Why don't baseball players have to go to college and football players do?

Question

Why are professional baseball players drafted directly into the minor leagues from high school? Why does football have a college requirement? How did these two different systems develop like they did?

Answer 1

There are minor leagues for baseball, and many opt to go this route right after high school without going to college (college is not required for the minors). There are colleges and universities with baseball teams, and there are players who go this route still.

There is no equivalent league for football. So, college is their place to play before the pros.

Answer 2

There is no college minor league system for football. Thats why. Baseball is getting bigger in college though, but baseball is such a skill sport that college players still have to go to the minors to hone their skills.
Many baseball experts think college baseball is actually bad for baseball players, in that they don't properly train their players.

Answer 3

Well Football is a more physical sport and high school players would just get malled. For Baseball players, college is just a waste of time, even though many prospects do go to college. Its just becaus eof the physicality of Football.

Answer 4

Well baseball has a minor league system and football doesnt. Drafted football players are expected to perform there first year, but baseball players are in the minor league system there first years before coming to the big leagues so they have time to develope.

Answer 5

Football required College, both for the developpment of their bodies (resisting the hits) and for football experience in a higher level. Baseball players, first off, doesnt get tackled once every five seconds, so that is a +, besides, like the other guy said, they have minor programs so it is not required, unlike Football.

Answer 6

exactly its only little league!! GO RAPTORS GO

Answer 7

in football you would get slaughtered if you were directly out of high school since there is no NFL minor league.

Answer 8

Because the NFL doesn't have a minor league system. The
NCAA is the only thing they have to recruit from.

Answer 9

why would you want reggie bush to play in minors?
you a fuking reatard cause high school and college baseball is very gay and lame

Answer 10

You are comparing apples and oranges; the baseball and football drafts are vastly different. We all know football, where guys come directly out of college and are signed immediately with the pro team. Baseball is different. Most baseball draft picks remain unsigned until they have gone through at least a couple of years of college, and many go the full 4 years of college. They then sign with the club and move through the system, starting with the rookie leagues.

There is a major difference in prospect development cycles in the NFL and in MLB. In the NFL, some prospects will be starting in a few months, with developing players maybe waiting a year or two to see the field. Because of this, football players usually join their pro teams at an age of 21 or 22, sometimes 23 or more. Baseball players, on the other hand, can wait for 6-8 years to develop and play with the major league team. Even the talented ones take 2-4 years to develop; Ryan Zimmerman has been noted for his very quick development, and he joined the Nationals at 23.

In short, baseball has the best-organized farm team system of any sport(the NHL being a notable 2nd), so it can draft at 18 and be confident that those prospects will be given adequate time and space to develop. The NFL has no farm system (even NFL Europe is dying), so they draft at 20 or 21 to ensure that prospects have developed enough to contribute to NFL teams.