“You can’t trick ‘em.”

So says Delino DeShields. “In baseball, you have got to do the work. He would know. As a Major League Second Baseman for 13 years, and a 2008 contender for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, DeShields has had his own years of rigorous training, playing and strategizing pay off. Now he is intent upon using his experience in the majors to help other players.

DeShields is Senior Advisor for Baseball Operations at Perennial Sports and Entertainment. He handles scouting, recruitment, player development, and mentoring for the firm’s professional and aspiring professional baseball clients.

“Most of the kids I am dealing with are American kids. They play other sports, or generally just have a lot going on. But they are competing against players from around the globe who eat, drink and sleep baseball every day,” says DeShields. “We turn it up a notch. It is the only way to help our clients get to the next level.”

DeShields had a rich career as a player. He led the National League in triples in 1997, was a nine-time Top 10 finisher among National League base-stealers, and his career 463 stolen bases ranks him 44th on the All-Time list. He started with the Montreal Expos in 1990, receiving second place in the voting for the Rookie of the Year Award. He played with the Expos until 1993, when he moved on to the Los Angeles Dodgers (1994-1996), then the St. Louis Cardinals (1997-1998), Baltimore Orioles (2000-2001), and finally the Chicago Cubs (2001-2002). He retired in 2002.

All this – the intimate knowledge of the league, the relationships, the innate talent – is what DeShields uses to guide players to and through their own successful careers.

“I have learned that you are going to get out of this sport what you give,” said DeShields. “That is why I will be doing everything in my power to help my clients succeed.”