Expansion of 1977

The American League expanded by two teams in 1977 after Seattle was promised a franchise by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn following the departure of the Seattle Pilots, created in the expansion of 1969, after their inaugural season. During the summer of 1975, there was speculation that the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, or San Francisco Giants could move to Seattle. When none of these plans proved successful, the American League added a team in Seattle. With thirteen teams in a league creating a scheduling nightmare, the league awarded a franchise to Toronto over Washington, DC in March 1976.

Expansion Draft

On November 5, 1976, an expansion draft was held for the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays, expansion clubs that would begin play in 1977. The Mariners picked Kansas City Royals outfielder Ruppert Jones with their first pick. The Blue Jays took Bob Bailor of the Baltimore Orioles as their first selection.

November 5,1976

Selection	Player	Pos	Team	Selecting team
Round 1
1	Ruppert Jones	OF	Royals	Seattle Mariners
2	Bob Bailor	OF-SS	Orioles	Toronto Blue Jays
3	Gary Wheelock	P	Angels	Mariners
4	Jerry Garvin	P	Twins	Blue Jays
5	Bill Stein	3B	White Sox	Mariners
6	Jim Clancy	P	Rangers	Blue Jays
7	Dick Pole	P	Red Sox	Mariners
8	Gary Woods	OF	A's	Blue Jays
9	Dan Meyer	1B	Tigers	Mariners
10	Rico Carty	DH	Indians	Blue Jays
11	Grant Jackson	P	Yankees	M's
12	Butch Edge	P	Brewers	Blue Jays
Round 2
13	Al Fitzmorris	P	Royals	Blue Jays
14	Dave Collins	OF	Angels	Mariners
15	Al Woods	OF	Twins	Blue Jays
16	Frank MacCormack	P	Tigers	Mariners
17	Mike Darr	P	Orioles	Blue Jays
18	Stan Thomas	P	Indians	Mariners
19	Pete Vuckovich	P	White Sox	Blue Jays
20	Juan Bernhardt	OF	Yankees	Mariners
21	Jeff Byrd	P	Rangers	Blue Jays
22	Rick Jones	P	Red Sox	Mariners
23	Steve Bowling	OF	Brewers	Blue Jays
24	Glenn Abbott	P	A's	Mariners
Round 3
25	Bob Stinson	C	Royals	Mariners
26	Dennis DeBarr	P	Tigers	Blue Jays
27	Carlos Lopez	OF	Angels	Mariners
28	Bill Singer	P	Twins	Blue Jays
29	Dave Pagan	P	Orioles	Mariners
30	Jim Mason	SS	Yankees	Blue Jays
31	Roy Thomas	P	White Sox	Mariners
32	Doug Ault	1B	Rangers	Blue Jays
33	Tom McMillan	SS	Indians	Mariners
34	Ernie Whitt	C	Red Sox	Blue Jays
35	Pete Broberg	P	Brewers	Mariners
36	Mike Weathers	IF	A's	Blue Jays
Round 4
37	Steve Staggs	2B	Royals	Blue Jays
38	Steve Braun	OF	Twins	Mariners
39	Steve Hargan	P	Rangers	Blue Jays
40	Leroy Stanton	OF	Angels	Mariners
41	Garth Iorg	3B	Yankees	Blue Jays
42	Bob Galasso	P	Orioles	Mariners
43	Dave Lemanczyk	P	Tigers	Blue Jays
44	Steve Burke	P	Red Sox	Mariners
45	Larry Anderson	P	Brewers	Blue Jays
46	Joe Lis	1B	Indians	Mariners
47	Jesse Jefferson	P	White Sox	Blue Jays
48	Alan Griffin	P	A's	Mariners
Round 5
49	Dave McKay	2B-3B	Twins	Blue Jays
50	Bill Laxton	P	Tigers	Mariners
51	Tom Bruno	P	Royals	Blue Jays
52	Julio Cruz	2B	Angels	Mariners
53	Otto Velez	OF	Yankees	Blue Jays
54	Steve Barr	P	Rangers	Mariners
55	Mike Willis	P	Orioles	Blue Jays
56	Puchy Delgado	OF	Red Sox	Mariners
57	Sam Ewing	OF	White Sox	Blue Jays
58	Tommy Smith	OF	Indians	Mariners
59	Leon Hooten	P	A's	Blue Jays
60	Greg Erardi	P	Brewers	Mariners

Related Sites

• Frank Zimniuch: Baseball's New Frontier: A History of Expansion, 1961-1998, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2013. ISBN 978-0803239944