1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft

1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft
General information
SportBaseball
DateNovember 5, 1976
Overview
60 total selections
LeagueAmerican League[a]
Expansion teamsSeattle Mariners
Toronto Blue Jays
Expansion season1977
First selectionRuppert Jones (Seattle Mariners)

The 1976 Major League Baseball Expansion draft was held November 5, 1976. This expansion draft was conducted by Major League Baseball to stock the major league rosters of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, new American League franchises established via the 1977 Major League Baseball expansion that were set to start play in the 1977 season.

Background

1977 American League expansion teams

Seattle was promised a franchise by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.[2] During the summer of 1975, there was speculation that the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, or San Francisco Giants could move to Seattle. When none of these plans proved successful, the American League added a team in Seattle. With 13 teams in a league creating scheduling problems, the league awarded a franchise to Toronto over Washington, D.C. in March 1976.

Both Seattle and Toronto had purchased or otherwise acquired a handful of players shortly before the draft, but nowhere near enough to fill a roster (or even assemble a nine-man squad). Drafted players were selected only from American League teams, in keeping with the practices of the American League expansion of 1961, the National League expansion of 1962, and the expansion of both leagues in 1969. Beginning with the next expansion, in 1993, the new teams would select players from teams in both leagues.

Danny Kaye, part-owner of the Mariners, announced the club's first selection.[3]

Draft results

Key
‡
 All-Star
Round Pick Player Position Selected from Selected by
1 1 Ruppert Jones‡ OF Kansas City Royals Seattle Mariners
1 2 Bob Bailor OF Baltimore Orioles Toronto Blue Jays
1 3 Gary Wheelock P California Angels Seattle Mariners
1 4 Jerry Garvin P Minnesota Twins Toronto Blue Jays
1 5 Bill Stein 3B Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners
1 6 Jim Clancy‡ P Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays
1 7 Dick Pole P Boston Red Sox Seattle Mariners
1 8 Gary Woods OF Oakland Athletics Toronto Blue Jays
1 9 Dan Meyer 1B Detroit Tigers Seattle Mariners
1 10 Rico Carty‡ DH Cleveland Indians Toronto Blue Jays[b]
1 11 Grant Jackson‡ P New York Yankees Seattle Mariners[c]
1 12 Butch Edge P Milwaukee Brewers Toronto Blue Jays[d]
2 13 Al Fitzmorris P Kansas City Royals Toronto Blue Jays[e]
2 14 Dave Collins OF California Angels Seattle Mariners
2 15 Alvis Woods OF Minnesota Twins Toronto Blue Jays
2 16 Frank MacCormack P Detroit Tigers Seattle Mariners
2 17 Mike Darr P Baltimore Orioles Toronto Blue Jays
2 18 Stan Thomas P Cleveland Indians Seattle Mariners
2 19 Pete Vuckovich P Chicago White Sox Toronto Blue Jays
2 20 Juan Bernhardt OF New York Yankees Seattle Mariners
2 21 Jeff Byrd P Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays
2 22 Rick Jones P Boston Red Sox Seattle Mariners
2 23 Steve Bowling OF Milwaukee Brewers Toronto Blue Jays
2 24 Glenn Abbott P Oakland Athletics Seattle Mariners
3 25 Bob Stinson C Kansas City Royals Seattle Mariners
3 26 Dennis DeBarr P Detroit Tigers Toronto Blue Jays
3 27 Carlos López OF California Angels Seattle Mariners
3 28 Bill Singer P Minnesota Twins Toronto Blue Jays
3 29 Dave Pagan P Baltimore Orioles Seattle Mariners
3 30 Jim Mason SS New York Yankees Toronto Blue Jays
3 31 Roy Thomas P Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners[f]
3 32 Doug Ault 1B Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays
3 33 Tom McMillan SS Cleveland Indians Seattle Mariners
3 34 Ernie Whitt‡ C Boston Red Sox Toronto Blue Jays
3 35 Pete Broberg P Milwaukee Brewers Seattle Mariners[g]
3 36 Mike Weathers IF Oakland Athletics Toronto Blue Jays[h]
4 37 Steve Staggs 2B Kansas City Royals Toronto Blue Jays
4 38 Steve Braun OF Minnesota Twins Seattle Mariners
4 39 Steve Hargan‡ P Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays
4 40 Leroy Stanton OF California Angels Seattle Mariners
4 41 Garth Iorg 3B New York Yankees Toronto Blue Jays[i]
4 42 Bob Galasso P Baltimore Orioles Seattle Mariners
4 43 Dave Lemanczyk‡ P Detroit Tigers Toronto Blue Jays
4 44 Steve Burke P Boston Red Sox Seattle Mariners
4 45 Larry Anderson P Milwaukee Brewers Toronto Blue Jays[j]
4 46 Joe Lis 1B Cleveland Indians Seattle Mariners
4 47 Jesse Jefferson P Chicago White Sox Toronto Blue Jays
4 48 Alan Griffin P Oakland Athletics Seattle Mariners[k]
5 49 Dave McKay IF Minnesota Twins Toronto Blue Jays
5 50 Bill Laxton P Detroit Tigers Seattle Mariners
5 51 Tom Bruno P Kansas City Royals Toronto Blue Jays
5 52 Julio Cruz 2B California Angels Seattle Mariners
5 53 Otto Velez OF New York Yankees Toronto Blue Jays
5 54 Steve Barr P Texas Rangers Seattle Mariners[l]
5 55 Mike Willis P Baltimore Orioles Toronto Blue Jays
5 56 Puchy Delgado OF Boston Red Sox Seattle Mariners
5 57 Sam Ewing OF Chicago White Sox Toronto Blue Jays
5 58 Tommy Smith OF Cleveland Indians Seattle Mariners
5 59 Leon Hooten P Oakland Athletics Toronto Blue Jays[m]
5 60 Greg Erardi P Milwaukee Brewers Seattle Mariners

Notes

  1. ^ This draft was limited to American League teams; while the American League and National League are commonly referred to collectively as Major League Baseball, across many decades, Major League Baseball has only existed as a legal entity since 2000.[1]
  2. ^ Shortly after the draft, Carty was traded by Toronto to the Cleveland Indians for Rick Cerone and John Lowenstein. Toronto later reacquired Carty, who played for them in 1978 and 1979.
  3. ^ Shortly after the draft, Jackson was traded by Seattle to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Craig Reynolds and Jimmy Sexton.
  4. ^ Edge did not make a major-league league squad until 1979.
  5. ^ Fitzmorris was immediately traded on the day of the draft by Toronto to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Alan Ashby and Doug Howard.
  6. ^ Thomas was traded by Seattle before the start of the season to the Houston Astros for infielder Larry Milbourne. Seattle later reacquired Thomas, who played for them between 1983 and 1987.
  7. ^ Broberg was traded in April (without appearing in a game for Seattle) to the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later. The Cubs later sent Jim Todd to the Mariners to complete the trade.
  8. ^ Just prior to spring training, Weathers was traded by Toronto back to Oakland for Ron Fairly.
  9. ^ Iorg did not make a major-league league squad until 1978.
  10. ^ Shortly after the draft, Anderson was sent by Toronto to the Chicago White Sox to complete an earlier deal made to obtain Phil Roof.
  11. ^ Griffin did not make Seattle's major-league squad. He played in the minors through 1978.
  12. ^ Barr did not make Seattle's major-league squad. He played in minors through 1978.
  13. ^ Hooten was released by Toronto prior to the start of the 1977 season.

References

  1. ^ Nowlin, Bill. "Did MLB Exist Before the Year 2000?". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  2. ^ "Seattle Gets Promise of Big-League Baseball". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. July 2, 1975. p. 25. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  3. ^ Holtzman, Jerome (November 13, 1997). "Expansion Draft No Joke Anymore". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
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