Ranking the MLB Drafts: 1980s

by user Timothy Moreland(Bball3345)

This is part three of a series, which is an attempt to rank each of the first rounds of the MLB Amateur Draft by decade. Part One ranked the 1960s and Part Two ranked the 1970s.

1. 1985

Not only is this the best first round of the '80s, by far, but 1985 is the best first round of all-time, at this point. Number one overall pick, B.J. Surhoff, an All-Star in 1999, was only the fifth best player taken in the round.

Immediately following Surhoff, the San Francisco Giants selected firstbaseman Will Clark. In fifteen seasons, Clark was the definition of consistency from beginning until end. His lowest OBP, .343, came in his first season and never dipped below .357 in any other year. Even as a 36-year-old, Clark posted a .418 OBP in 130 games. If batting average is more your thing, this ranged from a low of .282 to a high of .333, with a career average of .303. Still, Clark was not the best man selected in the first round.

After Bobby Witt came off the board at number three, the Cincinnati Reds chose Barry Larkin. Larkin would play nineteen seasons for the Reds, with a .295/.371/.444 line and Gold-Glove defense. In 1990, the Reds won the World Series, and Larkin pitched in with a .353 average in the four-game series. Although not his best overall season, 1995 saw Larkin win the NL MVP. Most impressive about that year was his 51 stolen bases in 56 attempts. As you might imagine, even Larkin did not have the best career of those taken that day.

With the sixth pick, the Pittsburgh Pirates called the name of Barry Lamar Bonds from Arizona State University. There is a whole lot to write about Bonds, but not much that no one already knows. He holds the single season marks in OBP(.609), SLG(.863), OPS(1.422), home runs(73), and walks(232), among others. As well, seven MVPs, eight Gold Gloves, and twelve Silver Sluggers have been awarded to Bonds. Bonds' impressive career ranks in the class of Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Ted Williams.

The next run of picks did not produce much, until the twenty-second selection. With this, the Chicago Cubs took Rafael Palmeiro. Palmeiro only briefly stayed in Chicago, as he was traded to Texas in 1988. Palmeiro went on to hit 569 career home runs, making four All-Star games.

2. 1987

1987 may not have been as talented a class as 1985, but it did have quite an impressive first pick, Ken Griffey Jr.. Until the trade to Cincinnati, Junior was looking like one of the best players to grace a baseball diamond. As a Mariner, he won the 1997 AL MVP with 56 home runs and 147 RBIs, 10 Gold Gloves, and 7 Silver Sluggers. Still, a plaque will one day hang in the Halls of Cooperstown with Griffey's name engraved on it.

Toward the end of round, another future Hall-of-Famer, Craig Biggio, was drafted. His best season, by far, was 1997, in which Biggio scored 146 runs. In addition, he hit 22 home runs, stole 47 bases and posted a line of .309/.415/.501. Perhaps the most unique facet of Biggio's career was his knack for being hit by the pitch. Five times, Biggio led the league, fifteen times finishing in the top ten. Hughie Jennings stands just seven HBPs in front of Biggio for the all-time mark of 287.

Pitchers Kevin Appier and Jack McDowell were also selected in the 1987 first round and went on to have valuable careers.

3. 1986

The highlight of this round was the sixth pick, Gary Sheffield. If he can add a few more healthy years to his career, reaching 500 home runs should be no problem. Unfortunately, that is a big "if." Sheff's most impressive individual season came for Florida in 1996, the year before he won a ring with them. His OBP was a videogame-esque .465 with 42 home runs. On top of this, he drove in 120 runs and scored 118 times. All of this was done for the 80-82 Marlins. Sheffield appears to be headed for the Hall, but reaching 500 home runs would make him a lock.

Texas selected another key member of the Marlins 1997 team in SP Kevin Brown. Like Sheffield, Brown posted his best individual campaign in 1996. He led the league with a 1.89 ERA, while Maddux came in a distant second at 2.72. As well, he won 17 games and threw three shutouts for a slightly below .500 team.

The third pick, and third most valuable, of the first round was 3B Matt Williams. The Carson Crusher may never have posted a .400+ OBP, but he had power. In 1999, Williams set a career-high by driving in 142 runs. Six times, Williams topped the 30-homer mark, once reaching 43 in only 112 games. This came in the strike-shortened season of '94. Arizona helped him add to his résumé in 2001 with a World Series victory.

Other notable players included Greg Swindell and Roberto Hernandez.

4. 1988

1988 saw the selection of a bunch of valuable, yet not great, players such as Andy Benes, Steve Avery, Gregg Olson, Jim Abbott, Tino Martinez, Royce Clayton, and Charles Nagy. However, it did produce a star in Robin Ventura. Ventura had a career OBP of .362 with above average power. A large portion of his value came from the defensive side. Six times, the Gold Glove for 3B was awarded to Ventura. His career range factor was 2.66, compared to the league average at 3B of 2.29.

5. 1984

The tenth pick of the 1984 Amateur Draft has made many headlines, both during and after his career. This man is none other than Mark McGwire. Since McGwire never failed a drug test, let's put aside the steroid debate for a second and determine whether or not McGwire would be a Hall-of-Famer anyways. Some say outside of his 70 homer season, McGwire wasn't much of a player. Well, from 1987-1992, Big Mac posted OBPs of .370, .352, .339, .370, .300, and .385, respectively. Four of those six should be considered strong OBP's. As early as 1987, his rookie year, McGwire hit 49 home runs and followed this with three straight 30+ HR seasons. In 1992, he hit 42, was hurt in '93 and '94, then bounced back with a 39 homer season. After this, came the big show. From 1996-1999, his home run totals went from 52 to 58 to 70 and then 65. Surprisingly, McGwire was average, at worst, in the field and won a Gold Glove in 1990. This was a player who had power and the ability to reach base throughout his entire career(.394 OBP). He recorded one of the best offensive seasons in history in 1998 as well. There are no first baseman waiting to be selected more deserving than McGwire and there are many first baseman in the Hall less deserving. Therefore, McGwire should enter Cooperstown alongside Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn in 2007.

The other premier player of the first round was the decent-hitting, slick-fielding SS, Jay Bell. He won a Gold Glove and appeared in two All-Star games in his career.

6. 1989

As seems to be the pattern, this draft appears as if it will send a representative to Cooperstown. Frank Thomas may have been a liability at first base, but he will go down in history as one of the most talented hitters ever. Thomas' stretch from 1991-1997 was one of the greatest seven-year runs in history. Each year, he scored over 100 runs and drove in over 100, even though this included the strike-shortened 1994 season. His batting average ranged between .308 and .353, topping .340 three times. Likewise, his OBP fell between .426 and .487, while his SLG was from .536 to .729. Three times in those seven campaigns, the Big Hurt hit at least 40 home runs, with 38 in 1994. To further illustrate his dominance, the voters awarded Thomas with the 1993 and 1994 AL MVP.

The most valuable player outside of Thomas was Chuck Knoblauch, who scored 140 times in his career year of 1996. His eventual mental block on throws to first base ultimately led to his quick exit from the majors.

7. 1983

This was one of the strangest rounds in history. Outside of two players, there was no big league talent drafted. One of these players was reliever Dan Plesac. Plesac posted a 3.64 ERA in 1064 career games. Obviously, this draft would not have ranked seventh if it was carried by a reliever.

The other major-league contributor selected in 1983 was the 19th overall selection, Roger Clemens. That is seven-time Cy-Young winner and 1986 AL MVP Roger Clemens. The Rocket is arguably the best pitcher in history. This reveals how weak the rest of the class must have been to rank seventh. Twice, Clemens has had a sub-2.00 ERA, with 1.93 in 1990 and 1.87 in 2005. Six times, he has been a 20 game winner. This just scratches his seemingly endless list of accomplishments.

8. 1982

Like 1983, this was a one-man show. Unfortunately, this version had Dwight Gooden as its lead act instead of Roger Clemens. As a 19-year-old, Doc Gooden showed off his tremendous skill for the Mets, winning the Rookie of the Year award. In 218 innings, his record was 17-9, with a 2.60 ERA and 276 Ks in 218 innings. Gooden followed this up with one of the best single-season performances ever by a pitcher. In 276.7 innings, Doc through 8 shutouts, went 24-4, struck out 268 batters, and posted a miniscule 1.53 ERA. Obviously, the AL Pitching Triple Crown winner was awarded with the 1985 Cy Young.

9. 1981

This draft could not even claim to be a one-man show. Eventual World Series hero, Joe Carter, headed this class. Unfortunately, outside of his postseason heroics, Carter wasn't much of a player. His RBI totals made him one of the more overrated players in recent history. Carter was a perennial 100 RBI man for many years, but had a pathetic career OBP of .306.

10. 1980

The number one pick, Darryl Strawberry, was the only person worth drafting from this round. It is a shame he threw away such a promising career. From the age of 21 to 29, Strawberry slugged at least 25 home runs a year and as many as 39 twice. As well, he stole at over 25 bases five times. His career line of .259/.357/.505 shows a player who deserved more than nine full seasons.

While 1980's first round did not produce major league players, it did produce major league management. The players selected with the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th were Terry Francona, Billy Beane and John Gibbons. They might be better known as the Red Sox manager, Athletics GM, and Blue Jays manager. Strangely, these are three of the more "sabermetric" ballclubs.

Date

Tue 08/01/06, 7:41 am EST