Tomorrow night starting at 7 p.m. on the MLB Channel will start the new chapter for the Mets.Why you may ask ? Well it is the first night of the Major League Amateur Free Agent Draft ! Sandy Alderson will finally begin to put his true stamp on this franchise when he selects a potentially future superstar with the Mets 13th pick. The question is will the Mets select University of Texas right handed fireballer Taylor Jungmann or another promising arm, left hander Jed Bradley from Georgia tech ? Maybe it will be a player that we are not aware of.
Whoever the Mets draft tomorrow night will be paid (we hope) over the commissioners slotting suggestions.
When you look at who the Mets selected on this date in years past you will see that it has been mainly hit or miss. This is the case with most teams. When you read the list of players that the Mets have taken on this date in the last forty or so years, there will be names that will bring memories rushing back – as well as a few head scratchers.
All of these players showed enough potential to be drafted by the Mets, unfortunately not all had long productive careers.
Here is the list and just lose yourself in the names. They are the Mets past and future, like the lucky player who gets selected by Sandy Alderson when the 13th selection is announced .
The New York Mets selected pitcher, Randy Sterling in the first round (fourth pick overall) of the free agent draft on June 5, 1969. He would appear in just 3 games with the Mets in ’74 before disappearing from the radar.
The New York Mets selected infielder, Lute Barnes in the 21st round of free agent draft on June 5, 1969. Lute played in 27 games with the Mets from ’72-’73 – and then was never seen in the big leagues again.
The New York Mets selected pitcher, Buzz Capra in the 27th round of free agent draft on June 5, 1969. He was used primarily as a middle reliever for the Mets from ’71-’73 before being sold to the Atlanta Braves in 1974.
The New York Mets selected outfielder, George ” The Stork” Theodore in the 31st round of free agent draft on June 5, 1969. Theodore would become a fan favorite, and is still held in high esteem by Met fans today.
The New York Mets selected pitcher, Jackson Todd in the second round of free agent draft on June 5, 1973. He appeared with the Mets during the ’77 seasonand went 3-6 with a E.R.A of 4.77. He would later be traded to the Phillies.
The New York Mets selected pitcher, Mardie Cornejo in the 21st round of free agent draft on June 5, 1973. He would play one season for the Mets (’78) before being traded to the Detroit Tigers for middle reliever, Ed Glynn.
The New York Mets selected outfielder, Lee Mazzilli in the first round (14th pick overall) of the free agent draft on June 5, 1973. Lee was the face of the Mets franchise until he was traded to the Texas Rangers in 1982 for pitching prospects Ron Darling and Walt Terrell. He would come back to the Mets in ’86 and played with the team until 1989.
The New York Mets selected pitcher, John Pacella in the fourth round of free agent draft on June 5, 1974. He would play for the Mets from ’77-’80 and was mediocre at best.
The New York Mets selected pitcher, Bob Myrick in the 20th round of free agent draft on June 5, 1974. He would pitch for the Mets from ’76-78 before being traded to the Rangers for past his prime pitcher, Dock Ellis.
The New York Mets selected pitcher, Dwight Bernard in the second round of free agent draft on June 5, 1974.Bernard played with the Mets from ’78-’79 , and finished with a dismal record of 1-7with a E.R.A of 4.50
The New York Mets selected infielder, Ron Gardenhire in the sixth round of free agent draft on June 5, 1979. Gardenhire was used primarily as a utility infielder during his Mets tenure (’81-’85). He is now a respected manager for the Minnesota Twins.
The New York Mets selected pitcher, Tim Leary in the first round (second pick overall) of free agent draft on June 5, 1979. Leary was supposed to be the savior of the Mets pitching staff. Unfortunately he blew out his elbow in the freezing cold of a early April game against the Cubs and was finished for the season. He would play again for the Mets in ’83 and ’84, but he was never the same pitcher. He found success later on in his career.
The New York Mets selected pitcher, Joe Vitko in the 24th round of free agent draft on June 5, 1989. He pitched in one game for the Mets in which he took a loss.
The New York Mets selected pitcher, Dave Telgheder in the 31st round of free agent draft on June 5, 1989. Dave was used primarily as a spot starter/middle reliever in his three year stint with the Mets (’93-’95).
The New York Mets selected outfielder, Butch Huskey in the seventh round of free agent draft on June 5, 1989. Butch opened a lot of eyes with his raw power when he came up with the Mets in ’96 ( his first full season). Unfortunately he was a feast or famine type of hitter, and was traded to the Mariners for a minor leaguer in 1998.
New York Mets selected catcher, Brook Fordyce in the third round of free agent draft on June 5, 1989. Brooke would be used as a third string catcher for the Mets from ’03-’04.
The New York Mets selected outfielder, Jeff Duncan in the seventh round of free agent draft on June 5, 2000. He played with the Mets from ’03-’04 before being released in ’05.
The New York selected infielder, Danny Garcia in the fifth round of free agent draft on June 5, 2001. He played briefly with the Mets from ’03-’04 before being released prior to the ’05 season.
The New York Mets selected pitcher, Aaron Heilman in the first round (18th pick overall) of free agent draft on June 5, 2001. All I can say is – lets not go there.
The New York Mets selected catcher, Joe Hietpas in 16th round of free agent draft on June 5, 2001. Joe would only play in one Major League game with the Mets (’04) before fading into obscurity.
The New York Mets selected infielder, David Wright in the first round (38th pick overall) of free agent draft on June 5, 2001. David was a compensation pick because of the Rockies signing Mike Hampton. He has been the face of the franchise since his debuet in ’04 , and is amongst the leaders in every Mets offensive category.
The New York Mets selected infielder, Ike Davis in the first round (18th pick overall) of free agent draft on June 5, 2008. Ike ascended quickly through the Mets minor league system , and made his Major League debut last season. He is definitely one of the best power hitting infielders the Mets have ever drafted.
So who will the Mets select in the draft ? I don’t know – but I hope they will make a good impact on this club for years to come !
And with that said…. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!
Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today includes :
Middle reliever who played with the Mets from ’77-’78, Paul Siebert is 58 (1953). Siebert was obtained in the ” Midnight Massacre” trade in which the Mets dealt popular home run hitting outfielder, Dave Kingman to the San iego Padres for onetime top infield prospect ( and future Mets manager), Bobby Valentine.
Veteran utility infielder from the ’95 season, Bill Spiers is 45 (1966). In his lone year with the Mets, Bill appeared in 63 games and batted .208 with 11 RBIs.
The New York Mets claimed pitcher,Pat Misch on waivers from the San Francisco Giants on June 5, 2009. Pat’s Met career thus far has been hit or miss ( mostly miss). He as of the time of this column struggling in the starting rotation of the Mets AAA minor league affiliate in Buffalo.
After seeing Kevin Burkhardt interview Doug Sisk during the broadcast of las night’s game, I would love to see him wrestle Mo Vaughn Sumo style !!!!!
6 comments
kingman 26
6/5/2011-1:06pm at 1:06 pm (UTC -4)
I’ll give you a fun one—in the 1966 draft the Mets picked first–and picked Steve Chilcott, who never played in the majors.
The A’s picked second and picked Reggie Jackson, who did play in the majors.
Now, extrapolate a little here—in 1973 the Mets went back to Oakland up 3-2 in the WS, and lost both games there, and Reggie hit a HR in game 7.
So, it is not really that unreasonable to imagine that the Mets might have THREE titles today had they picked Reggie in 1966. They also finished just 6 games out in 1970 with zero offense.
rustyjr
6/5/2011-1:38pm at 1:38 pm (UTC -4)
Yes but he wasn’t drafted on this date lol
kingman 26
6/5/2011-1:49pm at 1:49 pm (UTC -4)
Ah, yes sir, you are correct!
Sorry buddy, wasn’t trying to suggest you missed something! LOOOONG night, and working at home today in anticipation of a crazy week.
Too many damn irons in the fire! I need a bigger fire!
gategem
6/5/2011-3:21pm at 3:21 pm (UTC -4)
Well you can always pass gas into the fire.
BTW to give you an idea of just how much a crap shoot the draft is Johnny Bench was taken in the second round of the 1965 draft with the 36th overall pick.
kistics
6/5/2011-1:47pm at 1:47 pm (UTC -4)
I briefly looked up what Sandy’s Draft track record is (first 2-3 rounds for As and Padres) and outside of the first couple picks back in ’83-’84, his picks weren’t all that impressive. I’m sure there are couple 24th round picks that worked out real well, but I just wouldn’t know…
stickguy
6/5/2011-2:16pm at 2:16 pm (UTC -4)
certainly a few in that list I never heard of.
couple random thoughts:
1) I don’t think the slot issue is that relevant to the 1st pick. #13 is getting paid a lot anyway, and it is unlikely a talent that is truly well above that (like a should have been #1) is going to be sitting there. MHO of course. Now, once they get into the 2nd round+, it starts to loom.
2) it is easy to look at bust draft picks in hindsight of course. But many of those guys (including I imagine Chilcott) were extremely highly regarded, and quite possibly, could have been a consensus better pick at the time. At least in those days, even the Mets probably didn’t take 2nd tier guys to save a few bucks!