Bartolo Colón, Robinson Canó Among Players Drafted in Dubai's Baseball United League
October 23, 2023
Dubai's Baseball United held it's first-ever draft on Monday, selecting a number of former MLB stars to compete in the four-team league.
Bartolo Colon, Robinson Cano, Didi Gregorius, and Pablo Sandoval were among the notable players picked.
Kash Shaikh @Kash_ShaikhFirst-ever <a href="https://twitter.com/BaseballUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BaseballUnited</a> Draft is in the books! <br><br>Grateful and blessed to be able to help grow this beautiful game with these amazing people. <br><br>The full Draft video is up on <a href="https://t.co/1Y6oSfvIOR">https://t.co/1Y6oSfvIOR</a>, and all picks + more news will be up soon. 🙏⚾️❤️ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/baseballunited?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#baseballunited</a> <a href="https://t.co/KmbfMeFdXl">pic.twitter.com/KmbfMeFdXl</a>
Colon spent 21 years in the majors, making four All-Star appearances and winning the American League Cy Young award in 2005 as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
Cano was an eight-time All-Star, winning a World Series in 2009 with the New York Yankees.
Baseball United @BaseballUnitedRobinson Cano is running with the Wolves.<a href="https://twitter.com/dxbwolves?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dxbwolves</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RobinsonCano?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@robinsoncano</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RobinsonCano?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RobinsonCano</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BUDraft?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BUDraft</a> <a href="https://t.co/LnVTZB1GQY">pic.twitter.com/LnVTZB1GQY</a>
Sandoval was a member of three championship teams with the San Francisco Giants, while Gregorius spent over a decade in the MLB and finished his career with 134 home runs.
According to the league's official website, Baseball United will begin it's inaugural season in November 2023. The ownership group includes baseball icons such as Barry Larkin, Mariano Rivera, Adrián Beltré, Felix Hernandez, and Ryan Howard.
The league's first official event will be a showcase that features two Baseball United All-Star teams playing a two-game series on Nov. 24 and 25. President and CEO Kash Shaikh explained why one of his main values regarding the event and the league as a whole is "unity."
"Since we began this journey, every person in our organization has been passionate about bringing people together through the game we all love," he said. "Instead of focusing on the sports rivalries that will excite our fans in the future, we wanted to hero the unity that has ignited our league since its inception."
