Baseball's Best Fifth Round Draft Picks 1975 - 80

Here's my third post on the best players from fifth rounds of MLB's "Rule 4" amateur draft. Previous iterations covered 1965-69 and 1970-74.

Evaluating talent must feel like fishing. You cast into the sea hundreds of times, hoping for one good hit that'll make all that time on a water's edge worthwhile. Fifth rounds of the late 1970s continued to impress me as 1-in-20 long shot picks, as history shows just one team took home a big fish.

1975: Lou Whitaker (75.1 WAR, 5x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove, 4x Silver Slugger, 1984 World Series ring, 1978 ROY)

I consider Whitaker baseball's best fifth-round pick for the 1965-75 decade, as many think Lou should be in Cooperstown. Keystone infielders with such consistency prove hard to find in any age, let alone paired with a teammate like Alan Trammell.

Love that "Sweet Lou" autograph on his 1982 Topps and cards like this convinced me every good hitter wore fielding caps under their batting helmet.

1976: Jack Morris (43.5 WAR, 5x All-Star, 1984/1991/1992 World Series rings, HOF)

An easy pick for his year and yet tough to write about, since Jack's relative career value (in WAR, anyway) falls well short of Sweet Lou. The 1991-92 rings with Toronto made a big difference for Hall of Fame voters.

As a young Seattle fan, I remember Detroit's 1984 maulers came into the Kingdome at 35-5 and left 35-8, swept by an otherwise nondescript Mariners squad. I trimmed shortstop Spike Owen's newspaper highlight photos from that series for my baseball scrapbook and assume it inspired my own player collection that continues today. Stuff it, Jack!

1977: Tim Raines (69.4 WAR, 7x All-Star, Silver Slugger, 1996/1998 World Series rings, HOF)

Tim Raines fed the enthusiasm for rookie cards with his own powder blue Donruss card, jockeying with Fernandomania for 1981 collecting supremacy. As an eight year-old, I knew a dedicated card, even for far away teams like les Expos, felt three times better than sharing space with two other "future stars."

A late-career (and still productive) Raines won two rings with the dominant late-1990s Yankees. Did those titles cement his case for Cooperstown voters? I think they did. Bobby (Roberto) Ramos, 0.1 WAR, and Bob (Bobby) Pate, -0.1 WAR, made the rest of their card a wash.

1978: Dave Stieb (56.4 WAR, 7x All-Star)

This longtime Toronto ace must be wondering if a better early-career personality would've also meant a spot in Cooperstown, given favorable comparisons to guys like Jack Morris. His excellence came with irritability, something the writers who vote for your HOF plaque tend to notice.

Dave's autograph evolved a bit over the years, even though it remains tough to remember I before E when spelling his name. Do you like long-form video journalism? S-T-I-E-B garnered his own series on Secret Base, the pinnacle of modern analytical baseball success.

1979: Greg Gagne (26.3 WAR, 1987/1991 World Series rings)

Gagne spent ten seasons in Minnesota as their everyday shortstop and backed up Jack Morris for 1991's series win over Atlanta. Several of those World Series moments pop up in his highlight reel.

Gagne delivered consistency at a position known for its variance and finished his career in the top 100 players all-time for defensive WAR. Hard to ask for more than that.

For all Greg's fielding prowess and the many cards that show him turning a double play, I prefer these two bat-in-hand shots.

1980: (tie) Mike Fuentes (0.1 WAR), Roy Johnson (-0.5 WAR)

1980's fifth round offered our slimmest pickings since the Rule 4 draft started in 1965. Mike and Roy rank highest in WAR for players with MLB time, which damns with faint praise. The former earned his tenth of a WAR in just nine career games (six in 1983, three in 1984), while the latter suited up in 36 (17 in 1982, 16 in 1948, three in 1985).

With so few games to choose from, did these fifth-round teammates ever play together in Montreal? Let's focus on those three 1984 appearances for Fuentes and see if he crossed paths with Johnson.

• Sept 14: Mike pinch hits a single (off Steve Carlton!) in the 5th inning. Roy Johnson pinch hits a single in the 8th inning.
• Sept 20: Mike starts in LF and is lifted for pinch-hitter Wallace Johnson in the 9th. Two batters later, Roy Johnson pinch hits and flies out to end the game.
• Sept 21: Roy Johnson pinch hits in the 7th, but Mike Ramsey takes over on defense. Mike Fuentes pinch hits in the 9th.

In other words, yes, Roy's in the box score for all three of Mike's 1984 appearances. Like ships in the night, they never quite fit in the active lineup together, given their pinch hitting usage.

Mike's story went quiet until 1995, reemerging for the Marlins when they prepared replacement lineups for striking players. Florida paper The Galveston Daily News highlighted his college power in its look at each National League team's "Imposter Roster," a preseason profile that anticipated scabs taking the field for opening day.

The Strike meant even more to The Streak. Baltimore felt so connected to Ripken's feat that replacement Orioles never materialized, even with forfeits on the horizon.

The strike's human story grew fraught as several union players, who'd endured seven months of lost pay, broke with their union to play alongside replacement players.

As days ticked by, pressure from all sides pushed baseball players and owners to resolve things in front of a name who later joined the US Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor.

"I like to see judges of that...caliber."

Justice meets Judge

"By 'caliber,' I refer to both the size of their guns and the high quality of their characters... Two meanings... 'caliber'... it's a homonym..."

I'll pick up the post-1980 fifth round in future posts. For now, enjoy how even guys with three career appearances can connect to something meaningful for the whole pastime.

The Immaculate Grid and Baseball's Best Fifth Round Draft Picks, 1965 - 69

I'm a consistent Immaculate Grid player and use whatever cards litter my desk as "original sources" to plug in names. On Halloween 2023, the grid-makers added a curveball for game #212 with "First Round Draft Pick," something they introduced on earlier versions for football and basketball. I filled in six squares with familiar names and then observed the 1940s and 50s cards on my desk lacked any draft info, leaving me cold. I threw in three guesses, missing on Rick Ankiel and Keith Hernandez, and counted myself lucky to get Barry Zito.

One problem with high picks: many first show up as low picks in earlier years. Barry Zito's "first round pick" (Oakland, 1999) came after earlier attempts in the 59th (Seattle, 1996) and third (Texas, 1998). Many skilled draftees delay signing to play college ball or otherwise develop their skills, reentering the draft in later years.

Draft picks do show up from time-to-time on baseball sets, including something I pinched myself for forgetting, the 1985 Topps subset of active #1 picks.

Check out 30 Year-Old Cardboard's subset profile for all 12

I've used Shawn Abner for Immaculate Grid before at the intersection of Padres, Angels, or White Sox and the trick is that he never played in the bigs for New York. A trade of multiple players, including Kevin McReynolds, moved Abner to SD, where he debuted in 1987. Donruss went all-in by giving Shawn his own "Baseball's Best" card after just 16 games the prior year. The weight of great expectations!

Any memory of Abner's #1 pick card would've helped my IG score, since 2% is far better than the 100-point penalty for missed guesses.

My "what if" Mets row

Interesting that Abner qualified as a Met, since other Immaculate Grid categories require players log at least one team appearance in that uniform. It appears their "first round draft pick" considers selection alone, opening up more obscure answers for MLB draftees who reached the bigs with other clubs. (Most first-rounders get at least a cup of coffee, given how much teams commit to that pick.)

Roger moved fast, from 1983 #1 pick to 1984 in Boston

1985 Topps, and others like it, knit draft status into that tiny bio text. MLB's current amateur selection process ("The Rule 4 Draft") started in 1965 and Topps added relevant info to card backs a decade later in 1976.

1976 card for one member of the inaugural Rule 4 draft 

Those top-tier picks often achieve great things, in terms of stats and accolades, so let's hunt for hidden treasure by finding our best fifth-rounders from the amateur draft's initial years, 1965 to 1969.

1965: Amos Otis (42.8 WAR, 5x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove)

Otis ranked among baseball's best 1970s outfielders and helped KC reach the postseason five times. His cards also show off how good those powder blues can look, year after year.

1966: Dave Cash (25.6 WAR, 3x All-Star, 1971 World Series champ, "Action Dog" nickname)

Dave played almost every day 1971-78, first for Pittsburgh's title winners, and then for an improving Phillies team that won the NL East in 1976. Teammates often mentioned his reliable defense and esprit de corps in the clubhouse.

Dave appears at card shows these days and a trading friend came away with a dollar bill signed by Cash & (Don) Money at the same National. They each seemed amused by the pun.

1967: Dave Goltz (23.1 WAR, 1981 World Series champ)

Dave lingered in the low minors for several years before debuting in 1972 for a 77-77 Twins club by going 3-3. Goltz registered .500 W/L records three more times in the next four years before breaking through with 20 wins in 1977 and still ranks in Minnesota's franchise top-10 for strikeouts. (Remove numbers from the Washington Senators and he'd be even higher.)

My favorite Goltz cards hail from the same 1978 Topps set, first autographing something for a fan and then sharing space with three other excellent hurlers.

1968: Burt Hooton (35.5 WAR, 1981 All-Star, 1981 World Series champ)

Hooton split the 1970s between Chicago and LA, where he and Goltz ended up as teammates on the title-winning 1981 Dodgers squad. Burt spread his 151 career wins across 15 seasons and spring training card photos from Dodgertown, Florida come to my mind first.

His last name's pronounced /WHO-ten/, which led to a 1975 Hostess "Hooten" error, later corrected.

1969: Dwight Evans (67.2 WAR, 3x All-Star, 8x Gold Glove, 2x Silver Slugger)

"Get yourself someone who can do both," as the saying goes, and Evans sure could hit and flash leather in the outfield. He rates best of these 1965-69 fifth-round picks and many say Cooperstown-worthy. (Hall of Famers Al Kaline, Billy Williams, and Tony Perez all rank in Dewey's top-10 similarity scores.)

My favorite Evans cards sport the bushy mustache, eyebrows, and/or eye black. While one last year in Baltimore "spoiled" his 19 years in Boston for Red Sox fans, he continued to get on base ~40% of the time and ranks #29 all-time in walks (1391), leading the AL three times.

More picks coming!

I'll continue this theme and see what kind of team we can build from fifth-round draft picks, given this solid starting five.

• SP: Goltz, Hooton
• RP: TBD
• C: TBD
• 1B: TBD
• 2B: Cash
• 3B: TBD
• SS: TBD
• OF: Otis, Evans, TBD