# Players passed over in favor of... **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 9, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515 "2012-11-09T19:53:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Obeseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbce88/32.png) [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/21 "2012-11-10T21:39:47Z")
1966 major league baseball draft. The Mets used the first pick on high schooler Steve Chilcott, who for a long time was the only #1 pick to never make the mjors. The Athletics used the #2 pick on Arizona State’s Reggie Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/22 "2012-11-10T22:26:22Z")
In 2005, the 49ers selected QB Alex Smith first overall, passing on future Super Bowl Winning QB and league MVP Aaron Rodgers, who wasn’t selected until #24 by the Packers. Then-49ers coach Mike Nolan, who had no idea what to look for in a quarterback, reportedly didn’t like Rodger’s confident/cocky attitude in interviews, and picked the more demure Smith. Rodgers would have been saddled with the same career-crippling team disfunction that nearly ruined Smith, but was clearly a better QB coming out of college. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/23 "2012-11-10T22:47:41Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Reason Detroit passed on Darko: Brown hated coaching young players. I’m having trouble deciphering what you were trying to say when you posted this. Detroit did not, in fact, pass on Darko. Edit : And who should they draft every year, just to suit Larry “The Closer” Brown? OLD draft picks? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/24 "2012-11-11T02:12:21Z")
> [@Obeseus](#): > > 1966 major league baseball draft. The Mets used the first pick on high schooler Steve Chilcott, who for a long time was the only #1 pick to never make the mjors. The Athletics used the #2 pick on Arizona State’s Reggie Jackson. I can’t prove this is true, but rumors have abounded for many years that the Mets passed on Reggie Jackson because he was married to a white woman at the time. But it’s quite plausible, to me. George Weiss was the Mets’ GM at the time, and while Weiss was a truly brilliant baseball man in many ways (he was architect of the Yankees Fifties dynasty), he was a racist who kept the Yankees lily-white until 1955. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/25 "2012-11-11T02:58:43Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Brien Taylor getting taken 1st overall by the Yankees, passing on Manny Ramirez. It’s unfair to compare baseball to sports like basketball or football. In those sports it’s common for a player to go directly from school to being an impact player and really there’s no excuse for blowing a draft pick. In baseball, amateur players are rarely MLB-ready. The first round of ANY major league draft is a litany of totall wild-ass guesswork and broken promises. For fun I picked a random draft year, 1993. Here’s how it went: 1. Alex Rodriguez, Seattle 2. Darren Dreifort, Los Angeles 3. Brian Anderson, Anaheim 4. Wayne Gomes, Philadelphia 5. Jeff Granger, KC 6. Steve Soderstrom, SF 7. Trot Nixon, Boston 8. Kirk Presley, Mets 9. Matt Brunson, Detroit 10. Brooks Kieschnick, Cubs 11. Daron Kirkreit, Cleveland 12. Billy Wagner, Houston 13. Matt Drews, Yankees 14. Derrek Lee, San Diego 15. Chris Carpenter, Toronto 16. Alan Benes, St. Louis 17. Scott Christman, White Sox 18. Chris Schwab, Montreal 19. Jay Powell, Baltimore 20. Torii Hunter, Minnesota Obviously A-Rod was a pretty astute #1 pick, but after that it’s a real dog’s breakfast of guys who were pretty good, like Chris Carpenter or Torii Hunter, with guys nobody heard from again. The second ten picks have more legitimate major leaguers than the first ten, really. And this is a pretty typical draft. Pick ANY year at random and it’s the same mix, **and there’s no real connection in terms of the calibre of the organization**. As noted above the Indians picked a guy, Daron Kirkreit, who never made the big leagues at a time when Cleveland was finding and developing more talent than two normal teams. Baseball drafts are highly random; the difference between a good draft and a bad one is that in a good draft 5 of your first 20 picks pan out, and in a bad one it’s 3 out of 20. Now, picking a guy #1 OVERALL who doesn’t make the majors is a pretty rare fail. It happens very rarely. ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/26 "2012-11-11T03:35:35Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > It was Clyde’s presence on the Trailblazers that made them think they didn’t need Jordan. Maybe that was the right move, but tthey should have at least taken Charles Barkley, who was also available in that draft. It might be worth mentioning that if Houston had picked Drexler they wouldn’t have gotten the first pick in 1984, which led to Akeem Olajuwon. Drexler actually had minimal impact for the Blazers as a rookie (hence getting the 2nd pick the next year), but that could have been situational to the team. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/27 "2012-11-11T03:56:03Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I can’t prove this is true, but rumors have abounded for many years that the Mets passed on Reggie Jackson because he was married to a white woman at the time. > > But it’s quite plausible, to me. George Weiss was the Mets’ GM at the time, and while Weiss was a truly brilliant baseball man in many ways (he was architect of the Yankees Fifties dynasty), he was a racist who kept the Yankees lily-white until 1955. I think Reggie was just dating a Mexican woman at the time, who was white enough for their standards. Weiss left the Mets’ GM post around that time, mid-sixties, so he may not have been personally responsible for passing on Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/28 "2012-11-11T06:04:20Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > I’m having trouble deciphering what you were trying to say when you posted this. > > Detroit did not, in fact, pass on Darko. > > Edit : And who should they draft every year, just to suit Larry “The Closer” Brown? OLD draft picks? I FUBARed that. :o I obviously meant that they DID pick Darko. I wouldn’t haver mattered who they picked, Brown was going to let them rot on the bench. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/29 "2012-11-11T06:26:11Z")
Brien Taylor busted mostly because he tore up his shoulder in a fight. Hard to fault the Yankees for that one. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/30 "2012-11-11T08:05:42Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Marino fell because of unfounded drug rumors. Really? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/31 "2012-11-11T08:41:05Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It’s unfair to compare baseball to sports like basketball or football. In those sports it’s common for a player to go directly from school to being an impact player and really there’s no excuse for blowing a draft pick. In baseball, amateur players are rarely MLB-ready. Perhaps it was just me that thought that they should’ve taken Manny (and seeing that he 11 other players got picked before MR, I concede that it’s probably a stretch to make this assertion). Manny played his HS ball at George Washington HS in upper Manhattan, about 2 miles from the Stadium. He was getting quite a bit of ink back then, when newspapers were still thriving. Ended up hitting .650 his senior year, with lots of comparisons to Shawon Dunston as the greatest high schooler any of the locals had ever seen. There was quite a bit of hope that he would get picked by Gene Michael. I remember being very disappointed that they took Taylor, and being reminded of it every time Manny would play against them, and seemingly owning them like no other opponent. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/32 "2012-11-11T08:42:21Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > Really? Can’t find cite ATM but he had cocaine rumors on draft eve. Shula called Fazio (Shula friend and Marino’s college coach) who squashed the rumor. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/33 "2012-11-11T08:45:20Z")
Do neither one of you have access to google? Hint: Dan Marino drug rumors. And it was weed. ---
**Author:** ![LionelHutz405](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lionelhutz405/32/536_2.png) [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/34 "2012-11-12T15:45:40Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > The Giants have no reason to regret their pick, but… there were two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks in that pool. Joe Montana lasted until the 3rd round. And Warren Moon wasn’t drafted at all. Moon would have been drafted if he had been willing to play DB instead of quarterback. At the time, the NFL was not open to a black playing quarterback. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/35 "2012-11-12T16:27:18Z")
**RickJay** ’s quite right about the first round of draft picks being much more of a crapshoot for MLB GMs, so I’ll spend my overabundance of orange and blue misery reflecting on the Knicks, who for most of the past 12 years have farted away their draft picks - when they even had any they hadn’t traded away to acquire brittled, aged, expensive and/or selfish veteran players. The serious head scratching started back in 1999, when instead of picking hometown favorite Ron Artest (who grew up in Queens and played college basketball in NYC for St. John’s), they drafted for a position. So with Patrick Ewing at the end of his career, they took Frederic Weis, a 7+ feet tall French player who never even made it to the US to suit up for warmups. He’s mostly remembered for getting dunked on by Vince Carter in the next year’s summer Olympics. That, and for not being Ron Artest. The next biggest one was Renaldo Balkman in 2006. If he was a Jedi clone of Rinaldo Blackman I could deal with it, but no, he was not impressive. The very next pick was Rajon Rondo, who has been pretty impressive with the Boston Celtics. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/36 "2012-11-12T17:03:48Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Do neither one of you have access to google? > Hint: Dan Marino drug rumors. > And it was weed. No. Not that. Won’t somebody please think of the children? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/37 "2012-11-12T18:30:58Z")
The Jets taking Penn State running back Blair Thomas, passing on USC linebacker Junior Seau. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/38 "2012-11-12T22:27:40Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > [B…they took Frederic Weis, a 7+ feet tall French player who never even made it to the US to suit up for warmups. He’s mostly remembered for getting dunked on by Vince Carter in the next year’s summer Olympics. Just to ensure this event is appropriately recalled, Carter did not merely dunk on Weis. Carter dunked on Weis by _jumping over his head._ ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/39 "2012-11-13T02:34:51Z")
> [@LionelHutz405](#): > > Moon would have been drafted if he had been willing to play DB instead of quarterback. > At the time, the NFL was not open to a black playing quarterback. That still makes NFL executives stupid, not Warren Moon. If Warren believed he was more than capable of playing quarterback in the NFL at a high level, he was 100% right and the GMs who passed him over were 100% wrong. Jack Thompson was a first round choice. Warren Moon was completely overlooked. That’s both racist AND idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515/40 "2012-11-14T21:35:20Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Marino fell because of unfounded drug rumors. Yes, but let’s not also forget his piss-poor senior season and balky knee. With that said, I think the Colts deserve some plaudits for their 1992 1-2 drafting of Steve Emtman and Quentin Coryatt. If they had picked ANY of the other first round DEs or LBs they would have come out ahead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-passed-over-in-favor-of/640515.md?page=3)