1977 Major League Baseball draft

1977 Major League Baseball draft
Overview
First selectionHarold Baines
Chicago White Sox
First round selections26
Hall of Famers
4
← 1976
1978 →

The 1977 Major League Baseball draft took place prior to the 1977 MLB season. The draft saw the Chicago White Sox select Harold Baines first overall.

First round selections

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= All-Star = Baseball Hall of Famer

The following are the first round picks in the 1977 Major League Baseball draft.[1]

Pick Player Team Position Hometown/School
1 Harold Baines Chicago White Sox OF St. Michaels, Maryland
2 Bill Gullickson Montreal Expos RHP Orland Park, Illinois
3 Paul Molitor Milwaukee Brewers SS Minnesota
4 Tim Cole Atlanta Braves LHP Saugerties, New York
5 Kevin Richards Detroit Tigers RHP Wyandotte, Michigan
6 Terry Kennedy St. Louis Cardinals C Florida State University
7 Richard Dotson California Angels RHP Cincinnati, Ohio
8 Brian Greer San Diego Padres OF Brea, California
9 David Hibner Texas Rangers SS Howell, Michigan
10 Craig Landis San Francisco Giants SS Napa, California
11 Bruce Compton Cleveland Indians OF Norman, Oklahoma
12 Randy Martz Chicago Cubs RHP South Carolina
13 Andrew Madden Boston Red Sox RHP New Hartford, New York
14 Ricky Adams Houston Astros SS Montclair, California
15 Paul Croft Minnesota Twins OF Morristown, New Jersey
16 Wally Backman New York Mets SS Beaverton, Oregon
17 Craig Harris Oakland Athletics RHP Sierra Vista, Arizona
18 Anthony Nicely Pittsburgh Pirates OF Dayton, Ohio
19 Drungo Hazewood Baltimore Orioles OF Sacramento, California
20 Bob Welch Los Angeles Dodgers RHP Eastern Michigan
21 Mike Jones Kansas City Royals LHP Pittsford, New York
22 Scott Munninghoff Philadelphia Phillies RHP Cincinnati, Ohio
23 Steve Taylor New York Yankees RHP Delaware
24 Tad Venger Cincinnati Reds 3B Newhall, California
25 Tom Goffena Toronto Blue Jays SS Sidney, Ohio
26 Dave Henderson Seattle Mariners OF Dos Palos, California

Other notable selections

[edit]
= All-Star = Baseball Hall of Famer

[2]

Round Pick Player Team Position
2 29 Kevin Bass Milwaukee Brewers OF
2 38 Terry Francona* Chicago Cubs 1B
2 42 Mookie Wilson New York Mets OF
3 54 Scott Sanderson Montreal Expos RHP
4 84 Jim Gott St. Louis Cardinals RHP
4 85 Brian Harper California Angels C
4 86 Ozzie Smith San Diego Padres SS
5 106 Tim Raines Montreal Expos OF
5 124 Mickey Hatcher Los Angeles Dodgers OF
7 145 Jesse Orosco* St. Louis Cardinals LHP
9 233 Jesse Barfield Toronto Blue Jays OF
11 270 Chili Davis San Francisco Giants OF
15 389 Danny Ainge Toronto Blue Jays INF
16 416 Tony Phillips* Seattle Mariners INF/OF
17 429 Gary Redus* Boston Red Sox OF
36 762 Tom Niedenfuer Los Angeles Dodgers RHP

* Did not sign

Background

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The White Sox surprised some when they passed on right-handed pitcher Bill Gullickson, a native of nearby Orland Park, Illinois, and selected outfielder Harold Baines as the number one pick in the draft. White Sox owner Bill Veeck had seen Baines play little league baseball in Maryland and had followed his progress through the years.[citation needed] After spending three seasons in the minors, Baines was a fixture in the White Sox lineup for 10 seasons.

With Gullickson available, Montreal selected the pitcher second overall, and eventually pitcher Scott Sanderson in the third round and outfielder Tim Raines in the fifth.

Shortstop Tom Goffena from Sidney, Ohio became the Toronto Blue Jays' first draft pick as he was chosen 25th in the first round. The Seattle Mariners picked 26th and took outfielder Dave Henderson from Dos Palos, California as their first draft pick. The Blue Jays also picked Danny Ainge out of Brigham Young University in the 15th round. Ainge, who was also drafted by the NBA's Boston Celtics, later quit baseball for a career in basketball as a player, coach and executive.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "MLB First Round Draft Picks - 1977". Retrieved April 2, 2008.
  2. ^ "1977 Baseball Draft by Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  3. ^ "Background on the 1977 MLB Draft". Archived from the original on April 2, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2008.
[edit]
Preceded by 1st Overall Picks
Harold Baines 		Succeeded by
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