Can We Not Talk About How the Fan Favorite Third Baseman is going to be traded please?
The MLB Draft is Really Boring
I have either followed or covered MLB’s Rule 4 Amateur Draft on and off for the last 20 years, and in that time it has seen some major changes. It would take too much time to go into detail of all the individual changes to the rules for the draft such as the free agent compensation system, draft order, bonus pools, et cetera. I’m actually more concerned with the changes like it being televised for the first time in 2007, being simulcast on MLBTV and ESPN since 2020, and it being moved to All-Star Weekend the following year. Although the move in date was a much needed change to accommodate the College World Series, it was really made for the exact same reasons as the other two changes I mentioned. The MLB draft is nowhere near as popular nor does it receive as much media coverage as the NBA or NFL draft. The MLB draft is boring and is basically irrelevant to the general public compared to the other two leagues, but it’s boring even if you are a diehard fan.
The easiest problem that can actually be addressed is the speed and pace of the draft. It is agonizingly slow and it shouldn’t have to take literal hours to get through the first round of the draft. If MLB gave teams half as much time to make their picks for the first round, it would go a LONG way to make it more interesting and not feel so tedious to watch.
The harder problem to address is making it more relevant. 99.999% of MLB draftees will not make it onto an MLB roster for at least year and even fewer will make an immediate impact. Although we are starting to see college players called up earlier and earlier in their professional careers, it will likely remain an extreme rarity seeing a player make the jump straight to the big leagues without seeing any time in the minors.
One suggestion (courtesy of ‘Pit Alumnus Spencer O’Hara) to make the draft more interesting that I really like, is to get the players on the field for a Field of Dreams style game, and then have each player taken off the field and a new player subbed as each is drafted. Not sure how well that would work logistically, but I think that would be much more interesting than what we currently have.
The All-Star Game Commentary Team Was Terrible
I just wanted to complain about the terrible, unflattering commentary of the D’Backs players who appeared in the All-Star game. Aside from the previously mentioned color commentary about Eugenio Suarez, talking about how tiny Corbin Carrol is an interesting choice, to say the least.
Olympic Baseball Might Cause Some Scheduling Problems
It’s worth noting that baseball being back in the Summer Olympics really complicates things for both the MLB draft and the All-Star Game, especially if professionals are playing in the game for the first time. It will be interesting to see how exactly the will make that happen with zero hiccups. Other than having a longer break in the middle of the season, I’m not sure if there are really any other changes to that system