| PERFECT GAME CROSSCHECKER'S DAILY TOP TEN LIST |
| WEEK 15: 5/14/07 - 5/20/07 |
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| Friday, May 18, 2007 |
| FASTEST 10 TO REACH BIG LEAGUES |
In baseball history, only 20 drafted players have gone
directly to the big leagues, but only one in the last 12 years—Xavier Nady, a
second-round pick of the Padres in 2000. In both the 1973 and 1978 drafts, four
players jumped directly to the majors without playing a minor league game.
No player has reached the big leagues as quickly as 1972 No. 1 overall pick
Dave Roberts, who was signed to a $65,000 bonus by San Diego the day he was
drafted and made his debut at third base for the Padres the next night. None of
the 20 has enjoyed immediate success quite like the Braves Bob Horner, the
first pick in 1978 who went on to become National League Rookie of the Year in
the same season, or long-term success like Dave Winfield, the only player to
become a Hall of Famer.
Here are the 10 fastest players to reach the major leagues from the day they
were drafted:
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|
|
Player, Pos., Club (Round) |
Debut Date |
| 1. |
Dave Roberts, 3b, Padres (1) |
June 7, 1972 |
| 2. |
*Mike Morgan, rhp, Athletics (1) |
June 11, 1973 |
| 3. |
Steve Dunning, rhp, Indians (1) |
June 14, 1970 |
| 4. |
Bob Horner, 3b, Braves (1) |
June 16, 1978 |
| 5. |
Burt Hooton, rhp, Cubs (S-1) |
June 17, 1971 |
| 6. |
Rob Ellis, 3b, Brewers (S-1) |
June 18, 1971 |
| 7. |
Dave Winfield, of, Padres (1) |
June 19, 1973 |
| 8. |
Pete Broberg, rhp, Senators (S-1) |
June 20, 1971 |
| 9. |
*Tim Conroy, lhp, Athletics (1) |
June 23, 1978 |
| 10. |
*Brian Milner, c, Blue Jays (7) |
June 23, 1978 |
|
* High school player
S Secondary phase |
| --ALLAN SIMPSON |
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|
| Thursday, May 17, 2007 |
| TOP 10 DRAFT PICKS, 1965 |
Not since June 8, 1965, when baseball’s first draft was
conducted amidst great intrigue and a carnival atmosphere at New York’s
Commodore Hotel, with representatives of all 20 big league club on site to make
826 selections, has the baseball draft been conducted with greater fanfare as
will occur this year when the draft makes it’s long-awaited debut on TV. ESPN2
will televise the first round this year, along with select supplemental
first-rounders from Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando.
With no track record to work from, teams conducted the 1965 draft largely by
the seat of their pants and only 11 of 20 first-rounders were drafted and
signed who eventually played in the big leagues, including No. 1 overall pick
Rick Monday of the Kansas City A’s. His signing bonus of $100,000 was less than
half what outfielder Rick Reichardt signed for with the Angels on the open
market a year earlier. The first draft was such a crapshoot that four future
Hall of Famers—Johnny Bench (Reds, 2nd round), Carlton Fisk (Orioles, 19th
round), Nolan Ryan (Mets, 10th round) and Tom Seaver (Dodgers, 8th
round)—weren’t drafted in the first round. In the case of Fisk and Seaver,
neither player was even signed.
Following are the first 10 players drafted in 1965, and their signing bonuses.
|
| |
|
|
Player, Pos., Club |
Signing
Bonus |
| 1. |
Rick Monday, of, Athletics |
$100,000 |
| 2. |
Les Rohr, lhp, Mets |
50,000 |
| 3. |
Joe Coleman, rhp, Senators |
65,000 |
| 4. |
*Alex Barrett, ss, Astros |
40,000 |
| 5. |
Billy Conigliaro, of, Red Sox |
62,500 |
| 6. |
Rick James, rhp, Cubs |
40,000 |
| 7. |
Ray Fosse, c, Indians |
28,000 |
| 8. |
*John Wyatt, ss, Dodgers |
40,000 |
| 9. |
Eddie Leon, ss, Twins |
Did not sign |
| 10. |
*Doug Dickerson, of, Pirates |
25,000 |
|
| * Did not play in major leagues |
| --Allan Simpson |
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| Wednesday, May 16, 2007 |
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| Tuesday, May 15, 2007 |
| We’ll begin our extensive 2007 draft preview of every state
on Wednesday, beginning with Perfect Game’s David Rawnsley’s coverage of
Florida and Puerto Rico. He’ll preview the top 120 prospects in Florida and top
25 prospects in Puerto Rico, complete with scouting reports on each player. The
bulk of the coverage will be available on PG Crosschecker’s Insider level, but
we thought we would give you a sneak preview of how David ranked the top 10
prospects in Florida—and their projected draft range.
|
| |
| Top 10 Prospects—Florida, 2007 Draft |
|
|
Player, Pos., School/Hometown |
Projected
Round |
| 1. |
Michael Main, rhp-of, HS—Deltona |
mid-first |
| 2. |
Matt LaPorta, of, U. of Florida |
mid-first |
| 3. |
*Matt Latos, rhp, Broward (Fla.) CC |
late first |
| 4. |
Michael Burgess, of, HS—Tampa |
supplemental |
| 5. |
Yasmani Grandal, c, HS—Hialeah |
supplemental |
| 6. |
Nevin Griffith, rhp, HS—Brandon |
supplemental |
| 7. |
Tony Thomas, 2b, Florida State U. |
second |
| 8. |
John Bachanov, rhp, HS—Orlando |
second |
| 9. |
Danny Rams, c-1b, HS—Coral Gables |
second/third |
| 10. |
Corey Kluber, rhp, Stetson U. |
third |
|
| * Draft-and-follow; eligible to sign prior to draft |
| -- Allan Simpson |
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| Monday, May 14, 2007 |
San Antonio ranks as the largest city in the United States
without a major league team—by almost 500,000 people. According to a 2006
census estimate, more than 1.256 million people live in San Antonio, making it
the seventh-largest city in the country. San Antonio has had a team in the
Double-A Texas League continuously since 1968—and most years since 1888.
By contrast, Pittsburgh is the smallest city in the majors, with a population
of little more than 316,000. There are 14 cities in the U.S. with populations
of greater than 500,000 that do not have big league clubs.
Following are the 10 largest cities in the U.S. without major league teams. All
but one fields a Double-A or Triple-A team, as noted.
|
| |
| Top 10 Largest Cities Without Major
League Baseball |
|
|
City (Minor League Level) |
’06
Population* |
| 1. |
San Antonio (AA) |
1,256 |
| 2. |
Indianapolis (AAA) |
784 |
| 3. |
Jacksonville (AA) |
782 |
| 4. |
Columbus (AAA) |
730 |
| 5. |
Austin (AAA) |
690 |
| 6. |
Memphis (AAA) |
672 |
| 7. |
Charlotte (AAA) |
610 |
| 8. |
El Paso (independent) |
598 |
| 9. |
Louisville (AAA) |
556 |
| 10. |
Nashville (AAA) |
556 |
|
| *In thousands |
| -- Allan Simpson |
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