Andrew McCutchen, writing at the Player’s Tribune:
Baseball used to be the sport where all you needed was a stick and a ball. It used to be a way out for poor kids. Now it’s a sport that increasingly freezes out kids whose parents don’t have the income to finance the travel baseball circuit.
McCutchen has what is probably the most thoughtful take I’ve read anywhere on what happened this week with the Jackie Robinson West Little League scandal, plus some insight into both the draft and the concept of an international draft, as well as his own road to the big leagues. You should definitely take the time to read the whole thing through, as it’s one of baseball’s most important players writing honestly about some huge issues that baseball is going to face in the next ten years.
