Drafting Hubie

[Guest Edgy DC]

I knew Hubie Brooks was a top draft pick. I knew he had a remarkable year for ASU, in what was a remarkable season for ASU. I suspected he was a senior when the Mets drafted him.

What I didn't know was that all the boys wanted to dance with Hubie. I daresay he must have one of the most exceptional draft histories of any player ever.

June 5, 1974:

Drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 19th round of the 1974 amateur draft, but did not sign.

January 7, 1976:

Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 1st round (5th pick) of the 1976 amateur draft (Secondary Phase), but did not sign.

June 8, 1976:

Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 1st round (14th pick) of the 1976 amateur draft (Secondary Phase), but did not sign.

January 11, 1977:

Drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the 1977 amateur draft (Secondary Phase), but did not sign.

June 7, 1977:

Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 1st round (3rd pick) of the 1977 amateur draft (Secondary Phase), but did not sign.

June 6, 1978:

Drafted by the New York Mets in the 1st round (3rd pick) of the 1978 amateur draft.

That's passing on first-round money five times. Usually high first-round money. He must've really liked college or something.

[metirish]

]That's passing on first-round money five times. Usually high first-round money. He must've really liked college or something.

Either that or he didn't have an agent,maybe his parents insisted he finish college, but yeah that's some draft history.I doubt that would happen today.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Sorry. That's four times. The first draft, he went in the 19th round.

[MFS62]

Based on that player he turned out to be, I guess he was just trying to prove that you can fool all of the people all of the time. He was working his way through all the ML teams.

Youda' thunk that someone rated that highly by so many people was going to turn out to be at least as good as a Reggie Jackson.
Then again, there was Todd Van Poppel.

Later

[Theoldmole]

And David Neid.

[Valadius]

And Paul Wilson.

[Guest Edgy DC]

And more people than not.

I don't understand the "at least as good as Reggie Jackson" remark. It's a near impossible standard. If you're a good enough prospect to be drafted early in the first round once, you're more typically good enough again. What's remarkable is that he kept re-entering the draft (and they had two drafts per year back then), not that multiple teams thought highly of him.

Nobody was fooled. With the reams of evidence at hand, it's clear that the draft is a crapshoot, and it was even moreso back in the seventies. I imagine if the Mets were guaranteed the career that Brooks had, they still would have taken him.

Look at the draft that he went in.

1. Bob Horner 3B Atlanta Braves

2. Lloyd Moseby 1B Toronto Blue Jays

3. Hubie Brooks SS New York Mets

4. Mike Morgan P Oakland Athletics

5. Andy Hawkins P San Diego Padres

6. Tito Nanni OF-1B Seattle Mariners

7. Bob Cummings C San Francisco Giants

8. Nick Hernandez C Milwaukee Brewers

9. Glenn Franklin SS Montreal Expos

10. Phil Lansford P Cleveland Indians

11. Rod Boxberger P Houston Astros

12. Kirk Gibson OF Detroit Tigers

13. Bill Hayes C Chicago Cubs

14. Tom Brunansky P California Angels

15. Bob Hicks 1B St. Louis Cardinals

16. Lenny Faedo SS Minnesota Twins

17. Nick Esasky P Cincinnati Reds

18. Rex Hudler SS New York Yankees

19. Brad Garnett 1B Pittsburgh Pirates

20. Tim Conroy P Oakland Athletics

21. Gerry Aubin OF Pittsburgh Pirates

22. Robert Boyce 3B Baltimore Orioles

23. Rip Rollins 1B Philadelphia Phillies

24. Matt Winters OF New York Yankees

25. Buddy Biancalana SS Kansas C

ity

26. Brian Ryder P New York Yankees

Those not bold never ate a major league meal. Of those who had better careers than Brooks, two of them were drafted ahead of him, and one (Gibson) featured his team committing the cardinal sin of going after the local boy. (Gibby went to Michigan State.)

The last first-rounder who did better --- Tom Brunansky --- was a lucky shot, if you believe TheBaseballCube.com's contention that he was originally drafted as a pitcher. One who had a comparable (though pretty clearly lesser) career is Nick Esasky, also shown here as drafted as a pitcher. (For what it's worth, I suspect TBC.com is incorrect.)

So yes, the Mets could have went for Gibby or Bruno, or jumped on Cal Ripken who the Orioles got in round two.

But that's just the nature of the draft. Very. Few. First Rounders.

Are Hall-of-Famers.

Or, many, whoops, aren't even necessarily players.

[Valadius]

Oh look, Mike Morgan.

Didn't he set a record for most teams played for?

[MFS62]

OK, point taken.
Replace that player's name with "perennial All Star Stud".
The point I was making was that I would have thought that a player held in such high esteem to have been drafted by so many teams would have had a better career than Brooks did.
He wasn't chopped liver. In fact he was a pretty good player. But my hopes for him (being a fan) were higher.

Later