Steve Chilcott. Brien Taylor. Matt Bush. If you recognize these names, congratulations: you know your MLB Draft busts.
My esteemed colleague's recent article titled "Kentucky Preparatory" gave me the idea for this article. As I was reading it I thought, "NBA prospects have to go to college for one year? That's absurd! All colleges are to NBA prospects are a means to end - glory in the NBA."
I would not even consider myself a dilettante of the NBA or its draft. I am confident, however, in my knowledge of the dynamics of the MLB Draft and the Minor League Farm System.
All prospective MLB draftees should have to attend four-year colleges or universities and attain degrees.
Enter the not-so-glamorous world of the MLB Draft. Started in 1965, the MLB Draft yields more career casualties each year than any other of the three major North American professional sports drafts. Of course, the MLB Draft yields a mind-boggling 1,500 picks each year, much more than the NHL (215), the NBA (60), and the NFL (256).
Based on the sheer size of the MLB Draft, once can assume that the system is flawed. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has considered making amendments to draft, but no official action has been made yet.
Held in the middle of the season, the MLB Draft is a staggering 50 rounds and usually takes days to complete. After about the 10th round or so, teams are merely picking players to fill out low-level Minor League rosters. There is a great deal of insignificance to the draft.
To be eligible for the draft, prospective draftees must:
1. bBe a resident of the United States, Canada, or a U.S. territory.
2. Never signed a professional contract.
3. Be a high school senior, four-year college/university student who has completed his junior year or is at least 21 years old.
4. OR AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO #3: Be a student at a junior, community, or Division III school. Grade does not matter in this case.
There are many reasons for the unpopularity of the MLB Draft. First, NCAA Baseball trails in popularity to NCAA Football and Basketball. Hence, many prospective draftees of the MLB Draft are relatively unknown. Second, fans do not get to see highly-touted selections play in the Majors for a few years. Instead, draft picks embark on a long journey through the Minor Leagues, characterized by cheap motels and long bus rides. Third, many selections will never reach the Major Leagues, so there is a huge element of failure.
Chilcott, Taylor, and Bush all have something in common: they are all former number-one overall picks in the MLB Draft who never made it to the Major Leagues. (Bush is still active) Coincidentally, they were all out of high school.
Chilcott, a catcher, was taken first by the New York Mets in the 1966 MLB Draft out of Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster, CA. Chilcott spent six years in the Minors before retiring due to career-ending injuries. The second-overall pick in the 1966 MLB Draft, which went to the Oakland Athletics, fared better as he achieved enshrinement in Cooperstown. He was an outfielder out of Arizona State University named Reggie Jackson.
Taylor, a flamethrowing southpaw out of East Carteret High School in Beaufort, NC, was taken by the New York Yankees as the top pick in the 1991 MLB Draft. Taylor suffered a number of injuries and dealt with character issues in the Minors, including a fist-fight, before throwing in the towel. Other picks in the draft included Manny Ramirez (13th overall, CLE) and Shawn Green (16th overall, TOR).
Mission Bay Senior High School in San Diego, CA alumnus Matt Bush was taken by his hometown San Diego Padres in 2004. A shortstop with great tools, he has battled injuries, inconsistency, and character issues. Though still active, he has yet to make it past High-A. He is trying to make it to the Majors as a pitcher. Succeeding Bush in the draft included players such as Justin Verlander (2nd overall, DET.) and Jered Weaver (12th overall, ANA.)
Of course, other first-overall, first-round, and even late round picks have fared well. The New York Yankees' 22nd round selection in 1990 didn't turn out badly at all. The pick won 5 World Series and orchestrated the most postseason wins in MLB history. His name is Andy Pettitte, by the way.
But the fact is more have missed than those who have made.
In the case of baseball, players at the college level tend to be more polished and in essence, closer to big-league-ready. The competition and skill level of top-notch NCAA Division I baseball programs is said to be the equivalent of High-A Minor League Baseball, three steps below the Major League level. A polished college player would be able to reach the majors quickly after being drafted because he is accustomed to a high level of competition.
The average time it takes a top high school player to make it to the Major Leagues after being drafted is signed is probably around 3-4 years. In that period of time, they could have attained a college degree and in the process, gained the necessary experience to make them a more attractive commodity in the draft, hence, closer to big-league ready.
Sure, college players are not going to jump straight from college ball to the Majors. Like their high school counterparts, they need time too. By the time they reach the Majors, they will be older than a high school player picked in the same draft. But college players have something that high school players who sign do not traditionally possess: maturity. Sure, players who sign out of high school can become mature, but they must do so while integrating themselves into the tough life of professional baseball. College players gained it in the safe environment of college; they have it. So what does maturity mean in this case? Maturity in the sense of taking care of one's self and being responsible for one's actions is highly invaluable. Also, it can mean poise on the field. College players have more baseball and life experience. They are used to being on their own. Unlike high school players, it has been years since they relied on their own parents on a daily basis, and have some degree of independence and self-sufficiency.
It is a dream for a team to draft a mature and skilled player. They get to the big leagues quickly and the team has to do minimal baby-sitting. But perhaps some high school players are not mentally equipped for professional baseball right away. Becoming independent in the pressure-filled system of professional baseball is not healthy. In the book Moneyball by Michael Lewis, the Oakland Athletics front office characterized high school pitchers as the riskiest commodity in the MLB Draft. The possibility of injuries and their lack of poise creates the possibility that some high school pitchers will flame out and not make it to the Majors. Let the kids go to college and grow up a bit.
Going to college helps the kids in an academic sense too. If they do get drafted and bust, at least they have a degree to fall back on. Sure, those multi-million dollar signing bonuses that top picks are given now ought to keep draft busts in good shape for years, but think of the later picks. Later picks receive true Minor League salaries - some tens of thousands of dollars per year. They could actually make more money by finding a job in the real world than playing Minor League Baseball.
A system requiring prospective MLB draftees to attain college degrees would benefit both teams and players. Teams would have polished and mature players quickly and the players would possess the mental tools to succeed in professional baseball and in life if things do not work out as planned.
"The best laid schemes of mice and men." That seems to apply to thousands of players selected throughout the history of the MLB Draft, doesn't it?
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