Huge Gap Between Drafts In NBA, MLB
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BOBBY LUCAS
By DERON SNYDER
Jan Vesely’s magic moment came when he kissed his girlfriend on ESPN and shook hands with NBA commissioner David Stern. Bobby Lucas‘ magic moment came when he attended a pre-game reception at Nationals Park and shook hands with team owner Mark Lerner.
Consider that yet another difference – about No. 53 – between NBA draftees and their MLB counterparts.
Granted, Vesely (introduced Monday at a news conference) was selected by the Washington Wizards with the sixth pick overall, while Lucas was tabbed by the Nats with the 817th pick. Doesn’t matter. Baseball’s top picks also experience a sliver of the attention and high life that’s heaped upon newly minted NBAers. Even the Bryce Harpers and Stephen Strasburgs head toward relative anonymity after the draft, sent to toil in outposts such as Hagerstown and Harrisburg.
Lucas, a left-handed pitcher out of George Washington University, enjoyed a special night with the Nats’ brass a week after the draft. The 27th-round pick met fellow alum Lerner and was recognized during an alumni event. Lucas had signed his contract that day and carried it with him. Lerner joked that he would personally deliver it to general manager Mike Rizzo.
“That was pretty cool,” said Lucas, who led the Atlantic 10 with 95 strikeouts this year. “Mr. Lerner came up to me and said hello and we talked and got to know each other. That was one of the coolest things about being drafted.”
It surely can’t compare to being feted in New York for a couple of days and strolling across a stage like Vesely did. But that figures, since “cool” and “MLB” are rarely in the same sentence unless you’re discussing weather.
