Chisoxfn Posted May 29, 2004 Share Posted May 29, 2004 Random Musings on the Draft By Jason Gage May 29, 2004 FutureSox.com The Major League Amateur draft starts on June 7th and will be concluded on June 8th. The draft is 50 rounds long and unlike the NFL, NBA, and NHL draft, it is not televised. However, the MLB draft can be heard live on MLB.com radio which is the first step towards baseball finally making the draft more exciting. As of now, not many baseball fans know much about the draft. Usually, following the draft their will be a small blurb in the paper that comments on the local players that were drafted as well as who the local teams drafted in the early rounds. Lets be honest, where is the fun in that? I realize that the MLB draft is 50 rounds long and to televise something like that would be incredibly hard. However, televising the draft with a scrolling ticker of the current selections (you can’t put teams on the clock in the MLB draft, its basically a live conference call) would be a start. Then you could have a few draft guru’s, people like Jim Callis, John Manuel, and company who could talk about some of the key players. They could also take time to comment on all the team’s minor league systems and give a little info and video footage on each of the team’s top prospects. This would be a unique opportunity for Major League Baseball to market the draft and its up and coming stars. To me the MLB draft is a very fun day. Before to the draft a lot of college baseball is televised, whether its conference tournaments or the beginning of the regionals, which gives you the opportunity to check out some of the top college prospects in the country. Then following the draft, you can maybe watch a player or two in the college world series that your team has just drafted. The question is why isn’t major league baseball marketing and televising the building block of every organization (including the Yankees). Note: This is the 1st piece of what will be a daily article as FutureSox countdowns to the amateur draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Socks Posted May 29, 2004 Share Posted May 29, 2004 Has ESPN ever offered to televise the draft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted May 30, 2004 Author Share Posted May 30, 2004 No idea, but I know there have been a few articles in regards to televising the draft. I don't see why they wouldn't. I have a lot of ideas they could use that I didn't mention in the article cause I didn't want to go too in depth. When I started writing the article I wasn't planning on even talking about it and then it ended up kind of going there. I should of added more content to it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 I think the problem is that baseball has the lowest turnout rate of any major sport from its draft. Football and basketball players go right to the league. Hockey players are picked from minor leagues so they are closer than baseball players when drafted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Plus, almost nobody has heard of most of the players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Honda Civic Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/drafting-my-plan/ Drafting My Plan by Bryan Smith May 27, 2004 Picture a lonely Saturday morning, when you just decide to put your feet up and watch some TV. It's about noon, and you turn on ESPN, only to find this ... "With the first pick in the 2001 amateur draft, the Texas Rangers select Mark Prior from the University of Southern California." "That was Bud Selig folks," Karl Ravech says. "The win-starved Tom Hicks desperately wanted some pitching to go with A-Rod, so the team went after a man touted as the greatest college pitcher ever. Peter, how did this happen?" "Well Karl, the stingy Carl Pohlad was never going to pay Prior, and they believe their man, hometown catcher Joe Mauer, might fall to the fifth spot. Texas offered money, their #5 selection and their second-best middle infield prospect, Michael Young, for the top pick. In the end, it was enough." "Thanks Peter ... that was our draft guru Peter Gammons, explaining how Prior has become a Texan. Next on the board is the Chicago Cubs, a club that has been hoping the Twins' stinginess would land them the USC right-hander. How often does this happen Jim?" "In my time with the Reds we went safe with predraft deals, but when you don't go that route you sit and cross your fingers," Jim Bowden says. "And now with trades being added into the mix, I can't even imagine." "Bud Selig is about to come to the podium, we'll listen in on the Cubs choice," Ravech says. "With the second choice in the 2001 amateur draft, the Chicago Cubs select Mark Teixeira from Georgia Tech University." "So, rather than go with the nation's top pitcher, Chicago selects the nation's top slugger," says Ravech. "We have our own Harold Reynolds standing by with Cubs GM Jim Hendry." "Thanks Karl, I'm talking with Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry, who just selected Tech third basemen Mark Teixeira," Reynolds says. "Jim, what sold you on Teixeira?" "Well, he had a great collegiate career, and besides Prior, we didn't feel there was another player on the board as close to the Majors as Teixeira," says Hendry. "We feel he'll soon fill the third base void we've had for far too long." "Thanks Jim, now we'll go back to draft guru Peter Gammons, who is trying to evaluate the next pick, owned by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays." "With players like Aubrey Huff and top prospect Josh Hamilton in the system, Tampa should be after pitching," says Gammons. "Joe Mauer, a catcher committed to nearby Florida State University, is tempting, but adding a big pitcher to the organization would be nice. That leaves them between Middle Tennessee State right-hander Dewon Brazelton, and top high schooler Gavin Floyd. Here's Bud with the selection." "With the third choice in the 2001 amateur draft, the Devil Rays select Dewon Brazelton from Middle Tennessee State University." ... And then you pinch yourself, and realize it was all just a dream. The Rangers really don't have the best hitter-pitcher combo ever, and the Cubs aren't sporting a homegrown slugger at the hot corner. George Steinbrenner wasn't forced to trade for Aramis Ramirez to replace Aaron Boone, and Aaron Gleeman definitely isn't praising the Twins second basemen. But, this is what it should be. While I understand the criticism that baseball should implement a worldwide draft, my belief is that it is number three on the draft to-do list. First, there is no valid reason that baseball doesn't televise the first five rounds. Secondly, allowing teams to trade picks would add drama that should be essential to a draft. Whether baseball acknowledges it or not, few fanbases have been benefited more by the Internet than that of the MLB. The worldwide web has increased the availability of statistics and opinion, which has created a new breed of fan. This numbers-crazed, obsessive fan has started to become interested in all facets of the game, and that has boosted popularity in the draft. Television and Major League Baseball executives have yet to realize this, failing to cash in on what this could bring them. It's always been assumed that the process of the minor leagues eliminates draft drama, since unlike football, we don't see the top pick making a difference the next year. Instead, we're left to flip through pages of Baseball America to find Delmon Young's numbers in the California League. But, fans have started to care, and ESPN has yet to pick up on this prompt. Using football as a model again, this year's draft was immensely dramatized by the Eli Manning situation. Trading draft picks is under consideration by teams each year, and cases like Mike Vick (pick traded by Chargers to Falcons) spark stories weeks before the draft. Allowing this at the same time they televise the draft would maximize profits for the industry. Considering this is what baseball lives for, I'm surprised they didn't think of this before anyone else. Plain and simple, baseball should institute this plan. Go back and forth on the pros and cons of a worldwide draft later, but start generating revenue for low budget teams now. Bring some baseball drama to the month of June, because if you make it, we will watch. Next week, we'll go back beyond 2001 and review the 1998 draft, which might help us discover the best plan on draft day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Didn't read the article posted above, but from my experience listening to the last 3-4 drafts, it goes way too fast for people to comment on players. They would be talking about one player and miss about 20. But if they slow it down it could work, but that would make it take forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted May 30, 2004 Author Share Posted May 30, 2004 Didn't read the article posted above, but from my experience listening to the last 3-4 drafts, it goes way too fast for people to comment on players. They would be talking about one player and miss about 20. But if they slow it down it could work, but that would make it take forever. What I suggested is having a ticker below and instead of talking about all the players do more of a focus on the early players drafted. Then start talkinga bout the organizations as a whole, drafting strategy, all those type of things because its something so few people are in. I don't think many people know how the MLB draft works and all that stuff. To me it would be neat if they did things like that. Included in that is showing video clips of some of the current prospects and what not. It would just be like a 2 day video session on future guys coming into the majors, talks with some gm's, talks with some scouts, video footage of guys that are currently in the minors. It be a great way for MLB to start hyping some of its FutureStars and while they increase their revenue by having it on tv, they also are going to help minor league baseballs revenue increase as well cause more people may end up checking out some minor league games because they are a little more familiar with some of the stars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 Didn't read the article posted above, but from my experience listening to the last 3-4 drafts, it goes way too fast for people to comment on players. They would be talking about one player and miss about 20. But if they slow it down it could work, but that would make it take forever. Well if trades would be entered into the draft then it would work out because teams would be on the phone discussing trades. This would take that extra time needed. Even if there is only 1 minute per pick there wouldn't be an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubsSuck1 Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 College Baseball needs to gaim popularity first, IMO. Right now it is nothing compared to Basketball and Football, obviously Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 College Baseball needs to gaim popularity first, IMO. Right now it is nothing compared to Basketball and Football, obviously College baseball gets as much coverage as college hockey yet the hockey draft is televised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubsSuck1 Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 College baseball gets as much coverage as college hockey yet the hockey draft is televised. I don't completely understand the format of the MLB draft, but it would probably have to do with that. But even the hockey draft is dwarfed by the NBA and NHL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 I don't completely understand the format of the MLB draft, but it would probably have to do with that. But even the hockey draft is dwarfed by the NBA and NHL. Of course it is, but the point is that hockey's draft is televised and baseball's isn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbaho-WG Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 I completely disagree and believe that baseball's draft should be kept on conference call. Face it, the draft itself is already 2 days long and would last forever being televised unless the amount of rounds was cut down dramatically. Secondly, and more importantly, only a very few people know who the heck these kids are being drafted. If MLB is to televise the draft, collegiate baseball would have to garner the same audience and attention as college football or basketball. That ain't gonna happen. If you hear something along the lines of, "With the 10th pick in the MLB draft, the Anaheim Angels select redraft 0174, Nick Adenhart," (yes I know Adenhart is not a redraft and blew out his elbow) 99 out of 100 baseball fans are going to go, "Huh?" Also, baseball players have no guaranteed big league appearence like in Basketball or Football. Sure, the #1 pick of the MLB draft has better odds than the last pick of the draft at making the Bigs, but more often than not these players have to spend 2-4 years in the minors before their contract is purchased (assuming it's non major contract). Do I really want to see some huge celebration and showboat of a jersey with a #1 on it and SYZMANSKI steamed onto the back when no one knows if he is going to pan out? Hell no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 While I do think the MLB Draft on tv would be cool, it's not really needed and would have little meaning to almost everyone who watches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 I understand what you are saying Jason. What could happen is Fox Sports Net could make a tv show for each team with like 2 scouts or a scout and an announcer following the picks and they could focus on that teams picks and show video's or let the scout talk about the players, while having a continous ticker on the bottom showing players that have been drafted, like they do with the NFL draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redandwhite Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 College baseball gets as much coverage as college hockey yet the hockey draft is televised. This is completely false. Go out East for a week in the winter, and the local Fox Sports Nets won't have meaningless tv on, they'll have college hockey day in and day out. The market for it out in the midwest just isnt big enough, but with the emergence of Michigan, Michigan St, Minnesota, Ohio St all having solid college hockey teams, things might change down the road. With that being said, College Baseball gets nothing, zero coverage and it really makes for a lesser type of a game. I used to be a NU baseball season ticket holder but because I had no clue who the players were, you had no idea who was a senior, junior etc, and other things I just stopped following and stopped purchasing season tickets. College baseball has a market, but until some television network takes a chance on it, theres going to be no college baseball market, and ultimately be no MLB draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 The SEC Baseball Tournament was televised across 9 states this weekend...... from the Barons home stadium in Birmingham. I'd say that is some legit coverage...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted May 31, 2004 Author Share Posted May 31, 2004 The SEC Baseball Tournament was televised across 9 states this weekend...... from the Barons home stadium in Birmingham. I'd say that is some legit coverage...... I was watching it on one of the national fox sports I get on digital cable. Personally I really enjoy watching college baseball when I see it on. I usually don't watch the entire game, but I'll at least watch a couple innings. Once the playoffs start though, then I usually watch most every game if I'm home. The games are played hard and you get to watch some pretty good players. Of course it helps that my schools team gets to the playoffs every year, usually going pretty deep into it. Also, just because people haven't necessarily heard of the players doesn't mean it shouldn't be televised. Not many hockey fans have heard of a lot of the draft picks or know much about them. Heck, if it wasn't for the NFL draft being televised, I'd have a hard time knowing about some of the latter round picks of most NFL teams and even some of the early picks (that come from small schools). I know NFL players make more of an impact but I don't believe that no knowing a player makes a draft less important. Hell, at the very least being able to watch the draft will educate more people about some of the players, plus to me drafts are just interesting. Hell, its not like they would even have to televise all 50 rounds, maybe just have a draft special where they go to each teams draft room and talk to the guys after the draft and maybe before the draft. Just show a lot of clips and then have some of the experts talking about a few key players from each team and then like I mentioned earlier doing an overview and showing footage of some of the top prospects in the majors. I know one thing, I'd TUNE in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nokona Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 I know some of the Southern states get some college ball coverage. For us Chicagoans, the nearest thing we have is Southern Illinois making some noise. Who else do we have to root for? Triton? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 I know some of the Southern states get some college ball coverage. For us Chicagoans, the nearest thing we have is Southern Illinois making some noise. Who else do we have to root for? Triton? That's because college baseball sucks up north. LOL Wait for the CWS......... you get to see it then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 But Jason, like has been mentioned, its not like the NFL Draft where a lot of first rounders have the potential to be impact players the very next year.....Almost every single player won't smell the majors for at least three years.....Just my thoughts....and no network will want to to televise it if almost no one has seen the players or cares who they are..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted May 31, 2004 Author Share Posted May 31, 2004 But Jason, like has been mentioned, its not like the NFL Draft where a lot of first rounders have the potential to be impact players the very next year.....Almost every single player won't smell the majors for at least three years.....Just my thoughts....and no network will want to to televise it if almost no one has seen the players or cares who they are..... Trust me, a network would gladly televise it. You don't think Fox Sports would televise it or someone would televise it soley to say they have the MLB draft. ESPN could do it and then basically have all the drafts (I think TNT has the NBA draft, but that may of changed). NHL players don't make an immediate impact either and thats televised. Just cause they don't make an impact doesn't mean people won't care, imo. I'm not saying it will be what the NFL draft is, but the network would make money on it as would baseball. Plus, if you call yourself the world wide leader in sports, you aught to have a draft of one of the big 3 sports televised. Look at all the other crap that ocassionally gets televised on ESPN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 Look at all the other crap that ocassionally gets televised on ESPN. He's got a point there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 You know I locve the minors, but I can't see the draft being televised on a mainstream TV Network......maybe if it was PPV or MLB Extra Innings sort of thing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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