Baseball’s amateur draft, born in 1965, is one of the toughest drafts to predict each year. Players drafted in any round could turn out to be a franchise player or one of the biggest busts in the history of the game; there is just no way of knowing prior to calling that player’s name on draft day. This is our second installment in a series of articles analyzing the top two picks in each year’s draft. Today we are taking a look at the 1966 draft, which featured the New York Mets picking number one overall and the Kansas City Athletics picking second overall.

The Mets went with catcher Steve Chilcott from Lancaster, California and the Athletics went with outfielder Reggie Jackson from Arizona State. With the first pick in the 1966 draft, the Mets had the opportunity to take a promising outfielder from the collegiate ranks but instead chose a catcher out of high school. Jackson would wind up playing in New York but not for the Mets. [Read more…]