NY Mets had 3 first round picks in an MLB Draft remembered for only one player

Thank goodness the New York Mets had the first overall pick in the 1980 MLB Draft. Losing has its consequences. In some instances, there’s a benefit. On June 3, 1980, because of all of the losing they did the year prior, the Mets were awarded with the first overall pick in the MLB Draft. A high schooler out of Los Angeles, Darryl Strawberry, was the choice and they couldn’t have nailed this one better.

Sometimes there is a bit of debate about who to take in a draft. In that year’s particular draft, there wasn’t anyone more hyped than Strawberry nor did anyone else come close to matching what he did.

Strawberry would hit 335 career home runs while becoming the all-time leader in Mets history in this statistic. He’d win a championship in 1986 and had an overdue number retirement in 2024. Rather than repeat a familiar story you already know about how important Strawberry was for the Mets, let’s look into who else went in the 1980 draft behind him.

The 1980 MLB Draft was weak after the Mets took Darryl Strawberry

Scouts have gotten a lot at evaluating amateur players. They were right with Strawberry in 1980. Everyone else in the first round wasn’t even close.

Of the first five picks in the draft, only Strawberry and Ken Dayley (third) even made it to the majors. Garry Harris (second), Mike King (fourth), and Jeff Pyburn (fifth) failed to reach MLB.

It wasn’t just those earliest picks that failed to live up to the hype. Only three other players would accumulate a WAR over 10 in their careers in the first round. Kelly Gruber at 16.4 was taken tenth overall and fell far behind the 42.1 WAR Strawberry would have in his career.

Interestingly, the worst WAR of anyone who did reach the majors from the first round of the draft belongs to Terry Francona at -3. He was taken 22nd overall and despite hitting .274 in his MLB career didn’t do enough damage to measure positively in the all-encompassing WAR statistic.

This was an especially different draft for the Mets who, along with having the first pick, were able to select 23rd and 24th. Billy Beane was the guy they took at number 23. John Gibbons came to them with the very next pick. The fact that each of them would go on to have noteworthy careers post-playing careers, Beane getting to strut around saying he was played by Brad Pitt in a movie and Gibbons putting together a fine managerial career, adds to some of the weirdness from this draft.

Later rounds did include some notable names. Future Mets infielder Tim Teufel went in the second round. Danny Tartabull was a third round selection. Walt Terrell, whom the Mets would later acquire alongside Ron Darling for Lee Mazzilli and then get traded to the Detroit Tigers for Howard Johnson, was a draft pick from the now defunct 33rd round.

It’s a good thing the Mets had the first pick and got so much out of Strawberry. Otherwise, social media would’ve been all over them back in 1980—in whatever form it existed. Graffiti on bathroom stalls? It’s classier than most of what we see on social media today.