Baseball draft of amateur players
| 1979 Major League Baseball draft |
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| General information |
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| Date | June 5–7, 1979 |
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| Overview |
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| First selection | Al Chambers
Seattle Mariners |
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| First round selections | 26 |
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The1979 Major League Baseball draft was held on June 5–7, 1979, via conference call.[1]
First round selections
[edit] | = All-Star | | | = Baseball Hall of Famer |
The following are the first-round picks in the 1979 Major League Baseball draft.[2]
| Pick | Player | Team | Position | Hometown/School |
|---|
| 1 | Al Chambers | Seattle Mariners | OF | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| 2 | Tim Leary | New York Mets | RHP | UCLA |
| 3 | Jay Schroeder | Toronto Blue Jays | C | Pacific Palisades, California |
| 4 | Brad Komminsk | Atlanta Braves | OF | Lima, Ohio |
| 5 | Juan Bustabad* | Oakland Athletics | SS | Hialeah, Florida |
| 6 | Andy Van Slyke | St. Louis Cardinals | OF | New Hartford, New York |
| 7 | John Bohnet | Cleveland Indians | LHP | Vallejo, California |
| 8 | John Mizerock | Houston Astros | C | Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania |
| 9 | Steve Buechele* | Chicago White Sox | SS | Fullerton, California |
| 10 | Tim Wallach | Montreal Expos | 1B | Cal State Fullerton |
| 11 | Kevin Brandt | Minnesota Twins | OF | Nekoosa, Wisconsin |
| 12 | Jon Perlman | Chicago Cubs | RHP | Baylor University |
| 13 | Rick Leach | Detroit Tigers | OF | University of Michigan |
| 14 | Joe Lansford | San Diego Padres | 1B | San Jose, California |
| 15 | Scott Garrelts | San Francisco Giants[Compensation 1] | RHP | Buckley, IL |
| 16 | Steve Howe | Los Angeles Dodgers[Compensation 2] | LHP | University of Michigan |
| 17 | Jerry Don Gleaton | Texas Rangers | LHP | University of Texas at Austin |
| 18 | Rick Luecken* | San Francisco Giants | RHP | Houston, Texas |
| 19 | Rick Seilheimer | Chicago White Sox[Compensation 3] | C | Brenham, Texas |
| 20 | Dan Lamar | Cincinnati Reds[Compensation 4] | C | Houston, Texas |
| 21 | Atlee Hammaker | Kansas City Royals | LHP | East Tennessee State University |
| 22 | Mike Sullivan | Cincinnati Reds | RHP | Clemson University |
| 23 | Chris Baker | Detroit Tigers[Compensation 5] | OF | Dearborn Heights, Michigan |
| 24 | Bob Geren | San Diego Padres[Compensation 6] | C | San Diego, California |
| 25 | Steve Perry | Los Angeles Dodgers[Compensation 7] | RHP | University of Michigan |
| 26 | Mike Stenhouse* | Oakland Athletics[Compensation 8] | OF | Harvard University |
* Did not sign
Other notable selections
[edit]Later rounds of the draft included the following notable players:[3]
- Milt Thompson, 2nd round, 29th overallAtlanta Braves
- Derek Tatsuno, 2nd round, 40th overallSan Diego Padres (did not sign)
- Dan Marino, 4th round, 99th overallKansas City Royals (did not sign)
- Mark Thurmond, 5th round, 118th overallSan Diego Padres
- Ron Gardenhire, 6th round, 132nd overallNew York Mets
- Bill Doran, 6th round, 138th overallHouston Astros
- Harold Reynolds, 6th round, 144th overallSan Diego Padres (did not sign)
- Von Hayes†, 7th round 163rd overallCleveland Indians
- Johnny Ray, 12th round, 294th overallHouston Astros
- Pete O'Brien, 15th round 381st overallTexas Rangers
- Bud Black, 17th round, 417th overallSeattle Mariners
- Orel Hershiser†, 17th round, 440th overallLos Angeles Dodgers
- John Elway, 18th round, 463rd overallKansas City Royals (did not sign)
- Don Mattingly†, 19th round, 493rd overallNew York Yankees
- Brett Butler†, 23rd round, 573 overallAtlanta Braves
- Curt Warner, 32nd round, 784th overallPhiladelphia Phillies
† All-Star
‡ Hall of Famer
A number of futurefootball players were drafted in 1979, includingJohn Elway (Kansas City),Kevin House (St. Louis),Dan Marino (Kansas City),Jay Schroeder (Toronto),Jack Thompson (Seattle), andCurt Warner (Philadelphia).[3]
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997).The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America.ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
