Education

UF study: High school track athletes make better MLB players, but teams don’t notice

A University of Florida sport management professor co-authored a study finding that baseball players who competed in high school track went on to outperform peers who specialized only in baseball. Despite the measurable advantage — linked to speed, explosiveness, and timing — MLB teams showed no tendency to favor track athletes in the draft or in signing bonuses. The research, drawing on nearly 97,000 historical player surveys, challenges the growing trend toward early single-sport specialization in youth athletics.

Sources: UF News