Wednesday, May 23 Keep the baseball draft off of TV By Jim Caple ESPN.com |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The NBA held its annual draft lottery over the weekend, once again subjecting the nation to the ridiculous spectacle of rich men in expensive suits standing around and waiting for the fateful tumble of a ping-pong ball. I would say the lottery is the low point on the TV schedule but I'm withholding judgment until the first episode of "Survivor III." Meanwhile, baseball holds it annual draft in less than two weeks. If you're like most fans, you probably didn't realize baseball's draft was so close. And if you're like many fans, you probably don't care very much, either.
There are a number of people out there who would like to change that. These well-meaning people -- writers, general managers and scouting directors -- would like to see baseball broadcast its draft the way the NBA and NFL does. They say that as it is now, baseball is missing an enormous opportunity to publicize its draft. That the current draft is conducted in the confusing secrecy usually reserved for an episode of the "X-Files." That it doesn't receive a fraction of the media attention dedicated to the NFL and NBA drafts. And you know what? Those people are absolutely right. But that's the whole beauty of baseball's draft -- that no one cares very much about it other than the players, the teams, "Baseball America" and Scott Boras. I just don't see the necessity or advantage of expanding the coverage of the baseball draft. I mean, do we really need to see the top prospects wearing tuxedos to a ballroom in New York? Does anyone really need wall-to-wall coverage of baseball's draft? Is there a crying need for close-ups of Texas director of scouting Tim Hallgren while he uses the Rangers' 38th round pick to draft an 18-year-old second baseman even "Baseball America" couldn't identify with a high school transcript, a set of fingerprints and a retina scan? Worse, does baseball need its own version of Mel Kiper Jr., the first man to build an entire career around one day since Santa Claus? As a reporter it could be exasperating when baseball wouldn't even release its draft picks past the first round. And yet, I also found it somehow quaint and almost comforting that there still was something in sports that wasn't suffocated by hype and examined so extensively it was reduced to a corpse on the autopsy table. Remember, baseball drafts more than 1,200 players and the vast majority of these kids will never reach the majors. If the draft goes big league, you will devote precious hours of your life to listening to endless hype about them, yet the only way you'll ever see most of them in a major-league stadium is if you stand behind them in the concession stands. And even the few players who make it big won't do so for several years. It isn't like the NFL or NBA drafts where the players can be expected to make an instant impact. It could be six years before they crack the starting lineup, by which point no one will know or care what round they were picked in. So why make more out of the draft than it is? If the players picked are any good, we'll find out about them when they reach the majors. Until then, can't we keep one last thing in professional sports free of TV commercials and hyperbole?
Box score line of the week Ankiel's line: .2 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3BB, 1 K, 3 WP "It's only going to work when I figure it out," he told reporters.
Lies, damn lies and statistics
From left field Kelly is in his 15th full season as manger of the Twins (he took over at the tail end of the 1986 season) and is the dean of all coaches/managers at the major-league level. He also has entered a rare echelon for managers -- 15 full seasons with one club. The managers who lasted at least 15 consecutive seasons with a team:
(Note: Cap Anson managed Chicago for 19 years in the 19th century when the season and game was significantly different)
Win Blake Stein's money Q: Who was the last active manager to appear on the field wearing a suit instead of a uniform?
Power rankings
A. During a Turn Back the Clock Day last season, Oakland manager Art Howe wore a suit and straw hat while presenting the lineup card in a salute to former Athletics manager Connie Mack, who was the last man to actively manage while wearing a suit. Mack always wore a suit instead of a uniform while managing the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years.
Voice of summer -- Philadelphia third-base coach John Vukovich on what he told a nurse preparing to take his blood pressure while he was in the hospital for surgery. Jim Caple is a Senior Writer for ESPN.com. |
|