The inaugural Baseball United draft happened today, marking the start of what could be the baseball revolution in the UAE and the Indian subcontinent. It featured a number of recognizable MLB faces and a cast of other characters set to capture the imagination of a new generation of fans in markets hitherto largely ignored by the baseball establishment. To say that these developments excite would be to state the obvious, and not an exciting basis for an article. Therefore, I will use this space instead to highlight a few interesting observations.
MLB Level Credibility
Eyebrows will be raised when names like Robinson Cano and Didi Gregorius get thrown around. Bartolo Colon is also a cult hero for many MLB fans who will relish the opportunity to see him play again. But most importantly, they are good players who will attract a following. Having retired stars like Mariano Rivera, Adrian Beltre and Felix Hernandez as investors is good, but having stars actually play in your league is better.
There were a number of other players picked today with MLB experience like Willin Rosario, Pablo Sandoval and Andrelton Simmons; some who had fairly long careers, and others who mainly got a cup of coffee. Still, this lends credibility to the nascent league and it means that there will be a strong standard of play. Fans need a quality product to stay attuned and having guys who made it to the highest level, even briefly, gives you that quality.
International Flavor
Players picked today hailed from over a dozen different countries ranging from traditional powerhouses like the USA and Dominican Republic to places like Lithuania and Sweden where baseball is still in the early stages of growth. Furthermore, the players picked boast professional experience in leagues all over the world, from MLB in the US to NPB in Japan and leagues in Latin America.
Even though American born players make up the largest contingent, they hail from diverse backgrounds. Case in point is first overall pick Karan Patel who will go to the Mumbai Cobras. He is of Indian descent and was the first Indian American drafted by an MLB team, going to the White Sox in the 7th round of the 2017 draft and reaching AA.
For an international league spanning three countries and likely looking to expand to a few more someday, international flavor matters. The good news is, they've got it, both on the field and in the boardroom. It is nice seeing so many black and Latin ballplayers now transitioning to executive roles in this new league and I hope that trend will continue.
Right To The Point
The draft itself was conducted rather efficiently, with little in the way of long-winded speeches or frivolous delays. The YouTube stream followed a simple, efficient formula of showing which team was on the clock, the countdown and who was picked once time expired. This was followed by a quick highlight reel and onto the next pick. In tandem, the Baseball United Twitter page was quick to post the picks and summarize picks at the end of each round for those who couldn't stay for the whole stream. My one critique here is that for the end of round summary tweets, it would have been nice to show who went to what team, perhaps leveraging emojis to get around the character limit nuisance. A minor detail though.
Having a host for the stream would have added some gravitas to it all but that also depends on who the host is. Pairing a quality host who is knowledgeable and concise with an equally knowledgeable and concise analyst to introduce players to the audience would be a welcome addition for future years. I say this because many fans will probably be seeing most players for the first time.
I would stick with a YouTube livestream in the future as this is a very easy way to grab an audience without having to charge and also giving prospective viewers the flexibility to watch from any device. Browsing through baseball Twitter today looks promising. There is buzz around the league from fans in various countries as there should be. The draft was generally well executed.
The Abraham Accords
It is worth noting that two Team Israel vets were picked today. (Alex Katz and Matt Soren) I highlight this because such a thing would have been difficult to fathom a few decades ago. Guys who played on Team Israel playing in a Dubai based league? Welcome to the future Middle East where such barriers slowly begin to fall. Note that both went to UAE based teams with Katz going to Dubai Wolves in the 6th round and Soren going to Abu Dhabi Eagles in the 10th round.
This also brings up a question for the future. Does the road to a return of professional baseball to Israel pass through the Baseball United project? Time will tell but it's an intriguing thought. There is also an affirmation of the idea that sports can play a role in bridging divides and fostering hope in difficult times. Sports often point to the world that can be and that we would want our children to inherit. It wouldn't be the first time that baseball is at the forefront of progress. Side note: Given that Alex Katz is known for his designer cleats, I wonder how that will catch on with players and fans in his new league.
Conclusion
Up to now, the Middle East and Indian subcontinent have been largely neglected when it comes to evangelizing baseball. We are seeing that change and it feels good. As I noted last time I addressed Baseball United a few months back, we are talking about over a billion and a half people covered by this league already. If even ten percent become fans, that's a lot of new fans. Every baseball fan should be excited about a project that could spur massive growth in our game. Now it's onto the November showcase that I will surely cover as best I can here in this forum. See you all then!
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