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#1 Picks

Frayed Knot Dec 20 2007 06:39 PM

I don't really have a specific point in mind here, just was going through some stuff and decided to break down the list of all those drafted #1 overall. 43 years of MLB drafts produced [u:0d9b955496]42 different players[/u:0d9b955496] picked #1 overall; that's because Danny Goodwin was picked #1 twice: in 1971 by the White Sox (and didn't sign) then again in 1975 by the Angels (and did) [u:0d9b955496]None[/u:0d9b955496] of the 42 are in the Hall of Fame Of the 25 who [u:0d9b955496]played MLB ball but are no longer active[/u:0d9b955496] only Harold Baines (White Sox 1977) has a shot at reaching Cooperstown (but probably won't) The others, who had varying degrees of success, are: Rick Monday (A's 1965), Ron Blomberg (Yankees 1967), Tim Foli (Mets 1968), Jeff Burroughs (Rangers 1969), Mike Ivie (Padres (1970), the aforementioned Danny Goodwin, Dave Roberts (Padres 1972), David Clyde (Rangers 1973), Bill Almon (Padres 1974), Floyd Bannister (White Sox 1976), Bob Horner (Braves 1978), Al Chambers (Mariners 1979), Darryl Strawberry (Mets 1980), Mike Moore (Mariners 1981), Shawon Dunston (Cubs 1982), Tim Belcher (Twins 1983), Shawn Abner (Mets 1984), BJ Surhoff (Orioles 1985), Jeff King (Pirates 1986), Andy Benes (Padres 1988), Ben McDonald (Orioles 1989), Phil Nevin (Astros 1992), Paul Wilson (Mets 1994), & Matt Anderson (Tigers 1997) [u:0d9b955496]12 others are currently active[/u:0d9b955496]: - 2 of those ARE HoF-bound: Ken Griffey Jr. & Alex Rodriguez; both drafted by Seattle (1987 & 1993) - plus 1 other who might be: Chipper Jones (Braves 1990) - 3 of the remaining 9 active almost certainly will not: Daren Erstad (Angels 1995), Kris Benson (Pirates 1996), & Pat Burrell (Phillies 1998) - and the remaining 6 are still in the way too soon to tell stage: Josh Hamilton (1999), Adrian Gonzalez (2000), Joe Mauer (Twins 2001), Bryan Bullington (Pirates 2002), Delmon Young (Rays 2003), & Justin Upton (DBacks 2005) The remaining 5 are the ones who [u:0d9b955496]never played a day in the majors[/u:0d9b955496]: 2 of which never will: Steve Chilcott (Mets 1965) & Brien Taylor (Yankees 1991) And 3 recent picks who still might/should: Matt Bush (Padres 2004) though this one is NOT looking good as they recently changed him from SS to pitcher plus pitchers Luke Hochevar (Royals 2006) and David Price (Rays 2007)

SteveJRogers Dec 20 2007 06:43 PM Re: #1 Picks

="Frayed Knot"] The remaining 5 are the ones who never played a day in the majors: 2 of which never will: Steve Chilcott (Mets 1965) Just imagine if the Mets had picked Reggie instead. Course that being said, then the deal would have been Reggie Jackson for Rusty Staub, or Nolan Ryan and Reggie Jackson for Jim Fregosi (the last one I don't even want to fathom)!

Frayed Knot Dec 20 2007 07:13 PM

As the article I (partially) stole this list from said; the stories behind and around these picks could constitute it's own book. Chilcott/Jackson would just be one chapter and seperating the myth from facts would keep the writer busy for a while. - The biggest story is the one where Jackson claims his college coach told him the Mets backed off due to his (in the parlance of the time) 'uppity nigger' style and that his black self was dating a white (actually Mexican) girl. The only source of that, however, appears to be Jackson himself and I'm not sure he should be treated as Mr. Reliable. - Others look at that pick as an example of NYM woeful history, but the difference looks bigger in hindsight than it was at the time. Whitey Herzog was the Met talent guru that year and he claims to have gone to his (then) 19 counterparts after the draft asking them who they would have picked. Acc to Whitey, 9 told him they would have gone w/Chilcott with 10 opting for Jackson, meaning it would have been a 10-10 tie with the Met vote counted in. Now maybe that ratio would have been slanted more towards Jackson in later years as clubs started to recognize the colleges as an important source of talent their players as less risky than HS talent, but this was just the 2nd draft ever. - The other oft-skipped part of the story is that Chilcott's career was curtailed by injuries and not lack of talent.

RealityChuck Dec 20 2007 07:17 PM Re: #1 Picks

SteveJRogers wrote: Course that being said, then the deal would have been Reggie Jackson for Rusty Staub, or Nolan Ryan and Reggie Jackson for Jim Fregosi (the last one I don't even want to fathom)! By the standards of the time, Fregosi was one of the best shortstops in baseball, a perennial all-star. He was coming off an injury year, but there was no reason to believe he wouldn't rebound (his problem was a second injury when he was trying to adjust to third base). Nolan Ryan, OTOH, was a wild "live arm" whose numbers were getting worse each year (he walked 116 batters in 152 innngs and his ERA jumped half a run in a year that the leage ERA dropped by .6 runs) and who had lost 10 of his last 12 decisions in 1971. There was no guarantee he would ever be anything than an Amborix Burgos (and Ryan has said he never would have succeeded if he stayed with the Mets). The Angels gambled on Ryan, and it happened to work out well, but no one in 1971 would ever have predicted Ryan was a potential Hall of Famer. In hindsight, it was a terrible trade, but at the time it was pretty fair. Now, the Amos Otis trade, OTOH . . . .

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 20 2007 07:27 PM

I was recently reading Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning (a fine book, btw, only saw a little of the series) where the author mentions in passing it was Reggie's coach at ASU who suggested there were biastical shenanigans associated with the mets passing him over.

Edgy DC Dec 20 2007 09:05 PM Re: #1 Picks

="SteveJRogers"] ="Frayed Knot"] The remaining 5 are the ones who never played a day in the majors: 2 of which never will: Steve Chilcott (Mets 1965) Just imagine if the Mets had picked Reggie instead. Course that being said, then the deal would have been Reggie Jackson for Rusty Staub, or Nolan Ryan and Reggie Jackson for Jim Fregosi (the last one I don't even want to fathom)! Don't be such a Met fan.

Edgy DC Dec 20 2007 09:16 PM

="John Cougar Lunchbucket"]I was recently reading Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning (a fine book, btw, only saw a little of the series) where the author mentions in passing it was Reggie's coach at ASU who suggested there were biastical shenanigans associated with the mets passing him over. Yeah, Reggie always claimed he heard it from his coach. I'm going to imagine that it was something along the line of Bob Scheffing talking to the coach during warmups, saying they like Jackson as well as Chillcott, trying to get some info about Jackson's makeup, and looking at Jackson flirting with his girl, and asking, "That his girlfriend?" Upon getting a reply he maybe snorts a knowing snort and smiles a knowing smile. It could have meant everything or it could have meant nothing, but perhaps the coach took Jackson aside later and said, "Maybe cool it with the girl when the scouts are around. They're watching your every move." Anyhow, we sure don't have anything worth hanging Scheffing on. The Mets second pick that year: Byron Von Hoff.

metsmarathon Dec 20 2007 10:50 PM Re: #1 Picks

="Edgy DC"] ="SteveJRogers"] ="Frayed Knot"] The remaining 5 are the ones who never played a day in the majors: 2 of which never will: Steve Chilcott (Mets 1965) Just imagine if the Mets had picked Reggie instead. Course that being said, then the deal would have been Reggie Jackson for Rusty Staub, or Nolan Ryan and Reggie Jackson for Jim Fregosi (the last one I don't even want to fathom)! Don't be a Met fan. fixed... :p