1981 Amateur Draft

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In the 1981 Amateur Draft, the New York Yankees selected future NFL great John Elway with their first pick in the draft, which came in the 2nd round. He played a few games in their minor league system in 1982 before moving on to professional football.

1981 First Round Picks[edit]

Pick Team Player Position School (Type) Hometown Notes
1 Seattle Mariners Mike Moore RHP Oral Roberts University (Col.) Eakly, OK
2 Chicago Cubs Joe Carter OF Wichita State University (Col.) Oklahoma City, OK
3 California Angels Dick Schofield SS Sacred Heart-Griffin High School (HS) Springfield, IL
4 New York Mets Terry Blocker OF Tennessee State University (Col.) Columbia, SC
5 Toronto Blue Jays Matt Williams RHP Rice University (Col.) Houston, TX
6 San Diego Padres Kevin McReynolds OF University of Arkansas (Col.) Little Rock, AR
7 Chicago White Sox Daryl Boston OF Woodward High School (Cincinnati) (HS) Cincinnati, OH
8 St. Louis Cardinals Bobby Meacham SS San Diego State University (Col.) [[]]
9 Texas Rangers Ron Darling RHP Yale University (Col.) Honolulu, HI
10 San Francisco Giants Mark Grant RHP Joliet Catholic High School (HS) Joliet, IL
11 Minnesota Twins Mike Sodders 3B Arizona State University (Col.) [[]]
12 Atlanta Braves Jay Roberts OF Centralia (WA) High School (HS) Centralia, WA
13 Cleveland Indians George Alpert OF Livingston High School (HS) Livingston, NJ
14 Pittsburgh Pirates Jim Winn RHP John Brown University (Col.) Stockton, CA
15 Oakland Athletics Tim Pyznarski 3B-OF Eastern Illinois University (Col.) Chicago, IL
16 Chicago Cubs Vance Lovelace LHP Hillsborough High School (HS) Tampa, FL Compensation from Cincinnati Reds for Larry Biittner
17 Detroit Tigers Ricky Barlow RHP Woodville (TX) High School (HS) Woodville, TX
18 Montreal Expos Darren Dilks LHP Oklahoma State University (Col.) [[]]
19 Boston Red Sox Steve Lyons OF-SS Oregon State University (Col.) Tacoma, WA
20 Philadelphia Phillies Johnny Abrego RHP Mission San Jose High School (HS) San Jose, CA
21 Toronto Blue Jays John Cerutti LHP Amherst College (Col.) Albany, NY Compensation from Milwaukee Brewers for Roy Howell
22 Los Angeles Dodgers Dave Anderson SS University of Memphis (Col.) Louisville, KY
23 Kansas City Royals Dave Leeper OF University of Southern California (Col.) Santa Ana, CA
24 Texas Rangers Al Lachowicz RHP University of Pittsburgh (Col.) Pittsburgh, PA Compensation from Houston Astros for Dave Roberts
25 Boston Red Sox Kevin Burrell C Poway High School (HS) Poway, CA Compensation from Baltimore Orioles for Jim Dwyer
26 San Diego Padres Frank Castro C University of Miami (Col.) [[]] Compensation from New York Yankees for Dave Winfield

January 1981 amateur draft[edit]

Pick Team Player Position School (Type) Hometown Notes
1 Chicago Cubs Jim Rooney LHP County College of Morris (Col.) Did not sign
2 Seattle Mariners Bret McAfee SS Merced College (Col.)
3 New York Mets Randy Milligan OF San Diego Mesa College
4 California Angels Kevin Price RHP Cosumnes River College (Col.)
5 San Diego Padres Eric Bullock OF Los Angeles Harbor College (Col) Did not sign

Other Notable Selections[edit]

Sid Bream, John Elway, Mike Gallego, Mark Gubicza, Neal Heaton, Mark Langston, Frank Viola (2nd round); Phil Bradley, David Cone, Sid Fernandez, Tony Gwynn (3rd round); Paul O'Neill, Eric Plunk (4th round); John Franco, Mickey Tettleton (5th round); Mike Pagliarulo, Devon White (6th round); Mark McGwire (8th round, did not sign); Fred McGriff (9th round); Roger Clemens (12th round, did not sign); Lenny Dykstra (13th round); Bob Tewksbury (19th round); John Kruk (secondary phase); Billy Hatcher (6th round, January); Glenn Davis, Kevin Gross, Rob Murphy (secondary phase, January)

Other Sports Selections[edit]

Notes[edit]

The Major League Baseball Draft was held on the same day as the National Basketball Association Draft in 1981. OF Tony Gwynn of San Diego State University was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 3rd round of the MLB draft, and by the San Diego Clippers in the 10th round of the NBA Draft (he was a point guard for the SDSU Aztecs). He chose to play baseball, a wise decision as he went on to have a Hall of Fame career.