It's Draft Day

Were it not for COVID and labor disputes, the MLB would be nearing the halfway point of the season.  As it stands, fans will be lucky to get a half season this year.

Instead of the traditional MLB draft with 40 rounds, teams will only get 5 rounds this year. 

The MLB draft is going to be live on the MLB Network and ESPN tonight at 7pm. 

I have quite a few of Andrew McCutchen's 2005 Draft Pick card from 2005 Updates.

I am always looking to add more, but like to get them for around $3 per card. 

It's Draft Day

The NFL draft is by far the best draft for any of the four sports.  The reasons are pretty simple to understand.

-College Football is insanely popular and potential draftees must spend a minimum amount of years at college before they can be drafted.  That gives the average sports fan more time to learn about the upcoming draft class.

-The draftees audition at a combine that is nationally televised which gives (again) the average sports fan more of a window and rooting interest for those that can be drafted.

-The draft itself is an event filled with block parties, live music, celebrity cameos, and fan interaction.

-With each pick there is suspense that the potential pick could pick traded to another team.  All other sports allow this with the,exception of baseball.

-Once drafted the players have a strong chance to be immediately impacting that upcoming season's games.

I know MLB is trying to make the draft more entertaining to fans, but until the top talent has the opportunity to play in front of it's fans sooner, the fans have opportunity to see the players get drafted, and the scouting of future players is more approachable to fans (more College baseball on television) I just don't see the MLB draft progressing to the levels of the NFL or even NBA.

I began rooting for the Pirates and baseball in general back in 2005 in large part because of Jason Bay, Ryan Doumit, and wanting to see what this high school kid from Florida, Andrew McCutchen, could do.

Above are All my 2005 Topps Update Draft cards of Cutch.  As you can tell I have 15 base and 4 gold.  I would love to add more, but am in no rush as the price has to be right.

By Cutch's debut, Jason Bay was traded.
Ryan Doumit was nearing the end of his club control and many of the other players I rooted for over the past four years were already gone.

The signed 8x10 photo you see above is from Cutch just after he signed with the Pirates.  He was only 18 in the photo.

Thanks for Being a Loser, Greg Maddux...

Did the title of this post, get your attention?

I sure hope so, because had it not been for Greg Maddux losing a meaningless game to the Cincinnati Reds on September 28th, 2004 the Reds could have had a better draft position than the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2005 draft.  That Reds victory over the Cubs ensured that no matter what, the Pirates would be drafting ahead of the Reds even with a three game set to close out the 2004 season looming.

Of course it is well documented that the 2005 draft class was a great draft class with names like Justin Upton, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Andrew McCutchen, Jay Bruce, Ryan Braun, Alex Gordon, and the list goes on and on.

The Pirates had the 11th overall pick which they used on Andrew McCutchen and that pick transformed the entire organization.

The Reds used the following pick, 12th overall, on Jay Bruce.  Bruce was a highly touted prospect of his own and even cracked the top 5 overall prior to his call up.  An article was written on Blog Red Machine about Nick Senzel and the Reds prospect system since Jay Bruce made his debut.

Here are my cards of Cutch with Jay Bruce

 This dual on card autograph of Cutch and Bruce was released in 2012 Museum and is numbered to only 15 copies.

I also have a triple sticker autograph of Cutch, Bruce, and Troy Tulowitzki.

It is numbered 3 of 3 and was uncirculated.

Remembering The 2005 Draft

With the MLB Draft happening today I thought I would look back at the year my favorite player, Andrew McCutchen, was drafted by the Bucs.  The 2005 MLB draft is considered by many to be one of the greatest drafts in recent memory.  Of the first 50 overall picks, 10 of them went on to become an All-Star.  Only two of those ten were selected to only one All-Star Game (Ricky Romero and Jacoby Ellsbury).  Ryan Braun leads the class with 6 All-Star appearances while Andrew McCutchen and Troy Tulowitzki have 5 Midsummer Classic appearances.  Justin Upton has four and Jay Bruce and Alex Gordon have three selections.  The Nationals first ever draft selection, Ryan Zimmerman, has made two All-Star selections.

The First Round Selections have two MVP winners (Ryan Braun 2011 and Andrew McCutchen 2013), an ALCS MVP winner (Matt Garza 2008), and a handful of World Series Champions.

Matt Garza is the only player from this class to throw a No Hitter, having thrown the Tampa Bay Rays first ever NoNo.

The 2005 Class Was Stacked!!!!
I have been wanting to get as many 2005 draftee cards with Cutch as possible.

I have been eyeing up this card for a long time.  This particular card has three of the most notable draftees.  Andrew McCutchen and Jay Bruce had a dual signed Topps card, but this is my first auto with Troy Tulowitzki.

Tulo is a 5 time All-Star, 2 time Gold Glover (turned an unassisted triple play), 2 time Silver Slugger, and currently holds the MLB record for a career .985 fielding percentage at Shortstop.  Had it not been for injuries, Tulo was on a clear path to the Hall of Fame.  He finished in the top 10 MVP voting 3 times in his career and has the second most WAR of the draft class just a tick behind Ryan Braun and just a tick ahead of Cutch.

Jay Bruce was selected with the pick right after Cutch and has appeared in 3 All-Star Games and won 2 Silver Slugger awards.  He finished in the top 10 MVP voting twice.