1981 Major League Baseball draft
{{Short description|Baseball draft of amateur players by Major League Baseball}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{One source|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox sports draft
| name = 1981 Major League Baseball draft
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| logo =
| logosize =
| date = June 1981
| time =
| location =
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| league =
| teams =
| first = Mike Moore
Seattle Mariners
| most =
| fewest =
| first_round = 26
| overall = 853
| hofnum = {{Collapsible list
|title = 2
|1 = RF Tony Gwynn
|2 = 1B Fred McGriff}}
| prev = 1980
| next = 1982
}}
The 1981 Major League Baseball draft took place in June 1981. The draft saw the Seattle Mariners select Mike Moore first overall.
First round selections
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|= All-Star | |style="background-color:#CCFFCC; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:2em;"|
|= Baseball Hall of Famer |
The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/draft/history?year=1981 |title=MLB First Round Draft Picks - 1981 |access-date=2008-09-16 }}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
| Pick
!Player !Team !Position !Hometown/School |
|---|
| 1
| bgcolor="#FFCC00"|Mike Moore | Pitcher |
| 2
| bgcolor="#FFCC00"|Joe Carter | Outfield |
| 3
| Shortstop | Griffin High School |
| 4
| Outfield |
| 5
| Pitcher | Rice |
| 6
| Outfield | Arkansas |
| 7
| Outfield | Woodward High School |
| 8
| Shortstop |
| 9
| bgcolor="#FFCC00"|Ron Darling | Pitcher | Yale |
| 10
| Pitcher |
| 11
| Third Base |
| 12
| Outfield | Centralia High School |
| 13
| Outfield |
| 14
| Jim Winn | Pitcher |
| 15
| Third Base |
| 16
| Chicago Cubs{{#tag:ref|Pick from Cincinnati Reds as compensation for signing of free agent Larry Biittner|group="Compensation"}} | Pitcher |
| 17
| Pitcher | Woodville High School (Woodville, TX) |
| 18
| Pitcher |
| 19
| Shortstop |
| 20
| Pitcher |
| 21
| Toronto Blue Jays{{#tag:ref|Pick from Milwaukee Brewers as compensation for signing of free agent Roy Howell|group="Compensation"}} | Pitcher |
| 22
| Shortstop | Memphis |
| 23
| Outfield | USC |
| 24
| Texas Rangers{{#tag:ref|Pick from Houston Astros as compensation for signing of free agent Dave Roberts|group="Compensation"}} | Pitcher |
| 25
| Boston Red Sox{{#tag:ref|Pick from Baltimore Orioles as compensation for signing of free agent Jim Dwyer|group="Compensation"}} | Catcher |
| 26
| San Diego Padres{{#tag:ref|Pick from New York Yankees as compensation for signing of free agent Dave Winfield|group="Compensation"}} | Catcher |
Compensation Picks
Other notable players
{{div col}}
- Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs
- Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33rd overall by the Oakland Athletics
- Mark Gubicza†, 2nd round, 34th overall by the Kansas City Royals
- Mark Langston†, 2nd round, 35th overall by the Seattle Mariners
- Frank Viola†, 2nd round, 37th overall by the Minnesota Twins
- Neal Heaton†, 2nd round, 39th overall by the Cleveland Indians
- Sid Bream, 2nd round, 48th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
- John Elway, 2nd round, 52nd overall by the New York Yankees
- Phil Bradley†, 3rd round, 53rd overall by the Seattle Mariners
- Tony Gwynn‡, 3rd round, 58th overall by the San Diego Padres
- Sid Fernandez†, 3rd round, 73rd overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
- David Cone†, 3rd round, 74th overall by the Kansas City Royals
- Curt Young, 4th round, 92nd overall by the Oakland Athletics
- Paul O'Neill†, 4th round, 93rd overall by the Cincinnati Reds
- Todd Benzinger, 4th round, 96th overall by the Boston Red Sox
- Shane Mack, 4th round, 100th overall by the Kansas City Royals, but did not sign
- Eric Plunk, 4th round, 103rd overall by the New York Yankees
- Bip Roberts, 5th round, 117th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but did not sign
- Mickey Tettleton†, 5th round, 118th overall by the Oakland Athletics
- Bill Wegman, 5th round, 124th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers
- John Franco†, 5th round, 125th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Devon White†, 6th round, 132nd overall by the California Angels
- Alvin Davis†, 6th round, 144th overall by the Oakland Athletics, but did not sign
- Mike Pagliarulo, 6th round, 155th overall by the New York Yankees
- Mark McGwire†, 8th round, 199th overall by the Montreal Expos, but did not sign
- Steve Lombardozzi, 9th round, 218th overall by the Minnesota Twins
- Fred McGriff‡, 9th round, 233rd overall by the New York Yankees
- Roger Clemens†, 12th round, 289th overall by the New York Mets, but did not sign
- Lenny Dykstra†, 13th round, 315th overall by the New York Mets
- Danny Cox, 13th round, 319th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals
- Bob Tewksbury†, 19th round, 493rd overall by the New York Yankees
- Matt Nokes†, 20th round, 503rd overall by the San Francisco Giants
- Vince Coleman, 20th round, 513th overall by the Philadelphia Phillies, but did not sign
- Al LeBoeuf, 28th round, 705th overall by the Philadelphia Phillies
- Chris Bosio, 29th round, 722nd overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but did not sign
- Lance Johnson, 30th round, 742nd overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but did not sign
- Cecil Fielder, 31st round, 767th overall by the Baltimore Orioles, but did not sign
{{div col end}}
† All-Star
‡ Hall of Famer
=NFL players drafted=
- John Elway, 2nd round, 52nd overall by the New York Yankees
- Jack Del Rio, 22nd round, 550th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays, but did not sign
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/draft/1981/Round-1-1.shtml Complete draft list from The Baseball Cube database]
{{S-start}}
{{Succession box| title=1st Overall Picks | before=Darryl Strawberry | after=Shawon Dunston| years=Mike Moore}}
{{S-end}}
{{Major league baseball draft index}}
{{1981 MLB season by team}}