15 Responses to “Draft history of catchers in the first round”

1. steven Says:
   June 9th, 2010 at 8:34 am

   Ted Simmons belongs in the Hall of Fame.

2. Andy Says:
   June 9th, 2010 at 8:42 am

   No argument from me on that one.

3. Mark Says:
   June 9th, 2010 at 9:25 am

   It's all pretty unrelated, but as a Pirates fan, I had to laugh when I sorted by WAR and found John Russell to be dead last (also had to pass the freshly sent-down Jeff Clement in the negatives on the way down). Full disclosure: I actually don't mind the guy as a manager, for what he's had to work with during his tenure here.

4. JSE Says:
   June 9th, 2010 at 9:50 am

   That's Drungo Larue Hazewood to you.

5. Hartvig Says:
   June 9th, 2010 at 11:11 am

   I was surprised to see so many success stories among first round catchers. Even so, I suspect that next to high school pitchers it's probably the riskiest pick you can make.

6. Frank Clingenpeel Says:
   June 9th, 2010 at 11:24 am

   Looking at this list, I am still amazed at the fact that back in '65, Johnny Bench lasted as long as he did -- until Round Two, if memory serves.

7. Joe Says:
   June 9th, 2010 at 1:49 pm

   And then, as the flipside to this chart, there's good ol' Mike Piazza. Yes, he of the much smaller list of future HOF'ers being drafted in the 62nd round, and even then only as a favor. Heh.

8. anthony Says:
   June 9th, 2010 at 2:07 pm

   any way to split this list into two lists based on if the majority of major league games were played at the catcher position?

9. Andy Says:
   June 9th, 2010 at 2:13 pm

   There's no automatic way to do it.

   Of the guys who racked up the WAR, obviously Konerko and Werth have never played catcher, Biggio played it for a while but ended up with a lot more games at 2B plus a bunch in CF, and Hatteberg ended up playing more at 1B than catcher.

10. DoubleDiamond Says:
    June 9th, 2010 at 7:56 pm

    Was B.J. Surhoff drafted as a catcher, a shortstop, or another position? I seem to recall that he was drafted as a shortstop, but he debuted in the majors (less than two years later) as a catcher. Until Joe Mauer established himself, Surhoff was the catcher on my all-time #1 overall picks team.

    And I had totally forgotten that Danny Goodwin was drafted as a catcher, at least the first time, and now it turns out to have been both times.

    I also didn't realize how many times the Phillies drafted a catcher in the first round, although some were before my time. I did think of Mike Lieberthal right away, before I even made the jump to this page. John Stearns was traded away for someone of great value - Tug McGraw - so that was probably a good pick for them.

    I also didn't know that Neil Walker (who has been moved from catcher) was a September call-up last year and has also appeared with the Pirates this year. I remember that he was drafted either just before or just after a pitcher named Thomas Diamond, who went to the Rangers in 2004. I don't think Thomas Diamond (who would be the first "Dia" entry in the Players index not named Diaz) has ever made it to the majors. I had hoped they'd eventually be batterymates on the Red Sox and lead the Fenway crowd in singing "Sweet Caroline".

11. Raphy Says:
    June 9th, 2010 at 9:40 pm

    Surhoff was drafted as a SS (at lease thats how he is listed in the database) , but started catching as soon as he began playing in the minors.

    It should be noted that Bryce Harper was drafted as an outfielder. According to the reports I heard, his bat is too good for the Nationals to wait for him to develop as a catcher.

    However, according to mlb.com( http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2010/draftcaster.jsp )there were plenty of catchers taken in the first round this year. Yasmani Grandal went to Cinci at 12, Kellin Deglan went to Texas at 22 and Justin O'Conner went to Tampa at 31. Additionally, Houston took Michael Kvasnicka as a compensation pick at 33.

12. Johnny Twisto Says:
    June 9th, 2010 at 9:58 pm

    Diamond is the only one of the "DVD" pitching prospects who Texas kept. Edison Volquez and John Danks have found success elsewhere.

    Actually, now I see he is in the Cubs' organization, pitching very well in AAA. How did he get there? I wish B-R included transactions for minor leaguers.

13. Raphy Says:
    June 9th, 2010 at 10:06 pm

    JT - He was claimed off waivers in Sept. '09

    http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/fantasy/wsfb/news/index.jsp?action=locate&pid=435080

14. Tomepp Says:
    June 10th, 2010 at 6:09 pm

    JSE: Actually, that's Durango LaRue Hazewood. (Note the capital R).

    I was in a "keeper" Strat-O-Matic simulation baseball league in the 1980's, and the manager of our Baltimore Orioles loved that name so much, that after the 20th round of the draft (once additional selections no longer cost 'league dollars') he would -- with great flair -- announce, "The Baltimore Orioles, with the 401st* selection of the 1985* draft, select outfielder Durango LaRue HAZEwood." (* Replace numbers as appropriate.) Of course, Hazewood would get cut every year when the roster had to be trimmed to the 40-man limit. But by being drafted, his name would be on the list of eligible players in the following year's draft. This ritual went on for many years, long after Hazewood retired from professionall baseball (at least into the late 1980's or early nineties.)

    A photo of Durango in his post-baseball days can be found on this page. You have to click on the small thembnail image under the main photo. (I tried to get a link directly to the enlargement, but that link fails.)

15. JSE Says:
    June 13th, 2010 at 11:34 pm

    I'll grant you the capital R, but dude, DRUNGO, NOT DURANGO!