One Long Draft
IN JUNE 1964 the Angels signed University of Wisconsin outfielder Rick Reichardt with an unprecedented $200,000 bonus. Horrified about rising costs for amateur players, the owners got together and hammered out a solution: Instead of hitting the market as free agents, all eligible players would enter a draft, immediately reducing prospects' leverage. (SI readers approved: "Are we trying to develop good citizens in baseball—or only money-seeking individuals?" one wrote in after Reichardt signed.) It worked. The first-ever draft pick, Arizona State outfielder Rick Monday, signed with the A's the following June for $100,000.
The draft also addressed parity for a sport in which the Yankees had played in 14 of the previous 16 World Series (nine wins). In the new system the team with the worst record had first pick. The playing field hasn't become perfectly level, and amateurs can still make a lot of money, but 50 years later the draft is spreading the wealth. The chart below shows which states have produced the most picks and what percentage of them reached the majors.
[The following text appears within 2 maps. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual maps.]
1,702
887
536
15,538
397
466
2,121
63
47
569
334
44
44
473
875
1,646
5,137
445
646
1,040
586
1,418
378
2,167
1,071
1,311
882
1,380
1,433
1,433
645
292
2,028
36
133
124
714
143
532
1,370
1,207
1,835
1,184
1,749
1,306
175
719
D.C.
94
7,100
571
244
20
15%--16.3%
13%--14.99%
11%--12.99%
9%--10.99%
7%--8.99%
5%--6.99%
2%--4.99%
Raw data from baseball-reference.com
[The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]
30
Hall of Famers have been chosen in the amateur draft
10 first-rounders
7 second-rounders
5 third-rounders
1 11[superscript th]-rounder
1 12[superscript th]-rounder
1 20[superscript th]-rounder
1 22[superscript nd]-rounder
4 other
The four teams most opposed to the draft—the Dodgers, Yankees, Cardinals and Mets—were apparently right to feel that way: Combined they have drafted one Hall of Famer, Nolan Ryan (Mets, 1965), and he went in as an Angel.
PHOTO
FOCUS ON SPORT/GETTY IMAGES (RYAN)
TWO MAPS
CHART