Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft: First Round Recap and Analysis

Finally, the moment you all have been waiting for. The BYB Draft has begun. First, let's meet the GM's (if you haven't yet. if you have, go ahead and skip this to the draft). Also, if you aren't sure what this is all about, please check out my article entitled "The Backyard Baseball Project". We had our Backyard Baseball Draft Lottery last night. Here are our GMs:

The first pick of the Backyard Baseball 2001 draft is going to GM of Little 500 All-Stars (formerly known as The Pink Wombats), Connor Boehm. Boehm was a dominant force last year for the New Trier Trevians basketball team, and took his talents to the Ivy League to play at Dartmouth. After a great freshman season, Boehm told me about how much he missed baseball. He played New Trier Feeder ball up through 8th grade, but didn't try out for the New Trier baseball team. He felt he still has something to prove, so he will be drafting and managing a Backyard Baseball team. "As a manager, I swing for the fences. All power hitters, all power pitchers. I live for the fireballs and aluminum bats. Go big or go home. Chicks dig the long ball."
Home field: Tin Can Alley

The second pick of the draft belongs to GM of The Kingston Bunt Smokers, and speedy wide receiver Will Fitzgerald. Fitz spent all four years of high school playing on the New Trier football team and simply couldn't get himself to stop. He now plays and studies at John Carroll University in Ohio. As you can see, Fitz is also an avid Eminem fan and he plans to bump someShady at his team's home park before, during and after games. He is also a big time baseball fan and when I asked him how he plans to manage his team, he told me, "It's all about FUNDAMENTALS! My lineup isn't swinging for the fences, we're swinging for the gaps. Base runners on base runners. Don't even try to stop us on the base paths. We execute with speed. We are the Patriots of the BYBL. Charlie Tilson came to one of our Spring Training games and said he was amazed how well we run the bases. Small Ball wins close games." 

Home Field: Dirty Yards

The third pick of the draft belongs to GM of The Grand Salamis, Tommy Mantice. Tommy studies at Ball State University and describes himself as an aggressive manager. "We're gonna steal bases and have a lot of sacrifices and squeezes."

Home Field: Steele Stadium

The fourth pick is going to GM of the Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars, Eric Benjamin, former high school football and basketball star. Eric currently studies at Indiana University and he is a Backyard Baseball whiz. When I asked him how he plans to manage his team, he told me, "I'm a Jerry Jones-type GM. Not afraid to spend some green to get stars on my team. I'm after players who aren't afraid to get their uniform dirty. Pete Rose-types without the gambling issues. I'm all about that charlie hustle."

Home Field: Cement Gardens

The fifth pick belongs to GM of The Crazy Fishes and former pitcher for the New Trier pitcher, CJ Revis. CJ played freshman and sophomore year, quitting after sophomore year to focus on basketball. CJ played a pivotal role on a very good New Trier basketball team last year which was led by teammate and now rival GM Connor Boehm. CJ is currently studying at Lawrence University and hopes to return to his basketball career after he graduates, as he hopes to play professionally overseas, preferably in Greece. I should also add that this isn't the only team CJ will be managing this summer. Along with his Backyard Baseball team, CJ will be managing a 13 and under New Trier feeder team. For his BYB team, CJ has wasted no time getting his team ready. He has announced Mr. Clanky as his assistant coach, saying that "The guy throws the best batting practice around." He also added that he has signed network contracts so that Sunny Day and Vinnie the Gooch will commentate all of his team's games. When I asked him how he plans to manage his team and what their strategy will be, he told me, ""My team will put the WE before the ME. They'll show up ready to play everyday. No mental errors. When we take the field, we mean business."

Home Field: Sandy Flats

The owner of the sixth and last pick is the GM of The Orange Wombats, Grant Smith. Grant helped lead the New Trier Boys' Swimming Team to multiple state titles. Grant is currently studying and swimming at Davidson University. Grant, like the other five GMs, also used to be a dominant baseball player, however he quit before tryouts freshman year at New Trier so he can focus on swimming. He's happy to be returning to the game as a manager. When I asked him about his team, he told me, "The original backyard baseball field is what we call home, Playground Commons. Except, we don't just play, we live baseball. Intense work ethic and exceptional passion for winning is what will define this team."
Home Field: Playground Commons

Now that you have met the GM's, let's dive right into the draft.

Round 1

1) Little 500 All-Stars (Connor Boehm)- Pablo Sanchez
No big surprise here. Pablo is a five-tool player a perennial number one overall pick. Pablo can do it all, he can field, throw, run, and hit for power and contact. He's not the best pitcher available but if you need him to give you an inning, he can do just that. Another great thing about Pablo is his size. His small stature proves to be a small strike zone that is tough for pitchers to hit. Be careful, because you might just give him a piece of meat. Don't let his size fool you. In the words of Bill Walton, "he may be small but he has the heart of a giant" (can't you just hear Bill Walton saying that in your head?). Not only does he has the heart of a giant, but he has the bat of one. Pablo could very well lead the league in Home Runs, RBI's, and stolen bases. The dude can flat out fly. This is a great pick and he's the type of guy you want to build a franchise around. He certainly is getting paid like a franchise guy- Boehm told me he's agreed to a $113 million contract over 7 years, with $64 mil. guaranteed with the team.

2) The Kingston Bunt Smokers (Will Fitzgerald)- Curt Schilling
This is an interesting pick and I was honestly a little surprised by it. Curt is a future Hall of Fame pitcher, however I thought he might still be available in the second round, so this might have been a bit of a reach. Regardless, Schill's a great pitcher and will go out and give you 5-6 great innings each day. He's also versatile. He's a much better runner and hitter than Randy Johnson, the other pro pitcher in this draft. He can field well and play another position after he's done pitching for the day. I guess the question is how much do you value pitching? Fitz seems to really value pitching and he got his guy here. This wasn't a bad pick by any means. I'm really interested to see what he does next.

The Grand Salamis (Tommy Mantice)- Sammy Sosa
Growing up as a kid in Chicago, Sammy Sosa was a must-have for anyone's Backyard Baseball roster. We loved watching him hit home runs and bunny-hop to first base, followed by him pounding his chest with his fist, kissing his fingers and then pointing them up to the sky. Yes, Sammy was a hero then. I won't bring up what happens next and let's just focus on Sammy Sosa 2001. Sosa's a great hitter. He can hit for power and contact, and he can run the bases very well. He's got a cannon for an arm so he can hurt any opponents that dare to tag up and score, when he's manning right field. He's also a quality pitcher if you need him. This is a good pick. However I do think Ken Griffey Jr. is falling lower than he should. Griff will be a steal to whoever gets him, which I could see Benjamin going after him with the next pick. But Sosa's gonna help this team in many ways. Good pick.

4) Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars (Eric Benjamin)- Ken Griffey Jr.
Yes, I guess I just did call a pick correctly for the first time in this draft. KGJR is a flat-out beast. He can hit and he's speedy. He's basically Sosa, only a better fielder. He has one less batting skill point than Sosa, which really doesn't make any difference. Griff's got a lot of pop in his bat. I once saw him hit one out of Tin Can Alley (with no Aluminum Power Bat mind you). He's got great character and he's a great leader. He'll be a great captain commanding things in center. Like Sosa, if you need him to contribute as a pitcher, he can come out of relief. However there are better pitching options than the both of them. Nevertheless this is a great pick.

5) The Crazy Fishes (CJ Revis)- Pete Wheeler
CJ told me before the draft that he plans to play Backyard Baseball the way he did as a kid. And that means no pros. Yes, CJ only used the Backyard kids and he refuses to go back on that now. Pete Wheeler is the fastest guy in the league. He can fly. He's also a very good hitter. His speed and athleticism can help teams in more ways than just on the base paths. He can do the little things with his speed. If he's in the infield and someone makes a bad throw over to him, he can run over to pick up the ball and run back to the base before the runner can get there. Pete's gonna help your team win. My one concern with Pete is awareness. Many times Pete will be caught daydreaming in the field and that can make for some costly errors that can hurt a team. If Pete can keep himself focused, he'll be a great pick for this team. Seeing that Pete is the second Backyard kid taken, raises the question of whether or not he is the best BYB kid on the board. I'm not sure. I think an argument could be made for Kiesha Phillips or maybe even Achmed Khan. But Pete's a good pick here.

6) The Orange Wombats (Grant Smith)- Barry Bonds
Barry isn't quite the monster he was in real life this season. Barry belted a record-breaking 73 home runs during the 2001 season. Why Bonds isn't more of a power hitter in this game is beyond my knowledge. However, he makes up for that as a great contact hitter and base runner. He's exceptionally fast and he can field the ball well. Also not a bad option to use as a pitcher. Don't get me wrong, Bonds will hit some home runs. Barry's a solid player and a good pick in this spot. It will be interesting to see what Grant does with his next pick, as he is drafting back-to-back and the second round will go in reverse order.


So that's our first round. There will be plenty more to come. My Second Round Draft Recap and Analysis is now up. I'm gonna try to get stuff up to you as fast as I can after it happens. Thanks for reading. Do you agree with the GMs' picks? Let me hear your thoughts in the comments below, on the Facebook fan page or on Twitter @vellvita7.