Every year, the last player chosen in the NFL draft is lauded as Mr. Irrelevant. Sometimes he makes the roster out of training camp, sometimes he doesn’t, but for awhile, at least, he enjoys some measure of semi-celebrity status.
The baseball equivalent, however, has never been as celebrated. This clearly has a lot to do with the fact that Major League Baseball’s draft is nowhere near the event that the NFL draft is – Mel Kiper has been a household name for twenty years, while baseball only started televising the event within the past two or three years.
There is also the problem of visibility. There have been 45 Mr. Irrelevants in major league history. Of those, only two have played in the major leagues, and only then after they went back to school and were selected higher in a later year. Don Wakamatsu, currently the manager of the Seattle Mariners, got into 18 games with the Chicago White Sox in 1991 (both Baseball-Reference.com and Thebaseballcube.com list Wakamatsu as having been drafted by the Reds in the 11th round in 1985; no mention is made 1984, when he was the last pick, except in the year-by-year databases. Some articles have mentioned his Mr. Irrelevant status).
In 1989, the Houston Astros spent the draft’s 1,490th pick on Desi Wilson, a first baseman from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Wilson’s draft odyssey was interesting to say the least: he was a fifteenth round selection by the Red Sox in 1987, but failed to sign. The Astros took him in the 87th round in 1989 – understandably, he again refused to sign. Finally, the Rangers nabbed him in the 30th round in 1991. He wisely signed. Though his major league career only lasted 41 games, he enjoyed a seventeen year career in professional baseball.
Thirty-two Mr. Irrelevants didn’t even play in the minor leagues, according to the two Web sites referenced above. Between 1985 and 1995, only Wilson had any statistics available. For seven of those years (1989-95), the last pick was made by either the Houston Astros or the Florida Marlins.
At least two of these players are still active. Boston’s Kyle Stroup did not play after being drafted last year but is listed as a member of the Gulf Coast League Red Sox this season, and Los Angeles’ Alibay Barkley was chosen out New York’s George Washington High School just last week. According to the New York Times, he is still undecided between signing a contract immediately or attending junior college for a year and re-entering the draft in 2010.
Major and Minor League Experience
Year | Round | Pick | Team | Player | Position | Years | High Level |
1984 | 51 | 839 | New York Yankees | Don Wakamatsu | C | 12 | MLB |
1989 | 87 | 1490 | Houston Astros | Desi Wilson | 1B | 17 | MLB |
Minor League Experience
Year | Round | Pick | Team | Player | Position | Years | High Level |
1977 | 42 | 775 | St. Louis Cardinals | Deron Thomas | INF | 4 | AA |
1980 | 44 | 832 | Cleveland Indians | Shanie Dugas | SS | 10 | AAA |
1981 | 44 | 853 | San Francisco Giants | Mark Winters | LHP | 4 | High A |
1982 | 47 | 832 | New York Yankees | Robert Woodcock | 2B | 1 | Low A |
1983 | 50 | 827 | Texas Rangers | Brad Hill | OF | 4 | AA |
1996 | 100 | 1740 | New York Yankees | Aron Amundson | 3B | 2 | Independent |
1997 | 92 | 1607 | Tampa Bay Rays | Andy Baxter | SS | 2 | Low A |
2000 | 50 | 1452 | Atlanta Braves | Drew Jackson | OF | 5 | Rookie |
2002 | 50 | 1482 | St. Louis Cardinals | John Powell | RHP | 2 | Rookie |
2004 | 50 | 1498 | Atlanta Braves | Eric Gonzalez | RHP | 2 | A |
2007 | 50 | 1453 | New York Yankees | Larry Day | C | 2 | A |
No Stats Available
Year | Round | Pick | Team | Player | Position |
1965 | 72 | 824 | Houston Astros | Reginald Thomas | OF |
1966 | 63 | 833 | New York Yankees | Matt Galante | INF |
1967 | 77 | 975 | New York Yankees | Donald Van Deusen | SS |
1968 | 71 | 913 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Carl Amendola | C |
1969 | 90 | 1044 | Kansas City Royals | James Beal | 2B |
1970 | 60 | 929 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Anthony Buckley | RHP |
1971 | 48 | 803 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Don Stackpole | C |
1972 | 46 | 791 | San Francisco Giants | Carl Wesley | OF |
1973 | 52 | 747 | St. Louis Cardinals | Bert Francks | RHP |
1974 | 41 | 690 | Baltimore Orioles | Ron DeGrande | OF |
1975 | 37 | 679 | Minnesota Twins | Al Arthur | RHP |
1976 | 40 | 713 | San Francisco Giants | Sammy Bickham | RHP |
1978 | 48 | 779 | Cleveland Indians | Delbert Stacey | RHP |
1979 | 44 | 870 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Paul Cox | LHP |
1985 | 39 | 832 | Cleveland Indians | Clay Parrach | 1B |
1986 | 49 | 891 | Baltimore Orioles | Daniel Johnston | 2B |
1987 | 74 | 1263 | Kansas City Royals | Stewart Anthony | SS |
1988 | 75 | 1433 | New York Yankees | Robert LeFebre | OF |
1990 | 99 | 1489 | Houston Astros | Jeff Caldwell | OF |
1991 | 96 | 1600 | Houston Astros | Brian Hudson | RHP |
1992 | 50 | 1412 | Florida Marlins | James Woods | OF |
1993 | 91 | 1721 | Florida Marlins | Shawn Summers | OF |
1994 | 98 | 1707 | Houston Astros | Cameron Saska | LHP |
1995 | 87 | 1666 | Florida Marlins | Brian Haught | SS |
1998 | 50 | 1446 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Lucas Gruner | C |
1999 | 50 | 1474 | Atlanta Braves | Scott Leitz | LHP |
2001 | 50 | 1485 | San Francisco Giants | P.J. McGinnis | RHP |
2003 | 50 | 1480 | Atlanta Braves | John Scaglione | RHP |
2005 | 50 | 1501 | New York Yankees | Blake Heym | C |
2006 | 50 | 1502 | St. Louis Cardinals | Charles Matthews | RHP |
2008 | 50 | 1504 | Boston Red Sox | Kyle Stroup | RHP |
2009 | 50 | 1521 | Los Angeles Angels | Alibay Barkley | 1B |
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