Should the MLB Draft be on TV?

[Porter99]

Simple Question. Explain why.

[browntown653]

Why not? It'll be more exciting that whatever else ESPN2 would be running at the moment.

[McKain]

I think it should only be televised if it can be given proper, adequate, in-depth coverage without taking up 20 hours of TV time and without ruining the draft itself by extending the timer for each pick and cutting rounds out of it and such.

With ESPN, that's not gonna happen. They're going to show one round, with minimum coverage and discussion of players, because they're not going to have time to do anything else. And then as they televise it more and more they'll start butchering it to fit the viewing audience and it'll suck. So I am undecided.

[HollywoodLeo]

I don't like it.

I don't like the concept of the draft/draftees getting that much more glamorized.

Baseball isn't football. You can't take an unproven rookie and put him in the mix and have him have a fair shot at succeeding.

1st rounders fail in baseball a lot more than they do in football and therefore they should not be able to demand multi million dollar contracts for something they haven't proven they can handle yet.

Trying to glamorize them, which I think giving more exposure to the draft can do, only adds to this ability.

If the fans really want their team to get this highly touted prospect there's more pressure on them to sign him. If there's more pressure he has more leverage.

I'm probably stretching here with this logic as an excuse to rant about rookie contracts, though.

[Fishercat]

Just because the Padres drafted Matt Bush isn't any reason to be bitter.

Anyway, I voted yes. There's no reason not to. They show the NHL draft with players that come from countries that half of the Americans have never heard of and most of whom you won't see for a couple years. They even showed the WNBA draft. This is simple, show the first few rounds, short time limit since no one can trade picks, quick analysis and some highlights.

[HollywoodLeo]

I'm not bitter about Matt Bush because the guy who drafted him isn't in charge of the draft anymore.

I'm bitter about players who haven't even proven themselves at the rookie ball level yet being able to demand multi million dollar contracts.

[Fishercat]

Is that really different than in any other major sport? The NFL Draft has draft picks getting 20+ million guaranteed for playing college football, with most programs facing teams who are lucky to get more than one NFL player out of their talent pool. The NHL Draft has players in junior leagues being drafted or international leagues in their teens. The NBA has high schoolers being drafted at very high levels too. None of these players are proven going in, that's why they're being drafted.

How is playing four years of college football much different than four years of college baseball?

[realmofotalk]

Originally Posted by HollywoodLeo I'm not bitter about Matt Bush because the guy who drafted him isn't in charge of the draft anymore.

Who was the guy whom Kevin Towers handed the draft to? Bill Gayton?

[HollywoodLeo]

For starters, I don't necessarily like that it can happen in any other sport, either.

But, that aside, as mentioned in my initial rant, the failure rate in the MLB is much higher than that of the NFL (and I don't follow the other two sports enough to know or care how they fare).

In the NFL you draft people and the immediatley get a shot at the roster, a good portion of them even start from the get-go. You can get an immediate return from them.

By comparison, I can only think of one player in history who was drafted and started immediately in the MLB. (Dave Winfield) I'm sure there might be a couple others, but that's irrelevant. The point is it almost never happens.

The NFL draft is still a crap shoot, but nothing in comparison to that of the MLB where players have to spend at least 2 years in the minors, and that's if they're a college player who excels quickly through the system.

Jake Peavy was drafted in the 15th round, for instance. The same draft the Padres felt Vince Faison was worth their top pick.

Other notables the Padres drafted before taking Peavy in the 15th round? Gerik Baxter, Omar Ortiz, Mike Bynum...I don't need to continue.

I can find many different examples using other teams, I was just using my team as the example.

The baseball amateur draft is a crap shoot and people should not be able to demand multi million dollar contracts for something they haven't proven themselves at yet.

[HollywoodLeo]

Originally Posted by realmofotalk Who was the guy whom Kevin Towers handed the draft to? Bill Gayton?

Grady Fuson pretty much covers the draft these days.

[realmofotalk]

By the way, why isn't Paul DePodesta listed anywhere in the Padres' front office on the team website?

[HollywoodLeo]

I've wondered the same thing.

I'm not even sure how much of a role he has in the front office. But i'm sure he has some responsibilities.