Brian Greer--1980
The first round of the 1977 Free Agent
Draft produced 14 big leaguers out of
the 26 players selected, including Brian
Greer of the Padres.
The round was highlighted by Harold
Baines being the overall first pick,
personally plucked by White Sox owner
Bill Veeck. Joliet (IL) Catholic
right-hander Bill Gullickson was taken
second overall by the Montreal Expos;
while the Brewers grabbed future Hall of
Famer Paul Molitor with the third pick.
Brian Greer would be selected by the
Padres No. 8 overall, intrigued by his raw
power, despite having young sluggers
Dave Winfield (25 HR) and George
Hendrick (23 HR) already belting home
runs in their lineup.
After hitting just .188 in his first year of
pro ball for Walla Walla (WA) of the
Northwest League, Greer would receive
a September call-up to the join Winfield,
Hendrick and the Pads. The
right-handed slugger would fan against
Dodger hurler Dennis Lewallyn as
manager Al Dark called upon the
18-year-old to pinch hit on September
13th for his only appearance of the year.
After two minor league seasons of
striking out while flashing some power,
Greer would resurface with San Diego in
1979. Out of the race in the National
League West, manager Roger Craig
handed Greer a start on September 9
versus John Curtis and the San
Fransisco Giants.
Against the crafty lefty, Greer would
ground out to Curtis, strikeout and
ground out to the third baseman in three
at-bats. The pride of Sonora High School
in La Habra, CA would grab three more
games, twice as a defensive replacement
and once as a pinch runner, but never
again stepping into a big league batter's
box. And that was his big league career:
Five games, no hits in four at-bats of
which two were strikeouts.
Of course this shouldn't have been a
huge surprise as Greer would hit above
.250 just twice in his seven minor league
seasons, while fanning 997 times in
2,437 at-bats--- a whopping 41% of the
time. In 1982 Greer would split the
season between AA and AAA fanning a
colossal 202 times in 566 at-bats.
With the Free Agent Draft taking place
the last couple of days, most of the
attention went to the top picks and
unfortunately too many times a team's
draft is rated by how well the top pick
performs.
However, one must realize that the draft
is just a mode of dispersing players to
teams in an orderly manner. The 1977
Padres draft was not a bust with the
shortcomings of Brian Greer, after all, he
made it, which more better than 12
others selected by clubs in the first
round who didn't make the grade.
In fact, the Padres had four other players
besides Greer reach the bigs--- most
notably shortstop Ozzie Smith.
In hindsight, it really wasn't a bad draft
for the Padres. And Brian Greer got
himself on a baseball card.
Editor's Note: The big leaguers from the
Padres '77 Draft other than Greer and
Smith were: Barry Evans who served as a
utility infielder for five seasons, four with
San Diego; Ron Tingley who was traded
away, but played for nine seasons,
primarily as a backup catcher for the
Angels and Gary Weiss, who logged 22
games with the Dodgers as a backup
infielder.
(6/8/11)
Draft produced 14 big leaguers out of
the 26 players selected, including Brian
Greer of the Padres.
The round was highlighted by Harold
Baines being the overall first pick,
personally plucked by White Sox owner
Bill Veeck. Joliet (IL) Catholic
right-hander Bill Gullickson was taken
second overall by the Montreal Expos;
while the Brewers grabbed future Hall of
Famer Paul Molitor with the third pick.
Brian Greer would be selected by the
Padres No. 8 overall, intrigued by his raw
power, despite having young sluggers
Dave Winfield (25 HR) and George
Hendrick (23 HR) already belting home
runs in their lineup.
After hitting just .188 in his first year of
pro ball for Walla Walla (WA) of the
Northwest League, Greer would receive
a September call-up to the join Winfield,
Hendrick and the Pads. The
right-handed slugger would fan against
Dodger hurler Dennis Lewallyn as
manager Al Dark called upon the
18-year-old to pinch hit on September
13th for his only appearance of the year.
After two minor league seasons of
striking out while flashing some power,
Greer would resurface with San Diego in
1979. Out of the race in the National
League West, manager Roger Craig
handed Greer a start on September 9
versus John Curtis and the San
Fransisco Giants.
Against the crafty lefty, Greer would
ground out to Curtis, strikeout and
ground out to the third baseman in three
at-bats. The pride of Sonora High School
in La Habra, CA would grab three more
games, twice as a defensive replacement
and once as a pinch runner, but never
again stepping into a big league batter's
box. And that was his big league career:
Five games, no hits in four at-bats of
which two were strikeouts.
Of course this shouldn't have been a
huge surprise as Greer would hit above
.250 just twice in his seven minor league
seasons, while fanning 997 times in
2,437 at-bats--- a whopping 41% of the
time. In 1982 Greer would split the
season between AA and AAA fanning a
colossal 202 times in 566 at-bats.
With the Free Agent Draft taking place
the last couple of days, most of the
attention went to the top picks and
unfortunately too many times a team's
draft is rated by how well the top pick
performs.
However, one must realize that the draft
is just a mode of dispersing players to
teams in an orderly manner. The 1977
Padres draft was not a bust with the
shortcomings of Brian Greer, after all, he
made it, which more better than 12
others selected by clubs in the first
round who didn't make the grade.
In fact, the Padres had four other players
besides Greer reach the bigs--- most
notably shortstop Ozzie Smith.
In hindsight, it really wasn't a bad draft
for the Padres. And Brian Greer got
himself on a baseball card.
Editor's Note: The big leaguers from the
Padres '77 Draft other than Greer and
Smith were: Barry Evans who served as a
utility infielder for five seasons, four with
San Diego; Ron Tingley who was traded
away, but played for nine seasons,
primarily as a backup catcher for the
Angels and Gary Weiss, who logged 22
games with the Dodgers as a backup
infielder.
(6/8/11)
