Road Warriors' Draft Picks

Nice meeting you, Anthony.

When the league has seen numerous players either play way below expectations, play way below their self-proclaimed ability, or not play at all, you have to expect that teams have been shafted in the three drafts we've had since forming the teams back in 2001.

Wiffolution is one team that hasn't had particularly great drafts. In 2001, team captain Casey Sylvester took Mickey Kendall for his last pick. Mickey was allegedly offended at being picked in the last round, but did nothing to back himself up as he picked up only 10 ABs and 3 IP for the entire season. In 2002, Sylvester picked up Hart McKenzie, a 6'4 fireballer who had a competent bat. The arm/bat combination didn't pan out as well as it could have if Hart had only picked up more than 24 ABs and 4 IP, his season total. For those keeping score, that's two draft picks combining over the course of two seasons to pick up 34 ABs. In other words, two wasted picks.

Still, Wiffolution's picks were genius compared to the success the Road Warriors have seen on draft day. In 2001, team captain Terry Creighton picked up Luke Carriere, a man who possessed a wealth of talent. However, he only stuck around for 60 ABs. That same year, he also picked up Aaron Kemper, widely considered at the time to be the league's worst pitcher...ever (8.50 ERA). On top of that, his .116 batting average made him the worst HITTER ever as well! That is until 2002, when new captain Darnell Uhland took Jeff Register in the second round. Register went on to play even below Kemper's ridiculous standards, hitting just .114 and sporting a frighteningly bad 11.79 ERA. Who else did the Warriors get that draft? Anthony Sanzone, who, like Luke Carriere, had legitimate talent, but his 29 career ABs didn't get the Warriors too many wins. And in their LAST pick of the draft, they got Chris Keefer, who only played one gameday, went 0-18 and finished with an ERA of 17.60. Luckily Dave Cain came around when he did, but let's face facts, the Warriors did not draft him.

That my friend, is a team that cannot draft. Darnell saw this, and in 2003 went a different route. Back in 2002 he drafted three players who no one else in the league knew. All from somewhere else in California. In 2003, he stayed with the homegrown talent, as he puts it. The PV students, the PV alumni. Today, every player on the Warriors went or goes to PV. Every player knows someone else in the league. And coincidentally, the Warriors are currently (as of this writing) 9-3 and in first place.