MLB Institutes Restrictions On Scouting Amateur Players

Earlier this week, Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported that Major League Baseball is officially banning team officials from scouting amateur players for a period of time during the off-season. For years, executives, scouts, coaches, and doctors have been trying to figure out how to reduce the scourge of arm injuries. To date, there has been no solution. This, they hope, is that solution.

When this new set of rules goes into effect in just a few weeks, no MLB team employees will be allowed to scout high school juniors or seniors from October 15 through January 15. For college players, the window is slightly smaller: November 15 to January 15. During this “recovery period,” members of MLB staffs will be barred from “seeing games, showcases, training sessions, and any other activities related to throwing, hitting, catching, or fielding.” Further, ball-tracking, bat-tracking, and biomechanical data are not allowed during this period. It should be noted that this new MLB-mandated time off is in addition to the NCAA’s “quiet period” for off-campus recruiting that runs from October 13 to February 28.

J.J. Cooper of Baseball America further expounded on the rules, stating that any information gathered during this period is off limits forever. It cannot be stored and used by teams at a later date. Violation of this rule could lead to fines, suspension, draft sanctions, or being placed on the permanently ineligible list. If a player sends any such information to a team unsolicited, the team may not view the data and must report the same to MLB within twenty-four hours.

Unfortunately, as with any rule of this nature, enforcement will be the tricky part. As it stands, clubs will be required to certify that they have complied with the edict, and third parties can report violations, but no MLB official will be specifically monitoring any team’s activity.

If it wasn’t obvious, MLB is encouraging players to use this period “for rest, recovery, and training for next season, rather than for high-intensity, maximum-effort activities.” Passan, who is somewhat of an expert on arm injuries, who has written a book called “The Arm,” who has a son about to start pitching in college, reports that the policy grew out of study commissioned by MLB about pitching injuries across all levels. Passan stated that in July The American Journal of Sports Medicine showed that more than 80% of pitchers who participated in MLB’s 2023 draft combine “had some abnormality within their ulnar collateral ligament,” which, when torn, requires so-called “Tommy John surgery” and at least one year of rehabilitation.

In addition, the report stated that 75% of the pitchers showed tearing within their shoulder, an injury that is more difficult to repair.

Cooper reported that an American Sports Institute study found that pitchers who did not have an off-season rest period had five times greater risk of requiring elbow or shoulder surgery.

For years former players have lamented the year-round requirement of playing a single sport. Many, including tennis star Roger Federer, credit playing other sports with helping them become better at their main one. Basketball star Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t even start playing the sport he has mastered until he was 13-years old. In keeping with this theme, MLB employees are allowed to observe amateurs playing other sports during the recovery period. The hope is that this will encourage players to broaden their horizons and work on building skills and muscles – and alleviate repetitive use injuries – that come from doing something other than throwing a five-ounce sphere at maximum effort twelve months of the year. To be clear, the new rules don’t prohibit amateurs from playing baseball during this period of time, but they do reduce the incentive to do so.

Even with the new rules in place, scouts and personnel will be able to meet with players, do in-home visits, and interview players over the off-season, provided they do not observe any baseball activities.

The MLB memo announcing the new rules stated they had spoken with more than 200 people to better understand what was happening. The memo stated that the league received “broad support” from scouting directors, medical experts, and college coaches. While the memo didn’t say anything about parents, one must imagine that they are in favor of the new rules as well.

Whether or not this will fix the epidemic of arm injuries at every level of baseball is unknown. However, file this under the heading of “do something.” MLB should be lauded for taking this proactive step to help ensure the future of the game, and the health of their future stars.