Penny-wise, But Not Pound-foolish

Player development isn't easy. But it's considered relatively cheap, and it's often cited as the only way for small-market teams to compete. So when the Kansas City Royals announced they're dropping their fall instructional league, for a savings of $200,000, skeptics rolled their eyes at cheapskate owner David Glass.

While there's no disputing Glass's legendary baseball frugality, the story isn't as simple as it seems on the surface. Several factors-- including some that are actually related to baseball--contributed to the Royals' decision.

First, let's back up and examine what the instructional league does. Held from mid-September through the end of October, the instructional league allows teams to give personalized instruction to some of their youngest top prospects. Danny McCormack, Scouting and Player Development Coordinator for the Oakland Athletics, said it gives the front office "an opportunity to ingrain our philosophy into ... first-year players. With players that are coming back, it gives us an opportunity to work on fundamentals, hitting philosophy, that type of thing."

McCormack said managers in the lower minor leagues don't get to do as much teaching as they should, with games being played every day. So the instructional league "gives our roving instructors and our director of player development an opportunity to work with first-year players. If we didn't have this, we really wouldn't have an opportunity to put our strength and conditioning program into effect," he said.

The instructional league can be costly, according to McCormack, but it's worth it. "We feel in the long run the value overrides the cost. Hopefully it's a high return on the dollar."

In other words, an instructional league is exactly the kind of thing a low-revenue, small-market team should be clamoring for. So the Royals' penny pinching was greeted with wave of disbelief among the organizations critics.

But the Royals say they have other reasons for dropping fall ball--besides the financial savings. Muzzy Jackson, the Royals' Assistant General Manager for Player Personnel, said the uncertainty of the labor situation and money worries contributed to the decision. But he also said the team's new facility in Surprise, Arizona, is still under construction, and that made playing fall ball difficult.

Instead, the team will hold an abbreviated instructional period in the spring. "We're going to bring guys in a little early and try to get them some additional fundamentals," Jackson said. "We're losing five weeks of development in the fall and gaining back three in the spring."

Even though he wants to resume the fall instructional league next year--and thinks the Royals will do that--Jackson believes there are good basebal reasons to push the instructional league to spring. "At the end of the season a lot of guys are tired," he said. Starting spring training early allows the one-on-one instruction to take place when pitchers and position players are more fresh.

The Anaheim Angels agree. They will also experiment with dropping their instructional league this fall. Tony Reagins, Director of Player Development for Anaheim, said the uncertainty of the strike served as the catalyst for the team's decision.

The Angels will bring in several top prospects for spring training about ten days early. "We'll see how this course of action goes," Reagins said. "At that time of year [the fall], pitchers are pretty tired and position players are worn out, so we just want to see if this works better."

Reagins calls the spring instructional session a "test run" to determine whether the organization can overcome the "fatigue factor" inherent in fall ball. Other teams could soon follow--not for financial reasons, but for baseball reasons.

Nobody claims to know for sure whether dropping fall ball is a good idea, but it's not clear it's a terrible idea, either. If three weeks of spring instruction turn out to be more productive than five weeks in the fall, the Royals will have earned praise for doing something right--challenging conventional wisdom and trying something different in the name of better baseball operations.