MLB’s 1993 draft delivered impact
Twenty-five years ago today, Alex Rodriguez went No. 1 overall to the Seattle Mariners in the 1993 amateur baseball draft, just one memorable aspect of that draft.
Twenty-five years ago today, the Seattle Mariners held the first pick in the amateur baseball draft.
They chose a brighteyed high-school shortstop from Miami named Alex Rodriguez. He went on to become very rich, very famous and very controversial.
With pick No. 21, the Minnesota Twins chose a former Lake Brantley catcher who played at Georgia Tech named Jason Varitek.
Although he did not sign, Varitek went on to become a hard-nosed player, a leader and a two-time World Series champion.
Most of the 1,716 selections were mere afterthoughts, but enough generated an impact to make the 1993 baseball draft stand out. With the 2018 draft beginning Monday night, we look at 25 nuggets about a draft class that survived the test of time.
Rodriguez reportedly received a $1 million signing bonus, slightly less than the $1.08 million average salary in the major leagues at the time.
Rodriguez was drafted out of Westminster Christian. The next high-school player chosen was North Carolina outfielder Trot Nixon, who was taken by the Boston Red Sox with the seventh pick.
Rodriguez’s selection as the top overall pick occurred one year before former Boone High School and FSU right-hander Paul Wilson went in the same spot to the New York Mets.
One year after not signing with the Twins, Varitek went in the first round and signed with the Seattle Mariners as the No. 14 pick in 1994.
Varitek is on a short list of players who have been chosen twice in the first round. That select group includes former University of Miami catcher Charles Johnson (Montreal Expos, 1989; Florida Marlins, 1992) and former FSU outfielder J.D. Drew (Philadelphia Phillies, 1997; St. Louis Cardinals, 1998).
Varitek is tied with Carlos Ruiz for the most no-hitters caught by a catcher. Varitek caught no-hitters from Hideo Nomo, Derek Lowe, Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester.
The Red Sox acquired Lowe and Varitek from the Seattle Mariners in 1997 for right-handed reliever Heathcliff Slocumb.
The Twins had back-toback picks in the first round in 1993. With the pick before they chose Varitek, they selected Arkansas highschool COMMENTARY outfielder Torii Hunter.
Varitek and Hunter combined for eight All-Star Game appearances — five by Hunter.
Twenty-three of the top 30 picks played in the majors.
The first round included a player who finished with nearly 700 home runs and more than 3,100 hits (Rodriguez), two who helped the Red Sox break an 86-year World Series drought (Varitek and Nixon), a closer who finished with 422 saves (Billy Wagner), a Cy Young winner (Chris Carpenter), a World Series champion with the Marlins (Derrek Lee) and a nine-time Gold Glove outfielder (Hunter).
Lee was taken 14th overall by the San Diego Padres and made his major-league debut against the Marlins in 1997. He went 1-for-3.
The talent didn’t come just from Round 1. Third baseman Scott Rolen was a second-round pick by the Phillies and amassed more than 2,000 hits, earned seven All-Star Game berths, captured eight Gold Gloves and became part of a World Series championship with the 2006 Cardinals.
The Los Angeles Dodgers picked Wichita State righthander Darren Dreifort with the second choice. Dreifort pitched nine seasons in the majors.
The Marlins, whose inaugural season was 1993, participated in the draft for the second time. They stayed in-state by taking University of Florida right-hander Marc Valdes with the 27th overall pick.
The Marlins selected outfielder Todd Dunwoody in the seventh round. He went on to play parts of six seasons with four majorleague teams.
The Marlins made the last pick in the draft, selecting Tennessee outfielder Shawn Summers — in the 91st round. The draft now is limited to 40 rounds.
The Mariners are the only franchise to draft two members of the 600-homer club: Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. (first overall in 1987).
UCF right-hander Joe Wagner was a compensatory selection (39th overall) by the Milwaukee Brewers. Wagner spent five seasons in the minor leagues, never advancing past Class AA.
Former FSU pitcher John Wasdin was taken 25th overall by the Oakland Athletics. Wasdin went 39-39 over 12 major-league seasons and once was included in a trade involving Jose Canseco.
The Toronto Blue Jays drafted a high-school outfielder and catcher out of Miami in the fourth round. Thad Busby did not sign and instead played four years as the quarterback at FSU.
In the 10th round, the Atlanta Braves drafted North Carolina high-school right-hander Kevin Millwood. He threw a no-hitter for the Phillies against the San Francisco Giants in 2003.
In the 12th round, the Twins drafted a shortstop out of Puerto Rico named Alex Cora. Like Varitek, Cora — the current manager of the Red Sox — did not sign.
In the 16th round, the Giants picked another future major-league manager, Mickey Callaway, who is in his first season with the New York Mets.
The Giants’ selection of Callaway came one round after they picked a future batting champion, Bill Mueller. Mueller led the American League in batting in 2003 with Boston.