this earth. 15,500,000,000 souls have lived, worked, and died in the MLB era.
If you stood every one of those people shoulder-to-shoulder, the line would wrap around the Earth 380 times. Now, look at that canvas again. At the time of this photo, out of that literal ocean of humanity, only 23,133 had ever been good enough to step onto a Big League diamond.
• The 1-in-670,000 Reality: For every 670,000 people born since 1876, only one becomes an MLB player.
• The Stadium Mirage: If you filled every seat in a Major League stadium (40,000 people), the statistical probability says that zero people in those stands will ever make it. You would have to fill 17 entire stadiums just to find one Nasim Nunez.
When we talk about “The Show,” we are talking about a selection process so brutal it reduces billions of people to a list that fits on a single wall.
The Freak Factor: Why the “Multi-Sport Athlete” Wins
This is where the pressure often breaks the player. Parents see these odds and think they need to “specialize” early. They think 12 months of baseball is the answer. It’s not.
To be the 23,133rd person in history, you have to be a physical freak of nature.
* The 5’11” and Under Warrior: You need a “glitch in the system”—a twitch and lateral explosiveness that usually comes from playing basketball, soccer, or track.
• The 6’0″ and Above Athlete: Height is just a frame; you need the raw athleticism of a football player or a swimmer to fill it with the kind of “freakish” metrics that set you apart from the billions.
Real athleticism is “translated” from other sports. When a kid plays multiple sports, they aren’t “falling behind” in baseball; they are building the engine that will eventually allow them to become an outlier.
The Long Road: It’s Not a Sprint
The road to 23,133 is a marathon, and the “rabbit” rarely wins.
This is why when I show up to a high school game, I set up the FlightScope and the Stalker Pro II. Pull out the stopwatch to capture hitters’ home to first and catcher’s pop times. It isn’t to put more pressure on your kid—it’s to provide a compass. We use data to identify:
1. Where they are: Their raw athleticism today.
2. Where they can be: Their ultimate ceiling.
3. The Roadmap: The slow, patient development required to get there.
The Five Pillars of the Parent-Athlete Journey
If you want your child to have a shot at defying the 15.5 billion-to-one odds, you must provide the environment where these five traits can grow and flourish:
• Patience: Development is not a straight line. It is a slow, quiet climb. You cannot microwave a Major Leaguer.
• Development: Skill is important, but athleticism is the foundation. Let them run, jump, and play other games.
• Fearlessness: A child who is afraid to fail because of parental pressure will never have the heart to stand in the box against 98mph. They must be allowed to fail.
• Humility: The game (and the data) will humble them. They need a parent who provides a safe harbor when the world tells them they aren’t “fast enough” yet.
• Doggedness: This is the “dog” in the player. It can’t be coached, and it can’t be forced by a parent. It is born when a kid loves the game so much, they refuse to stop.
The Reality:
Nasim Nunez didn’t just “make it.” He defied the history of the human race. But he didn’t get there because he was pressured at age 10; he got there because he had the freakish athleticism, the doggedness to keep going when others quit, and a family that was willing to support not only his wins, but his failures as well while helping guide him through them.
Bottom Line:
Support them. Let them have fun. Let them be athletes. Because the door is narrow, and the only ones who make it through are the ones who still love the game when the lights get the brightest.
23,133. It’s a long road. Let’s make sure they enjoy the journey.
About the Author
Rod White is a veteran scout and the National Scouting Director for the National Scouting Bureau (NSB). A graduate of Scout School with the Toronto Blue Jays, Rod has served in scouting roles within the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies organizations and is a key selection committee member and scout for the MLB HBCU Swingman Classic.
Most recently, as the Head Baseball Coach at Dillard University, Rod led the program to unprecedented goals and a .660 winning percentage during his tenure. An alumnus and former assistant coach of Alabama State University, Rod has dedicated his career to the elevation of the game at every level.
As the founder of NSB, NSB ScoutWire, the ScoutsEye App, and the We Play Baseball Podcast, Rod blends a traditional scout’s “eye test” with modern data-driven analytics to identify “fast-track” prospects. His mission remains clear: ensuring that all baseball talent receives the professional visibility and evaluation they deserve, with a steadfast commitment to minority and HBCU players.