The baseball world turns its eyes to New Jersey on Thursday for MLB's annual First-Year Player Draft. And odds are, from the first pick to the last, will be you will have never heard of a single name called over the three-day affair (save a college QB or two).
Indeed, the draft's history books are filled with pages of who's that, could've been and never was; the history of America's pastime in entertainment, however, is a far different story.
From the "Bad News Bears" and those kids who called "The Sandlot" home to the foul-mouthed minor leaguers in Durham and the equally foul-mouthed major leaguers in Cleveland, no sport has brought us as many memorable fictional characters as baseball.
In honor of this week's draft — and to give you a taste of seeing names you're actually familiar with fly off the board — the FOXSports.com MLB staff conducted a one-round draft of the best fictional characters in baseball history, following the actual team order of Thursday's draft. Just for fun, we even gave the teams who lost their first-round pick after signing Type A free agents.
When you're done, sound off on the comments below.
Pick
Team
Character
Actor / Actress
Movie
30.
St. Louis Cardinals
Johnny Flanagan
Justin Timberlake
'Trouble With The Curve'
Called “The Flame” for how he used to throw the cover off the ball, the one-time MLB pitcher lends a Justin Timberlake-like irresistibility to an otherwise meandering baseball flick. Spotted when he was a high school phenom by ace scout Gus (Clint Eastwood), the ex-hurler infuses each scene with an easygoing, easy-on-the-eyes charm. Plus, he won Amy Adams in the end, so you know he knows how to play the game. And his recall of Bernie Carbo’s home run in the 1975 World Series? Classic.
29.
Boston Red Sox
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
28.
Atlanta Braves
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
27.
Oakland A's
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
26.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
25.
Detroit Tigers
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
24.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
23.
Cleveland Indians
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
22.
Tampa Bay Rays
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
21.
Cincinnati Reds
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
20.
Texas Rangers
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
19.
Washington Nationals
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
18.
Kansas City Royals
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
17.
Balitmore Orioles
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
16.
New York Yankees
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
15.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
14.
Los Angeles Angels
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
13.
San Francisco Giants
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
12.
San Diego Padres
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
11.
Milwaukee Brewers
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
10.
New York Mets
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
9.
Toronto Blue Jays
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
8.
Colorado Rockies
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
7.
Philadelphia Phillies
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
6.
Seattle Mariners
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
5.
Minnesota Twins
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
4.
Chicago Cubs
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
3.
Chicago White Sox
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
2.
Miami Marlins
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
1.
Houston Astros
Character
Actor
Movie
Commentary here
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