The 5 Best Overall Selections in the MLB Draft Since 1984, Disgraced NBA Ref Tim Donaghy Was Assaulted In Prison & Rays Manager Says New Yankee Stadium Doesn't Have Same "Smell"

The 5 Best Overall Selections in the MLB  Draft Since 1984

The Washington Nationals selected San Diego State University pitching sensation Stephen Strasburg (13-1, 1.32 ERA), 20, with the No. 1 pick in the Major League Baseball Draft Tuesday at the MLB Network Studios in Seacaucus, N.J. 

In recognition of the draft, I decided to rank the five most accomplished players selected first overall in the past quarter century.  

1)      Ken Griffey, Jr.

After Griffey, 39, completed his stellar high school career at Archbishop Moeller High School in Ohio where he was named his league’s Player of the Year in both the 1986 and 1987 seasons,“The Kid” was selected by the Seattle Mariners with the first overall pick in the 1987 amateur draft. 

Griffey, a 13-time All-Star who won 10 consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1990-1999, is one of the game’s most celebrated players and he will certainly be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in the future.

Moreover, “Junior,” the 1997 AL MVP who ranks fifth all-time with 617 home runs, likely achieved his feats without utilizing performance enhancing drugs.

In the rogue steroid era, legitimate achievements at the plate are as questionable as Bernie Madoff’s business practices.

“The Kid” is nothing less than a legend on the baseball diamond.

2)      Alex Rodriguez 

Rodriguez, 33, had a spectacular career as a star shortstop at Miami’s Westminster Christian High where he won a national championship as a junior and was named USA Baseball Junior Player of the Year as a senior.

Rodriguez initially signed a letter of intent to play baseball and possibly football at the University of Miami.

However, he eventually reneged on his word and he chose to sign with the Seattle Mariners instead with the first overall pick in the 1993 draft.

Since he made his debut with the Mariners in 1995, Rodriguez’s tremendous professional feats have been overshadowed only by his polarizing antics on and off of the baseball field.

Largely due to his controversial nature, A-Rod has attained more nicknames, albeit unflattering ones, than Apollo Creed.

“Bitch tits,” a 12-time All-Star who was nominated for 10 Silver Slugger Awards, is widely considered one of the greatest players in the annals of baseball.

 “A-Fraud” has also won 3 AL MVP Award’s and he was chosen as a Gold Glove Award winner in both the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

Rodriguez has recorded 560 dingers to date and most analysts anticipate that he will break Barry Bonds' tainted home run crown sometime within the next four seasons.

Unfortunately, “A-Roid” acknowledged that he used synthetic testosterone and his exploits now  appear equally as genuine as Pam Anderson’s tits.

Nevertheless, despite all his many warts, Rodriguez is a great baseball talent. 

3)      Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones, Jr. 

After he graduated from Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, Jones, 37, was selected by the Atlanta Braves with the 1^st pick overall in the 1990  amateur draft.

 “Chipper,” a nickname given to him by family members who believed he was a “chip-off-the-old-block” of his father, is a 6-time All-Star selection who won the NL MVP Award in 1999. 

Jones, one of the most consistent offensive forces of this generation, won the NL batting title in 2008 and was twice nominated for the Silver Slugger Award in both the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

His nickname may be a tad funny. 

But, his skills on the diamond are absolutely no joke. 

4)      Joe Mauer 

Mauer, 26, excelled on both the diamond and on the gridiron when he attended St. Paul’s Cretin-Derham Hall High School.

Ultimately, Mauer decided to play baseball and he was drafted out of high school as a catcher by the Minnesota Twins with the first overall selection in the 2001 draft.

Mauer, a 2-time All-Star selection who won the AL batting title in both the 2006 and 2008 seasons, seems destined to have a Hall of Fame career.

Mauer is simply no average “Joe” on the field of athletics and, at this juncture, it would be surprising if his skills didn’t ensure him a ticket to Cooperstown one day in the future. 

5)      Darin Erstad 

Erstad, 35, graduated in 1992 from Jamestown High School in Jamestown, North Dakota.

After his remarkable four-sport career concluded in high school, Erstad decided to attend the University of Nebraska where he flourished playing for the Huskers baseball and football teams.

In 1995, the California Angels picked Erstad with the No. 1 pick in the Major League Baseball Draft.

Erstad, a 2-time All-Star and 3-time Gold Glove Award winner, was an intricate part of the Angels 2002 championship team.

The 2000 Silver Slugger Award winner is also an angel in his hometown of Jamestown where there is a billboard in his honor off Interstate 9. 

*Honorable Mention- Brien Taylor   

A little levity, huh?!  

*Needless to say, this article is based on opinion and I am confident that many will dispute my rankings. 

Nevertheless, I look forward to receiving feedback and the thoughts of my readers.

Disgraced NBA Ref Tim Donaghy Was Assaulted In Prison

Disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy was attacked and injured in November by a fellow inmate with purported ties to the Mafia while he served his 15-month sentence in federal prison for attempting to alter the point spread in games that he officiated.

The Los Angeles Daily News reported Thursday that Donaghy, 42, a degenerate gambler whose illicit work as a professional hoops zebra spanned 772 regular-season games and 20 playoff contests, was assaulted and struck “several times with a paint-rolling stick” by the alleged Corleone enforcer.

Donaghy, a weasel who pled guilty in a New York federal court in 2007 on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and transferring betting information through interstate commerce, suffered significant damage to his knee during the beating.

According to reports, Donaghy underwent an MRI exam that showed a tear of the lateral meniscus, as well as a cyst.

Despite his wounds, the notorious ref, who received financial compensation from thugs and wiseguys alike for providing inside information about the league and making intentional miscalls on the hardwood, was denied treatment and told by a doctor that his injury was a “congenital” condition.

The Tampa Tribune reported that Donaghy will be transferred to a halfway house next week.

NBA Commissioner David Stern’s arch rival is still expected to be released from government custody on October the 24^th, a prison administrator informed ESPN.

Once he’s sprung from the pen, the rogue referee will reportedly seek help for his addiction to gambling.

"In prison, they have treatment for drug addiction and alcohol addiction, but not for gambling," a source revealed. "And all they do there is play cards."

The tainted zebra is one of the most infamous individuals in recent sports memory.

There is zero reason to feel sympathy for Donaghy.

Like Detective Jimmy McNulty once said on The Wire, “You play in dirt, you get dirty."

Donaghy should be relieved that he's not sleeping with the fishes.

Rays Manager Says New Yankee Stadium Doesn't Have Same "Smell" 

The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 Monday night in the Bronx to recapture first place in the American League East.

Andy Pettitte (6-2, 4.22 ERA) allowed two earned runs and struck out a season-high seven batters in six innings as the Bombers won two out of the three games played at the new Yankee Stadium against their division rivals.

The squads were scheduled to play a four game set before inclement weather forced the series opener on Friday to be postponed.

After the rainout, Rays Manager Joe Maddon commented that there is a lack of mystique at George Steinbrenner’s new palace and he particularly voiced his opinion that the new stadium does not have the same intimidating aroma as the previous one did.

"I hated the smell of the old place - in a good way for them and a bad way for you. I don't know if that odor was the remnants of the ghost walking around," Maddon, 55, remarked to the New York Daily News.

"They can develop it here, but they had an advantage based on the smell of the place."

The 2008 AL Manager of the Year, who dons eyeglasses suitable for a chartered Flight of the Conchords fan club member, continued to carp about the scent that is apparently now absent in the new stadium.

"You know what it was like downstairs," Maddon asked rhetorically of the smell that he recalled once emanated from the historic playing field that saw the Yankees win 26 championships over the course of 86 seasons.

"You could have bottled the stuff and you would have had Yankee Stadium."

Additionally, Maddon theorized why 63 out of the105 home runs hit in 29 games at the new Yankee Stadium have been launched to right and right-center field.

“There's a conveyor-belt effect out there,'' Maddon claimed of the right-centerfield portion of the $1.5 billion bandbox that is the second most expensive stadium in the world after Wembley Stadium.

''It's kind of like a jet stream.''

Yankees left fielder Johnny Damon said the abundance of dingers has benefited the Bombers and he pointed to their 18-11 record at home to validate his point.

''As long as we get the hits and they fly out of the ballpark, it's a good thing,” said Damon, 35, at the conclusion of last night’s victory that was the10^th game played at Yankee Stadium with five or more homers.

Despite New York’s successes at home, the new Yankee Stadium has also irked many loyal Bombers fans because ticket prices within the first eight rows of the field are ridiculously astronomical.

The average ticket in the “Legend’s Suite” section is priced at $510 and the most expensive seat can cost in excess of $2500.

Essentially, the cost of one night at a Yankee ballgame could be enough to purchase Ashley Dupree for an evening.

The startling ticket values have created a pathetic image on television because the seats behind home plate at games are largely vacant.

Nevertheless, the new stadium is reportedly gorgeous and every ending is indeed a new beginning.

Like Frank Sinatra once sang, the Yankees have made “a brand new start of it, in old New York.”

When the Bombers eventually win their first crown at the new Yankee Stadium, it is safe to presume that much of the initial criticisms surrounding the opening of the pristine field will cease.

Ultimately, Yankees fans only care about being “A-number-one, top of the list.”

So, if the Yankees want onlookers to focus on their play and not on the field they play on and its “smell”, they simply need to win.

“It’s up to you, New York, New York.”