1979 Amateur Draft

In 1979, the Kansas City Royals drafted future NFL legends Dan Marino and John Elway. The draft order was set right after the 1978 regular season, so the Boston Red Sox were given the 26th pick and the New York Yankees were given the 25th pick, even though the Yankees went on to beat Boston in the one-game playoff for the AL East title and eventually win the 1978 World Series. While both teams lost their first-round picks, these were the positions used for the remainder of the draft.

1979 First Round Picks

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School (Type)	Hometown	Notes
1	Seattle Mariners	Al Chambers	OF	John Harris High School (HS)	Harrisburg, PA
2	New York Mets	Tim Leary	RHP	UCLA (Col.)	Santa Monica, CA
3	Toronto Blue Jays	Jay Schroeder	C	Palisades Charter High School (HS)	Pacific Palisades, CA
4	Atlanta Braves	Brad Komminsk	OF	Shawnee High School (Lima) (HS)	Lima, OH
5	Oakland Athletics	Juan Bustabad	SS	Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School (HS)	Hialeah, FL	Did not sign
6	St. Louis Cardinals	Andy Van Slyke	OF	New Hartford High School (HS)	New Hartford, NY
7	Cleveland Indians	John Bohnet	LHP	Dr. James J. Hogan High School (HS)	Vallejo, CA
8	Houston Astros	John Mizerock	C	Punxsutawney High School (HS)	Punxsutawney, PA
9	Chicago White Sox	Steve Buechele	SS	Servite High School (HS)	Fullerton, CA	Did not sign
10	Montreal Expos	Tim Wallach	1B	California State-Fullerton (Col.)	Huntington Park, CA
11	Minnesota Twins	Kevin Brandt	OF	Nekoosa High School (HS)	Nekoosa, WI
12	Chicago Cubs	Jon Perlman	RHP	Baylor University (Col.)	Dallas, TX
13	Detroit Tigers	Rick Leach	OF	University of Michigan (Col.)	Ann Arbor, MI
14	San Diego Padres	Jody Lansford	1B	Wilcox High School (HS)	Santa Clara, CA
15	San Francisco Giants	Scott Garrelts	RHP	Buckley-Loda High School (HS)	Buckley, IL	Compensation from California Angels for Jim Barr
16	Los Angeles Dodgers	Steve Howe	LHP	University of Michigan (Col.)	Pontiac, MI	Compensation from Pittsburgh Pirates for Lee Lacy
17	Texas Rangers	Jerry Don Gleaton	LHP	University of Texas (Col.)	Brownwood, TX
18	San Francisco Giants	Rick Luecken	RHP	Spring Woods High School (HS)	Houston, TX	Did not sign
19	Chicago White Sox	Rick Seilheimer	C	Brenham High School (HS)	Brenham, TX	Compensation from Baltimore Orioles for Steve Stone
20	Cincinnati Reds	Dan Lamar	C	Bellaire (TX) High School (HS)	Houston, TX	Compensation from Philadelphia Phillies for Pete Rose
21	Kansas City Royals	Atlee Hammaker	LHP	East Tennessee State University (Col.)	Carmel, CA
22	Cincinnati Reds	Mike Sullivan	RHP	Clemson University (Col.)	Webster, MA
23	Detroit Tigers	Chris Baker	OF	Livonia-Franklin High School (HS)	Dearborn Heights, MI	Compensation from Milwaukee Brewers for Jim Slaton
24	San Diego Padres	Bob Geren	C	Clairemont High School (HS)	San Diego, CA	Compensation from Los Angeles Dodgers for Derrel Thomas
25	Los Angeles Dodgers	Steve Perry	RHP	University of Michigan (Col.)	[[]]	Compensation from New York Yankees for Tommy John
26	Oakland Athletics	Mike Stenhouse	OF	Harvard University (Col.)	Pueblo, CO	Did not sign/Compensation from Boston Red Sox for Steve Renko

January 1979 amateur draft

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School (Type)	Hometown	Notes
1	New York Mets	Neal Heaton	LHP	Sachem High School (H.S.)		Did not sign
2	Seattle Mariners	Michael Hood	C	Washington Academy High School (H.S.)
3	Atlanta Braves	Kelly Faulk	RHP	Wharton County Junior College		Did not sign
4	Toronto Blue Jays	Scott Patterson	RHP	Valencia Community College (Col.)		Did not sign
5	St. Louis Cardinals	Robert Ferris	1B	Mesa Community College (Col)		Did not sign

Other Notable Selections

Randy Bush (2nd round); Jose DeLeon (3rd round); Greg Gagne, Jeff Russell (5th round); Bill Doran (6th round); Storm Davis, Von Hayes (7th round); Tony Fossas, Johnny Ray (12th round); Greg Brock (13th round); Pete O'Brien (15th round); Bud Black, Orel Hershiser (17th round); Don Mattingly (19th round); Brett Butler (23rd round); Scott Fletcher, Gary Gaetti, Otis Nixon (secondary phase); Mark Eichhorn, Milt Thompson (2nd round, January); Gary Pettis (6th round, January); Brook Jacoby (7th round, January); Mark Davis, Howard Johnson (secondary phase, January)

Other Sports Selections

Dan Marino (4th round - did not sign); John Elway (18th round - did not sign)