“That’s what free agency’s for—to get paid for what you could do, for what you might possibly do. It’s not what the draft is for.”

Actually, I think that describes exactly what the draft rewards you for.  Actually, I think that describes exactly what every baseball contract rewards you for.

Look, I’m not saying what a number one pick should refer to, I’m saying what it does.  Don’t get on my case because I relay what the convention is.

If you want, we could as Keith Law or any other draft expert what a “Number one” pick refers to.

@ Richard

What kills me is all of the ESPN.com guys - Stark, Gammons, etc. - picking up the $50M number and running with it. They’re doing Boras’ work for him.

Exactly!  One person mentioned he might be looking for the $50M number, but nothing official has ever been announced.  And now Boras can just sit back and watch as everyone debates over what this kid should or shouldn’t get.

Keith Law had two great comments in his chat yesterday regarding this very topic (in general, not just about Strasburg)

That’s a distinction made by MLB, for the purposes of holding down how much they have to pay him. There’s no reasonable argument why an amateur shouldn’t be able to get a market salary or bonus. That type of restriction doesn’t exist outside of sports

People who are opposed to players making market salaries and yet, if their son was in that situation, would switch to my opinion so fast their clothes would still be on the other side oft the fence.

Semi-related note, how come everyone seems to be nonchalant about this Harper kid getting his GED then joining a JUCO to be eligible for the 2010 draft, but they are vilifying the basketball player for heading overseas to do the same thing?

@MJ

I’d even go a bit further than that. All the discussion - and you notice, every time the “what’s he going to get?” discussion simmers down there’s another one of these ZOMG $50M!!! stories that comes out - seems like a good way to get people used to the number.

If you really want to go all gonzo Bourne on this, you could suggest that this is a face-saver for the Nats. If they end up paying $35M, they can now claim, with a straight face, they got a bargain.

I have heard on many occasions players drafted in the 1st round referred to as #1s.  The difference lying in the lack of the “overall” added to that. 

While it makes sense to some degree it seems lazy and confusing - and that’s the reason why I remember hearing it because so many times I can remember thinking, “There it is again.  Why are they referring to Jon Ogden and Ray Lewis as number 1s when they were drafted #4 and #26 overall?”

It is very common to refer to someone drafted in the 1st round as a number one pick even if they were not number one overall.

wow, you guys are a bunch of idiots.

all players drafted in the first round are number one picks, the very first player being the number one overall pick.

the NHL and NBA have had their drafts slotted for years and it has worked out fine. Lebron James was seen as the next Michael Jordan, but he was still slotted to earn roughly $3mill/year over 3 years and there wasn’t one single complaint. Why? Because he hadn’t proved himself in the NBA yet. Once he finished his rookie contract and had proved himself, he got a nice raise, $20mill/year for 3 years.

The NFL needs to get on board with the draft slotting as well. Signability should never have to be a factor when teams are deciding who to draft. How can the Nationals say no to whatever Strasburg demands? There is a reason they are picking first overall, THEY SUCK! THEY NEED ALL THE HELP THEY CAN GET! What would they tell their fans? “We suck, we know it, that’s why we had the number one overall pick, but we either didn’t pick the best player available because we couldn’t afford him, or we did pick him but can’t sign him because we can’t afford him.”

I really hope the Nationals have the balls to pick Strasburg, then offer him a signing bonus that’s slightly higher than ones from last year (so ~$6.75-7mill) and then tell him to either take it or he can sit out.