Baseball’s annual amateur draft is Monday, with the Seattle Mariners holding the No. 3 overall pick behind the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins. The consensus of most of mock drafts (yes, they even have them for amateur baseball players), is that Seattle will select a catcher, probably Mike Zunino of the University of Florida, who hit .323 with 16 home runs last season.
Regardless of Seattle’s pick, it will take anywhere from three to five years before the pick can be judged a gem or a dud.
Every major league team has a history of big hits and major misses in the June free agent draft. In the case of the Mariners, had they drafted a little differently, they could have put together an entire roster of Hall of Famers and near Hall of Famers from the players they bypassed.
For example, the Mariners could have assembled a rotation consisting of Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Orel Hershiser, David Cone and Mike Mussina, and filled out a lineup card featuring Ryne Sandberg, Tony Gwynn, Don Mattingly, Ozzie Smith, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Manny Ramirez, among a host of other luminaries.
Who else was out there when the Mariners made their picks (it’s still too early to judge players drafted since 2007):
| Year | First Pick | Rnd/No | Also Available |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | D. Henderson | 1/26 | #86 Ozzie Smith, #106 Tim Raines |
| 1978 | T.Nani | 1/6 | #48 Cal Ripken, #511 Ryne Sandberg |
| 1979 | A. Chambers | 1/1 | #440 Orel Hershiser, #493 Don Mattingly |
| 1980 | D. Coles | 1/6 | #10 Kelly Gruber, #201 Eric Davis |
| 1981 | M.Moore | 1/1 | #58 Tony Gwynn, #232 Fred McGriff |
| 1982 | S. Owen | 1/6 | #189 R.Palmeiro, #391 Jose Canseco |
| 1983 | D. Akerfelds | 1/7 | #19 Roger Clemens, #22 Ricky Jordan |
| 1984 | B. Swift | 1/2 | #31 Greg Maddux, #47 Tom Glavine |
| 1985 | M. Campbell | 1/7 | #22 R. Palmeiro, #94 David Justice |
| 1986 | P. Lennon | 1/8 | #40 Kevin Tapani, #105 Bo Jackson |
| 1987 | K. Griffey Jr. | 1/1 | #9 Kevin Appier, #22 Craig Biggio |
| 1988 | T. Martinez | 1/14 | #17 Charles Nagy, #1390 Mike Piazza |
| 1989 | R. Salkeld | 1/3 | #7 Frank Thomas, #23, #288 Trevor Hoffman |
| 1990 | M. Newfield | 1/6 | #20 Mike Mussina, #175 Troy Percival |
| 1991 | S. Estes | 1/11 | #13 Manny Ramirez, #16 Shawn Green |
| 1992 | R. Villone | 1/14 | #19 Shannon Stewart, #23 Johnny Damon |
| 1993 | A. Rodriguez | 1/1 | #20 Torri Hunter, #389 Keith Foulke |
| 1994 | J. Varitek | 1/14 | #20 Terrence Long, #37 Troy Glaus |
| 1995 | J. Cruz Jr. | 1/3 | #8 Todd Helton, #17 Roy Halladay |
| 1996 | G. Meche | 1/22 | #301 S. Hillenbrand, #435 Kevin Gregg |
| 1997 | R. Anderson | 1/19 | #20 Adam Kennedy, #185 Tim Hudson |
| 1998 | M. Thornton | 1/22 | #50 Adam Dunn, #265 Mark Teixeira |
| 1999 | R. Christianson | 1/11 | #52 Carl Crawford, #85 Hank Blalock |
| 2000 | S. Hayes | 4/116 | #124 Laynce Nix, #223 Dontrelle Willis |
| 2001 | M. Garciaparra | 1/36 | #72 Dan Haren, #243 Kevin Youkilis |
| 2002 | J. Mayberry | 1/28 | #57 Jon Lester, #80 Curtis Granderson |
| 2003 | A. Jones | 1/37 | #74 Chris Ray, #78 Ryan Garko |
| 2004 | M. Tuiasosopo | 3/93 | #184 Ben Zobrist, #254 Mike Carp |
| 2005 | J. Clement | 1/3 | #5 Ryan Braun, #7 Troy Tulowitzki |
| 2006 | B. Morrow | 1/5 | #10 Tim Lincecum, #41 Joba Chamberlain |
| 2007 | P. Aumont | 1/11 | #27 Rick Porcello |
2 Comments
1982
S. Owen
1/6
#189 R.Palmeiro, #391 Jose Canseco
1983
D. Akerfelds
1/7
#19 Roger Clemens, #22 Ricky Jordan
1984
B. Swift
1/2
#31 Greg Maddux, #47 Tom Glavine
1985
M. Campbell
1/7
#22 R. Palmeiro, #94 David Justice
So in ’82, Palmeiro was drafted but didn’t sign, then was drafted in ’85?
It is fun to wonder what might have been if the Mariner’s had made the correct picks so many years ago, but in that case, you have to take the good with the bad. If the Mariners had taken Roger Clemens or Ozzie Smith or Cal Ripken, or some other franchise changing player, their presence on the team probabably would have affected the Mariners’ position in future drafts because the team would have been a vastly improved. If they had Cal Ripken in the lineup, for example, the Mariners probably would not have had the number 1 pick in 1987, when Ken Griffey Jr was chosen.
It’s like that sci-fi scenario where this guy goes back in time to prehistoric days, picks a flower along the way, and then returns to the present to discover that his seemingly trivial little action had drastically changed the course of history. Roger Clemens, playing for the Mariners, would have had a similar effect.