The conversation between human and AI assistant.
How many players enter professional baseball each year?
Are there any players who were considered unlikely to make it to the major leagues but then ended up having successful careers?
Yes, there have been many players throughout history who have defied the odds and had successful careers despite initially being considered long shots. One example is pitcher Tim Wakefield, who was drafted as an infielder but ended up becoming a knuckleball pitcher and pitching in the major leagues for 19 seasons.