The unpleasantness that marred the end of the Experimental League was all but forgotten by Season I Draft Night.  Adding to the excitement was the prospect of adding two new members to the league.  Frank Panasci, whose Strato experience came as a child playing with the likes of Ray Chicorella, would be joining his Holbrook friends.  And Eugene Cucinello, who had always felt slighted by not being a part of any previous league, would also be coming aboard.  Eugene took the prospect of playing with the Strato veterans very seriously.  He spent several Tuesday nights during the experimental league learning the game and getting pointers from the boys.  He wasn’t all business though, as he proved one night when he fielded an “all funny named” team during one exhibition game.  I’m not sure if Vinegar Bend Mizell was the winner or the loser in that contest.  Frank, on the other hand, just showed up on draft night (probably late, although I can’t recall for sure).  Of course it was quite surprising when minutes before the draft Eugene decided he didn’t want to play, and opted to play Wiffleball with Eggbert instead.  There are no historical records in existence concerning the Eugene-Eggbert Wiffleball league.

And so at a table in a smoke-filled basement, five men, who were consuming far too much coffee, picked from a deck of split cards to determine who would have the first-ever draft choice in the new league.  And the winner was…..Frank Panasci.  And the first player chosen by Frank was…..Frank Tanana.  Unorthodox?  Yes.  Unexpected?  Perhaps.  Silly?  Most definitely.  The guys, in the name of sportsmanship, explained to Frank that perhaps there were better players available, and maybe he would be interested in one of them.  As a matter of fact, there are better pitchers available, and maybe he would like to reconsider.  You know, there are even better left-handed starting pitchers available, what do you think big guy?  After some time Frank decided that in order for the draft to proceed maybe he ought to pick a different player.  So he chose…..Dave Righetti.  Unorthodox?  Yes.  Unexpected?  Perhaps.  Silly?  Most definitely.  Realizing that the first pick may take up a considerable portion of the night, the guys let Frank pick whomever he damn well wanted. Mike, picking second, got Mickey Mantle, who incidentally went on to become that season’s Most Valuable Player.  Another 148 players were selected (these were the days of the 30 man roster), and the inaugural draft of the new league was complete.