This story on Yahoo! got me looking through BA’s draft archives. We now have 10 years of draft coverage in our archives after finding our ’99 stuff, which also is mostly free content. (There are some dead links as some files have been lost to the ages due to server moves and other technical issues.)

Yes, BA did have Troy Polamalu ranked in our draft preview issue in 1999 (subscribers only), which is pretty awesome. It also got me thinking about other baseball ties to the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers. [...] Continue Reading »

LOS ANGELES—A cursory peek at the brightly colored weather page in any national newspaper reveals the depressing news: Freezing, near-zero mercury readings throughout the Midwest and blizzards blanketing the northeast.

Not so in Southern California, as locals on Tuesday enjoyed sunny skies, mid-60s temps, and a slight breeze off of the ocean. Winter in this region requires the residents to suffer the inconvenience of being forced to wear long pants and at least one jacket or sweater. A hat is optional.

Such were the conditions as yet another spring scouting season began, with the opening of the Southern California junior college campaign. My initial foray of 2009 was to observe the tussle between Mt. San Antonio College and Orange Coast College at OCC, won 11-8 by OCC. [...] Continue Reading »

BA’s own bird dog, Dave Perkin, checks in from the inaugural Big 3 of the West college showcase.

LONG BEACH—The dream, rarely fulfilled, of every baseball scout and recruiter is to attend a game or showcase and discover a premium talent that almost no one has seen previously.

Such was my experience last weekend at the inaugural Big 3 of the West college showcase, which inadvertently served as an extended coming out party for Nick Cuckovich (COO-kuh-vitch), an athletic and powerfully built 6-foot-2, 190-pound infielder from Lambrick Park Secondary School in Victoria, British Columbia. He’s the rare Canadian who bats righthanded. [...] Continue Reading »