Household names, quarterbacks among more interesting draftees

There's a million stories in the naked draft, but here's my favorite: The Phillies, with the 1,426nd overall pick, selected a speedy, power-hitting center fielder named ... Willie Mays.

"This has got to be one of the best drafts in history when you can pick Willie Mays in the 49th round," Mike Arbuckle, Philadelphia's assistant general manager, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Turns out Willie is a high-schooler from Lexington, Ky., and no relation to the Say-Hey Kid. In the fifth round, the Royals drafted Billy Buckner, a right-handed pitcher out of the University of South Carolina, and he's no relation, either — not that it will make it any easier the first time he faces the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

The Mariners weren't the only team that went after a touted quarterback with their top pick.

The White Sox used their first-round pick, 18th overall, on Josh Fields, who guided Oklahoma State into the Cotton Bowl. A power-hitting third baseman in baseball, the Sox feel he has a chance to be an impact player. And with two compensation picks each for the loss of free agents Tom Gordon and Bartolo Colon, the White Sox had room to gamble.

Not that Fields should be a tough sign. He's ready to exchange the pigskin for the horsehide.

"There's always been something about baseball," Fields told the Chicago Tribune. "I love the way it is in the clubhouse, around the dugout and on the field. It'll be hard to leave all my (football) teammates, my friends. I've had so many experiences, so many good times at Oklahoma State. But they all understand my situation."

The Mariners and Sox hope their QBs-turned-baseball players wind up resembling Todd Helton, a former Tennessee quarterback, more than John Elway, Chad Hutchinson, Josh Booty, Drew Henson, Quincy Carter or Antwaan Randle El, all of whom flirted with baseball but never prospered.

Or maybe even they can be the next Willie Mays or Billy Buckner.