Recession? What Recession? MLB Teams Spend Freely in Rule 4 Draft

According to reports and research the 30 MLB teams spent a total of $191,876,250 on signing bonuses in picks occurring in rounds 1 thru 10 in 2011. That is 144% over recommended slotting by the Commissioner’s office.
Who were the biggest spenders in 2011? The Pirates, Royals and Nationals were all big spenders. All three spending more than 200% over slot for their picks. Eight clubs – the Tigers, Rockies, Athletics, Angels, Braves, Dodgers, Rangers and White Sox were able to keep spending under the slot guidelines. The Rays, the club with the most picks, and a club that was able to sign 19 of the 20 selections went just 9% over the recommended number. The Rays signed 19 players for a total of $11,309,400.00 for an average signing bonus of $595,231.57. This in comparison to the Pirates spending $16,445,700.00 on 10 players for an average bonus of $1,644,570.00. Even if the Pirates had failed to sign Garrett Cole and saved $8M in a signing bonus, they still would have averaged $938,411.11 per player in signing bonuses.
But what does it all mean? The Pirates have no guarantees that free spending on amateur players will bring any rewards. For the second straight year Neal Huntington and Greg Smith went out and bought college and high school players in hopes of bringing future championships back to the steel city. The “We Are Family “ lyrics may or may not be sung anytime soon. I hope the fans at PNC Park get the opportunity to watch their beloved Pirates raise the Commissioner’s World Series trophy overhead and there are parades like no other in the self-proclaimed City of Champions.
Reality tells us that no team since the 1990 Cincinnati Reds have been able to win a World Series with a majority of players drafted and developed by the signing organization. The 1990 Reds had 5 of the 8 starting position players (Oliver-2nd rd. 1983, Larkin 1st rd. 1985, Sabo 2nd rd. 1983, Davis 8th rd. 1980, O’Neill 4th rd. 1981) and 2 of the 4 starting pitchers (Browning 9th rd. 1982, Armstrong 1st rd. 1987) along with Reliever Rob Dibble 1st rd. 1983. This group was drafted and developed by an organization with a rich tradition in winning.
Following the Reds sweep of the Oakland Athletics in four games in 1990 they have not won another post season game being swept by the Atlanta Braves in the League Championship series in 1995 and by the Phillies in the 2010 League Division Series.
The Current Reds winners of the National League Central in 2010 boosts 5 current position players (Hanigan [Non Drafted Free Agent] 2002, Votto 2nd rd 2002, Janish 5th rd. 2004, Stubbs 1st rd. 2006 and Bruce 1st rd. 2006) and four of the six starting pitchers ( Leake 1st rd. 2009, Cueto NDFA 2004, Wood 2nd rd. 2005, Bailey 1st rd. 2004)
Drafting and developing a championship team is near impossible. The impatience of bigger market clubs (or clubs which seem to have unlimited budgets) use free agency to make attempts to buy a championship. Smaller market clubs (or clubs that are more money conservative) will draft and develop players, only to refuse to sign the players they nurtured.
The best organizations and General Managers find a way to balance both free agent spending and drafting and developing young players. There also appears to be a trend for players to be connecting with the original club and planting roots in the community where they play. This, in my opinion, will not only bring parity to the game but also bring the youth and teens back to the game.