his junior or senior seasons. The Major League Baseball Players Association filed a legal challenge, but Major League Baseball argued that, since the Players Association did not represent amateur players, it was not necessary for the union to agree to the change. An arbitrator ultimately decided that any change to draft articles must be negotiated with the Players Association. Media exposure The first-year player draft has historically had far less media exposure than its counterparts in the other leagues for three primary reasons: High school and college baseball, the primary sources of MLB draftees, are not nearly as popular as college football, college basketball, and, in Canada and certain parts of the U.S., college and junior hockey. Consequently, most prospective top draft picks were unknown to the casual sports observer at the time of their draft. However, this is slowly changing: NCAA baseball has enjoyed a spike in popularity in the 2000s and top collegiate baseball players have enjoyed greater media exposure, though still far below that of their basketball and football counterparts. Unlike top draft picks in the NHL, NBA, and NFL, all of whom are expected to make immediate impacts, top MLB draftees are nearly always assigned to the minor leagues for several years to hone their skills, usually at low levels (Rookie or Class A) initially. Due to this, fans cannot see the newly drafted players perform immediately, causing them to forget or lose interest in them. The entire 2007 first round (64 players) totaled one inning of major league playing time as of the end of the 2008 season; as of the 2009 season, the vast majority of 2008 first-rounders were still assigned to minor league organizations. In contrast, every first-round pick in the 2008 NFL draft had played in the league by the end of the 2008 season. While many NHL, NBA, and NFL draftees will eventually reach their respective leagues, the vast majority of players selected in the first-year player draft will never play in a single MLB game, including many first-rounders. For example, only 31 of 52 first-round draft picks in the 1997 draft eventually made a big-league appearance, and only 19 of those 31 appeared in more than 100 games as of 2021. In 1997's sixth round, only five of the 30 players selected eventually made a big league appearance, all of which pitchers, and only two of those five (Tim Hudson