By the Luck of the Draw: The Players League Draft Order is Set
By Your Trusty Baseball Scribe, Who’s Seen It All
The air in the grand ballroom of The Players League headquarters was thick with anticipation. Every team owner, every manager, and every baseball man worth his weight in scouting reports gathered to witness the moment that would shape the future of the game. The league’s inaugural draft was upon us, but before names could be called, before franchises could lay claim to the superstars of yesterday and the icons of tomorrow, there was the small matter of determining the draft order.
And in keeping with the spirit of a fresh start, the order would be decided by lot.
A Roll of the Dice, A Shake of Fate
No past records, no secret negotiations, no behind-the-scenes wrangling—just pure chance. The names of all sixteen clubs were placed in a drum, an old wooden contraption that looked as if it had been borrowed from a traveling carnival. The room fell silent as the commissioner—dressed in his finest, eyes steeled with the gravity of the moment—turned the crank. The balls tumbled inside, each representing a city, a franchise, a future waiting to be written.
One by one, the names were drawn. And with each pull, the fate of baseball’s new era took shape.
The Browns Win the Lottery
The first envelope was opened, and the name inside sent a ripple through the room:
St. Louis Browns. A team long buried beneath the shadow of their city’s more successful counterpart, a team whose fans had been waiting for a miracle, suddenly found themselves at the front of the line.
The reaction among the assembled baseball men was muted, measured—after all, everyone knew the draft order was being drawn in secret. The league’s decision to keep the results under wraps until all negotiations had played out was a calculated one. Every owner had agreed in advance that there would be no bartering, no backroom deals, no powerful franchises strong-arming their way to the top. The order drawn by lot would be final, unaltered, and non-negotiable.
For some, it was a relief. For others, a disappointment. But the decision had been made, and The Players League would march forward accordingly.
The Order Takes Shape
One by one, the teams fell into place:
1. St. Louis Browns
2. Chicago White Sox
3. New York Giants
4. Cleveland Guardians
5. Pittsburgh Pirates
6. Chicago Cubs
7. Brooklyn Dodgers
8. Detroit Tigers
9. Philadelphia Phillies
10. Washington Senators
11. Cincinnati Reds
12. New York Yankees
13. Boston Braves
14. Philadelphia Athletics
15. Boston Red Sox
16. St. Louis Cardinals
The Calm Before the Storm
As the final name was drawn, the room exhaled. The draft order was set. Some teams had landed in favorable positions, others would have to make the most of what they were given. But the most significant moment of all was the quiet agreement made before the drawing even began: there would be no tampering. No negotiations. No shifting of positions based on influence or wealth.
The Yankees, the Dodgers, the Cardinals—teams that had long wielded baseball’s balance of power—would not be allowed to dictate the outcome. The order was final, and the league’s owners had chosen to abide by it.
For now, the world outside the ballroom remained in the dark. The order had been drawn, but not yet revealed. The next step? The grand announcement. And with it, the moment where the future of baseball would finally take shape.
The draft was coming. And when it did, there would be no more secrets.
⚾