We just cannot seem to get enough of the Amateur Baseball Draft, which is why we are bringing you the fifth installment of our draft history series, this time featuring the 1969 draft.
Jeff Burroughs was taken number one overall by the Washington Senators and J.R. Richard was taken number two overall by the Houston Astros. Once again, the state with the most first-round draft picks was California. Of the 24 first-round picks, just three came from the collegiate levels.
The 1969 draft is the first in history with 24 picks in the first round as the Seattle Pilots, Montreal Expos, Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres all entered the league.
The Pilots lasted just one season, 1969, before being purchased by future Commissioner Bud Selig, who moved the team to Milwaukee in 1970. There they began play as the Brewers.
The fifth overall pick, Alan Bannister, was chosen by the California Angels and was the only first-round pick not to sign in 1969. He re-entered the draft in 1973.
Jeff Burroughs was drafted with the first pick in 1969 by the Washington Senators, making his Major League debut in the 1970 season at the age of 19 for Washington. He stayed with the franchise through its move to Texas until the 1977 season, when he became a member of the Atlanta Braves as a result of a five-for-one trade that netted the Rangers five players.
Burroughs finished his 16-year career with a .261 batting average, 240 homeruns, and 882 RBIs in 1,689 games played. Aside from Washington, Texas, and Atlanta, Burroughs also played for the Seattle Mariners, the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays. The only time he appeared in the playoffs was his final season in 1985 with the Blue Jays, who lost in the ALCS to the Kansas City Royals. Burroughs appeared in just one game, receiving one at-bat without recording a hit.
Burroughs was named to two All-Star teams (1974 and 1978) and was named the American League MVP in 1974 while still with Texas. He finished the 1974 season with a batting average of .301, 25 homeruns, a league-leading 118 RBIs, 167 hits, 33 doubles, an OBP of .397 and a slugging percentage of .901 in 152 games played.
J.R. Richard was drafted with the second pick in 1969 by the Houston Astros and did not pitch for any other team during his career. Richard had a stellar career for Houston, compiling a 107-71 record, a .601 winning percentage and an ERA of 3.15 over 10 seasons and 238 games. He started 221 games during his career, throwing 76 complete games and 19 shutouts. He completed his career with 1,493 strikeouts. He debuted in 1971 and finished his career in 1980. He was named to the National League All-Star team in 1980.
Richard never appeared in the playoffs with Houston, but was one of the better hitting pitchers of his era, belting 10 homeruns during his career and finishing with a career average of .168 and 50 RBIs. He also recorded 10 career doubles and three triples amongst his 93 career hits.
During Richard’s career, he was voted in the top ten for the National League Cy Young Award three times. He came in seventh in Cy Young voting in 1976, fourth in 1978 and third in 1979.
Twice he made the top 20 for National League MVP voting, coming in at number 17 in 1976 and at number 19 in 1979.
Richard won 20 games once (1976) and 18 games three times (1977, 1978 and 1979). From 1975 to 1980, Richard posted double-digits in wins. In 1979, Richard led the National League in ERA with a 2.71 mark. He twice led the league in strikeouts with 303 in 1978 and 313 in 1979.
Richard’s stellar career came to a tragic end at the age of 30 when he suffered a stroke while having a catch prior to an Astros game on July 30, 1980. He had to have a blood cot removed from his neck to save his life. To this day, his 313 strikeouts in 1979 is a franchise record for strikeouts in a season. His career strikeout record of 1,493 was broken in 1987.
Other notable selections from the first round of the 1969 draft include:
- Don Stanhouse: drafted 9th overall by the Oakland Athletics.
- Charlie Spikes: drafted 11th overall by the New York Yankees.
- Don Gullett: drafted 14th overall by the Cincinnati Reds.
- Roger Metzger: drafted 16th overall by the Chicago Cubs.
The next installment in our draft history series will take a look at the 1970 draft, in which catcher Mike Ivie was taken number one overall by the San Diego Padres and RHP Steve Dunning was taken number two overall by the Cleveland Indians.
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Jim is the creator and editor of At the Dish, Cinn City Sports, Life with Tony and Enzo and owner of JAVFreelancing. He coached baseball for five years, three at his former high school (Holy Cross in Delran, NJ) and two at prominent Division III program Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He has worked for the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, NJ; Metro Networks in Bala Cynwyd, PA; and was the play-by-play announcer for the Camden Riversharks of the Independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for two seasons (2007-2008) on Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM, the student-run radio station at Rowan University. Jim earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and minor in Journalism from Rowan University in 2008. While in school he was the Assistant Sports Director at WGLS for two years and the Sports Director for one year. He also covered the football, baseball, softball and both basketball teams for the school newspaper 'The Whit.' Jim lives in New Jersey with his wife Nicole, sons Tony and Enzo and dog Phoebe. He can be reached at jimvassallo@mlbdrafts.com.
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