Baseball’s June Amateur Draft does not get the following or press that the draft in the NFL does. Few fans can name who their’ team’s first or second round draft picks should be, and names selected in past drafts are often forgotten.
A look at historical Mets drafts show that it is not so much the failure to draft the correct players, but the failure to sign players drafted that may have cost the Mets championships. This is very relevant right now as the Mets took RHP Matthew Allan in the third round this year, he’s a first round talent but his rumored asking price pushed him back in the draft. The Mets will now have save significant money on other picks to be able to sign the talented pitcher.
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane via baseballreference.com and note how many really good players have been drafted by the Mets but not signed.
In June of 1975, the Mets drafted a college lefty pitcher out of Georgia Southern University in the 21st round, but did not sign him. Six months later the same young lefty was drafted in the third round of the January 1976 Secondary Draft. The lefty pitcher would haunt Mets players and fans in 1985 when he went 21-8 with a 1.93 ERA, pitching the Cardinals to the pennant past the Mets as the Mets finished second thanks to the efforts of the left hander they had drafted out of college but didn’t sign. Oh what a great addition to the staff John Tudor, who went 117-72 with a 3.12 ERA in his career, would have been for the Mets.
In the June 1978 draft, the Mets drafted another lefty pitcher late in the draft and failed to sign him. This time, the pitcher who they failed to sign in the 22nd round was a high school pitcher who, like Tudor, was signed 6 months later in the January Secondary Draft. In 1988 this pitcher was an All Star, and in 1989 Mark Davis won the NL Cy Young Award with the Padres, going 4-3 with a 1.85 ERA and 44 saves.
Speaking of Cy Young Awards, in the June 1981 Amateur Draft baseball players were threatening to go on strike when the draft was held. The Draft went on however, and in the 12th round, the Mets selected a young right-hander with a good fastball from a Junior College. Most Mets players and fans wish they had signed him, but they didn’t. The following June the same pitcher was signed by the Red Sox. The player who wishes the Mets had signed the pitcher the most? Mike Piazza – as it was Roger Clemens who the Mets signed and failed to sign.
In the June 1982 Draft, the Mets drafted and signed several notable players in Mets history including Dwight Gooden, Roger McDowell and Floyd Youmans. But it was the future first baseman drafted but not signed in the seventh round of the 1982 Draft who is probably most remembered. Transitioning first base from Keith Hernandez to Rafael Palmeiro in the late 1980s would likely have helped the Mets in the standings, but he was left unsigned.
In 1983 the Mets drafted a slugging third baseman from Carson City in the 27th round, but failed to sign him. Had they signed him, the Mets could have had third base manned by Matt Williams from 1987 to 2003, and then David Wright from 2004 to 2016. Matt Williams was a five-time All Star and four-time gold glove winner who finished his career with 378 home runs and 1,218 RBIs. None of them for the team that originally drafted him.
In 1984, the Mets drafted a right handed power pitcher in the 12 round, just as they had in 1981. Again, they were unable to sign the pitcher. In 1981, the Mets failed to sign Roger Clemens. In 1984 they didn’t offer enough money to sign John Wetteland, who finished his career with a 48-45 record and a 2.93 ERA to go along with 330 saves.
In 1992 the Mets drafted an outfielder in the 13th round of the June Draft from North Dakota. Unable to agree to a contract, the player went unsigned. In 1996 the outfielder finished sixth in the Rookie of the Year voting. In 1998 and 2000 he was an All Star, and won the gold glove award in 2002 and 2004. In 2002, he batted .300 for the Angles in the World Series as they beat the Giants. Too bad the Mets didn’t sign Darin Erstad.
Anyone remember who the Phillies center fielder was in 2007 when they came back to finish ahead of the Mets? The center fielder who hit 309/374/515 with 27 home runs, 89 RBIs and 105 runs scored while winning a gold glove? Mets fans remember Aaron Rowand, and Mets executives who drafted him in June 1995 but didn’t sign him were certainly having non-buyer’s remorse.
In 2009, the Mets drafted two players in the late rounds who they were unable to sign. The first was Mitch Haniger, drafted in the 31st round. So far this season, Haniger is on track to have his third consecutive season with an OPS above .800. Last season, his 26 home runs, 93 RBIs and 90 runs scored earned him an All Star selection and he down ballot MVP votes. The second was pitcher Zack Godley, who went 15-11 last season with the Diamondbacks, which would have led the Mets staff.
Tudor, Clemens, Palmeiro, Davis, Wetteland, Williams, Erstad, Haniger, Godley. Remember that it isn’t just who you draft, it’s who you sign.
LGM
