PHILADELPHIA _ At some point, things will return to normal for Major League Baseball. It is going to be quite a while before we reach that desired destination, but one day the crowds will again roam Ashburn Alley while chomping on cheesesteaks from Tony Luke's and breaking apart smoked ribs from Bull's BBQ at Citizens Bank Park.
Some things about baseball, however, may never be the same even when we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic that has paralyzed this country for so long and in so many ways.
The baseball draft could be one of those things.
After much discussion, it appears likely that the first round of the draft will take place on its originally scheduled date of June 10, but nothing has been made official.
In 2012, the draft was reduced from 50 to 40 rounds, but now, after a late March cost-cutting agreement between the owners and players union, it is likely that this year's draft is going to be no more than 10 rounds and possibly as few as five.
"They're saying five to 10 rounds, but I think there will probably be a compromise and it will end up being between six to eight rounds," an American League scout said recently. "It concerns me for the future because if they do that this year then they'll want to keep doing it. We know they already want to eliminate minor league clubs."
Eliminate rounds of the draft and minor league clubs and you are also discarding a significant number of jobs in baseball for players and support personnel.
The reduction of as many as 42 minor league teams, including the Phillies' New York-Penn League affiliate in Williamsport, remains under discussion. A cutback of some sort is certain and that will serve as motivation to reduce the number of rounds in future drafts.
The ramifications are many.
"You're going to eliminate college guys that were drafted in later rounds and became pretty good big-league players," the scout said.
