Draft daze

For some players, draft day is a big deal, a time to celebrate with family and friends as they await the news. For others, it can be a long day, when predraft expectations aren't met. And for others, it can be just, well, another day. With Thursday's draft approaching, check out some of the current Rays' draft-day stories.

By MARC TOPKIN
Published June 3, 2007

For some players, draft day is a big deal, a time to celebrate with family and friends as they await the news. For others, it can be a long day, when predraft expectations aren't met. And for others, it can be just, well, another day. With Thursday's draft approaching, check out some of the current Rays' draft-day stories:

Ty Wigginton, INF

17th round, 1998, by Mets

I was playing in the Coastal Plains wooden bat league in Florence, S.C. We were actually playing in Raleigh, N.C., and I got back to the hotel and called home to San Diego to see if anybody had drafted me, and my dad told me. I figured I had a chance of getting drafted. I was excited to go in the 17th round and get an opportunity to play. How did I celebrate? I called the scout right up, he picked me up at the hotel, we drove back to my apartment in Florence, I signed my contract and drove down the next day to Port St. Lucie to work out. The negotiations took all of two minutes. We're driving in the car and the scout says, "Is this going to take long?" I said, "No, I'll make my money when I get to the big leagues." He goes, "All right, we'll give you $12, 000." I said, "Give me $20, 000." He said, "We'll give you $16, 000." I said, "Make it $16, 500." He said, "Deal, " and I signed. And that's about how fast it was. I was just happy to get some gas money.

Carl Crawford, OF

Second round, 1999

I was just staying around our two-bedroom apartment chilling, me, my mom and my brother. We had a few people over, and we had it on the Internet. I had my scholarship already (to play football at Nebraska), so it wasn't any big deal if I got drafted. People were saying I was going to get drafted high, like in the first round, so when that didn't happen, I turned my computer off and left and didn't care what happened. They called me. Once I got the news, I didn't think I was going to sign. I didn't think they'd offer me that kind of money ($1.2-million) later on. On draft day, I didn't even think I was going to be a baseball player. I'm glad I am now.

Tim Corcoran, RHP

44th round, 1996, by Mets

I was in a ditch, shovel in hand, digging to put in a new pipeline because we were redoing the town water system in Slaughter, La. I got like a mailgram. My dad came and said, "This came for you." I was in the ditch reading it, and it said I was like the 1, 400th-something pick of the 1996 draft. I said, "I think this means I got drafted and I can play ball if I want to." And my boss was kind enough to tell me I could have the rest of the day off and he'd see me the next morning.

B.J. Upton, 2B

First round (second overall), 2002

We had something in the gym at my school. I didn't know if I was going to go No. 1 (to the Pirates) or No. 2. It wasn't that big of a deal. It was really more like - whatever. You know me - everything is whatever.

Scott Kazmir, LHP

First round, 2002 (15th overall), by Mets

We had a little party going on at the house. It was kind of a weird day for me. I thought I was going to one team and the next thing you know a couple hours before the draft we got a call that the financial stuff's not there and I'm going somewhere else, blah, blah, blah. So I'm just listening on the radio and every new team that comes up is my new favorite team, and the next one, until I got picked. I was like, "Come on, now, just, please, call my name. ... Please. ... Have they forgot about me? ... I really haven't gotten picked." So it was kind of a long day. And quite memorable.

Fast Facts:

Catching a draft

You're going to hear a lot this week about how important the draft is. Or is it? Where the 27 current Rays (25 active and two, marked with an asterisk, on the DL) came from:

FIRST ROUND: CF Rocco Baldelli* (sixth overall, 2000); LHP Scott Kazmir (15th, 2002, by Mets); 1B Carlos Pena (10th, 1998, by Rangers); 2B B.J. Upton (second, 2002); RF Delmon Young (first, 2003)

SANDWICH PICKS: LHP Casey Fossum (48th, 1999, by Red Sox); LHP J.P. Howell (31st, 2004, by Royals)

SECOND ROUND: LF Carl Crawford (1999); INF Greg Norton (1993, by White Sox); C Josh Paul* (1996, by White Sox)

THIRD ROUND: OF Elijah Dukes (2002); INF Josh Wilson (1999, by Marlins)

FIFTH ROUND: SS Brendan Harris (2001, by Cubs)

SIXTH ROUND: RHP Edwin Jackson (2001, by Dodgers)

13TH ROUND: RHP Chad Orvella (2003); RHP Andy Sonnanstine (2004)

15TH ROUND: RHP Gary Glover (1994, by Jays)

16TH ROUND: RHP Shawn Camp (1997, by Padres); RHP James Shields (2000)

17TH ROUND: INF Ty Wigginton (1998, by Mets)

24TH ROUND: C Shawn Riggans (2000)

44TH ROUND: RHP Tim Corcoran (1996, by Mets)

NONDRAFTED: RHP Brian Stokes (signed in 1998)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNINGS: INF Jorge Cantu (1998, by Rays); 3B Akinori Iwamura (2007, by Rays); C Dioner Navarro (2000, by Yankees); RHP Al Reyes (1988, by Expos)

Leading off

Who the Rays took first in their 11 previous drafts:

Year Pick Player, pos

Outcome

1996 29 Paul Wilder, OF Total bust, never got close to bigs

1997 31 Jason Standridge, RHP Was 0-5 over four years with Rays

1998 132 Josh Pressley, 1B Never reached the big leagues

1999 1 Josh Hamilton, OF Self-destructed with Rays, made it with Reds

2000 6 Rocco Baldelli, OF Has star potential but injury concerns

2001 3 Dewon Brazelton, RHP Turned out to be major disappointment

2002 2 B.J. Upton, INF Finally fulfilling huge expectations

2003 1 Delmon Young, RF Could be a star for a very long time

2004 4 Jeff Niemann, RHP In time, should be dominant top starter

2005 8 Wade Townsend, RHP Early injuries have set a bad tone

2006 3 Evan Longoria, INF Initial work a sign of good things to come

[Last modified June 2, 2007, 22:54:45]