Flynt can't spark interest

Sporting News, The, Sept 11, 2000 by Kevin Baxter

"Hard-throwing lefthander with good control and a sharp curveball seeks major league club with pennant aspirations and a weak bullpen. Will accept long road trips and low pay.

"Contact Will Flynt, Saltillo, Mexico."

OK, so Flynt, 32, hasn't taken out any personal ads just yet. But it may come to that. If leading the Mexican League in wins and ranking in the top three in strikeouts and innings pitched during the regular season wasn't enough to get a call in the middle of the current pitching drought, maybe it's time to try a different approach.

"I am still hoping ... for that chance to prove that I am a big-league pitcher," says Flynt, who won 14 of 18 decisions with a 2.68 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 174.1 innings with the Saltillo Saraperos. "I would play anywhere ... if I could get a shot at the big leagues."

That probably won't happen any time soon, which highlights the gap between scouting directors' oft-repeated pledge to scour the earth in search of talent and their practice of passing over players in foreign countries once they are old enough to shave. Calls to a number of teams turned up just one scout who had heard of Flynt, despite a career season in a league considered on par with Class AAA.

Even the Colorado Rockies, who have a formal working agreement with Saltillo, couldn't place Flynt's name.

A few years ago, that would have been a source of frustration. But after playing nine seasons of professional baseball in five countries, Flynt seems content with his lot.

"Now I realize that's the way it is in the States," says Flynt, who is American. "The U.S. doesn't really care about winning. They are trying to develop players. I have proven myself as one of the top lefties around, I am still a quality pitcher. But they don't want anybody above 20. I have other places where I can play and earn a living."

Like Japan. Scouts from the Japanese League came to see Flynt earlier this month, and contract negotiations could begin soon.

Matt Slater, assistant director of scouting for the Dodgers, says he could see a team other than his bringing Flynt north for the stretch drive, if Flynt can help them at the major-league level.

"Not many teams are going to bring a player up from Mexico just to play in the minor leagues," Slater says.

Flynt wouldn't have it any other way.

"I am a player, not a prospect," he says. "Give me the ball or don't hire me."