Ranking the MLB Drafts: 1960s

by user Timothy Moreland(Bball3345)

MLB held the first ever amateur draft in 1965. This series of articles will rank each first round within its own decade, with the final article ranking the top MLB first rounds of all-time. Following is a ranking of the 1960s drafts in order of the best first round.

1. 1967

The 1967 first round saw the Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals take Bobby Grich and Ted Simmons, respectively. Grich was taken with the 19th pick, and he went on to play seven years with the Orioles and ten with the California Angels. Grich played stellar defense at second base and hit 224 home runs with a .371 OBP. Simmons spent the first thirteen years of his career on the Cardinals, then moved to Milwaukee for five, and finished with three years in Atlanta. He was an average-fielding catcher, who provided an above average bat. Jon Matlack and John Mayberry were two other notable picks in the 1967 draft. 1967 was the only first round of the '60s to send two star players to the majors.

2. 1966

This draft produced the biggest star of any of the '60s drafts, with Reggie Jackson. The Athletics selected Jackson 2nd overall. He went on to play nine seasons for the A's before moving to Baltimore for the 1976 season. Jackson then moved to the New York Yankees for five years and followed with a five-year stint for the California Angels. The last season of his career was back with the A's, his original team. Mr. October hit 563 home runs; although, he more than likely could have challenged Aaron's 755 in today's hitting environment. Besides Jackson, the 1966 draft produced only one other noteworthy player, Richie Hebner. He was an above-average hitting thirdbaseman with an iron glove. After nine years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Hebner jumped between the Phillies, Mets, Tigers, Cubs, and Pirates one more time in his final ten seasons.

3. 1968

This year lacked a superstar on Reggie Jackson or Bobby Grich's level, but it did provide three solid careers. First, the Yankees selected Thurman Munson with the 4th overall pick. Munson spent his entire eleven year career with the New York Yankees. Defensively, 44.5% of basestealers were thrown out by Munson. The Yankees' pitchers were more than thankful for Munson's arm. His .292 batting average also helped to provide the pitchers with run support. Second, the Phillies chose Greg Luzinski with the 11th selection. Luzinski was a slugger leftfielder who spent most of his career in Philadelphia. While his defense was less than impressive, he slugged 307 home runs with a .376 OBP in a tough hitting environment. Third, Gary Matthews was picked by the Giants at number seventeen. Matthews spent his 16 year career playing in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, and Seattle. Matthews was an above average hitter with a good ability to get on base(.364 OBP). He also stole 183 bases in his career. Tim Foli, a slick-fielding, no-hit shortstop, was the only other player to have any impact in the majors from the first round of the 1968 draft.

4. 1965

This was MLB's first amateur draft, and it produced practically no useful player's in the first round. Number one overall pick, Rick Monday, was the cream of the crop. Monday was a slightly, above average hitter with limited range in center. Overall, he ended up as a borderline starting player, but had the best career of any other first-rounder. Joe Coleman, Ray Fosse, John Wyatt, Jim Spencer, and Bernie Carbo were the other contributors, but far from All-Stars.

5. 1969

Although it may seem impossible, 1969 produced less major-league talent than 1965. The star of the show ended up as first overall pick, Jeff Burroughs. Unfortunately, Burroughs had three great years with the bat, surrounded by a slew of mediocore seasons. Along with this, his glove was less-than-stellar. Gorman Thomas, J.R. Richard, and Don Gullett were the only others to resemble major leaguers. Thomas ended as a .225 hitter, Richard's career was done by 30, and Gullett's ended at 27.

Date

Fri 07/14/06, 4:25 am EST

Manny StilesAAA-er

821 days ago

Score 1

nice work, bball!

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ChristofMVP

820 days ago

Score 0

Wow, 1968 may have been one of the best drafts for the Phillies in its history. Shame it was 10 years before I was born.

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