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1972 Major League Baseball draft

Major League Baseball draft

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
3 min read
Source updated January 23, 2024

The 1972 Major League Baseball draft took place prior to the 1972 MLB season. The draft saw the San Diego Padres select Dave Roberts first overall.

01First round selections

= All-Star = Baseball Hall of Famer

The following are the first round picks in the 1972 Major League Baseball draft.

Pick Player Team Position Hometown/School
1 Dave Roberts San Diego Padres 3B University of Oregon
2 Rick Manning Cleveland Indians SS Niagara Falls, New York
3 Larry Christenson Philadelphia Phillies RHP Marysville, Washington
4 Roy Howell Texas Rangers 3B Lompoc, California
5 Bob Goodman Montreal Expos C Memphis, Tennessee
6 Dan Thomas Milwaukee Brewers 1B Southern Illinois University
7 Larry Payne Cincinnati Reds RHP Bedias, Texas
8 Dick Ruthven Minnesota Twins RHP Fresno State University
9 Steve Englishbey Houston Astros OF Houston, Texas
10 Dave Chalk Los Angeles Angels 3B University of Texas
11 Preston Hanna Atlanta Braves RHP Pensacola, Florida
12 Mike Ondina Chicago White Sox OF Rancho Cordova, California
13 Richard Bengston New York Mets C Peoria, Illinois
14 Scott McGregor New York Yankees LHP El Segundo, California
15 Brian Vernoy Chicago Cubs LHP Westminster, California
16 Joel Bishop Boston Red Sox SS Sacramento, California
17 John Harbin Los Angeles Dodgers SS Newberry College
18 Jamie Quirk Kansas City Royals SS Whittier, California
19 Rob Dressler San Francisco Giants RHP Portland, Oregon
20 Jerry Manuel Detroit Tigers SS Rancho Cordova, California
21 Dan Larson St. Louis Cardinals RHP Alhambra, California
22 Chet Lemon Oakland Athletics SS Los Angeles
23 Dwayne Peltier Pittsburgh Pirates SS Anaheim, California
24 Ken Thomas Baltimore Orioles C Bellville, Ohio

* Did not sign

02Other notable selections

= All-Star = Baseball Hall of Famer
Round Pick Player Team Position
2 29 Ellis Valentine Montreal Expos Catcher-Outfielder
2 42 Dennis Leonard Kansas City Royals Pitcher
2 43 Bob Knepper San Francisco Giants Pitcher
2 47 John Candelaria Pittsburgh Pirates Pitcher
3 50 Dennis Eckersley Cleveland Indians Pitcher
3 53 Gary Carter Montreal Expos Catcher
3 61 Craig Swan New York Mets Pitcher
5 97 Randy Jones San Diego Padres Pitcher
7 167 Willie Randolph Pittsburgh Pirates Shortstop-Catcher
8 172 Jim Sundberg Texas Rangers Catcher
14 336 Rick Honeycutt* Baltimore Orioles Shortstop
15 353 Jason Thompson* Los Angeles Dodgers Pitcher-First Baseman
17 401 Glenn Burke Los Angeles Dodgers Outfielder
17 404 Vern Ruhle Detroit Tigers Pitcher
25 572 Mike Hargrove Texas Rangers First Baseman
26 596 Lyman Bostock Minnesota Twins Outfielder

* Did not sign

03Background

The Montreal Expos had perhaps their best draft in franchise history. The Expos grabbed outfielder Ellis Valentine in round two of the June regular phase and then selected catcher Gary Carter one round later. The Pirates also did well, selecting pitcher John Candelaria in round two and second baseman Willie Randolph in round seven.

Some of the significant picks from the regular phase in June included Dennis Eckersley and Rick Manning (Cleveland). Scott McGregor (New York Yankees) in round one. Also selected in the first round were Chet Lemon (Oakland), Larry Christenson (Philadelphia) and the number one pick, Dave Roberts (San Diego). Roberts went directly to the Padres starting third base position from the University of Oregon campus. The biggest steal was pulled off by the Texas Rangers when they selected infielder Mike Hargrove from Northwestern State University in the 25th round.

Jerry Manuel and Mike Ondina became the first pair of high school teammates to be drafted in the first round of a Major League draft. Both attended Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova, California.

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “1972 Major League Baseball draft”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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