Addresses
Advertising
All Americans
Amateur Baseball
Analysis
Awards
Baseball Links
Baseball Camps
Books
Caps
Cards
Chat
Collectibles
Computer
Clinics
Coaching
College
Columnists
Conferences
Cricket
Current Events
Dictionary
Employment
Equipment
Events
Fantasy
Features
Groundskeeping
Hall of Fame
Hats
High School Baseball
History
Hot Dogs
Indices
Instructional
International
Jobs
Links
Link to us
Major League
Medical
Mental
Minor League
New Products
News
Olympic
Organizations
Phone Numbers
Polls
Press Releases
Products
Publication Schedule
Recruiting
Reference
Rules
Schedules
Search
Senior
Showcases
Softball
Software
Sports Cards
Sports Medicine
Standings
Statistics
Subscriptions
Summer
Table of Contents
Teams
Travel
Umpiring
Uniforms
Videos
Vision
World Series
Youth
 

Scott Boras Presents Plan For 25 Scholarships

By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.

Editor/Collegiate Baseball

(From Jan. 27, 2012 Edition)

 

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Scott Boras, the most powerful agent in sports, gave a riveting presentation at the American Baseball Coaches Association Convention in Anaheim on how every NCAA Division I baseball program can fund 25 full scholarships for athletes.

 

He firmly believes that Major League baseball would be interested in listening to a plan to pump money into these programs for additional scholarships since revenue on the professional level has shot up from $400 million in 1980 to over $8 billion during the past year.

 

Currently NCAA Division I baseball programs can give a maximum of 11.7 scholarships.

 

Boras also feels that college baseball coaches must govern baseball at a more pro-active level to keep young baseball players in the game instead of turning to other sports. He also delved into a serious problem in college baseball regarding a lack of certified baseball trainers, strength and conditioning people, doctors and surgeons and how they can be found instead of being forced to use football specific professionals.

 

"You may think that professional baseball in effect runs baseball," said Boras in front several thousand coaches at the Anaheim Convention Center.

 

"But in my opinion, I believe that we must begin a legacy of college coaches governing baseball. When you think about this, I want to tell you about your role in professional baseball and what you mean to the Major Leagues.

 

"In 1980, Major League baseball was a sport that had roughly $400 million in revenue. In 1990, that figure went up to $1 billion. In 2000, it was $3 billion. And today, that figure is $8 billion. A lot of people think that scouting and high school baseball has a great role in this.

 

"But when you look at the numbers, there are 827 Major League players. Overall, 52 percent of all Major League players were former college baseball players while only 26 percent were signed out of high school. Another 22 percent are international players.

 

"This illustrates what a college coach does in grooming an athlete because there are nearly double the number of college baseball players in Major League baseball compared to high school players. When you bring out the fact that college coaches don’t bring in the top athletes that are available for their programs in the draft, the numbers are even more telling.

 

"We found that 79 percent of college first round picks reach the Major Leagues for at least a day.

 

"That compared to 62 percent of high school first rounders who reach the Major Leagues for a day which is a 17 percent difference.

 

"When you look at those players who achieve six years in the Major Leagues and become free agents, you are talking about 42 percent of college first rounders who become six year Major League players.

 

"In the draft as a whole, less than one percent of drafted players ever become six year Major Leaguers.

 

"The figure for high school first round players is 32 percent who become six year Major League players. There is a 10 percent difference compared to college first rounders.

 

"So when you are recruiting athletes and talking about their choices, college baseball is clearly the best way and highest percentage for an athlete to achieve success in the Major Leagues.

 

"If you want to look at it monetarily, elite high school players receive welcome bonuses. But for those athletes who aspire to be the best in the Major Leagues and receive the highest bonuses, it is astounding what players have received right out of college when looking at $6 million signing bonuses.

 

"Gerrit Cole was a first round pick out of high school and then became the first player chosen in the 2011 draft (UCLA). He received nearly double the bonus he was offered out of high school. Anthony Rendon (Rice) was a 27^th round pick in high school and became a first rounder out of college. Stephen Strasburg (San Diego St.) and Dustin Ackley (North Carolina) were not drafted out of high school. These athletes received some of the highest signing bonuses in the game out of college.

 

"If you look at $5 million players in the Major Leagues, they must be pretty special players. Not many reach this status. To achieve this level, you must be a very accomplished player. When you look at the numbers, there are 30 college players in the Major Leagues who are making $5 million or more who weren’t drafted until after the 10^th round. Mind you, there are only 84 $5 million college players and 64 $5 million high school players in the Big Leagues."

 

More On The Scott Boras Plan: The complete story is available in the Jan. 27, 2012 issue of Collegiate Baseball.

Copyright © 1998 - 2013 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Inc. All Rights Reserved. This Document for informational purposes only. Agreement Disclaimer Privacy Policy