Nothing But Crickets Out There

[OaktownTribeFan]

Why so little interest in the Draft? I've got a few theories:

1) The average fan doesn't give a hoot who is chosen.
2) The media has never taken a real interest in it, and they're not about to start now.
3) MLB doesn't promote it enough, and even when they try, their server goes down, like today.

Jason Stark has a few suggestions, like moving it to the All-Star break, and allowing teams to trade picks. It's going to take more than that to boost interest, IMO. Thoughts?

http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stark...n/1562064.html

[Gosfgiants]

I think that the basketball and football drafts are more popular because the popularity of those sports in college athletics. Regluar season college baseball games don't get televised.

[BravesWin!]

Another important factor is that in the NBA and NFL draft picks (high, picks especially) go straight to the big club, and contribute at once....some start, others contribute off the bench, and at the very least, put on he uniform and show up for warmups...however, in MLB a draft pick (with very few exceptions i do realize) will not wear the uniform of the parent club for anywhere from 2-6 years in most cases....that hurts some of the identification with the players drafted...for the average fan its hard to get excited about your 3rd round pick knowing that he is going to spend this summer in short season rookie ball, next year in A ball, year after that in AA ball, then maybe get invited to MajorLeague Spring Training; spend a year in AAA, and then make the big league club....I think that is the main reason why the MLB Draft will never take off....its too hard to identify with the players....

-andrew

[SmedIndy]

Somewhere around here I posted that the draft CAN be as compelling as other sports drafts.

They televise the NHL draft - why not the MLB draft.

Put it on - and it will build itself.

Are you all too young to remember when the NBA and NFL drafts were as ho-hum affairs as the MLB draft, in that they were multiple rounds over multiple days?

There is absolutely NO reason the MLB draft couldn't grow - it just will take some time to seed and nuture.

[Ytown Tribe fan]

BravesWin hit it on the head...the minor leagues.

Everyone watches the NBA and NFL pick the best players knowing they could make an impact right away.

Only the top college seniors are likely to make a big impact on a major league baseball team right away.

Here's a quick look at the first round draft picks from the Indians from years past, courtesy of Cleveland Indians Report :

CLEVELAND INDIANS FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS
2002: Jeremy Guthrie, RHP, 22nd overall
2001: Dan Denham, RHP, 17th overall
2001: Alan Horne, RHP, 27th overall
2000: Corey Smith, SS, 26th overall
1999: Will Hartley, C, 74th overall (2nd round)
1998: C.C. Sabathia, LHP, 20th overall
1997: Tim Drew, RHP, 28th overall
1996: Danny Peoples, 1B, 28th overall
1995: David Miller, 1B, 23rd overall
1994: Jaret Wright, RHP, 10th overall
1993: Daron Kirkreit, RHP, 11th overall
1992: Paul Shuey, RHP, 2nd overall
1991: Manny Ramirez, OF, 13th overall
1990: Tim Costo, 3b, 8th overall
1989: Calvin Murray, OF, 11th overall (Did not sign)
1988: Mark Lewis, SS, 2nd overall
1988: Charles Nagy, RHP, 17th overall (Brett Butler compensation)
1988: Jeff Mutis, LHP, 27th overall (Brett Butler compensation)
1987: No first round pick (signed Rick Dempsey)
1986: Greg Swindell, LHP, 2nd overall
1985: Mike Poehl, RHP, 9th overall
1984: Cory Snyder, SS, 4th overall
1983: David Clark, OF, 11th overall

Six of those guys had big-league impacts for at least awhile, the latest being CC. The last five haven't worked their way up to being ML regulars yet.

[SmedIndy]

Originally posted by Ytown Tribe fan
BravesWin hit it on the head...the minor leagues.

Everyone watches the NBA and NFL pick the best players knowing they could make an impact right away.

I disagree, totally. It's all marketing and drama - it's hyped into an event.

NFL first round picks NOW have to produce, but when the draft started to be televised that wasn't the case. And they televise the later rounds too, where the players are just as anonymous as college baseball players. ESPN MADE the draft into an event - and when they started it was 12 rounds during the middle of the week.

And Kwame Brown really made an impact, eh? Aside from LeBron and the college STARS - not many people have heard of NBA draft picks (HS players, foreign players, players on lower rung college teams) before the draft either.

Again - HYPE, MARKETING and DRAMA is why they watch. They can see the trades unfold before them, see the drama in the green room, and get to hear all of the spin from the GMs.

Take the NHL draft - many of the high draft picks either go back to juniors or college and it's still a huge event in Canada.
They televise the entire thing, I think. And there's 10 rounds!

Baseball needs to get this on TV - get its act together. Allow picks to be traded.

I remember staying home from work to watch the Marlins and Rockies expansion drafts - and I'd do that for the MLB draft.

[poorme]

i can't imagine the mlb draft being as popular as the others no matter how much marketing they do. that said, it could be more popular than it is.

the "fizzle out" rate is so high, i don't want to invest much time studying/analyzing first round picks. i'd rather wait until they play a year or two in the minors to see how they make the transition.

btw....mlb.com had excellent coverage IMO

[rcartman28]

I have trouble getting about whomever the Twins drafted in the draft because, except for somebody like Mauer, who happened to be a local product, they're all players I have never heard of and probably won't hear about for at least three or four years if they even pan out and make the big club. At least with the NFL, they may be players I know almost nothing about, but at least when Green Bay drafts somebody, that player is already projected into a possible role with the Packers immediately.

[SmedIndy]

Originally posted by rcartman28
I have trouble getting about whomever the Twins drafted in the draft because, except for somebody like Mauer, who happened to be a local product, they're all players I have never heard of and probably won't hear about for at least three or four years if they even pan out and make the big club. At least with the NFL, they may be players I know almost nothing about, but at least when Green Bay drafts somebody, that player is already projected into a possible role with the Packers immediately.

But when the draft was 12 rounds it was still televised and no one knew any roles the players would have even if they were in the middle rounds because the landscape was totally different.

Don't think of NOW, think of the way it was when it started to be televised. It's evolutionary and it takes time.

[pathogan]

..taken.Though the haockey analogy is correct. Outside of the familes of the players and readers of the Hockey News, not many people know them, either...

[RedSeat]

I agree with BravesWin! for the most part. It's tough to get excited about someone who will most likely not be seen in the bigs for a few years. And that's assuming they even sign. Other sports have holdouts, but not quite like mlb.

Another strike against the mlb draft is the absence of trades. A large part of the excitement on the later rounds in the nfl draft is the constant wheeling and dealing.

[WiredTiger]

Originally posted by Gosfgiants
I think that the basketball and football drafts are more popular because the popularity of those sports in college athletics. Regluar season college baseball games don't get televised.

I think that is definitely the reason why. I can name tons of football and basketball guys but I couldn't name you one college baseball player.

[sweaver]

I still don't know why this couldn't fill up some air time on espn2. Ravech would probably host, John Sickels and Alan Schwartz could be hired to fill the Mel Kiper Jr. role, I think something could be made of it.

[Craig S.]

I think the perception has always been that:

1) A baseball player's draft position isn't that important, because later picks often end up better than earlier ones. All it takes is one Piazza to convince everyone of this, whether or not it has merit.

2) These guys will be drafted, then I won't hear of them until they make "my" team. Sure, this isn't true for most of us, but it is for the casual fan.

Further, the point that Andrew made about college football and basketball being televised is a critical one. The only way to really track college baseball players is through BA or other websites, while we can follow the best college football/basketball players regularly throughout their seasons.

The NBA and NFL also get heightened drama from the possibility of drafting "the guy," the player who could turn your franchise around. It happened here with Cincinnati and Carson Palmer, and it's happening upstate with the Cavs and Lebron. These guys are expected to be saviors, and they have a chance much more than would a baseball player. Getting a franchise QB or a guy like Tim Duncan can mean a quick turnaround for your franchise. When's the last time a guy got drafted in the first round of the MLB draft, and helped lead his team to a big improvement in his first season? Even if someone was to come up as an 18-year-old, it's tougher for one player to have an impact in baseball than in basketball or football.

Looking at last year's NBA draft, here's a list of guys who had productive rookie seasons during the 2002-03 season - Yao Ming, Jay Williams, Drew Gooden, Amare Stoudamire and Mike Dunleavy. Nobody from the 2002 MLB draft is having an impact this season, and only Prior and Teixeira from 2001 are productive. That goes towards feeding the (mis)conception that I talked about earlier. The NFL is similar to the NBA, with the 2002 draft yielding Carr, Peppers, Harrington, Williams, Shockey, Stallworth and Ramsey.

It shouldn't come as any surprise that the MLB draft isn't as popular as the others. It's not a slight against the game, but only that the nature of player development is different than in football or basketball.

[pwdennis]

Originally posted by SmedIndy
... And they televise the later rounds too, where the players are just as anonymous as college baseball players. ESPN MADE the draft into an event - and when they started it was 12 rounds during the middle of the week.

Gotta disagree with you here Smed. The late round college football picks are not nearly as anonymous as college baseball players since many many college football games are telecast on a super-regional and / or national basis. College baseball telecasts are mostly local, and only occasionally on even a regional basis. If you wanted to watch the mighty Stetson Hatters baseball squad and you could pull in the Sunshine Network, you might get to see them two or three times a year if you don't mind watching tape delays at 3 AM or early afternoon weekday games.