1/25/12

The All-Time "Did Not Sign" Mets Draft Team


1B – Rafael Palmeiro – 1982 – 8th Round  - Rafael Palmeiro Corrales (born September 24, 1964 in Havana, Cuba) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and left fielder. Palmeiro was an All-American at Mississippi State University before being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985. He played for the Cubs (1986–1988), Texas Rangers (1989–1993, 1999–2003), and the Baltimore Orioles (1994–1998, 2004–2005). He was named to the MLB All-Star Team four times, and won the Gold Glove three times. He is a member of the exclusive 500 home run club and the 3,000 hit club and is only the fourth player in history to be a member of both.

2B – Kurt Bevacqua – 1966 – 32nd Round – Kurt Anthony Bevacqua (play /bɨˈvɑːkwə/; born January 23, 1947 in Miami Beach, Florida) is a former Major League Baseball player. He was chosen in the 12th round of the 1967 draft by the Cincinnati Reds and debuted in the big leagues in 1971 with the Cleveland Indians, ultimately playing for six different teams during his career. His final appearance was in 1985 with the San Diego Padres. Bevacqua was primarily a utility player. He hit what proved to be the game-winning home run in Game 2 of the 1984 World Series, a three-run shot off Dan Petry. Bevacqua played in all five games of the series, batting a team-high .412 and hitting 2 of the Padres' 3 home runs. The Padres lost to the Detroit Tigers in five games, and to this date, the Game 2 win remains the franchise's lone World Series victory.

SS – Mark Grudzielanek – 1989 – 17th Round - Grudzielanek was originally drafted by the New York Mets in the 17th round of the 1989 MLB Draft but did not sign. He was then drafted in the 11th round of the 1991 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos and signed on June 11, 1991. In 1994, with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators he hit .322 in 122 games and was rewarded by being selected as a Double-A All-Star, Eastern League Most Valuable Player and Expos Minor league player of the year.
He made his Major League debut on April 28, 1995 with the Expos against the Chicago Cubs, striking out as a pinch hitter against Mike Walker. He made his first start (at second base) the following day but did not record his first major league hit (a double) until May 4 against New York Mets relief pitcher Mike Remlinger. His first home run came on May 16, 1995 against Kevin Jarvis of the Cincinnati Reds. He appeared in 78 games that season, hitting .245. In 1996, Gruzielanek hit .306 in 153 games and was selected to appear in the 1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. In the All-Star game, he ground out in his lone at-bat against Roberto Hernandez. He hit .281 in 492 games for the Expos over four seasons.

3B – Matt Williams – 1983 – 27th Round - Matthew Derrick Williams (born November 28, 1965 in Bishop, California), nicknamed "Matt the Bat", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and right-handed batter who played for the San Francisco Giants, the Cleveland Indians, and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Williams played in a World Series for each of these teams (1989 with the Giants, 1997 with the Indians, and 2001 with the Diamondbacks). During these years, Williams became the only player to hit at least one World Series home run for three different Major League baseball teams.[citation needed] During his career, Williams had an overall batting average of .268, with 378 home runs and 1218 runs batted in. He scored 997 Major League runs, and he accumulated 1878 hits, 338 doubles, and 35 triples, while playing in 1866 regular-season games.

OF – Mickey Rivers – 1968 – 8th Round June Secondary Draft – John Milton "Mickey" Rivers (born October 31, 1948 in Miami, Florida) is a former Major League Baseball player from 1970-1984 for the California Angels, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers. He was generally known as a speedy leadoff hitter who made contact and was an excellent center fielder, with a below-average throwing arm.

OF – Aaron Rowand – 1995 – 40th Round – Aaron Ryan Rowand (born August 29, 1977) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball. He has played for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies.[1] He was released by the Giants in September 2011.

OF – Darin Erstad – 1992 – 13th Round -  Darin Charles Erstad (pronounced /ˈdærən ˈɜrstæt/; born June 4, 1974 in Jamestown, North Dakota) is the Head Coach of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team and a former Major League Baseball outfielder/first baseman. Prior to 2007, he had played with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise (1996-2006) before signing with the Chicago White Sox in 2007. He batted and threw left-handed.

C – Ned Yost – 1974 – 1st Round June Secondary Draft - Edgar Frederick "Ned" Yost III (pronounced /ˈjoʊst/; born August 19, 1955, in Eureka, California) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current manager of the Kansas City Royals. He is the former manager of the Milwaukee Brewers.

P – Burt Hooten – 1968 – 5th Round – Burt Carlton Hooton (born February 7, 1950), nicknamed "Happy" (by former manager Tommy Lasorda, because he rarely ever smiled), is a coach and former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. He won 151 games over a 15-year career, mostly with the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers. Hooton's career began auspiciously with a no-hitter in his fourth major league game for the Cubs, but he gained perhaps his widest recognition for his several playoff performances with the Dodgers. His only All-Star appearance was in 1981, when he also was named the NLCS Most Valuable Player on the way to helping the Dodgers to a World Series championship with four postseason wins in five appearances. He is currently the pitching coach of the Oklahoma City RedHawks, the AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros
P – John Tudor – 1975 – 21st Round – Tudor debuted with the Red Sox on August 16, 1979. He shuffled between the majors and minors for the next three seasons, before finally establishing himself as a regular member of the rotation in 1982, going 13-10 with a 3.63 ERA. After going 13-12 the following season, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for designated hitter Mike Easler. After one year in Pittsburgh, in which he was 12-11 with a 3.27 ERA, he was sent to St. Louis as part of a deal for veteran outfielder George Hendrick. The Pirates received a career minor leaguer in the deal and also sent catcher Brian Harper to St. Louis.

P – Roger Clemens – 1981 – 12th Round – William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who broke into the league with the Boston Red Sox, whose pitching staff he would help anchor for 12 years. Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards, more than any other pitcher. He played for four different teams over his 23-year playing career. In each of his two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, Clemens won the pitching triple crown (leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts) and a Cy Young Award. Clemens was traded to the New York Yankees for the 1999 season, where he had his first World Series success. In 2003, he reached his 300th win and 4,000th strikeout in the same game. Clemens is one of only four pitchers to have more than 4,000 strikeouts in his career (the others are pitchers Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, and Steve Carlton). Clemens played three seasons with the Houston Astros, where he won his seventh Cy Young Award. He rejoined the New York Yankees during the 2007 season.
P – John Wetteland – 1984 – 12th Round -
Wetteland was signed by the Dodgers as their second choice in the June 1985 amateur draft (Secondary Phase). He was later claimed by the Detroit Tigers in December 1989 as a Rule 5 Draft pick, but was soon returned to the Dodgers. While playing in the Pacific Coast League, he garnered notice by earning 20 saves in 20 chances. He made his major league debut on May 31, 1989. After struggling with his first five starts in 1990, Wetteland asked to be switched to the bullpen, and became a full-time closer in 1992. After the 1991 season, Wetteland was traded twice; first to the Cincinnati Reds for Eric Davis, and then to the Expos for Dave Martinez. On April 5, 1995 he was traded to the Yankees for Fernando Seguignol. During the 1996 season, he led the American League in saves, with 43, and appeared in the All-Star Game. Wetteland was given the World Series MVP Award that year, recording the maximum four saves possible during the Series, tying the record for the most saves in a single postseason series, and setting a record for saves in the full postseason, with seven. He was awarded with the 1996 Rolaids Relief Man Award.
bios compliments of Wikipedia

4 comments:

Hobie said...

Ya know, if they had signed Mickey Rivers they could have traded Amos Otis.

Mack Ade said...

Hey Hobie...

I got a good old Dodgers trivia question for ya...

Back in the day, the Dodgers had Gil Hodges and Ron Fairly as their first basemen.

They also had three 1B prospects to choose from.

One, Chuck "The Rifleman" Connors was chosen and promoted.

The other two were traded and became stars in the American League.

Name em'

Hobie said...

Jim Gentile, I'm pretty sure...

Vic Power? (pure guess)

Mack Ade said...

Jim Gentile and Norm Cash