By simplefan (131.89.129.230) on Monday, June 07, 2010 - 08:27 am:

MLB draft goes glam
Post staff writer

Last Updated: 9:51 AM, June 7, 2010

Posted: 12:24 AM, June 7, 2010

Major League baseball doesn't want to be left out of the talent-draft hysteria.

The MLB draft, which starts tonight, is getting the kind of red-carpet coverage that has turned the NFL and NBA drafts into primetime events.

The MLB Network is throwing a one-hour warm-up show, giving first-time reporter access to team execs during the draft and a bunch of other bells and whistles intended to raise the profile of baseball's draft.

"It's going to be significantly different this year, no question," John Entz, an MLB Network exec, told Sports Business News over the weekend.

The baseball draft has always suffered an inferiority complex when compared to the NBA and the NFL.

Unlike football and basketball, young players drafted tomorrow almost never go straight to the major leagues but are sent to the minors for several years -- though not always.

Last year's No. 1 pick, pitcher Stephen Strasburg, is set to make his major league debut Tuesday with the Washington Nationals -- who, by virtue of having the worst record in baseball, will get the No. 1 pick again tonight.

Much is at stake.

Last April's NFL draft on ESPN was a huge hit, drawing more than 7.2 million viewers.

The MLB draft was televised for the first time, only last year on ESPN.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/mlb_draft_goes_glam_ppSHYlqUru99KrsgotW6qM#ixzz0qBJF9g72