ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

I can understand why we watch the NFL draft, we know the players from college and they make a big impact, soon. Same can be said with the NBA draft and Lottery, but the MLB draft. Honestly, most times we know little to nothing. Of all the drafts, it's the biggest crap shoot.

I know it's only on the 2, but I don't know why. The first round will only be shown, and that's where the true fire prospects lie. Will see I guess.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2862901

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

heh, i'm not too big on this for the same reasons u stated...showing the draft alone is not going to help, a lot more coverage is going to be needed year round to build up hype and that's not something i see happening...

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

I don't know if I'd say they are going too far. Its still better then a lot of [censored] they air and I think interest in minor league baseball and baseball prospects in general is starting to increase...

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

also to add, it's not nearly as exciting knowing a lot of these picks are going to be in the minors for years to develop, so no immediate help to the big leage team which the fans are concerned about

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

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also to add, it's not nearly as exciting knowing a lot of these picks are going to be in the minors for years to develop, so no immediate help to the big leage team which the fans are concerned about

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This is also less true then it was in the past. In recent years there have been quite a few high picks who have made their MLB debut within a year or two after being drafted!

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

^^how many though?? weaver comes to mind and i'm sure ur right about others, just can't remember them...also, is this really a substantial amount to make the draft exciting??

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

The development is just too long for most drafts. With such a big minor league system and development time it doesn't make sense to show the drafts. In the NFL most day 1 draft picks become starters pretty quickly, same can be said for most top 15 picks in the NBA draft, but in baseball, you might see 1 guy make the team in the first year. Most guys take 3 or 4 years or sometimes much longer to make it from HS to the big leagues.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

they've been televising the NHL draft for as long as I can remember, and the same things are true of it as well.

most players from an NHL draft don't have a significant impact for 4-6 years after they're picked.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

i would watch this.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

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they've been televising the NHL draft for as long as I can remember, and the same things are true of it as well.

most players from an NHL draft don't have a significant impact for 4-6 years after they're picked.

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They air this? On ESPN or some other channel? I've never seen it.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

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they've been televising the NHL draft for as long as I can remember, and the same things are true of it as well.

most players from an NHL draft don't have a significant impact for 4-6 years after they're picked.

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They air this? On ESPN or some other channel? I've never seen it.

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it was on ESPN or ESPN2 for years. I definitely watched from 98-04 on there. Now it's on Versus/OLN. Usually it would just be using the Canadian feed.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

Last year it was OLN in the USA, TSN in Canada. I'm pretty sure ESPN isn't showing this wonderful event.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

I'd rather the MLB draft be aired than the World Scrabble Championships, etc.

If it gets a few more people knowledgeable about prospects and minor league talent, I don't see how it can be a bad thing.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

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Last year it was OLN in the USA, TSN in Canada. I'm pretty sure ESPN isn't showing this wonderful event.

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Awesome, I get Versus now, I would definitely watch this.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

I have heard this but not sure it is true or where I heard it from...
The MLB draft is usually done by conference call with whoever is making the picks for each team on the phone. The first round is done in a matter of minutes, something like four minutes for the whole round. This is because of the time it takes for a prospect to develop, most teams just draft the best player available. Teams have their list of the best players available and just keep drafting from the top.

Anyone know if there is any truth to this?

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

The article said 5 mins per player.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

Pete Rozelle thought ESPN was nuts for wanting to televise the NFL draft in the late 70's...

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

I think that this has something to do about ESPN airing a lot of the College World Series. ESPN is big about cross promotion: games that wouldn't make SportsCenter otherwise get on because ESPN aired the game.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

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I have heard this but not sure it is true or where I heard it from...
The MLB draft is usually done by conference call with whoever is making the picks for each team on the phone. The first round is done in a matter of minutes, something like four minutes for the whole round. This is because of the time it takes for a prospect to develop, most teams just draft the best player available. Teams have their list of the best players available and just keep drafting from the top.

Anyone know if there is any truth to this?

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I have heard the same. I imagine they'll draw it out for the TV audience. bleh

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

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The article said 5 mins per player.

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this is a good idea (and how the NHL does it also). I think the NFL takes too long to do the first round.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

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The article said 5 mins per player.

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this is a good idea (and how the NHL does it also). I think the NFL takes too long to do the first round.

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they want to give teams some time before making an important decision...and i suspect hype and tv play a big role too...

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

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The article said 5 mins per player.

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this is a good idea (and how the NHL does it also). I think the NFL takes too long to do the first round.

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they want to give teams some time before making an important decision...and i suspect hype and tv play a big role too...

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most of these teams have had months to make a decision. while there certainly are surprises at the draft, very often a team knows who it's going to be able to get (within a range) and can select them or trade down - and there's basically a chart for the value of a given pick, current players aren't often moved for significant pieces at the draft (as they are in the NHL).

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

you can't trade mlb picks, theres really no reason to take more than 5 mins

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

Are you saying you shouldn't or that you are not allowed?

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

Trading of draft picks is not allowed in MLB. That's why it goes so quick, while trades are the reason that NFL teams get 15 minutes per pick in the 1st round.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

Skip Bayless has his face on ESPN about an hour a day and you're bitching about this?

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

Very glad they are doing this.

I think fans of various major-league teams should be interested in who their organization selected in the first round just out of curiousity.
Most of the first-rounders are signing for over $1-million.

Doesn't really measure up to some of the big signing-bonuses in football and basketball of course. But it still tells you something about how highly the organization thinks of that player.

Baseball America magazine and it's website has lots of coverage of this kind of stuff including projections, etc.

Also agree that covering the draft like this could add some interest and excitement to the C.W.S.


Definitely not going too far.
Especially if it's only going to be coverage of the first round.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

this has the potential to be cool if they get some guys with some real knowledge about the talent in the draft to break each selection down and compare it to other guys that were available/a better fit etc. If they get Joe Morgan, Johnny Miller, and Berman on the broadcast it will be a total waste of time and a flop. Here's to hoping they have footage on these guys and good stats/scouting reports. If they do, I would definitely watch and I think casual fans would get brought into this as well. It's kinda cool knowing who the future of your organization is before they are there.

James

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

I've watched some of the draft the past couple years on mlb.com and they've done a pretty decent job regarding highlight videos and such. Jonathan Mayo provides commentary and knows a good deal about the workings of the draft, so it is pretty fun to watch. It is UTTERLY IMPORTANT to get someone who constantly speaks to scouts and crosscheckers , so they are up to date on current prospects, and can speak knowledgably about them. Hint:this isn't Morgan, Berman,et. al

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

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Trading of draft picks is not allowed in MLB. That's why it goes so quick, while trades are the reason that NFL teams get 15 minutes per pick in the 1st round.

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If this is the case, why does SF have three first round picks? Are you allowed to trade draft picks up until draft day?

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

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Trading of draft picks is not allowed in MLB. That's why it goes so quick, while trades are the reason that NFL teams get 15 minutes per pick in the 1st round.

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If this is the case, why does SF have three first round picks? Are you allowed to trade draft picks up until draft day?

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You get compensation based on losing free agents. The same happens in the NFL just the NFL's compensatory picks are at the end of a round and don't start until the 3rd round.

Someone more in the know could tell you. I know there is "A" free agents and then "b" free agents and that determines what round the pick goes. All I know is the Alou signing cost the Mets their first round but they recieve one in the 2nd round.

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

Why shouldnt they broadcast this?

Its going to be on at 2 PM EST on a Thursday, its not like ESPN has quality programming at that time slot. If you don't like it, just tivo women's 9 ball sometime between now and then and put it on when they do the draft so you get your fix of "The Black Widow".

Re: ESPN Going to Far, MLB Draft On TV (First Round)
 

As someone who watched this last year, I don't really get the move by ESPN. Some guy comes up to a podium every like minute with another pick. Then the commentary guys say a few words show a few clips of mechanics and next pick is done. It is definetly not interesting TV.