(Credit: MSU Athletics)
Editor’s note: I Follow is all about ESPN employees on Twitter: what they tweet, whom they follow and how you can interact socially with anyone and everyone.
Twitter Handle: @markmulder20
Following: 128
Followers: 29,592
(as of 6/6/13)
ESPN MLB analyst Mark Mulder, who was drafted No. 2 overall by the Oakland Athletics in 1998, will appear on Baseball Tonight throughout the week to discuss the latest action and the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft. The draft starts tonight and runs through Saturday. In addition to Baseball Tonight’s coverage, ESPN.com will be providing extensive news and information throughout the draft. Fans can also follow @BBTN for the latest developments. Baseball Tonight airs this evening (10 p.m. ET & 12 a.m.), Friday (10 p.m. & 12 a.m.) and Saturday (1 a.m.).
Mulder, a two-time All-Star and a World Series champion in nine major-league seasons with Oakland and later St. Louis, shared his thoughts about Twitter and memories from when he was drafted out of Michigan State.
When did you first start using Twitter and why?
I started using Twitter after I joined ESPN. I noticed other colleagues using it and saw it as a great way to get the latest news and information. It’s the way I keep up with everything that’s going on in baseball.
How has Twitter changed the way baseball is covered?
There are times when I’ve been in the middle of a show during a break and I’ve used Twitter to get information about a game going on in real time. I remember one time in particular, we were about to show a highlight of [Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher] Trevor Cahill giving up a two-run single. I had just read on a Tweet from a Diamondbacks beat writer that the two-run single happened because [Cahill] didn’t cover first base and that’s why he didn’t get out of the inning. To be able to say that without seeing the highlight was great in that it probably happened 45 seconds before we showed the highlight.
How important was ESPN to you as a source for news and information back in 1998, when you were drafted No. 2 overall?
I remember being in the Cape Cod League and [then-ESPN MLB analyst] Peter Gammons was out doing a story on our team. I didn’t know what number I was going to be drafted, but then I saw Gammons’ story and he mentioned my name and said that I was going to be one of the top three picks. It totally surprised me.
What is your most memorable moment from when you were drafted back in 1998?
The day when the A’s called. I had friends and family over the house and we were all hanging out. It was basically just us hanging out in the living room waiting for a phone call. Back then, there really wasn’t much else to do but wait.
