Round One of the ’82 Draft

Thanks to a 38-65 record in the strike-interrupted 1981 season, the Chicago Cubs would own the first overall selection in the 1982 June amateur draft. Here is a look into the first round of the ’82 draft and the players who were selected.

1 ^st overall – Chicago Cubs select SS Shawon Dunston (Thomas Jefferson High School)
After hitting an astounding .790 during his senior season at Thomas Jefferson High in Brooklyn, the Chicago Cubs made him their first selection in the 1982 draft. Dunston accepted the Cubs $100,000 offer and quickly reported to their Gulf Coast League affiliate. The Cubs did not rush Dunston and he would make his major league debut in 1985 after three and a half years in the minor leagues.

Dunston stayed with the Cubs until the end of the 1995 season, when he signed a free agent contract with the San Francisco Giants. During his first stint in the Windy City, Dunston was named a two-time all-star. He returned to the Cubs for the 1997 season but finished the year with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He spent the latter part of his career mainly as a utility player in stints with the Indians, Cardinals, Mets, and two more rounds with the Giants before taking his final at-bat in 2002. He finished his career with a .269 average, 150 home runs, and 212 stolen bases in over 1800 games.

2 ^nd overall – Toronto Blue Jays select SS Augie Schmidt – (University of New Orleans)
The Jays selected Schmidt after a highly successful collegiate career, which was cumulated with him winning the Golden Spikes Award for amateur baseball’s player of the year in the ‘82 season, after posting a line of .372-14-56. However, Schmidt’s on-field success seemed to stay in New Orleans, as he struggled once inside the Blue Jay organization. Schmidt was traded to the Giants after the 1984 season, and was released by them at the end of the season. He spent one more year with the Twins organization but he would hang up his cleats during the 1986 season, when he hit just .226 in Single-A.

Schmidt would then join the coaching staff at Carthage College as an assistant for the 1987 season. One year later, he was named the program’s head coach, a title he still holds today. He has won the NCAA Division III Central Regional Coach Of The Year nine times and entering the 2010 season, he is one victory shy of 700 for his career.

3 ^rd overall – San Diego Padres select RHP Jimmy Jones (Thomas Jefferson High School)
Jones was a dominate pitcher at Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas, TX and he cemented his status as a potential top-end major league starter when he struck out 28 batters in a 16 inning Texas High School Baseball playoff game; a game in which he threw over 250 pitches.

He started out his major league career well enough in September of 1986, when he threw a one-hit shutout against the Houston Astros, becoming the first pitcher to do so in his debut game since Juan Marchial in 1960. After two more decent seasons in San Diego, he was dealt to the Yankees in a trade which saw Jack Clark become a Padre. After two seasons with the Yankees, he signed as a free agent with Houston, where he spent two more years. He wrapped up his career with Montreal in 1993.

Jones finished his career with a 43-39 record in 153 games. His best season came as a member of the Astros in 1992, when he went 10-6 with a 4.07 ERA. In 2009, he became the pitching coach of the Arizona Fall League’s Padres, a position that he still holds.

4 ^th overall – Minnesota Twins select LHP Bryan Oelkers (Wichita State)
The Minnesota Twins decided to take Oelkers after he had one of the best collegiate seasons by in a pitcher in 1982 as a junior at Wichita State. Oelkers had a total W-L record of 18-2 with a 2.07 ERA in 156 1/3 innings. After a short stint in the minor leagues, the Twins promoted Oelkers to Minneapolis, where he became the first Spainish-born player to play in the major leagues. However, his 1983 stint with the Twins was fairly ugly. He failed to win a game in 8 starts (0-5), while posting an astronomical ERA of 8.65.

After the season, the Twins sent Oelkers down to the minors in hopes of getting him back on track, but in the 1986 offseason, they ended up sending him off to Cleveland. After a good stint with the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate, he was promoted to the big club for the remainder of the ’86 season, where he went 3-3 with a 4.70 in 35 games, mainly out of the bullpen. However, that would be the last time Oelkers would play on a major-league diamond. He failed to make the Indians roster in 1987 and he bounced around in the minor leagues with various organizations until his retirement in 1989.
5 ^th overall – New York Mets select RHP Dwight Gooden (Hillsborough High School)
The New York Mets were delighted to see Dwight Gooden still on the board when it became their turn to make a selection. The senior from Hillsborough High School in Tampa, FL, possessed a mid-90s fastball and struck out 130 batters in 74 innings during his final season in high school. Then, Gooden turned heads in the Mets’ front office when, in his first full season of professional baseball during 1983, he went 19-4 in Single-A Lynchburg, striking out 267 in only 191 innings of work. That performance earned him a spot on the ’84 Mets Opening Day roster.

Gooden emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball during his first two seasons in the Big Apple. In ’84, he won the NL’s Rookie of the Year award (17-9, 2.60) and the very next season, he took home Cy Young honors (24-4, 1.53) while leading the league in wins and ERA. However, shortly after, Gooden career began to take a few turns as he battled injuries and drug addiction, which included a stint in a rehab center in 1987. Despite some personal problems, Gooden still turned in a solid career, which saw him win 194 games and be named to the all-star team four times. He was also a member of three World Series winning squads.

Picks 6 through 10
An all-tournament shortstop at the 1982 College World Series with the University of Texas, Spike Owenwas selected 6 ^th overall by the Seattle Mariners. The switch-hitting, slick-fielding infielder put together a solid 13-year career with five different ball teams, a career which saw him accumulate 1,211 hits. The Pittsburgh Pirates made it back-to-back shortstops when they selected California high-schooler Sam Khalifa. He played 164 games over three seasons with the Pirates, during which he became the first Egyptian-born player to don a major league uniform. Pitcher Bob Kipperwent 7 ^th overall to the California Angels and went on to spend eight seasons in the majors, a majority with Pittsburgh. After his career, Kipper coached in the minor leagues and even spent the 2002 season as the bullpen coach for the Boston Red Sox.

The Atlanta Braves took hard-throwing high-schooler Duane Wardwith the 9 ^th overall pick. In the Atlanta system, he struggled to move up quickly and after a short, non-successful start with the Braves in 1986, he was dealt to the Toronto Blue Jays fro pitcher Doyle Alexander. With the Jays, Ward found his niche in the bullpen. After spending many years as a top-tier setup man to Tom Henke, he moved into the closer’s role in 1993, when he saved 45 games and helped the Jays achieve the second half of their back-to-back title run. Ward would later run into arm troubles and would have to retire in 1995, after pitching in 452 games in nine seasons for the Blue Jays.

The Royals wrapped up the top 10 by selecting outfielder John Morrisout of Seton Hall. Morris debuted in the majors during the 1986 season and spent seven years as a backup outfielder, primarily with the Cardinals. He retired with a career .236 batting average in 402 career games.

The Rest of the Round
Two other notables were selected in the first round of the 1982 amateur draft. The Red Sox used the 16 ^th overall pick on 6’5” first baseman Sam Horn. In 1987, Horn displayed tremendous power as a rookie, hitting 14 home runs in only 158 at bats. However, he never could expand on those rookie numbers and after his final at-bat in the major leagues in 1995, Horn left with 62 jacks in 1,040 at bats. After a playing stint in Taiwan, Horn returned to New England, where he now works analyzes Red Sox games at NESN.

Future Dodger and Cardinal closer Todd Worrell was also selected in the first round; 21 ^st overall by St. Louis. In an eleven-year career, Worrell posted 256 saves over 617 appearances. His best year was arguably in 1986, when in his second season with the Cardinals, he saved 36 games while posting an ERA of 2.08.

Four other players selected in the fourth round became major league regulars. Catcher John Russell (13 ^th overall, Philadelphia), appeared as a back-up catcher for 10 major seasons with the Phillies, Braves, and Rangers. Ron Karkovice (14 ^th overall, Chicago AL), collected 2,597 at-bats as a catcher for the White Sox in a career that spanned 12 seasons. Franklin Stubbs (19 ^th overall, Los Angeles), hit 23 home runs in two different seasons in a career which saw him wear four different uniforms in 10 years. Former Milwaukee Brewer manager Dale Sveum was selected as a shortstop by the Brewers with the 26 ^th overall pick. He appeared in 862 games over a 12-year career with seven different major league teams.