ATLANTA -- The back section of the Coca-Cola Roxy, a small concert venue that hosted the first round of Major League Baseball's draft, was cordoned off with stanchions Sunday night. Gray couches had been arranged for draft hopefuls to lounge alongside their traveling parties while waiting for their names to be called by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, but there was one distinct problem:
Nobody was in them.
Four years ago, MLB pushed its draft back, paired it with the rest of its All-Star Game festivities and envisioned a grander affair, with fans in attendance, a national audience watching and players, outfitted with lavish suits, approaching the stage to don their first professional caps and jerseys.