With Wednesday night’s first-round selection of Garrett Crochet, the White Sox added immediate pitching depth to their system. The lefty out of Tennessee is the first pitcher to be taken by the team in the first round since 2016. While there are questions about his role –to start or not to start, that is the question: whether ’tis nobler in the bullpen, etc.– the Sox are clearly banking on replicating their success from 2010, while avoiding the back-to-back pitfalls of 2015 and 2016.
The White Sox, like many teams, have had a mixed bag of success over the years with their first round selections. Since the first draft in 1965, there have been 74 names, of which 47 have made the majors: some are familiar while others have fallen into the dustbin of history. Today, your memory will be put to the test: of those 74 names, how many can you fill in? Good luck!
Quiz Parameters
- I’ve allotted 15 minutes for completion attempts.
- For hints, I’ve provided the overall pick number, and the year.
Useless information to amaze, annoy, confuse, and/or confound your friends and family:
- The White Sox have had just two first-overall picks in their history, both in the 1970s: ’71 and ’77.
- By career bWAR, the top-five for the Sox: 73.7, 56, 38.5, 33.5, 28.9.
- Strangely, the White Sox have never selected second-overall. In fact, looking at the top-30 picks, the only numbers that have gone unused: 2, 27, and 30.
All data from baseballreference.com
61/74, with more of the busts from the Schueler and Williams years committed to memory than I would like to admit.
Useless knowledge department: I can spell
Ted, are you not counting the late, lamented secondary draft? Because
Very true! But no, this is just the June draft, first phase only (to clarify).
Just 24…oh boy
37. Not great. Didn’t really care about the draft til like 10 years ago. But it was enough to beat boomers 31. Chalk another one up for the bad guy!
After
37. Not enough good players on that list.
oof, wrong trout
Steve was OK, certainly not one of the worst picks in that draft, and he brought back Scott Fletcher’s first tour of duty. Just not a Hall of Famer. Way better than the 1985 pick, the 1986 pick, and a lot of the last quarter century. If the last four picks get half the value back that the 1987-90 picks did, I will be overjoyed.