The Baseball Draft – Do you want to be a millionaire?

Today is the first day of the annual Major League Amateur Draft. For you baseball fans don’t believe all the Moneyball hype, the draft is more inexact than ever, it is a crapshoot. There is no systematic approach. Every year you hear the same cliché’s and teams repeat the same mistakes over and over. There is a distinctive provincial perspective with little appreciation for what other sports are doing. Absolutely no systematic approach, they refuse to have a combine or change the date of the draft which would allow the teams to get a better read on the players. It is amazing to hear the great variation in radar gun reading between organizations and even individual scouts. The same is true with running times. They still time sixty yards, a distance that has nothing to do with baseball, but a distance that Branch Rickey picked 100 million years ago because it is the distance from first to third, this despite the fact that it is essentially a ten to thirty yard game. One team drafted an outfielder as a high draft pick who had night vision problems! Another team drafted pitchers three years in a row, who were hurt, one of whom never was able to pitch after he blew out his arm in his first pro outing. Many teams now refuse to draft players represented by the agent Scott Boras, what could be more absurd. He has the best players. They won’t draft them because he demands too much money. What’s wrong with this picture? They do not have to pay it! He is not holding a gun to their head.

Here are some pearls that I have heard in draft meeting in my years working in baseball. This will help you understand the articles about the draft in USA Today and to better understand the pundits on Baseball Tonight.

World Class Speed – I actually timed this guy a week after the draft when we signed him and he ran 6.99 in the forty!
Thick Body – This means he is fat. We signed a pitcher with a thick body that was so fat I could not do skin folds on him, but he had a great ”arm.”
Athletic Body – He looks good in a uniform, but he can’t play baseball.
Strong Face – Yep a guy was drafted because he had a strong face!
Real Gamer – This guy is so lazy he won’t do anything until the game starts. He is usually always hurt, because he refuses to train but he will find a way to play the game.
Good Under the Lights – This means he is a lot better when the lights are out after the game.
Small Legal Problem – This means he was bailed out of jail for the press conference on the day of the draft.
Had Trouble in School – Dropped out because he stopped going to class after the season ended.
Real Smart – This means he reads a hardcoverbook on the team bus instead of Maxim
Good Character – Says yes sir and no sir instead of F___ You.

Baseball is truly unique. Believe me it gets better after the draft as the so called “Player Development” systems take over. A small hint, the one’s who are good usually make it, not many are developed. Enjoy following the draft after these insights.