| By Chris Crawford |  | By 11-23-2011 |
As you are all aware of by now, the MLBPA and owners have agreed on a Collective Bargaining Agreement, thus avoiding even the threat of a work stoppage. Anyone who is a fan of the NBA and NFL can tell you that this is positive news, but the new deal doesn't come without some serious caveats. The ability to rely on player development took a major hit with the announcement of new rules that prevent major-league contracts to drafted players and severely punishes teams that chose to spend over the new suggested slotting terms. As good as the news was that the Elias Sports Bureau Type-A and Type-B compensation was eliminated; this was a step backwards, not a sign of progress.
And so with these new regulations comes a new fear: Talented high-school athletes that play different sports could decide take their talents to those sports. This was already an issue, as the sport just isn't as popular with youths and urban communities as football or basketball, and Major League Baseball has done a poor job of advertising its product to those demographics.
Some have already brought up that players such as Carl Crawford and Joe Mauer -- who was an All-American quarterback in high school -- would have chosen to play football instead of baseball under these new rules, and while we never will know, it's not possible to tell these skeptics that they're incorrect, either.
Tuesday I received a text from a prominent two-sport athlete in the class of 2012, whose exact words to me were "I guess I'm going to play football now." Let that sink in a little bit.
With all that being said, I'm here to be the voice of reason. As much as I dislike these new rules, I'm here to tell prep athletes that baseball is still the path of enlightenment, and here is why:
The risk factor: This one's pretty simple; there are risks that you take playing football and basketball that you simply don't have to take going the hardball route. It's not a contact sport, you aren't running up and down a hardwood floor that is drenched in sweat and 95 percent of the time you're nowhere near anyone who wants to guard or hurt you. Do you take the risk of being hit in the head by a 98-100 mile-per-hour fastball? Yes. Would I take that chance over a 6-4, 250 pound linebacker trying to destroy my kneecap every other play? My goodness, would I ever.
And for all that risk, how much are you (legally) being paid to play these sports? It's not fair, but it certainly beats disability and/or a short career.
The long-term benefits: It goes hand in hand with everything stated above, but there's still more money to be made in this game than either basketball or football(unless you are a top five high-school basketball player, and let's be honest, if you're that, you weren't going to play baseball anyway).
In football, there might be more roster spots, but the average career is exponentially shortened comparatively, and the median salaries are similar. In basketball, there's more money upfront, but with only two rounds for its draft and fifteen roster spots, the chances of burning out are higher. Baseball is right in between, there's plenty of roster room, and longevity ahead of you.
Love of the game: Allow me to turn into a bad Lifetime movie for just a moment. For three years, I did a job at a major retailer where I made decent money, but it made me miserable. How miserable? Miserable enough to do something that I will regret for the rest of my life, and something that if I had "succeeded" in doing, I would not be able to bring you this corny and clichéd last piece of this article. You have to do what you love.
No, I'm not comparing myself to an 18-year old who's going to make millions of dollars playing a game, but the principles are the same. If you love the game, it's going to work out. There may be other temptations that seem impossible to overcome, but I do believe that what's meant to be is meant to be. There's no better game than baseball, and if you love it like I do, play it for as long as you can.
Follow Chris on Twitter here and email him at crawford@prospectinsider.com.
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Comments
The following 6 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: dafix_isin on 11-23-2011 20:01:30 Money still talks to an 18 year old kid, who goes from amateur to making white collar money to play a GAME. To an international prospect, notably from developing nations, less is still a lot to play that same game. I believe like Jason has alluded to, there will be an int'l draft a few years from now. Most of those teen athletes will still jump all over the opportunity to better their financial situations while chasing the MLB dream. The learning curve is gonna be a lot shorter than most are assuming. In the new normal, money still talks. |
| 2. By: short on 11-24-2011 03:31:04 There is going to be a small negative impact from the new slotting. I just don't think it will be that large. A few players will choose football or basketball (are there many two-sport guys playing basketball and baseball?). Most of the guys who are deciding between baseball and another sport or college will make the same decision whether it's two million bucks or four million bucks they get from MLB. Baseball offers a long career with guaranteed contracts. It's tough to beat. |
| 3. By: maqman on 11-24-2011 12:01:27 "(are there many two-sport guys playing basketball and baseball?)" Taijuan Walker did. |
| 4. By: Chris Crawford on 11-24-2011 15:30:06 It happens more than you'd think. It's mostly baseball or football, but there's enough instances for it to be mentioned. |
| 5. By: 11records on 11-27-2011 21:40:18 Nice post. One thing you didn't mention, is that if they fail at baseball they can always go back to college and play football or basketball. Look at Chris Weinke as the most high profile example... |
| 6. By: Chris Crawford on 12-01-2011 17:19:26 Very good point, 11. |
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