In 2003, the Yankees drafted Tyler Clippard in the ninth round out of a Port Richey, Florida high school. The righty signed, and began his professional career that summer in the Gulf Coast League, 40 miles from his hometown. Inking a contract was largely about location.

“My decision out of the draft was to play collegiate baseball in Tampa or play professional baseball in Tampa,” said Clippard. “I obviously didn’t know which team I’d go to, but it being the Yankees had a lot to do with me saying, ‘OK, let’s start my pro career, because I’m going to be close to home.’ Had I been drafted by anybody else, I probably would have played college ball (at the University of South Florida).”

Clippard knew New York was a possibility – “It was them and a couple of other teams” – so he wasn’t surprised when the Yankees selected him 274th overall. As for when he expected to hear his name called, that was a complete mystery. “I could have been drafted anywhere from the third round to not at all,” Clippard told me. “Going in, I had no idea. But like I said, because of where I’d be playing, I decided to sign.”

Clippard subsequently spent the 2005 season with the club’s Florida State League affiliate, which is also located in Tampa. In 2007, he was dealt to Washington, where he played until being dealt to Oakland prior to the start of the current campaign.