OT- Rangers draft paralyzed outfielder
The Texas Rangers drafted a kid named Johnathan Taylor , a junior outfielder from the University of Georgia, in the 33rd round. Thing is, Taylor was paralyzed in an on-field collision with a teammate in March.
Classy move, Texas. Well played.
Where's barwis when you need him?
Great move by the Rangers though.
Great story. Thanks for posting.
No what would be terrible, is if the Rangers didn't even know about it. But a very classy move.
So, what you're saying is, "You know what would be worse than being paralyzed? Being a Major League Baseball team that accidentally drafts the 'wrong' player in the 33rd round of the draft. Now THAT would be awful."
Hmm...
Thank god we avoided THAT. That would have been tragic.
I think he means that the kid would probably feel crushed if the Rangers called with the good news only to find out he's not able to play.
Maybe he can take it as motivation for the future. I mean its highly unlikely that he will be able to play again, but as long as he has something to strive for it's helpful in his recovery. Hope he is able to walk again soon.
This is a great story. Good to hear.
Is there a reason the MLB draft has an absolutely insane number of rounds? It seems like they could easily shorten the draft by like 30 rounds or so and still be fine.
Well, there is a very large farm system so there is a lot more room for players than in the NFL. An NFL team can have 53 players (slightly more in the summer/fall camp). An MLB team can have something like 100 or more players in various levels of development.
There are only several rounds worth of prospects, but those prospects need to have other non-prospect players around in order to play games and further their development. All MLB teams have two Single A teams and one short-season, rookie-league team. That's a lot of players needed in the developmental stages and hence the need for all those rounds of NPs. Most of those guys are just drafted for need (eg, Beloit needs a SS, let's draft this kid.) They're just cannon fodder so the one or two good guys on the team can play games against other similarly staffed teams.
If you're in rookie ball and have a poor season, is that it - are you cut for good? Or do they give those guys a second year to prove themselves?
About Mike Piazza Going insanely late in the draft?
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<br>I may have to become a Rangers fan!
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this big. First, like others have mentioned, a large farm system. If you consider that there are 6 teams below each MLB taem, at about 25 roster members each, that's 150 players each team stores, not to mention the extras beyond that (extended spring training, ect.) Each year, you will have some of these 150+ minor league players either get hurt or realize that they aren't going to ever make it to the show. You need to replace these players to fill out your system. In addition, a great deal of your 50 or so picks flat out won't sign with you. If you take a high school kid past a certain round, good luck signing him. The wise decision at that point becomes college. Even still, I've seen a kid (Gerrit Cole) get drafted in the 1st by the Yankees and still go to college and then get drafted in the 1st again (#1) overall. So yeah, the draft is long, and rightfully so. And teams STILL hit the undrafted free agent market and international market (where there is no draft at all) to fill out their minor league rosters.
Good point about the signing percentage, which none of us had mentioned above. That is something that the NBA and NFL don't have to deal with at all. When they draft their players, it is the best/only option for advancement. So virtually every player (not named Manning) will sign with the team that drafted them.
That was going to tie into another theory that I was trying to formulate but couldn't express very well. The MLB is very accepting of young talent. They draft a lot of high school players, and the best ones can move up through the farm system pretty quickly. But the competition they are facing in high school is not as good as it will be as a pro (although I'm not sure how the elite summer leagues compare to low level minor leagues). So they take chances on young players who they think will be the next Jason Heyward but then never make it out of AA. Obviously all drafts have busts, but I feel like the uneven scouting might make the MLB worse. It would be hard to measure since like you said they draft players never expecting them to get into the majors.
The NBA does have some signing issues when it comes to foreign players, but it's not a big deal because after the first round the talent pool plunges in quality anyway. The second round is a good opportunity to take a flier on a European who might not arrive for a couple of years. San Antonio, in particular, has profited from this.
Good Stuff! May he recover in 4 years with new technology and lead the Rangers to a Series.
I am happy for Taylor, but after reading the title of this thread I got all excited that Kenny Kawaguchi had become the first Backyard Baseball player ever drafted.
lmaoo.... Kenny Kawaguchi was the bee's knees.
Great story, and somewhat ironic that the guy they selected earlier on in the draft is Taylor's teammate and the guy he collided with when he was injured, and they happen to be great friends.
First, that kid was pretty good, and is determined like WHOA to play again. Doctors have said that's not outside the realm of possibility.
Secondly, classy. That got them the karma win tonight.
a kid who was paralyzed last month.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110608&content_id=20238348&vkey=draftcentral2011