Speakers
Description
High school baseball players first appeared in professional league in Taiwan as early as 1998. However, it was not an official and systemized entry for them until 2013 when the first draft for high school players came into play. Compared to most players who announced their eligibility in college, these 18-year-old players took a big gamble on their career decisions. There are growing numbers in high school draftees being waived from professional teams in the recent years. These players took the “shortcut” to pursue their dream yet ended prematurely. After a decade in practice, it is a critical time to revisit the draft system per se and the people involved. This essay examines the exist of these players and the failed draft system from three layers of perspectives: personal and family socio-economic status of these players from the micro-level; the draft system sanctioned by the professional league, mandatory military and other domestic sport policies from the meso-level; and the dynamics of global baseball from the macro level. The findings highlight how the socio-economic status of high school baseball players affects their willingness to get into the draft and the draft system does not have positive development to protect players’ futures. An understanding of how the effects of changing policies on mandatory military for high school players and domestic sport policies hinder these young players from returning to baseball. With these findings in mind, the league should ease players’ career dilemmas and construct a better draft system for them.
