LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -Country singer Charley Pride was among the former ballplayers selected in a special Negro Leagues draft Thursday, set up to honor those who never got an opportunity to play in the majors.
The ceremony took place before the first day of baseball’s amateur draft.
Pride pitched for the Memphis Red Sox and Birmingham Black Barons before embarking on his highly successful music career.
“It’s like being a kid in a candy store,” said Pride, selected by the Texas Rangers. “Whether you want a sucker or a Baby Ruth or a Snickers. Just to be around my buddies I played with and played against, talk about old times and all that. That’s what it means to me.
“It’s nice that the major leagues is trying to make up for exclusion back in the days before Jackie Robinson. I think that has to be factored in when you ask me how you feel. That’s how I feel.”
Rays senior adviser Don Zimmer, in his 60th year of professional baseball, said one of his highlights was talking with Tampa Bay’s pick, pitcher Walter Lee Gibbons, who played for several teams including the New York Black Yankees.
Zimmer said Gibbons told him that he had two dreams, and now both have been fulfilled. He was selected for the Canadian Negro League Hall of Fame last year, and then became a first-round pick Thursday.
In addition, Zimmer also spent time with former New York Cubans infielder Carlos Manuel Santiago, a teammate in the Puerto Rican winter league.
Irvin Castille, a 102-year-old former shortstop for Birmingham, was one of the Negro League players in attendance.
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NEW APPROACH: For years now, the Pittsburgh Pirates have failed to get the baseball draft right. They’re convinced that picking Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez will be the first step in changing that.
Alvarez, one of college baseball’s top power hitters, was chosen No. 2 overall by the Pirates on Thursday despite concerns about a hand injury and their ability to sign him.
Although a broken hand caused a drop-off in Alvarez’s power numbers this season, there is much about Baseball America’s top-rated prospect for the Pirates to like. He had 49 homers and 51 doubles in 170 career college games and hit 40 homers his first two seasons.
The Pirates also like this: He’s a left-handed hitter who should fall in love with PNC Park’s hitter-friendly 320-foot right-field foul line.
“Short porch,” Alvarez said, laughing, when asked during a conference call what he knows about the ballpark.
The 21-year-old Alvarez had a .349 career average at Vanderbilt after turning down an estimated $1 million signing bonus from the Red Sox as a 14th-round pick out of high school.
“He’s got a nice stroke,” Pirates scouting director Greg Smith said. “The ball comes off his bat very well. He takes a professional approach, uses the whole field. You watch him take batting practice and he works to left field, left-center, across the field. He’s an advanced college hitter.”
Choosing Alvarez signals a change in draft philosophy for the Pirates, who devoted eight of their 10 most recent first-round picks to pitchers – many of whom later developed major arm problems. They hadn’t drafted a third baseman in the first round since No. 1 pick Jeff King in 1986.
Also, Alvarez is represented by agent Scott Boras, whose clients the Pirates have directly or indirectly avoided in the past, including catcher Matt Wieters a year ago.
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FRONT-OFFICE FIT: Tino Martinez, in his first season as a special assistant to general manager Brian Cashman, represented the Yankees at the draft.
The popular former first baseman has been involved in all aspects of organization this season, and one day might seek an upper management position in the game.
“Maybe in the future,” Martinez said. “The thing is, I’ve enjoyed all of it. I’ve enjoyed being back on the field in spring training and coaching. I’ve watched how they handle the draft, how they handle the minor league system. All of that has been very interesting to me. It’s something I wanted to learn. I’m trying to learn as much as I can this year.”
Martinez said his off-field education started in spring training.
“Watching how they decide who makes the team, how they make the cuts based on who has options, who has a contract you can let go,” Martinez said. “Things I didn’t think about when I played.”
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THE WAR ROOM? Don Zimmer sat in for some of the discussions Tampa Bay officials held before the draft and said the “War Room” accurately describes the setting.
“There’s some arguments,” he said.
Zimmer called the scouts baseball’s “unsung heroes.” He has a firsthand knowledge of their role through his son, Tom, who scouts for the San Francisco Giants. The pair often sit together in the stands during Tampa Bay home games.
“Scouts have to be very good and they really have to be on their toes,” Zimmer said.
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SHINING STARS: Hall of Famers Billy Williams (Cubs), Al Kaline (Tigers) and Dave Winfield (Padres) were among the team representatives. … Commissioner Bud Selig departed after announcing the first-round selections. … There were around 400 fans in attendance when the draft began. The crowd dwindled to fewer than 10 people by the end of the second round.
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AP Sports Writer Alan Robinson in Pittsburgh and freelance writer Mark Didtler contributed to this report.
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