Well the World Series may be rained out, but the rain cannot rain on my MLB CBA Parade. In fact the players and owners met today in New York to discuss the new CBA. Here is part two of MLB's CBA related issues. In my last post, I discussed the battle Commissioner Selig will wage for hard slotting in the amateur draft. This post will continue our discussion of Commissioner Selig's wish to reform the MLB draft with the imposition of a worldwide draft.
That's right, due to the exhorbitant signing bonuses that international free agents have been garnering, the costs of individual teams running their own baseball academies, the rampant corruption and birth certificate document falsification in Latin America, Major League Baseball thinks a great way to get a handle on these problems is to hold a worldwide draft. It will be interesting to see how this draft will be designed. Will there be one amateur draft where not only North American high school and college athletes, but also their international counterparts would need to declare for, much like the model the NFL and NBA each use. Or instead, will their be two drafts; one for domestic athletes and one for international players? My guess would be that there will be one draft for all athletes that look to be signed by a major league team. However, if there is only one draft, will there be an age requirement? Currently, major league teams can sign Latin American players that reach 16 years of age. However, American players are not eligible for the Amateur draft until they are 18, or have received their high school diploma or equivalent. Will that mean no latin American player can be eligible for the draft until they reach 18 years of age? What effect will this have on the Japanese Posting system and MLB's relationship with the Japanese Professional Baseball League. Japanese Teams made a lot of money posting players like Ichiro and Daisuke Matsuaka, where the Mariners and Red Sox, respectively paid for the rights to negotiate exclusively with the Japanese Team's player. Will the international draft be the end of the posting process or will Japanese players have to wait until they reach NPB Free Agency to then declare themselves eligible for the MLB Draft? What are some of your guesses?
Coming up next in our MLB CBA Issues Series, we will stick to this international flavor and discuss the possibility of a true WORLD Series to replace the World Baseball Classic.
That's right, due to the exhorbitant signing bonuses that international free agents have been garnering, the costs of individual teams running their own baseball academies, the rampant corruption and birth certificate document falsification in Latin America, Major League Baseball thinks a great way to get a handle on these problems is to hold a worldwide draft. It will be interesting to see how this draft will be designed. Will there be one amateur draft where not only North American high school and college athletes, but also their international counterparts would need to declare for, much like the model the NFL and NBA each use. Or instead, will their be two drafts; one for domestic athletes and one for international players? My guess would be that there will be one draft for all athletes that look to be signed by a major league team. However, if there is only one draft, will there be an age requirement? Currently, major league teams can sign Latin American players that reach 16 years of age. However, American players are not eligible for the Amateur draft until they are 18, or have received their high school diploma or equivalent. Will that mean no latin American player can be eligible for the draft until they reach 18 years of age? What effect will this have on the Japanese Posting system and MLB's relationship with the Japanese Professional Baseball League. Japanese Teams made a lot of money posting players like Ichiro and Daisuke Matsuaka, where the Mariners and Red Sox, respectively paid for the rights to negotiate exclusively with the Japanese Team's player. Will the international draft be the end of the posting process or will Japanese players have to wait until they reach NPB Free Agency to then declare themselves eligible for the MLB Draft? What are some of your guesses?
Coming up next in our MLB CBA Issues Series, we will stick to this international flavor and discuss the possibility of a true WORLD Series to replace the World Baseball Classic.
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