MLB continues to expand draft as live event for spectators

Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images

FORT WORTH — Last night wasn’t the first rodeo for MLB to hold the annual draft concurrently with the All-Star Game (that format dates back to 2021), but it was certainly the first time MLB has participated in a rodeo.

MLB hosted Sunday’s draft at Cowtown Coliseum, the 116-year-old home of the world’s only year-round rodeo. About 2,000 fans filled the seats as select guests, league officials and media lined the dirt floor.

“We really wanted to make sure we aligned it well with the market that we were going to be operating in and find the best location for it so that you actually knew you were in the host city where All-Star Week was being held,” said Jeremiah Yolkut, MLB vice president/global events.

There was no mistaking the setting, with signs in the room for the Saddle Suite and Roping Box. On one of the windows of Will Call was a sign that read, “Rodeo Competitors Only.” In between picks, a line dancing instructor from Billy Bob’s gave a quick demonstration, and shortly after, trick ropers were having fun with lassos.

“When you come to Texas, this is the Texas you expect,” said Jason Sands, executive director of the Fort Worth Sports Commission. “We were excited to partner with (MLB) to provide that experience and utilize this historic building and the Stockyards.”

It’s a boon for Fort Worth, Sands noted, with 8,000 hotel rooms booked by MLB officials, sponsors and media. That doesn’t include visiting fans, and he estimates that about 20,000 people walked through the Stockyards’ historic and commercial district earlier today. Nike sponsored a viewing party for those who couldn’t get into the packed house. New Balance had a pop-up store where it had an exclusive reveal of its new Shohei Ohtani signature line a day before it went public.

As part of its effort to promote its future stars, MLB arranged the draft schedule so that there were no regular-season games. ESPN and MLB Network both provided live TV coverage. Tickets were free, and the atmosphere was lively: a dozen team mascots, the Rangers Six Shooters and a DJ named Miss Ninja — who regularly appears at Dodgers games — were all in attendance.

“The draft is of course primarily a time for our teams to select the next generation of players who will play in the Major Leagues, but we also recognize that it is now a large-scale event that is also meant to be an opportunity for us to raise the profile of those players and create a much larger entertainment event,” Yolkut said.

There’s still a long way to go to match the NFL or NBA in terms of drawing a broad audience to the draft. It’s a tough comparison, given the longer developmental period most baseball players need to reach the majors compared to the immediate impact prospects have on those other sports.

But Sunday’s draft showed undeniable progress. And, it must be said, Pirates P Paul Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in 2023, will start tomorrow’s All-Star Game exactly one year after his own selection.

Six draft prospects attended the draft, with West Virginia SS JJ Wetherholt the first of those in attendance to be taken, going No. 7 to the Cardinals. Texas A&M RF Braden Montgomery, who went No. 12 to the Red Sox, described the appeal of being there. “I just wanted to experience it,” he said. “I’m kind of enjoying the fruits of my labor, and it’s incredible.”

MLB’s process of finding a venue was fraught with difficulty, but league officials were suitably impressed when they came to visit. The first stop was lunch at Joe T. Garcia’s, a Tex-Mex institution, and then a tour of Cowtown.

“When we got to Cowtown Coliseum, everyone involved in the selection process knew we had found the right place,” Yolkut said, adding that the staff at Cowtown Coliseum and the Fort Worth Sports Commission were extremely cooperative and helpful in making it work. “It definitely had a vibe that was very Metroplex, it felt historic with all the imagery that was there — and it’s a little weird to say — but even the way that venue looked and smelled felt very much like what we were trying to accomplish.”

Every detail was considered. Yolkut said the organizing team firmly compacted the ground to make it more walkable and to evoke a strong sense of place, noting, “When selected, they will walk to the stage on the same ground where the rodeo would take place.”