More changes in baseball and the draft

I responded to the following response to Kendall Rodgers great article about changes the MLB draft needs.

The cure all for almost every problem with college baseball is more scholarships. Does softball get the same 11.7? they only use one pitcher all year, who said softball and baseball should be compared by title 9?

Here's my response....

Unfortunately, Title IX is not a sport by sport comparison. I wish it was. Softball programs only have rosters of 18 players...11.7 divided into 18 is a much higher percentage that they can offer their players...Doesn't seem fair.

Football with its 88 scholarships throws the equality way out of whack...that's why you have women's crew offering 18 scholarships and other fringe/country club sports offering more scholarships than their male counterparts....to even things out.

I have the following suggestions...

1. I think that in the fairness of the free enterprise system...MLB needs to have one all inclusive draft...just like the NBA...It can have it's free for all way up to the 8th round...but should include any and all foreign born players in that draft. The Carribean/Central, South American and Asian players are the wild card when a kid gets drafted out of high school. If I were a infielder coming out of high school, I would want to know how the scouts rate me as opposed to a similar and possibly older and more baseball mature Dominican infielder up front...and not later when I report to rookie league. That alone could determine whether or not college is the better option. After the 8th round...then I suggest a Hard Slot system.

2. Increase the scholarships to 20. This is especially important to those financially strapped families that may reluctantly choose to sign with a major league club because they don't have the money to subsidize the 50% gap that the scholarship doesn't cover. . If a kid is drafted in the 10th round...he will have a decision to make...take the recommended slot money or the equivalent of $20,000 a year in scholarship money and get a priceless education. It makes college look better...since most draftable players are getting the equivalent of $10-12,000 in scholarship money now.

3.Move the MLB signing deadline up to July 1. It's hard enough for college coaches to recruit as it is..Give them time to make some adjustments and even some late recruiting attempts.

4.Switch to wood bats...Since the new metal bat guidelines are supposed to be more similar to wood anyway...just switch to wood...make it identical to the pro game. Cost isn't an issue...bat companies usually subsidize the cost of bats to the schools anyway. Most kids I have talked to that play in the summer collegiate leagues prefer the wood bats anyway. Metal bats to them are like cheating...and nobody likes a cheat.