April 28, 200916 yr Major TV related reformatting of the MLB player draft. The First-Year Player Draft, likely to begin with the selection of San Diego State junior pitcher Stephen Strasburg by the Washington Nationals, will have a completely new look on June 9, with a prime-time move to the new MLB Network and its dazzling Studio 42 in Secaucus, N.J. Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday the new location and broadcaster for the annual event, which continues to evolve from a longtime closed-door conference call into a live, multi-platform studio show that showcases the game's future. The Draft begins at 6 p.m. ET on that Tuesday in June in the scale-ballpark studio named after Jackie Robinson, and it will be expanded, from two days to three days, with the final two days being conducted via conference call from MLB headquarters in New York. The first day will consist of the first 111 picks, including Round 1, Compensation Round A, Round 2, Round 3 and Compensation Round B. On Wednesday, June 10, the Draft will resume with the fourth round at noon and is tentatively scheduled to go through the 30th round. The Draft will conclude on Thursday, June 11, with the 31st to 50th rounds. After MLB Network broadcasts the live selections of the first round, MLB.com will air a live video stream from Studio 42 for the remainder of the day's selections starting with the first compensation round, which begins with the 33rd overall pick. "MLB Tonight" will also provide coverage and analysis as the Draft continues to unfold. The following day, MLB.com will offer comprehensive live coverage of the Draft's final two days, including a live pick-by-pick stream, expert commentary and the exclusive Draft Tracker, a searchable database of every Draft-eligible player featuring statistics, scouting reports and video highlights. The Draft Tracker historically contributes to one of the largest traffic-volume days of the calendar year on MLB.com, as people in communities everywhere look to see if and when their favorite sons are being drafted -- and that includes players themselves and their families, for whom this event is the stuff of dreams.
April 28, 200916 yr This is awesome, hopefully it'll be like the CNN Presidential Election coverage with a big giant screen in front of the "analysts" showing the teams and their picks in an overview view.
April 28, 200916 yr QUOTE (knightni @ Apr 28, 2009 -> 02:58 PM) I hope that Selig, players and fans can be there. Kind of like NFL or NBA. Or like last year, when it was on ESPN.
April 28, 200916 yr Eh, I miss the conference call. I get why they're doing it but I prefer the old school approach where you can knock out the first few rounds in no time at all and move on with your day. The made for TV bulls*** does nothing for me, you don't need 5+ minutes to pick a player when you can't trade picks.
April 28, 200916 yr QUOTE (Kalapse @ Apr 28, 2009 -> 03:52 PM) Eh, I miss the conference call. I get why they're doing it but I prefer the old school approach where you can knock out the first few rounds in no time at all and move on with your day. The made for TV bulls*** does nothing for me, you don't need 5+ minutes to pick a player when you can't trade picks. I agree 100%. Especially now that it's over 3 days...GMAFB. I'll care less this year than ever.
April 29, 200916 yr I'd like it if MLBN would start showing a lot of college baseball as well, and maybe even get the CWS.
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