Draft Reporting Never, Ever Stops

Report cards reveal even more after pro debuts.

 

- John Manuel

One of my first jobs at Baseball America involved the 1996 Draft Report Cards. Instead of jumping in, calling scouting directors and going over their draft lists, at that time I was most involved in finding photos.

In those pre-Internet days, that meant calling the high schools or colleges for every player, often calling the player’s home, and asking them to send photos. I think I still remember our FedEx account number (since discontinued). I distinctly remember Matt Halloran, a Virginia high school shortstop drafted 15th overall by the Padres, sending in a yearbook photo of himself.

He was smiling in a tuxedo, and he’d signed the back with the added scroll, “Keep it—it will be worth a lot some day!”