Re: MLB 2020: We'll Play Ball, I Guess.
The Athletic, filling their quota of stories have dug deep for some actual gem of stories during this pandemic, and one writer had a "what-if" regarding the AL-NL alternates first pick that the draft had for forty years. The same draft that the Mariners lucked out on twice with Griffey and A-Rod. The premise: What if this obscure rule didn't exist, and the worst team got the first pick no matter the league.
But, more interesting to me was this little tidbit burred way at the bottom discussing more in-depth Chipper Jones' pick.
1990 Draft:
1 Chipper Jones Atlanta Braves SS
2 Tony Clark Detroit Tigers OF
3 Mike Lieberthal Philadelphia Phillies C
4 Alex Fernandez Chicago White Sox RHP
5 Kurt Miller Pittsburgh Pirates RHP
6 Marc Newfield Seattle Mariners 1B
Hypothetically, if the Braves got cold feet, we know Van Poppel told the Braves he wanted to go to college instead of the minors. So they probably would have skipped him anyway. So exploring this, do the Braves take Tony Clark? (I can hear Hammer rummaging around for a shovel if in some alternate history his Tigers never got Jones OR Clark.)
But let's pretend somehow Chipper falls to 6th. Mariners. They're absolutely snagging Chipper. Marc Newfield didn't see much time, and was traded to the Padres in 1995 for a player who also didn't see much playing time for the Mariners. So no loss.
But Chipper came up in 1993. Which would likely mean no Mike Blowers. Or you move Blowers to first, moving Tino Martinez sooner, and never having Paul Sorrento.
Which would give you a 1995 ALDS Game Five starting lineup against the Yankees of:
Vince Coleman LF
Joey Cora 2B
Ken Griffey Jr.
Edgar Martinez DH
Chipper Jones 3B
Jay Buhner RF
Luis Sojo SS
Dan Wilson C
Mike Blowers 1B
Andy Benes P
They could have had Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Chipper Jones during their Death Star years. ****.
The Athletic, filling their quota of stories have dug deep for some actual gem of stories during this pandemic, and one writer had a "what-if" regarding the AL-NL alternates first pick that the draft had for forty years. The same draft that the Mariners lucked out on twice with Griffey and A-Rod. The premise: What if this obscure rule didn't exist, and the worst team got the first pick no matter the league.
But, more interesting to me was this little tidbit burred way at the bottom discussing more in-depth Chipper Jones' pick.
Jones wasn’t a slam dunk, either. The week of the 1990 draft, Jones had hardly heard from any top-four team — the Braves, Tigers, Phillies or White Sox.
“I was totally expecting to go to Pittsburgh at five or Seattle at six,” Jones said. “I knew Seattle wasn’t going to let me fall past them.”
“I was totally expecting to go to Pittsburgh at five or Seattle at six,” Jones said. “I knew Seattle wasn’t going to let me fall past them.”
1 Chipper Jones Atlanta Braves SS
2 Tony Clark Detroit Tigers OF
3 Mike Lieberthal Philadelphia Phillies C
4 Alex Fernandez Chicago White Sox RHP
5 Kurt Miller Pittsburgh Pirates RHP
6 Marc Newfield Seattle Mariners 1B
Hypothetically, if the Braves got cold feet, we know Van Poppel told the Braves he wanted to go to college instead of the minors. So they probably would have skipped him anyway. So exploring this, do the Braves take Tony Clark? (I can hear Hammer rummaging around for a shovel if in some alternate history his Tigers never got Jones OR Clark.)
But let's pretend somehow Chipper falls to 6th. Mariners. They're absolutely snagging Chipper. Marc Newfield didn't see much time, and was traded to the Padres in 1995 for a player who also didn't see much playing time for the Mariners. So no loss.
But Chipper came up in 1993. Which would likely mean no Mike Blowers. Or you move Blowers to first, moving Tino Martinez sooner, and never having Paul Sorrento.
Which would give you a 1995 ALDS Game Five starting lineup against the Yankees of:
Vince Coleman LF
Joey Cora 2B
Ken Griffey Jr.
Edgar Martinez DH
Chipper Jones 3B
Jay Buhner RF
Luis Sojo SS
Dan Wilson C
Mike Blowers 1B
Andy Benes P
They could have had Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Chipper Jones during their Death Star years. ****.
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