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23 BAYAREANEWSGROUP PLAY BALL THE GAME Thescout-playerrelationship isn't what it once was. Scouts still beat the bushes and unearth gems, but t he y d on 't carr y f at billfolds in their back pockets and sign players on the spot. The number of showcases, tournaments, scouts and cross-checkers makes it im - possible to keep a talented hitter or power arm submerged for long. And the decision to draft a player is now an organizationwide affair. Teams still list "signing scouts," but that amounts to a symbolic tip of the wide-brimmed hat. If Texas is your region, and your organization takes a kid out of Abilene Christian, then you're the signing scout — even if you weren't in the room when the ink hit the contract. Even in the rare instance when a scout and player maintain their relationship, there are trades and free agency and nontendered con - tracts. The days of Robin Yount, Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, who played their entire careers for one team, are long gone. There aren't many scouts who become titans like George Geno - vese, who counted Bobby Bonds, Gary Matthews, Garry Maddox, George Foster, Jack Clark, Chili Davis, Dave Kingman, Royce Clay - ton and Matt Williams among the 44 players he signed to reach the major leagues. Genovese, who died in Novem - ber at the age of 93, organized travel ball teams before they be- came widespread, and furnished equipment to players who didn't have any of their own. Matthews told MLB.com that Genovese gave him his first pair of spikes, and he stayed in touch with him through - out their lives. "I don't know if we have enough time to go over all the stuff that George Genovese has done, not just for me, but also for a lot of players, from George Fos - ter to Dave Kingman," Matthews told MLB.com. "He's a big reason why I was in the major leagues, to be quite frank. He'd stick by you and work out with you. He has a special place in my heart." The amateur ranks are a different world now. Most scouts will write up players and advocate for the ones they like. They might even stand up and passionately campaign, as Giants cross-check - er Doug Mapson once did for a closed-stanced first baseman with an aluminum-bat swing out of the University of Texas named Brandon Belt. But once the players sign, the scouts scatter to the next show - case or high school game. They aren't there to see the stalk break through or the fruit set. For many players, though, there is no forgetting that tingle of anticipation the first time they heard that a professional baseball scout had come to watch them, or the first time they shook some - one's hand and bumped a knuckle against one of those big-ass rings. There is no forgetting the first person in baseball who believed in your talent. Especially when nobody else did. FORMERGIANTSCATCHER Bengie Molina was one of those players. Scouts passed him over twice in the draft. At Arizona Western College, he was a pitcher, outfield - er and occasional shortstop who had a quick bat, but his foot speed could be timed with a sundial instead of a stopwatch. After returning home to Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, and playing in a few semipro games for a local club, he quit the sport he loved with one symbolic act. He knotted the laces of his cleats together and flung them high in the tangled power lines. But a scout from the Angels, Ray Poitevint, happened to see Molina line a base hit during that last semipro game. And Poitevint happened to be sitting next to Gladys Matta, Bengie's mother and the family matriarch. Poitevint had come to Vega Alta to work out Bengie's younger broth - er, Jose, a catcher with a strong throwing arm. He agreed to take a look at Bengie, too. Poitevint had seen enough players overcome marginal tools. The old scout once signed a Hall of Famer, Eddie Murray, but he was much prouder of another signee, Enos Cabell, who made it to the big leagues through force of will and fashioned a respectable career. "Scouts are trained to look for flaws, and when they see one, they'll just pass and go to the next guy," Poitevint said. "We're always looking for perfection." So Bengie borrowed a pair of Jose's cleats. He put on a tremen - dous round of batting practice. And when Poitevint asked him to get into a crouch and make a few throws to second base, he did so without hesitation — even though he'd never caught before. Four days later, he was on a plane to the Angels' minor league complex in Arizona. His bonus check, after taxes, was less than $800. He ended up playing a dozen seasons in the big leagues, winning two Gold Gloves, playing in two World Series and win - ning one with the 2002 Angels while counting Jose as one of his teammates. He also became the first of the three Molina brothers to reach the majors. The siblings, Cainmadehis major league pitching debut in August 2005 in San Francisco. He was the youngest player in the National League that year. BAY AREA NEWS GROUP ARCHIVES; OPPOSITE: JOSIE LEPE; NEXT SPREAD: ASSOCIATED PRESS