First-Year Player Draft History

Draft Report: 1970s

The regular and secondary phases of the January draft proved more fruitful to major league clubs than the June draft. Those selected in the regular phase in January included Chris Chambliss (Cleveland, 1st round), Greg Minton (Kansas City, 3rd round) and Joel Youngblood (Cincinnati, 2nd round). In the secondary phase, Doug DeCinces was selected by Baltimore in the 3rd round, Rick Burleson by Boston in the 1st round, Bill Madlock by Washington in the 5th round and Chris Speier by San Francisco in the 1st round.

Catching prospects were a popular selection in June. Of the first four picks in the regular phase, three were catchers. San Diego took Mike Ivie as the draft's number one selection, Montreal tabbed Barry Foote with the 3rd pick and Milwaukee chose Darrell Porter with the draft's 4th selection. The Chicago White Sox may have had the most productive June draft selecting pitchers Terry Forster (2nd round) and Rich Gossage (9th round) in the regular phase and infielder Bucky Dent (1st round) in the secondary phase.

First Round - June, Regular Phase

* Did not sign

1971

The June Free Agent Amateur Draft was one of the most productive. Selected in the regular phase were future all-stars Jim Rice (Boston, 1st round), Frank Tanana (California, 1st round), George Brett (Kansas City, 2nd round), Ron Guidry (New York Yankees, 3rd round), Rick Rhoden (Los Angeles, 1st round), Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia, 2nd round) and Keith Hernandez (St. Louis, 42nd round). In the secondary phase, Burt Hooton (Chicago Cubs, 1st round), Steve Rogers (Montreal, 1st round) and Steve Busby (Kansas City, 2nd round) were chosen.

Pitcher Mike Flanagan was selected in the 15th round of the June regular phase by Houston, but enrolled at the University of Massachusetts. One of the more interesting highlights of the June draft was that five quarterbacks were selected including future NFL stars Archie Manning, Steve Bartkowski and Joe Theismann. Danny Goodwin, the nation's top pick, couldn't agree to terms with the White Sox and became the first top choice who did not sign a contract.

First Round - June, Regular Phase

* Did not sign

1972

The Montreal Expos had perhaps their best draft in franchise history. The Expos grabbed outfielder Ellis Valentine in round two of the June regular phase and then selected catcher Gary Carter one round later. The Pirates also did well, selecting pitcher John Candelaria in round two and second baseman Willie Randolph in round seven.

Some of the significant picks from the regular phase in June included Rick Manning (Cleveland) and Scott McGregor (New York Yankees) in round one. Also selected in the first round were Chet Lemon (Oakland), Larry Christenson (Philadelphia) and the number one pick, Dave Roberts (San Diego). Roberts went directly to the Padres starting third base position from the University of Oregon campus. The biggest steal was pulled off by the Texas Rangers when they selected infielder Mike Hargrove from Northwestern State University in the 25th round.

First Round - June, Regular Phase

1973

Four dominating players of the late 70s and 80s were selected in the June regular phase. Infielder Robin Yount (Milwaukee) and outfielder Dave Winfield (San Diego) were first-rounders, while outfielder Fred Lynn (Boston) and infielder Eddie Murray (Baltimore) were second and third-round selections, respectively.

Winfield stepped off the University of Minnesota campus -- where he lettered in three sports -- and into the Padres' outfield. He was one of three players from this draft to go directly into the bigs. Highly-touted David Clyde was chosen by Texas as the nation's number one pick. He jumped from high school to the majors and won his first game as a Ranger shortly thereafter. But the hard-throwing lefthander developed arm problems and had a short-lived career. Besides Clyde and Winfield, Arizona State's Eddie Bane (Minnesota, 11th overall) went directly to the majors. Other selections of interest included Mike Flanagan (Baltimore), Jack Clark (San Francisco), who was drafted as a pitcher, and Lee Mazzilli (New York Mets). In the January secondary phase, Dick Ruthven (Philadelphia), Jim Sundberg (Texas) and Donnie Moore (Chicago Cubs), who was drafted as an outfielder, were chosen.

First Round - June, Regular Phase

1974

With the number one pick of the June regular phase, San Diego tabbed infielder Bill Almon from Brown University, one of six shortstops selected in round one. Twelve of the first 13 and a total of 16 first round selections went on to become major leaguers, including Lonnie Smith (Philadelphia), Dale Murphy (Atlanta), Garry Templeton (St. Louis), Lance Parrish (Detroit), Willie Wilson (Kansas City) and Rick Sutcliffe (Los Angeles).

Three players from the June regular phase were among the ones who got away. Pitcher Bob Welch (Chicago Cubs, 14th round), infielder Paul Molitor (St. Louis, 28th round) and pitcher Eric Show (Minnesota, 36th round) turned down pro offers for college scholarships.

First Round - June, Regular Phase

* Did not sign

1975

Catcher Danny Goodwin became the only player ever drafted first in two June drafts, as the Angels tabbed him as their top selection. Four years earlier, Goodwin had been picked by the White Sox, but chose to attend Southern University instead.

None of the four players picked after Goodwin made it to the big leagues. In fact, only 12 of the 24 first round picks did. Andre Dawson was probably the biggest name in the 1975 draft, although he was overlooked until the Expos picked him in the 10th round. Other players included Rick Cerone (New York Yankees), Lou Whitaker (Detroit), Bumb Wills (Texas), Clint Hurdle (Kansas City), Dale Berra (Pittsburgh), Glenn Hubbard (Atlanta) and Lee Smith (Chicago Cubs). Surprisingly, the January draft yielded more future big leaguers than the June draft. The top two picks, Gene Richards and Willie Aikens, were chosen after their school, South Carolina State, dropped its baseball program.

First Round - June, Regular Phase

1976

The 1976 Arizona State University team, considered by many to be the best collegiate team ever, played a major role in the draft. Floyd Bannister was picked number one by the Astros while Ken Landreaux was selected sixth by the Angels. In all, 12 players from that team went on to play in the majors.

Bannister and Landreaux anchored a June draft that was one of the most talented ever. The first 10 selections went on to play in the big leagues. Among those picked in the June draft were Rickey Henderson (Oakland), Alan Trammell (Detroit), Wade Boggs (Boston), Jack Morris (Detroit), Dan Petry (Detroit), Bruce Hurst (Boston), Steve Trout (Chicago White Sox), Leon Durham (St. Louis), and Pat Tabler (New York Yankees).

Willie McGee (Chicago White Sox) and Ozzie Smith (Detroit) were selected in the seventh round but did not sign.

In the January phase, Steve Kemp of Southern California was picked first by the Tigers and Jody Davis was picked third by the Mets.

First Round - June, Regular Phase

* Did not sign

1977

The White Sox raised some brows when they passed on right-handed pitcher Bill Gullickson, a native of nearby Orland Park, IL, and selected outfielder Harold Baines as the number one pick in the country.

White Sox owner Bill Veeck had seen Baines play little league baseball in Maryland and had followed his progress through the years. After spending three seasons in the minors, Baines was a fixture in the White Sox lineup for 10 seasons. Montreal had perhaps the best draft, choosing Gullickson second, pitcher Scott Sanderson in the third round and outfielder Tim Raines in the fifth. Other picks of interest included infielder Paul Molitor (Milwaukee), pitcher Richard Dotson (California), and catcher Terry Kennedy (St. Louis).

Shortstop Tom Goffena from Sidney, Ohio became the Toronto Blue Jays' first draft pick as he was chosen 25th in the first round. The Seattle Mariners picked 26th and took outfielder Dave Henderson from Dos Palos, CA as their first draft pick. The Blue Jays also picked Danny Ainge out of Brigham Young University in the 15th round. Ainge, who was also drafted by the NBA's Boston Celtics, later quit baseball for a career in basketball as a player and coach.

First Round - June, Regular Phase

1978

In 1978, four players made the jump from amateur baseball to the major leagues, including Arizona State third baseman Bob Horner, who was selected number one overall by the Atlanta Braves. Oakland pitchers Tim Conroy and Mike Morgan, and Brian Milner of Toronto also went directly to the big leagues.

In addition to Horner, the Braves also selected future major leaguers Matt Sinatro (2nd round), Steve Bedrosian (3rd round), Rick Behenna (4th round), Jose Alvarez (8th round) and Gerald Perry (11th round).

Others drafted in June of 1978 included Lloyd Moseby and Dave Stieb (Toronto), Mike Marshall and Steve Sax (Los Angeles), Cal Ripken, Jr. and Mike Boddicker (Baltimore), Kirk Gibson (Detroit), Kent Hrbek (Minnesota) and Hubie Brooks (New York Mets).

First Round - June, Regular Phase

1979

The 1979 draft may long be remembered as the year of the football player. Among future NFL players drafted by baseball teams were Dan Marino and John Elway (Kansas City), Jack Thompson (Seattle), Curt Warner (Philadelphia), Kevin House (St. Louis) and Jay Schroeder (Toronto). Michigan quarterback Rick Leach was drafted by the Tigers in the first round and went on to a major league career.

The number one pick in the June draft went to Seattle, which selected high school outfielder Al Chambers. Perhaps the biggest steal in the draft was the Yankees' selection of Don Mattingly in the 19th round.

Other significant selections in the draft were Tim Wallach (Montreal), Steve Howe (Los Angeles), Atlee Hammaker (Kansas City), Andy Van Slyke (St. Louis), Brett Butler (Atlanta), Pete O'Brien (Texas), Von Hayes (Cleveland), Marty Barrett (Boston) and Gary Gaetti (Minnesota).

First Round - June, Regular Phase

* Did not sign