Next up on my thread of a 1970's overall draft picks sub-set for
the 1979 set is the 1973 pick, David Clyde, picked by the Texas Rangers.
Take a look at my design for the custom card:
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| The fourth subject on my #1 draft pick thread, David Clyde. |
If you want more info on how the Rangers messed with him, click the following link for a more in-depth write up:
Clyde was a hometown hero of sorts after his outrageous exploits at
Westchester High School in Houston, Texas, so it seemed like a marriage
made in heaven for the struggling Rangers and their attendance problem.
But as we all know it didn't quite turn out the way the Rangers (or
Clyde) had hoped, and what makes the pick all the more incredible is
that the third and fourth picks in the amateur draft that year were two
future Hall of Famers that each played for
over 20 years at the big league level: Robin Yount at #3 and Dave
Winfield at #4.
You think Texas would have wanted a "do-over" with THAT draft?
By the way, if you're asking who went #2, it was catcher John
Stearns, who was picked by the Phillies out of the University of
Colorado before starring for the New York Mets later in the decade.
Next up is yet another #1 draft bust by the San Diego Padres, Billy
Almon, making it THREE draft duds in the first five years of the decade
(Ivie in '70 and Roberts in '72 being the other two)!
Keep an eye out for it…