Cliff Terracuso recently resigned from his dream job as a professional baseball scout for the Texas Rangers, to take on a position within DS Sports Ventures as the President of Scouting and Program Development.
DS Sports Ventures has scaled to tremendous growth over the last 8 months, now owning and operating 10 companies focused in baseball and softball. One of the most sought-after companies under the umbrella is BaseballCloud. BaseballCloud has developed groundbreaking analytics software created to allow amateur baseball players, coaches and scouts the ability to access, interpret and understand data on one centralized platform. This allows for enhanced player performance and development for the amateur as well as for coaches. BaseballCloud has the ability to collect personal player data from all forms of analytical hardware outlets which then incorporates their algorithm to “scrub” the data into a comprehensive format.
Cliff met Kevin Davidson, CEO of DSSV, in the summer of 2010. While at Nova Southeastern University as the acting Recruiting Coordinator, Cliff drove to Orlando to evaluate KD’s Collegiate Summer League Team and the two hit it off. Well before KD’s plan went into motion, the two connected through admiration for the game and mutual respect of knowledge for the skill.
“The moment I met KD, I knew there was something unique and special about this guy. He was a ball of energy with clear vision and way ahead of his time,” says Cliff.
In 2017, KD and his, now CTO, Corey Whiting started to ask Cliff a plethora of questions regarding the scouting eye. Digging deep to hyper focus the overlooked role that data was playing at that time. KD knew there was a gap between the data and how the player utilized those facts. To understand the evaluation process from a professional was the only way to go and Cliff, unbeknownst to him, was the first scout to help lay the foundation for what would become BaseballCloud.
As Cliff witnessed over the years, the scouting industry has changed. More teams are embracing the data influx by learning how to grow with it versus fight an older mentality. They are going with a model generated by data and analytics to improve their calls in the boardroom for exceptional performance on the field. According to Cliff, “we use to walk into meetings and talk about players, their tools, makeup and what it would take for this particular player to make it to the big leagues. When the data revolution appeared, we would then listen to an analyst talk about spin rate, spin axis, extension, launch angle and other hot data buzzwords that now formats out a player’s framework.” As he walked onto fields, he would now look for data capturing machines installed and which scouts were using their high definition digital cameras. As he did his research to remain on point with the curve, BaseballCloud was being mentioned continuously.
Cliff then began to understand what this company was building was remarkable and quickly realized the data novice can start to become an expert in digesting what they never knew they weren’t given. There was a disconnect of how much information was given to the scouts in the field; the guys driving 50,000 miles, spending 100 plus nights in a hotel, hopping from plane to plane to go watch players that were not armed properly with data.
Now over 3 years later, KD knew it was time to seriously ask Cliff to join his team. Cliff states, “When KD approached me and offered me a position I was blown away. I told him I wanted to be a bridge between data, the scout and coaches by being invested in how to articulate the interpretation of BaseballCloud’s processed information. I knew I could give an extra tool of understanding to the scouts so they can go out in the field, continue doing what they love to do in evaluation and use their gut on players.”
On July 19, 2019 Cliff began his new role within DSSV forging ahead on a new endeavor. KD states, “To get a guy like Cliff on board single handedly takes BaseballCloud to another level. He is one of the most respected baseball minds in the game. His track record speaks for itself, not just at the professional level, at all levels of the game. I don’t know
many guys that have made as big of an impact on as many people in the game then Cliff. We are beyond excited to welcome him aboard.”
Since he has walked away from his MLB organization, some of the most talented names in baseball have provided their best wishes for Terracuso. Brian Williams, Texas Ranger Cross Checker, says, “Cliff brings a multitude of experience to DS Sports Ventures. He has set himself apart as an evaluator and instructor at all levels of baseball. As a college Recruiting Coordinator, he was one of the first to identify players such as JD Martinez, Mike Firers and Miles Mikolas. As a scout for the Rangers he was a model of what we expect in terms of communication, work ethic and evaluation ability.”
Miles Mikolas, All Star Pitcher St Louis Cardinals, explains, “From day one when I met Cliffy I could tell he lives for baseball, and was always willing to go the extra mile. If there was a way for our team to get better, he would go out there and find it.”
Lastly, Kevin Schnall, Head Coach Coastal Carolina 2016 NCAA D1 National Champion, states, “I have had the privilege to develop a very positive relationship with Cliff over the years. What I respect and appreciate the most about him is his relentless work ethic and positive attitude. He is thorough; I’d seek his thoughts and/or evaluation of a player as regularly as possible and his opinion would carry a lot of weight. Cliff also has elite communication skills and will make an immediate impact!”
The outpour of excitement for Cliff to forge his new journey has been tremendous and extremely humbling. “Leaving Scouting is the hardest decision of my life,” Cliff explains. “I worked extremely hard to get into the industry and then earned respect by going about my job the professional way. In turn I was honored by my peers to win the 2017 Scout of the Year in South Florida at the Dynasty Games, a crowning moment for me. I thank the Rangers for granting me my dream and becoming my family. You have allowed me to succeed and now advance with grace into my new role.”
The Terracuso File
9 Year MLB Baseball Scout
13 Years NCAA D1, D2, NAIA & Junior College Recruiting Coordinator 10 Major Leaguers Coached
1st Drafted Player became a Major Leaguer
