Host Jeff Todd chats with Josh Chetwynd of Elite Sports Group about his experiences in European baseball as both a player and a player representative. Chetwynd, who has been elected into the British baseball hall of fame and negotiated a European-record $1.3MM bonus for Italian shortstop Marten Gasparini, discusses the key differences between that emerging market and other international arenas.
For listeners with interest in all things international, be sure also to check out prior episodes featuring MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (with a focus on Cuba) and former big league and KBO hurler Ryan Sadowski (talking Korean ball).
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I think Europe should try to focus on getting a respectable top notch league together before worrying about being a feeder system to MLB. A league that is respected is a huge step in development of players in a country or area, it does not have to be the level of MLB players to be respected either. The Australian baseball league is doing a very nice job but it is still a very young league. He briefly mentions Africa which could be the next hot bed of talent for baseball, but lots of money would have to be put into it, and if cheap talent in the Caribbean keeps coming, MLB teams really have no reason to expand its net, it will take a MLB team to be the maverick of breaking into new areas. I would think it would be quite easy for Europe to form a league on an even talent basis with KBO. Russia is also another interesting place to consider baseball they actually do have a bit of history with the sport going way back to Victor Starffin.
Having something to aim for outside of the MLB which probably seems like a fantasy to some, would bring more players in at least I’d think. The KHL has proven an international European league can exist.
I believe that Josh mentions efforts to build a pro league in Europe, though obviously it would be a long ways off from being any kind of real alternative for MLB-quality players.
And well worth noting: Japan, Korea, and even Taiwan all draw players with MLB experience who aren’t quite able to hold down regular jobs in the majors. They are highly developed leagues with real talent and real followings in those countries.
I think the worrisome thing would be sending your best talent too soon, when your best isn’t quite up to the standards
it needs to be, Gasparini is following his dream and I would never say turn down an MLB contract but chances are if
hes not an MLB all star his impact will never be felt, if he had a good league in Europe he could have a better chance of being a star and his impact would be felt much greater, he’d give Italian kids a role model, IMO at least. I’m not sure College is an answer either I could be mistaken but full ride scholarships are hard to come by for baseball are they not? I think its better to be a large fish in a small pond than a small fish in a ocean. Nippon would also bring that culture shock to a whole new level, I’d think, they really do need something they can call their own. The Mexican league has even created stars who have never played in MLB, you just need something fans can be passionate about and attach themselves too.
I don’t think that European baseball is really yet to the point where it can worry about keeping its own talent. If anything, quality MLB regulars would do a ton more to elevate the sport’s stature.
NCAA full rides have been historically hard to come by, yes. Many times a full ride was something in the neighborhood of a 75% scholarship. Yet, players were still faced with the same work related restrictions as all other athletes. Interestingly, many Canadian players find their way to American college programs to prove themselves. Oklahoma State has used this pipeline very successfully in the past.
NCAA DI only allows 11.7 scholarships per team, and most DI programs do not even allot up to that limit, many providing only 3 or 4 scholarships per team. Since most teams carry rosters of around 30 players (35 is the maximum limit) this means the scholarships are split up.
I expect there are maybe 100 NCAA baseball players receiving full 100% scholarship in any given season across the entire nation.
Playing collage baseball would be a very expensive option for a foreign player (out of state tuition plus living expenses) unless he was attending on an academic scholarship. The few foreign players I am aware of who have played NCAA baseball tend to fall into the group of students who happen to play baseball well, not baseball players who happen to attend classes.
I really enjoyed that. As a UK based baseball fan I loved Josh on Channel 5 in the 2000s, and I wondered what he was up to. Thanks for the interview.