Los Angeles Angels scout Chris McAlpin, center, is shown with Cam Bedrosian, left, and Kaleb Cowart, both Georgia high school players that McAlpin signed in 2010 for the Angels.

MOULTRIE — Chris McAlpin has earned a number of honors in the 20 years he has been a scout for the Los Angeles Angels, including being the organization’s scout of the year three times.

But his most recent honor, being named Georgia’s scout of the year, is perhaps his most cherished.

It is voted on by his peers, the 30 other major league scouts who work in the state. He will be recognized at a banquet in November.

“It means a lot when it comes from guys who know you and respect what you do,” said the former Colquitt County High player and current Berlin resident.

McAlpin went to work for the Angels in 2002 as a scout covering Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

He got on board just in time to earn a ring when the Angels beat the San Francisco Giants in the World Series that year.

McAlpin got his first Scout of the Year award from the Angels in 2008.

When he was an area scout, nine of the players he signed reached the major leagues. Over his career, he has seen 23 of the players he helped sign make it to The Show.

In 2010, three of his players – East Coweta pitcher Cam Bedrosian, Marietta outfielder Chevez Clarke and Cook High third baseman Kaleb Cowart – were drafted by the Angels in the first round.

To spend his life involved in the game he loves and respects has been a blessing, said McAlpin, who began playing in the Moultrie Recreation Department’s Farm League.

He later went on to play on a GRPA Pony League state champion team.

“We were lucky because we had a group of men who were coaches whether they had a kid playing or not,” McAlpin said, ticking off the names of Harry and Larry Spires, Steve Fitzgerald, Raymond Lewis, John Jenkins and George Studdard.

“They were there, year-in and year-out,” helping develop young players when McAlpin was a young player.

And one of the most overlooked of the coaches in the 1980s was Bennie Bullard, McAlpin said.

Bullard was a teacher and worked part-time at the recreation department, but was a great influence on a generation of youngsters playing recreation sports.

“He should get more credit,” McAlpin said. “When the (Colquitt County Sports) Hall of Fame was started, he should have been one of the first to go in.

“He was out there every night and knew every kid and every parent.”

Among the players he grew up with were Marcus Ponder, Ben Wiggins, Chris Jenkins and Ricky Johnson.

Several of them became his teammates when they played at Colquitt County High under coach Jerry Croft.

It was Croft who encouraged McAlpin to move from shortstop to catcher, a position he started at for three years for the Packers.

“It was the best thing to happen to me,” he said. “I love coach Croft. He was really good to me.”

As a Packer, McAlpin batted .318 as a sophomore, .304 as a junior and .384 as a senior in 1988.

He went to play one season at South Georgia College before back surgeries ended his playing career.

But he was not ready to give up on baseball.

He was coaching an American Legion team when he was approached by Tiftarea Academy and he became the Panthers head coach for five seasons.

While coaching at Tiftarea, he attended scouting school in Arizona and received a call from Donny Rowland, the Angels director of scouting, asking to meet him in Atlanta.

It started a long and rewarding association.

McAlpin credits his friendship with Moultrie’s Eddie Creech, a longtime major league scout and former baseball coach at Pineland School, with having a big influence on his career.

He also has remained close to former Packer contemporary and Mercer University baseball player Muzzy Jackson, who had a front-office career in major league baseball. He is now a financial planner for Merrill Lynch and lives in the Miami area.

McAlpin primarily scouts amateur players and spends as many as 200 days a year on the road.

The game is changing in some ways, McAlpin said, and not for the better.

Travel baseball has enabled youngsters to play virtually year-round. He doesn’t think that serves youngsters well. Even professional players need and value their off-seasons.

“It’s unbelievable that parents would let their kids play baseball 300 days a year,” he said. “It’s insane. It’s become a way for people to make money.”

It’s not often that he gets to Los Angeles to watch the Angels play, but he obviously keeps up with his employer’s fortunes.

And like most baseball fans, he marvels at the Angels’ Shohei Otani, who was the first player in major league history to be an All-Star as both a hitter and a pitcher.

In the 2021 All-Star Game, he was the starting pitcher and batted leadoff as the American League’s designated hitter.

He has a career record as a pitcher of 28-14 with a 2.96 ERA. As a hitter, he has a career batting average of .267, has hit 127 home runs and driven in 342 runs.

“People just don’t realize what a freak of nature he is,” McAlpin said. “He is 6-5, 220 pounds, chiseled, throws 100 miles per hour and is one of the five fastest guys in the league.

“We may not see another like him in our lifetime.”

The Angels also have 10-time All-Star, three-time American League MVP and eight-time Silver Slugger winner Mike Trout in their lineup.

“He is still the best offensive player in baseball,” McAlpin said. “He just has had those nagging injuries.”

This was a particularly frustrating season for the Angels, who finished 73-89 and were bedeviled by injuries.

McAlpin said he has about another month on the road before he can enjoy some down time with wife Shannon, daughter of Harry and Madis Spires.

Shannon has recently retired as a teacher at Willie J. Williams Middle School and “she’s enjoying it,” McAlpin said.

He also looks forward to some time to dote on his two daughters.

Peyton, who sells real estate in Washington State, is married to a West Point graduate and is caring for a 9-month-old daughter. Hannah will graduate from Auburn in May and plans to study to be a physical therapist.

And while he says Berlin “is a great place to be when you’re off the road,” he says he has no plans on retiring any time soon. “I feel good and I still love to go to the ballpark,” he said.