Why are baseball players from independent leagues so hard to draft at the top of the draft?

[Serial]Akira Hiroo’s baseball business model study (No. 14)

share0

The difference between controlled players and trained players

Ryo Furukawa, a pitcher from Nippon Gakuen High School who was selected by Softbank as No. 1 development player at the draft meeting last October, refused to join the team. This is the first time in eight years that a player who was drafted, including training, refused to join the team, since Riseisha High School pitcher Yujiro Yamaguchi refused to be drafted by Nippon- Ham in 6th place in 2016.

The draft nomination system began in 1965, but during the Showa era it was common for players to decline the draft even if they were nominated. On the other hand, at that time, it was possible to join the team even if you were not drafted.

However, joining a team without being drafted was abolished in 1991, and from then on all baseball players who completed their education in Japanese educational institutions had to participate in professional baseball. by draft. Then, in 2005, the “nurturing draft system” was established and took its current form.

Next year will be 60 years since the draft system was inaugurated, and while society increasingly recognizes that it is the only way for Japanese baseball players to advance to professional baseball, it is rare for of players who refuse the draft, even if it is for development. There is a difference in status between “advanced players” and “regular players (controlled players)”.

Currently, there are three ways for baseball players who have completed high school or university to continue playing baseball within Japan: working adults (corporate groups = officially registered groups), working adults (club groups = groups registered with the club), become independent players six types: league, professional baseball farm team, professional baseball (controlled), and professional baseball (development).

If we were to rank them based on their ability, they would be like this.

1. Professional baseball (controlled)
2. Professional baseball (training), working adults (corporate team)
3. Adults (club teams), independent leagues, professional baseball farm teams

In the past, the only career paths for baseball players who graduated from high school or university were to become professionals or join the workforce (corporate groups). However, since the Heisei period, the business environment of companies has changed, and corporate groups have broken apart from each other.