Paper Example - Sports: Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball (MLB) is one of the most popular sports in the United States (US). According to Lewis & Tripathi (2019), MLB has one of the oldest fan bases, along with golf. While the aging fan base can be a concern, it is also an increasingly potentially wealthy fanbase, that can afford to buy expensive game tickets. That is why MLB keeps setting revenue records, which stood at a high of 10.7 billion US dollars, as of 2019 (Young, 2019). To keep these revenues high, the MLB needs to convince the fans to buy access to quality entertainment. They do that by fielding quality sportsmen and women through the pro-sports draft system. This paper is going to discuss how the draft system works, and the groups eligible for both pro-sports and college sports.

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Players Draft in Pro-Sports

How it Works

The professional sports teams sign players from the amateur, college, and high school sports teams through the first-year player draft. In the sixth month of every year, 30 MLB teams gather through a conference call to select players in reverse order of their won-lost record of the previous year. The order of selection does not consider the league. The MLB draft, unlike other drafts such as the NFL, lacks a formal registration system. The entry depends on a series of MLB scouts who look for talented individuals to include in the draft.

Eligibility

There are certain conditions that a player has to meet before being included in the draft. One of the rules for drafting is that the player should not have previously signed a Major League or Minor League contract. High school players who have graduated but are yet to attend college or junior college are also eligible for the draft (MLB, 2020). Junior college players can also be drafted regardless of how many years they have attended college. The same does not apply to college players from four-year colleges that have not completed their junior or senior years or are under the age of 21.

Country of Residence or Nationality

Residents of Canada, the US, Puerto Rico, or any of the territories of the US are eligible for drafting. Players outside the mentioned countries and regions have to become eligible by gaining permanent residency in either of the regions.

College Sports

Eligibility and Qualifications

College sports teams get players through scholarships and walk-ons. These scholarships are controlled by various programs such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) DI and DII. Unlike the first player draft for professional sports, those aspiring to play college sports need to register. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) also has its scholarship programs for college sports. There are minimum academic and amateurism standards that aspiring athletes have to meet to qualify for athletic scholarships. Also, every school has its list of approved courses that the students need to pass to be eligible for a college sports scholarship.

Students Outside the US

Sometimes, students outside the US can be brought to college sports. Like their American counterparts, international students need to meet specific academic criteria, including SAT and ACT, before being eligible for college sports. Each division has specific amateurism and academic requirements that the international student needs to meet before being eligible. Those are some of the basic requirements that international students need to meet.

Conclusion

Based on the issues discussed, the recruitment processes for professional and college sports have some differences. Among them is the fact that professional sports are much more restrictive of non-American residents as compared to college sports. On the other hand, college sports pay more attention to academic performance and qualifications as compared to professional sports. Either way, both drafting systems require a certain level of athletic performance for one to be eligible.

References

Lewis, M., & Tripathi, M. (2019, March 21). Category: MLB Fan Rankings. https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/esma/category/fan-base-analyses/mlb-fan-rankings/.

MLB. (2020). First-Year Player Draft Rules. Major League Baseball. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/draftday/rules.jsp.

Young, J. (2019, December 22). Major League Baseball revenue for 2019 season hits a record $10.7 billion. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/22/report-mlb-revenue-for-2019-season-a-record-10point7-billion.html.