It was actually his second dinger in a row, if you count his final AB for the Cubs Iowa triple-A club. Chicago signed Soler to a nine-year $30 million deal back in 2012, so they hope this will be a taste of things to come.

Howeve,r when one scans the list of those who went yard in their first AB it becomes a apparent that such a distinction is no guarantee of future success. In fact for 23 of the 116 to accomplish the feat before Soler it was their only MLB long ball.  56 — almost half — were never able to get to double digits for home runs for their career.

Soler, who was ranked among baseball’s top 50 prospects, will almost surely top ten taters when all is said and done. Here is a list of some of the notable major leaguers who also started their career the best way possible.

Gary Gaetti
The third baseman is the all-time leader in home runs among the first at-bat club with 360. He’s also a two-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and was a key member of the 1987 World Champion Minnesota Twins.

Starlin Castro
Soler doesn’t have to look far to find another player who shares his thrill of making the ultimate MLB introduction. Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro went deep in his first at-bat in 2010. He’s had an up-and-down career since, but is still young enough to reach his almost limitless potential.

Earl Averill
Averill was a 27-year old rookie for the Cleveland Indians when he accomplished the feat in 1929. He was then able to pack enough punch in his 13-year career to make the Hall of Fame via the Veterans Committee.

Hoyt Wilhelm
Not only was his first AB dinger his only home run, but Wilhelm batted a dismal .088 during his 21-year career. Of course Wilhelm was known for his knuckleball, which landed him in the Hall of Fame.

Carlos Lee
With 358 taters, the three-time all-star almost topped Gaetti for most home runs for a player who homered in his first at-bat. Lee hasn’t played since 2012, but is still just 38. Maybe he can come back and claim the crown.

Jermaine Dye
At one point, Dye looked like he’d be a sure bet to beat Gaetti’s mark. The left fielder hit his 325th home run in 2009, a season in which he had 27 long balls. He was only 35 at the time, but — inexplicably — never played another game after that, freezing his total at 325.

Will Clark
While the six-time All-Star was best known for his liners into the gaps, he was a pretty good power hitter at the beginning his career, which had started with a home run.

Jurickson Profar
Profar, an even bigger prospect than Soler, justified his status in his first at bat in 2012. It’s been a struggle since then for the Rangers infielder.

Starling Marte
Another prospect who entered the league with a bang in 2012, Marte has been quite good since then. Although he’s not that much of a power hitter.

Kevin Kouzmanoff and Daniel Nava
The modern duo are the only two players in MLB history to hit a grand slam on the first pitch they saw. Can’t do any better than that.

Mark Worrell
The most unlikely member of the club, relief pitcher Worrell gave up 13 earned runs during his 7.2 inning big league career. He somehow also accumulated two at-bats, and hit a round tripper in his first.

Jason Heyward
Although his power numbers are down the last couple years, the Braves 24-year old right fielder is our best bet to top Gaetti’s mark. Although Cubs fans can now start pulling for Soler to beat him to it.

But for the purposes of this article, we’re going to focus on those who have made the Hall of Fame as players, including the stellar 2014 class of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Frank Thomas. (One could argue that Torre should have already made the Hall as a player, but that’s for another day.)

While Cooperstown’s latest trio of players were all no-doubt first-balloters, there have been some swings and misses among the 211 men who have been enshrined in Cooperstown for their play on the field. The website Hall of Stats does a good job of breaking down the discrepancy between those who were the greatest players in MLB history based on the advanced stats we have now, and those who have actually been elected to the Hall.

Below are five players who have no business in Cooperstown. They aren’t necessarily the most egregious cases, but they are among the most fascinating.

Jim Rice Inducted in 2009 on the 15th ballot
It took the maximum 15 ballots for Rice to get into the Hall without the help of the Veterans Committee. (Interestingly, the Hall of Fame shrunk the number of years a player can be eligible for regular induction from 15 to 10 in 2014.) If you were a baseball fan in the late seventies to the middle of the eighties you remember Rice, the 1978 AL MVP winner, as one of the most feared sluggers in baseball. However, Rice ceased to be much of a power threat by his 33rd birthday, and his counting stats — 382 home runs, 2452 hits, and 1451 RBIs — are really good, but none are Hall of Fame clinchers. Even during the eight or so years Rice was one of the top offensive players in the league, his poor defense in left  — the easiest position on the field to play — weighed down his total value. He also spent about 20 percent of his career playing DH. Rice’s career WAR of 47.4 ranks him 206 all time, so his induction isn’t that bad. But for our money, he wasn’t as good as his contemporary Don Mattingly, whose career also ended early, and who has never even sniffed the Hall in the voting.

Lloyd Waner 1967 Veterans Committee
Lloyd Waner accumulated 2549 hits during his career, good for 109th place all-time, but not nearly good enough for induction to Cooperstown on its own. And that’s when things get baffling. Besides that relatively unimpressive hit number, there is nothing in Waner’s profile that suggests he should even be mentioned in the same paragraph as the Hall of Fame. Waner had no power and rarely walked. Even though he had a .316 career batting average he was slightly below average for his career in .OPS. Speed? He didn’t have much. Defense? He played an above average center field, but nothing too special. His career WAR of 24.1 is lower than what Mike Trout has been able to put up in less than three years! What Waner did have going for him was his last name. His older brother Paul — “Big Poison” to his “Little Poison” — was a legit Hall of Famer. We’re thinking it was sentimentality that led the Veterans Committee voters to unite both Waner bros. in the Hall. It really couldn’t be anything else.

Catfish Hunter 1987 on the third ballot
Lloyd Waner had a good last name, and James “Catfish” Hunter had a cool nickname. Why even Bob Dylan wrote the song “Catfish” about the right-hander. Having a snappy moniker must have helped Hunter make the Hall because his stats certainly don’t warrant it. Sure he won at least 21 games between 1971 and 1975, pitching for dominate teams in Oakland and New York. But if you take away that stretch he was actually a below average pitcher, in terms of ERA. In fact, even including that run, his career ERA+ is 104, meaning he was only four percent better than the average pitcher. Hunter supporters would point out his postseason success — five World Series rings and nine postseason wins. However, his post-season ERA of 3.26 is exactly the same of his average-for-the-era regular season ERA. Hunter was simply a really good player who had a great nickname and played on even greater teams. We don’t necessarily support Jack Morris for the Hall. But we’d take him over Hunter, who somehow got in on the third ballot.

Bill Mazeroski 2001 Veterans Committee 
Bill Mazeroski is the only player to ever hit a walk-off home run in a World Series Game 7. It was a Hall of Fame moment if there ever was one. Mazeroski, however, has no business being in the Hall of Fame as a player. Not that he was a bad player — the second baseman was an eight-time Gold Glove winner and today’s advanced metrics rate him as an excellent fielder. However, outside of the 1960 World Series, he just wasn’t much of a hitter, with his 84 OPS+ indicating that he was 16 percent worse than average at the plate over his career. He also didn’t stick around long enough to put up any counting stats of note.  It’s a travesty that Mazeroski is the Hall when far-superior second baseman Lou Whitaker got so few votes during his first-year eligible that he was removed from the ballot.

Lou Brock 1985 first ballot
Despite Whitaker’s exclusion from Cooperstown, there is one Lou in the Hall. And we’re not going to be too tough on the voters for inducting Lou Brock. The speedster’s 3023 hits pass the magic 3000 mark, and he retired the all-time leader in stolen bases. He also had great postseason stats and two World Series rings. But other than that, Brock was a whole bunch of “meh.” Sure he stole a lot of bases, but he also got caught a lot.  His career stolen base percentage of 75 is below the 80 percent which is now acknowledged as making a steal attempt worthwhile. He was a really bad left-fielder, despite his speed.  Although he had some nice pop for a leadoff type he wasn’t a great on-base guy with a career OPS only nine percent above average. His career WAR of 45.2 is just 236 best all-time. There is no way Brock should be in the Hall (and a first balloter!) when 69.1 career WAR Tim Raines — who stole almost as many bases as Brock and did so much more efficiently — remains on the outside looking in.

Kershaw’s was the longest scoreless inning streak since Brandon Webb fired off 42 straight in 2007. Remember Webb? He won a Cy Young for the Diamondbacks in 2006 and then followed it up with two runners up before arm trouble ended his career at age 30.

Webb’s streak was tied for the 13th longest in big league history, making Kershaw’s run of excellence the 15th best. The top ten longest scoreless innings streaks of all-time are below.

10. R.A. Dickey 44.2 New York Mets 2012
2012 was the year of Dickey, with the 37-year old knuckleballer snagging the NL Cy Young. His scoreless streak lasted for much of June and included three shutouts. After giving up five runs in the game that ended the streak, Dickey pitched eight shutout innings in his next start.

7. Sal Maglie 45 New York Giants 1950
A late bloomer who also banned from baseball for five years for jumping to the Mexican league, Maglie’s first full season came in 1950, when he was already 33. He made up for lost time by firing off a 45 inning scoreless streak which started in a complete game in which he gave up seven runs early and included three relief pitching appearances between his regular starts.

7. Doc White 45 Chicago White Sox 1904
Deadball era pitcher Doc White’s 1.78 ERA was only third best in the American League in 1904. His 45 inning scoreless streak during the season was the best, however he had to share the honor with a pitcher who had a much more famous name.

7. Cy Young 45 Boston Americans 1904
That would be Cy Young, the pitcher whom all other hurlers are compared to. The 511 game winning ace also posted 45 straight zeros in 1904, stealing White’s thunder.

6. Carl Hubbell 45.1 New York Giants 1933
Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell did Young and White ⅓ an inning better in 1933. The screwballing lefty had three shutouts during his streak and, like Maglie, also made relief appearances between his regular starts. Baseball was different back then.

5. Bob Gibson 47 St. Louis Cardinals 1968
One could make the case that Bob Gibson 1968 season was the best ever for a pitcher. In addition to his 1.12 ERA and league leading 268 Ks, Gibson pitched five straight shutouts during his June scoreless streak. He had 13 shutouts overall in that year.

4. Jack Coombs 53 Philadelphia A’s 1910
Big jump from Gibson to Coombs, who completely dominated all of 1910 with his 1.30 ERA, 31 wins and 224 Ks. He didn’t give up a home run the entire season and led the A’s to a World Series win with three victories in the Fall Classic.

3. Walter Johnson 55.2 Washington Senators 1913
Coombs scoreless streak record only lasted three years and it should have been no surprise that Walter Johnson was the one to break it. The Big Train had an all-time record 110 career shutouts and had a 38-26 record 1-0 games. Both his wins and lose totals in such games are big league records.

2. Don Drysdale 58 Los Angeles Dodgers 1968
1968 was the year of the pitcher. So much that the baseball lowered the mound for 1969. Drysdale’s contribution to the historic season was his 58 inning scoreless streak, which included six straight shutouts. 1968 was also Drysdale’s swan song; arm troubled ended his Hall of Fame career in 1969 at age 32.

1. Orel Hershiser 59 Los Angeles Dodgers 1988
Twenty years later, another Dodger broke Drysdale’s legendary record. Hershiser’s streak included five shutouts and then a ten scoreless innings’ no-decision during his last start of the season. Although he was scored upon in the postseason, he pitched (and hit) well enough to be the 1988 World Series MVP.

Nolan Ryan holds the record for most strikeouts in a no-hitter with 17, however he walked four in that game. Matt Cain and Sandy Koufax, the lefty Kershaw is often compared to, have both stuck out 14 batters in a perfect game.

All these performances are among the ten best pitcher games of all-time, which we’ve listed below.

10. Juan Marichal Giants, 16 innings, 10 Ks July 2, 1963, 1-0 vs. Braves
He gave up 12 base runners (8 hits and 4 walks), but Marichal almost pitched the equivalent of two complete game shutouts because that’s what it took to get the win. Three years later the Giants ace would pitch 14 shutout innings in a 1-0 victory.

9. Brandon Marrow Toronto, shutout, 1 hit, 2 BBs 17 Ks August 8, 2010, 1-0 vs. Rays
While Marrow has always had the arm to be a dominating ace, he’s 42-42 with a 4.28 ERA for his career. He put it all together on this August night against the Rays.

8. Don Larson New York Yankees, perfect game 7 Ks, October 8, 1956, 2-0 vs. Dodgers
Larson gets extra credit because his perfect game comes in the World Series. He only had seven Ks, meaning he had to rely on his defense and a little luck to achieve his historic feat. He did help keep his fielders on their toes by only throwing 97 pitches

7. Randy Johnson Diamondbacks, perfect game, 13 Ks May 18 2004, 2-0 vs Braves
Johnson, who had thrown a no-hitter 14 years earlier, became at age 40 the oldest player to pitch a perfect game. Johnson threw 117 pitches and after the game said he only shook off his catcher Robby Hammock “two or three times.” The closest the Braves came to a hit was a slow roller that pitcher Mike Hampton almost beat out.

6. Nolan Ryan Angels, no-hitter, 17 Ks, 4 BB, July 15, 1973, 6-0 vs. Tigers
Nolan Ryan threw a record seven no-hitters. He also had a pair of no-hitters in which he had 14 Ks and two walks (including one as a 43-year old), but we’re going to credit the extra 3 Ks more than we are going to detract the two extra walks. 5. Matt Cain Giants, perfect game, 14 Ks, June 13, 2012, 10-0 vs. Astros
Cain surpassed his career high of 12 strikeouts in throwing the 22nd perfect game in major league history. He was also the first player to score a run while throwing a perfect game. Left fielder Melky Cabrera made a nice running grab in front of the wall in the sixth inning and center fielder Gregor Blanco made a hit-saving diving catch in the seventh.

4. Harvey Haddix Pirates 12.2 innings, 1 H, 1BB 8 Ks, May 26, 1959 vs. Braves
Harvey Haddix pitched a perfect game for 12 innings. Then he lost in the thirteenth, an inning that began with an error, then an intentional walk, and finally the Braves first hit, a run scoring, game-ending double. “All I know is that we lost,” Haddix said after the game. “What’s so historic about that? Didn’t anyone else ever lose a thirteen inning shutout?”

3. Clayton Kershaw Dodgers, no-hitter, 15 Ks, 0 BB, June 18, 2014, 8-0 vs. Rockies
Rameriez, who made the error, almost didn’t start because one of the fingers on his throwing hand was dinged up. He was replaced for defense after his bad throw allowed the only base runner Kershaw gave up.

2. Sandy Koufax Dodgers, perfect game, 14 Ks, September 9, 1965, 1-0 vs. Cubs
The one perfect effort among Koufax’s five no-hitters came in 1-0 game with his Dodgers a game out of first place. They would go on to win the pennant and the World Series, making his amazing September day even more significant.

1. Kerry Wood Cubs, 1 hitter, 20 Ks, May 6, 1998, 2-0 vs. Astros
Wood was a rookie when he threw his signature game and the best pitching performance in the history of baseball. He struck-out the first five batters he faced and the only base runners he allowed were on an infield single and a hit batsman. He would throw 122 pitches, and Wood’s pitch count as a rookie became an issue the next year when he blew out his arm. Although he had an admirable 14 year career he would never be the same type of pitcher.

The baseball world is buzzing about the amazing throw Oakland left fielder Yoenis Cespedes made last night against the Angles. With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Mike Trout ripped a double down the left field line. Cespedes beats the ball to the wall, but doesn’t field it cleanly, knocking it into foul territory. Howie Kendrick was on first, and Cespedes’ bobble seemingly granted him safe passage to home.

Seemingly. After picking up the ball, Cespedes throws an improbably 300 feet plus strike to catcher Derek Norris, nicking Kendrick at the plate and preserving the tie. (The Angels would go on to win in extra innings.)

Some are saying it’s the best throw they’ve ever seen. And we might agree. But here’s ten other spectacular throws to add a bit of perspective. They are unranked because great throws are like snowflakes; each brilliant in it’s own unique way.

Ellis Valentine Ellis Valentine had the strongest arm of the seventies and a nickname — The Human Howitzer — befitting such a distinction. While runners rarely took an extra base when the ball was headed his way, when they did Valentine proved he was more than just hype.

Ichiro Suzuki
When Ichiro broke into the league in 2001 he was a sensation at the plate, on the base paths and in right field. Just ask Terrance Long, who tried to first-to-third the cannon-armed Japanese import and paid the price. It was plays like these which made Suzuki the second player to ever win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same year.

Yasiel Puig Cespedes isn’t the only Cuban with a cannon. Human highlight (and lowlight) reel Yasiel Puig seems to uncork a dozy of a throw every few days. In this one he nails Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who also knows a thing or two about having a ridiculously strong arm.

Bo Jackson It would be hard to call Cespedes’ throw the best ever after seeing this Bo Jackson strike from a deeper part of left field, which nailed Harold Reynolds at the plate even though he had been moving from first on a hit-and- run. The throw is so good it even has a name (“The Throw”) and a short documentary feature.

Vladimir Guerrero He didn’t wear batting gloves, could hit any pitch his bat could reach, and he regularly uncorked laser beams from right field with a goofy, exaggerated throwing motion. That was Vlad Guerrero, one of the most unconventional players in baseball history. And it wasn’t a good idea to run on him.

Joe Ferguson
Joe Ferguson was primarily a catcher, but he was playing right field for the Dodgers in the 1974 World Series against the As. He had an agreement with center fielder Jimmy Wynn that he would jump in front of him and use his cannon backstop arm if the situation arose. Here their plan works perfectly, and Sal Bando pays the price at the plate.

Jeff Francoeur “Frenchy’s” anemic offense performance and all-around Sabermetric unfriendly game have made him a bit of a punchline. But there is no questioning the man’s arm, as Jhonny Peralta can tell you.

Roberto Clemente Clemente’s all-time best 260 right field assists are 74 more than second place. It’s a wonder he got any , since his reputation was such that nobody would ever run him. For example, this wise decision made in the 1971 World Series.

Rick Ankiel We all know the story of Ankiel; a promising pitcher who completely lost the strike zone and then reinvented himself as a serviceable center fielder. He was actually a lot more than just serviceable on defense, and never seemed to have a problem throwing strikes from the outfield.

Jose Guillen This is our pick for the greatest throw of all-time. The play starts off pretty goofy — Guillen mis-judges Neifi Perez’s drive and it almost bounces off his head Jose Canseco-style. He recovers the ball and then uncorks the most majestic of throws. One that seems to defy the laws of physics by gaining speed as it flies toward third base. A mutant throw, indeed.

Over the last few weeks Chisenhall has put himself on the radar with his unexpectedly good offense, and now leads the American League with his .385 batting average. While the 25-year old’s “once in a lifetime” day on Monday ranks among the best in Major League history, it doesn’t quite crack the top ten. (We’d put him right at 11.) Those incredible games are listed below, with stats expressed box score style (ABs/Runs/Hits/RBIs.)

10. Willie Mays Giants 5/4/4/8, 4 HRs, April 30 1961 vs. Braves
The Hall of Famer had the best game of his career in the Giants 14-4 win over the Braves. His rival for sixties offensive supremacy Hank Aaron also had himself a day, slugging two homers and driving in all four of the Braves runs.

9. Mike Schmidt Phillies 6/4/5/8, 4 HRs, April 17,1976 vs. Cubs
With Steve Carlton and Rick Reuschel on the mound, this one looked to be a pitchers duel. But the Wrigley wind can humble even the sharpest ace, and played a role in Schmidt’s historic game. After a fly out and a single, Schmidt slammed four straight home runs, including a two run shot in the top of the tenth which clinched a 18-16 victory and one of the wildest game’s in MLB history.

8. Fred Lynn Red Sox 6/4/5/10, 3 HRs, 1 3B June 18, 1975 vs. Detroit
In 1975 Fred Lynn would become the first player to win both Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same year. Along the way he had one of the finest games in MLB history, smashing three dingers and driving in ten in the Red Sox 15-1 romp of the Tigers. His one out on his incredible day was a hard line drive to the second baseman.

7. Jim Bottomley Cardinals 6/3/6/12, 2 HRs, 1 2b September 16, 1924 vs. Brooklyn
Hall of Famer Jim Bottomley had himself a pretty good month in day, driving in 12 of the 17 runs St. Louis scored in their 17-3 stomping of the Brooklyn Robins.

6. Joe Adcock Braves 5/5/5/7, 4 HRs, 1 2b vs. Brooklyn
The Braves first baseman posted a second-best-ever 18 total bases in Milwaukee’s 15-7 win over the Dodgers. Hall of famer Eddie Matthews also hit two homers in the game.

5. Tony Lazzeri Yankees, 5/5/4/11, 3 HRs, 1 3B, 1BB May 24, 1936 vs. As
Lazzeri was batting eighth when he set the American League record for RBIs in a game during the Bronx Bombers 25-2 destruction of the As. Lazzeri had actually given his manager a pretty good reason to move him up in the lineup the day before, slugging three homers and driving in five in a double header. He would only have 14 homers for the year.

4. Josh Hamilton Rangers 5/4/5/8, 4 HRs, 1 2B May 8, 2012 vs. Orioles
When Hamilton is hot, he’s hot. And the Rangers slugger was smoldering in the Rangers 10-3 victory over Baltimore. Each of his four home runs was two run shot — Elvis Andrus was on on first base each time. His double was a drive to the right field gap in his third at-bat. Hamilton initially thought he had put that one out too, but it turned to out there was a bit too much top spin for it to leave the yard.

3. Gil Hodges Dodgers 6/5/5/9, 4 HRs vs. Braves Autust 31, 1950
The Dodgers were in the midst of a pennant race when Hodges went off, slamming his first homer against Hall of Famer Warren Spahn and then adding three more. The slugger had been in a 13 game homer-less drought, but ended it in a big way.

2. Mark Whiten Cardinals, 5/4/4/12, 4 HRs, September 7, 1993 vs. Reds
“Hard Hittin'” Mark Whiten lived up to his name in St. Louis 15-2 win over Cincinnati. The center fielder blasted four dingers and tied a major league record with 12 RBIs. It was the second game of a doubleheader, and Whiten had already had an RBI in the first, making him all-time leader in runs driven in for a calender day.

1. Shawn Green Dodgers 6/6/6/7, 4 HRs, 1 2B, May 23, 2002 vs. Brewers
Green, who had got off to a slow start in 2002, went nuts in LA’s 16-3 win over Milwaukee, setting a major league record with 19 total bases. He got his chance to tie the Major League record for homers in a game thanks to Adrian Beltre, who smashed a dinger with two outs in the top of the ninth, bringing Green to the plate.

On Friday, Price hit Big Papi in the back with a 94 MPH fastball. It was the first time the Rays ace had faced the Sox slugger since Game 2 of the ALDS, in which Ortiz took Price deep twice and spent a good deal of time admiring his second blast.

Later in Friday’s game Red Sox pitcher Brandon Workman retaliated by throwing behind Rays star Evan Longaria. On Tuesday MLB suspended Workman six games but declined to punish Price.

In Friday’s post game press conference Ortiz accused Price of “acting like a little girl.” The All-Stars then patched things up in a phone conversation. However Ortiz hit out at Price again on Tuesday, while blasting the league office for only suspending Workman.

 “I don’t think what they’re doing is fair,” Ortiz said. “I think the rules should be for everybody. We didn’t start this up. I didn’t hit nobody. Workman didn’t hit anybody in the first inning. [Price] did.”

“I’m not going to get hit again,” he continued. “Not by him. He did it on purpose. He punked me, and that’s very disrespectful. I’m a grown-ass man. To come back and do what he did [Friday night], I think it was some punk ass s—.”

The Red Sox and Rays, who are both struggling mightily this year, face off ten more times. Assuming Price is still with the team — and if the Rays don’t get it together the free-agent-to-be is a prime trade candidate — those will be some interesting match ups. We’ve already discussed baseball best teammate fights. Check out the game’s most notorious intrasquad feuds below.

Roger Clemens vs. Mike Piazza

Going into the 2000 World Series, Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens and Mets catcher Mike Piazza had history; Piazza had taken Clemens deep in three straight games and the Rocket responded by hitting Piazza in the head. In the first inning of Game Two of the Fall Classic, Clemens sawed off Piazza’s bat on what was a foul ball. Part of the bat’s barrel skidded toward Clemens, who then angrily threw it at Piazza, who was heading for first base. The two men menacingly walked toward each other and the benches cleared, although no punches were thrown. Clemens later claimed he was tossing the shard to a ball boy, but the video evidence suggests otherwise. As for Piazza, he said that after the World Series, which the Yankees won in five, he took karate lessons to be ready for his next confrontation with Clemens. He ultimately decided against violence because Clemens was “a really big guy.” And a really angry one, too.

Omar Vizquel vs. Jose Mesa
Some things are supposed to remain in the locker room. Omar Vizquel broke that cardinal rule of sports when he wrote in his 2003 autobiography that he blamed former Indians teammate Jose Mesa for blowing the 1997 World Series. The already volatile closer was none-too-pleased and promised he would throw at the shortstop whenever they squared off in the future. “Even my little boy told me to get him. If I face him 10 more times, I’ll hit him 10 times. I want to kill him,” Mesa explained. Almost true to his word, he would face Vizquel three more times and would hit him twice.

Michael Barrett and A.J. Pierzinski

Catchers Barrett and Pierzinski both had reputations for being difficult characters, so it wasn’t that big of a surprise when they squared off in a 2006 interleague Chicago Derby. It started when Pierzinski, who had tagged up from third on a sacrifice fly and beat the throw home, bowled over his fellow backstop, who was waiting for the ball and blocking the plate. Then A.J. gathered himself and dramatically slapped home. This was too much for Barrett, who slugged Pierzinski in the jaw, knocking him backward and sparking an all-out bench clearing brawl. Piernzinski ended up on top of Barrett, and when the umpires finally cleared the melee he walked off the field raising his arms like a professional wrestler, much to the delight of the Comiskey Park crowd.

Juan Marichal and John Roseboro
Giants pitcher Juan Marichal clubbing Dodgers catcher John Roseboro with his bat is one of the most notorious images in baseball history. The Giants and Dodgers had been bitter rivals, and there had already been bad blood between Marichal and Roseboro before the incident. Earlier in the game, which was in the thick of the 1965 pennant race, Marichal had flattened Dodger shortstop Pee Wee Reese on the base paths. So when he next came to bat Sandy Koufax moved him off the plate with a fastball. When Roseboro buzzed Marichal’s ear with his return throw the ace went nuts. He would eventual strike Roseboro in the side of the head, opening a bloody wound. Giants centerfielder Willie Mays, a good friend of Roseboro’s, rushed in to protect his buddy from his teammate.  Roseboro wasn’t seriously injured, despite all the blood, and he and Marichal would put the battery behind them and became friends. In fact, when Marichal came up short on his first two Hall of Fame ballots Roseboro lobbied on his behalf, telling voters they shouldn’t hold the ugly scene in 1965 against the 243 game winner, who was eventually inducted.

Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb
The feud between Babe Ruth was as philosophical as it was personal. “Anyone can hit a home run if they try,” Cobb sneered in 1920 when asked about Ruth, whose unprecedented home runs totals were taking baseball out of its dead ball period which the speedy Cobb had dominated. “It’s a brute way to approach the game.” Cobb, notoriously racist, would also get on Ruth for his perceived black features. Ruth returned the favor by insulting Cobb whenever his name was mentioned. It all came to a head during a game in 1924 when Cobb, the Tigers player/manager, had one of his pitchers throw at Ruth multiple times. Ruth finally had enough, pointing out to Cobb in center field. It looked for a moment like the two legends would square off mano-a-mano. They didn’t. However later in the inning a hit batsman sparked a 25 minute all-out brawl which had fans spilling onto the field to get in on the action. Ruth and Cobb would never become friends.

Whenever a baseball team makes a big trade fans hold their breath. “Will this one come back to haunt us?” Here are a collection of trades that certainly have fans wondering what could have been. Read on for the ten worst trades in baseball history.

Number 10: Phillies trade Larry Bowa and Ryne Sandberg to the Cubs for Ivan de Jesus
The Philadelphia Phillies were one of the better teams in baseball throughout the late seventies and into the early eighties. But their star-studded lineup was starting to get old and after the 1981 season they decided to flip their longtime shortstop, five time all-star Larry Bowa, to the Cubs for shortstop Ivan de Jesus. De Jesus wasn’t as accomplished as Bowa but had the advantage of being almost eight years younger. The only problem is to sweeten the deal for the Cubs Philly threw in twenty-one year old minor league second baseman Ryne Sandberg. De Jesus and Bowa’s performance would be roughly equal for the few years. However Sandberg went on to win the MVP in 1984, spend his entire career with Chicago, and retired as one of the top three best second baseman to ever play the game.

Number 9: Kansas City Athletics Trade Roger Maris to Yankees
The Athletic franchise played fourteen seasons in Kansas City and really never flirted with a winning record during that time period. However things may have been a little different if the team didn’t make a horrendous deal with the New York Yankees after the 1959 season. The A’s and the Yankees were often trade partners — so much so that Kansas City was jokingly referred to as New York’s minor league team. So it was no huge surprise when KC shipped off their one 1959 all star, slugger Roger Maris, a part of a seven player deal with the Bronx Bombers. What is surprising is that Maris would win the MVP in 1960, would set the all-time single season home run record in 1961, and would helped lead the Yankees to five straight World Series apperences, including back-to-back titles in ‘62 and ‘63. None of the other players in the deal went on to do anything of note.

Number 8: Rangers Trade Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young to the Padres for Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka
Adrian Gonzalez was the number one overall pick in the 2000 draft for the Florida Marlins was pretty good during his first few years in the minor leagues. However that didn’t prevent him from being traded to the Texas Rangers in 2003 before he ever played in the majors. The Rangers didn’t know what they had in Gonzalez either, apparently, because they flipped him to the Padres after the 2005 season along with pitcher Chris Young for Akinori Otsuka, a decent relief pitcher, and Adam Eaton, a mediocre starter. Once in San Diego — his hometown — Gonzalez immediately morphed into one of the top sluggers in baseball. On top of that, Young was one of the better starters in the National League for San Diego during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, before injuries derailed his career. On the other side of the trade, Eaton quickly went from mediocre to awful and Otsuka continued to be decent, but retired from the major leagues after two years.

Number 7: Phillies trade Ferguson Jenkins to the Chicago Cubs for Bob Buhl and Larry Jackson
The Phillies misfortune of trading young Hall of Famers to the Chicago Cubs and getting nothing in return didn’t start with the Ryne Sandberg debacle. In fact, trading Ryno was almost a carbon copy of a mistake they had made early in the 1966 season when they traded Fergie Jenkins for Bob Buhl and Larry Jackson, two solid starting pitchers who were both well on the wrong side of thirty. To be fair Jackson was pretty good for the Phillies for the next couple years, which were all he had left in his 36-year arm. But Buhl was not good at all and beginning in 1967 Jenkins rattled off six straight twenty win seasons for the Cubs, a run which included the 1971 Cy Young Award. Fergie would end up in Cooperstown, while Jackson and Buhl have now long been immortalized in lists of awful baseball trades.

Number 6: Expos Trade Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips to Cleveland for Bartolo Colon
The deal in which a contender flips a few minor league prospects to a struggling team for a veteran approaching free agency is a trade deadline classic. And usually it doesn’t come back to hurt the contender too bad, because most prospects never realize their full potential. But when the Montreal Expos sent farmhands Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips to the Cleveland Indians for Bartolo Colon during the 2002 season lighting struck three times for the Indians. Sizemore, Lee and Phillips all developed into big time players and have each made at least three All-Star games. That’s not to say Colon didn’t continue to pitch well — the big fella won a Cy Young in 2005 and had a 18 win season in 2013 at age 40. It’s just he didn’t do any of this for the Expos, who lost him after 2002 to free agency after stumbling to a disappointing 83 and 79 record that season.

Number 5: Cubs Trade Lou Brock to Cardinals for Ernie Broglio
When the Cubs traded Lou Brock to the Cardinals for Ernie Broglio in the middle of the 1964 season it didn’t seem like that big of a deal. Yeah, Brock was fast. But he had been having trouble getting on base during the first two and half years of his career and he was getting caught stealing an awful lot when he did. Anyway, Broglio was a still-young pitcher who had almost won a Cy Young. But there must have been something Brock liked in the Missouri water because almost immediately upon arriving in St. Louis he started to resemble the Hall of Famer baseball fans know him as, hitting .348 as a Cardinal and helping them to the 1964 World Series. Brock would also play a big part St. Louis’s 1967 World Series title and finished his career as one of the great leadoff hitters to ever play the game. Broglio would win seven games total for the Cubs.

Number 4: Red Sox Trade Jeff Bagwell to Astros for Larry Andersen
Not only was Jeff Bagwell one of the better hitters in the Boston Red Sox’s minor league system during the late eighties but he had been born in Boston and grew up in Connecticut. Sounds like keeper, right? Wrong. In 1990 the Red Sox traded Bagwell to the Houston Astros for set up man Larry Anderson at the trade deadline. Anderson couldn’t have been better for Boston, helping them make the playoffs with his sterling 1.23 ERA in twenty-five appearances. But Boston didn’t advance out of the first round and the 37-year old Anderson, a free agent to be, signed elsewhere after the season. Bagwell quickly made the Red Sox pay for their lack of faith, winning the National League Rookie of The Year in 1991. He would add the MVP in 1994 and was the most dominant hitter in the National League over the decade of the nineties. He retired in 2005 and currently has the twenty-first best OPS in Major League history.

Number 3: Mets trade Nolan Ryan to the California Angels for Jim Fregosi
In the early seventies the New York Mets had two of the best young pitchers in baseball in Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman. They also had another guy, Nolan Ryan, who had a million dollar arm but also quite a bit of trouble throwing the ball over the plate. Figuring they already had enough young pitching, the Mets traded Ryan and his limitless potential for shortstop Jim Fregosi in 1971. Fregosi had been a perennial All-Star in the sixties, but he was coming off the worst season of his career and it didn’t get much better in New York. Ryan, on the other hand, suddenly developed into fireballing fiend we know him as. He won seven American League strikeout titles during his eight seasons with the Angels and almost had a few Cy Youngs. His finished his Hall of Fame career as Major League’s all-time strikeout leader and it sure would have been something to see him paired with Tom Seaver during the primes of their careers.

Number 2: Reds trade Frank Robinson to the Orioles for Milt Pappas
During his decade with the Cincinnati Reds Frank Robinson was one of the best hitters in baseball and had an MVP, a Rookie of The Year and six all-star selections to show for it. But in 1965 the team shipped him to Baltimore for pitcher Milt Pappas. While justifying the somewhat mystifying trade, team owner Bill DeWitt added insult to injury by referring to Robinson as an “old thirty.” Now Pappas was no slouch. He was a solidly better than average young pitcher. But the pressure of being traded for Robinson weighed on him and he struggled mightily in Cincy. Robinson, on the other hand, went on to excel like few have ever excelled before. The slugger promptly won the triple crown and MVP in 1966 and also led the Orioles to their first World Series title that year. It would get even better for Robinson 1970 as the “old” 35 year old powered the Orioles to their second World Series title, this time defeating the Reds — the team that had so unceremoniously cast him away — in the Fall Classic.
Number 1: Red Sox Trade Babe Ruth to Yankees for Cash
The worst trade in baseball history was actually a sale involving the greatest player in baseball history. By 1919 Babe Ruth had already established himself as both the best hitter and one of the best pitchers in the game and had led his Boston Red Sox to three World Series championship in his six year. But Red Sox owner Harry Frazee, who was also heavily involved in Broadway production, needed to raise money to stage the play “No, No Nanette.” So he sold Ruth, who was still only twenty-four, to the Yankees for a hundred thousand dollars. You know the rest. Ruth, who immediately switched to being a full time hitter, had a run of comparative greatness which has never been matched and was instrumental in establishing the Yankees as the premier sports franchise in American history. “No, No Nanette,” which finally opened in 1925, was a solid but unspectacular box office earner.

Some baseball manager are tacticians, whereas others are ego-juggling players’ coaches. Some skippers turned to managing after successful baseball careers, whereas others never even made the major league. There is no formula for what makes a successful baseball manager. We can, however, analyze results and determine what baseball managers have been the most successful. Read on for our list of the ten greatest baseball managers of all-time.

Number 10: Billy Martin
Billy Martin’s first year as a big league manager pretty much encapsulated his entire managerial career. In 1969 he led the Minnesota Twins, who had had a losing record in 1968, to ninety-seven wins and a division. Nevertheless Martin was fired after the seasons for his behavior, which included a high profile fistfight with his ace pitcher Dave Boswell. Martin would go on to coach parts of eighteen seasons with the Tigers, As and most prominently the Yankees, who hired and fired him five times over a fourteen year period. Almost all of Martin’s managerial stints were the same: he quickly made the team better and then quickly wore out his welcome by fighting — often physically — with his players, ownership and the odd marshmallow salesman. Martin, who battled alcohol addiction, died on Christmas Day of 1989 as a passenger in a one car crash. The sixty-one year old had been preparing to managing the Yankees for a sixth time when he passed away.

Record: 1253 and 1013, .553 pct. four division titles, two pennants, one World Series title.

Number 9: Casey Stengel
Between 1949 and 1960 Casey Stengel managed the New York Yankees to seven World Series titles and ten pennants. It is without a doubt the greatest managerial run in the history of baseball. So why is Stengel only ninth on this list? Well, for one, he was blessed with a steady parade of Hall of Famers such as Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford. And he operated in a pre free-agency era, meaning his roster was pretty set from year to year. Then there is the matter of the other twelve years Stengel spent as manager on teams other than the Yankees. The “Old Professor” only posted one winning record during thosen seasons managing the Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Braves and the New York Mets. Some of Stengel’s Mets teams were among the worst in baseball history. Stengel was clearly a great manager with great players, but he isn’t higher on this list because he consistently failed to elevate mediocre players out of their mediocrity.

Record:1,905 and 1,842, .508 pct. ten pennants, seven World Series titles.

Number 8: Earl Weaver
Known for his love of the three run home run and his contentious relationship with umpires, all seventeen years of Earl Weaver’s managerial career were spent with the Baltimore Orioles. He was only thirty-seven when he took over the Birds in 1968 and then led them to three straight World Series between ‘69 and ‘71, winning the ‘70 Fall Classic. During his first stint with the Orioles, which ended in 1982, Weaver never had a losing season and bested a hundred wins five times in fifteen years. He was also ejected from ninety-eight games, including three times getting tossed from both frames of a doubleheader. Weaver retired in 1982 after losing out an America East title in a one-game play off. He was brought back to the Orioles’ mid season of 1985 and saw some initial success, however he posted his only ever losing season in 1986 and retired for good after that. While Weaver was as fine a regular season manager as there’s ever been, but his legacy is somewhat held back by his postseason record and the fact that the Orioles won a World Series two years before he took over the team and another the year after he retired the first time.

Record: 1,480 and 1,060 .583 pct. six division titles, four pennants, one World Series title.

Number 7: Sparky Anderson
After a cup of coffee as a Major League second baseman, Anderson transitioned to minor ;eague manager at age 30. In 1970, the thirty-six year old was named skipper of the Cincinnati Reds. “Sparky Who?” was the local paper’s reaction to the more. They would learn soon enough as Anderson led to the Reds to 102 wins and a National League Pennant in his first year. Three more pennants and World Series titles in 1975 and 1976 would follow as Anderson’s “Big Red Machine” would dominant baseball throughout the seventies. However Anderson was fired after the 1979 season despite having finished 92 and 78. He immediately got a new job with the Detroit Tigers and declared he would led the young team to World Series title within five years and make the Reds pay for letting him go. It actually took Anderson six years, but the 1984 Tigers were a team for the ages, starting the season 35-5 on their way to a 104 win season and a world championship. The Tigers would remain contenders for most of the eighties.But the last seven of Anderson seventeen years in Detroit weren’t particularly good and detract somewhat from his otherwise sterling resume.

Record: 2194 and 1834, .545 pct seven division titles, five pennants, three World Series titles.

Number 6: Joe Torre
Before he found Joe Torre in 1996, George Steinbrenner went through managers like Elizabeth Taylor went through husbands. In fact, when Torre was hired by the Yankees the over/under on his tenure had to somewhere around one season, given Steinbrenner’s legendary impatience and Torre’s fourteen year record of fairly average results as skipper of the Mets, Braves and Cardinals. But Torre, a former league MVP with a laid back style, clicked with the Yankees’s star-studded roster and he won a World Series in his first season. He would add World Series wins in 1998,1999 and 2000. Torre never missed the playoffs during his twelve years with the Yankees. In fact, he only won less than ninety four regular seasons games twice. (And won the World Series both those years!) Steinbrenner refused to renew Toree’s contract after the 2007 season and seven years without a title so Torre moved onto to the Dodgers. In Los Angeles he extended his personal post-season streak to fourteen straight years by leading his new team to two straight division titles. However he couldn’t get the Dodgers to the World Series either, and Torre retired after a 80 and 82 season in 2010, handing the reigns to his protege Don Mattingly.

Record: 2326 and 1997, .538 pct. thirteen division titles, six pennants, four World Series titles.

Number 5 Bobby Cox
During Bobby Cox’s first managerial stint with the Braves, which began in 1978, he turned what had been the worst team in the National League into a competitive club. Nevertheless he was fired by team owner Ted Turner in 1981. He picked up immediately with the Toronto Blue Jays and did another quick turnaround job, this time culminating in a 99 win season and the franchise’s first ever postseason appearance in 1985. A tough playoff loss burned Cox out on managing and he returned to the Braves as the club’s GM in 1986. After struggling to find the right manager for the club, Cox inserted himself in the position in 1990 and the rest is history, as the Braves rattled off a record fourteen straight division titles. The knock on Cox, of course, will always be that he only won one World Series and benefited greatly from an amazing pitching staff. However such consistency during the free-agent age — and with a mid-market team like the Braves — cannot be ignored. Cox, a four time Manager of the Year winner, retired in 2010 after a ninety-one win season.

Record: 2,504 and 2,001 .556 pct. fifteen division titles, five pennants one World Series title.

Number 4: Walter Alston
Walter Alston major league career lasted exactly one game. His managerial career would last twenty-three years, all with the Dodger franchise. Nicknamed the “Quiet Man” for his calm and reticent demeanor, Alston never signed a managerial contract for more than one year. But with only three losing seasons during his career as skipper, there was really never a point in which the Dodgers thought about not bringing him back. Alston won his first World Series — and the first and only in the Brooklyn portion of the Dodgers’ history — in 1953, his second year as manager. He would oversees the team’s successful move to Los Angeles and add World Series wins in 1959, 1963 and 1965. Alston would go through the only lean period of his career with back-to-back losing season in 1967 and 1968 but had the Dodgers back on track as perennial contenders by the 1969. Alston won his final pennant and had a 102 win season in 1974. The six time Manager of the Year retired in 1976 after a ninety win season, declaring it was time to “give somebody else a chance.”

Record: 2,040 and 1,613, .558 pct. one division title, seven pennants, four World Series titles.

Number 3: John McGraw
Although it has been long overshadowed by his managerial career, McGraw was one of the better players of the deadball era, known for his speed on the basepaths and questionable tactics when the umpire wasn’t looking. (In fact, it was largely because of McGraw that baseball moved from one ump to four.) He was also also always looking for an edge as a manager and among his innovation were using relief pitchers as closers in “save” situations. After three fairly successful seasons as player manager for the Baltimore Orioles, McGraw joined the New York Giants as a full time manager in 1903 and would only have three losing seasons over the next thirty seasons. He would also ten pennant, three World Series titles and would become part owner of the club in 1919. Known to be a players’ coach, despite a sometimes gruff exterior, McGraw was no friend of umpires and was ejected 131 times. He finished his career with 2,763 wins, a figure only eclipsed by contemporary Connie Mack. However Mack, who coached for 53 years, actually had a losing record for his career.

Record: 2,763-1,948 (.586), ten pennants, three World Series titles.

Number 2: Tony La Russa
Tony La Russa has always been a smug fellow, with his sunglasses at night and his law degree. But he’s also been a helluva a manger, from when the Chicago White Sox made him their skipper as a thirty-four year old in 1979 to when he retired after his St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in 2011. La Russa spent nine years with the White Sox, turning the struggling franchise to contenders and 1983 division winners. He joined the As in the middle of the 1986 season and led Oakland to three straight World Series between 1988 and 1990, taking the the 1989 title. It was with Oakland that his managerial style, including the use of platoons and a highly specialized bullpen, began to come to the forefront. After a decade in Oakland he moved to St. Louis and enjoyed an even more successful run. La Russa won seven division titles and two World Series with the Redbirds and always seemed to maximize his team’s talent. He retired with the third most wins in Major League baseball history.

Record: 2,728 and 2,365 .536 pct., twelve division titles, six pennants, three World Series titles.

Number 1: Joe McCarthy
The knock on Joe McCarthy, who has the best regular season and postseason winning percentage in major league history, is that he was a “push button” manager who was weak on baseball strategy and benefited from all the all the great players he skippered. And it’s true that during sixteen years he coached the Yankees, between 1931 and 1946, McGraw was able to write names such as Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio into his lineup card. But “Marse Joe” also won eight pennants and seven championships during that time period and seamless transitioned the Bronx Bombers from the Ruth era to the Gehrig era to the DiMaggio era. Plus McCarthy was no slouch in his other two managerial stops, snagging a pennant and posting a .579 winning percentage during his five seasons with the Cubs, which preceded his Yankee run, and winning 96 games in each of his two full seasons with the Red Sox. Like any competition, baseball is ultimately about results and no skipper in Major League history has achieved the results McCarthy was able to. That is why he was the greatest baseball manager of all-time.

Record: 2,125 and 1,333 .615 pct. nine pennants, seven World Series titles.

When compared to the NBA NFL or NHL, the Major League Baseball draft is a crapshoot, with only 66 percent of players selected in the first round ever making the Major Leagues. In fact, three times the first overall pick in the MLB draft never saw big league action.

We’ve compiled a list of the ten worst overall top picks in baseball history. Read on to check it out.

Number 10: RHP Matt Anderson 1997 Detroit Tigers
Matt Anderson could throw a baseball hard. Really hard, consistently topping 100 MPH during his career at Rice University. Thanks to his live arm, the Detroit Tigers selected Anderson first in the 1997 draft.

Anderson’s career started out just how it was supposed to. He dominated the minor leagues in 1998, and was nearly as good after his mid season call up to the big club.

However Anderson unexpectedly digressed over the next four seasons with the Tigers. Then, in 2002, he tore an armpit muscle under suspicious circumstances, with Anderson claiming he hurt himself while pitching a bullpen session but with others suggesting he suffered the unusual injury while participating in an octopus throwing contest teammate Jeff Weaver. (They were trying to win Detroit Red Wings’ playoff tickets.)

Whatever the reason, Anderson struggled to top 90 MPH after the injury, and his already struggling Major League career was effectively over.

Number 9: RHP Paul Wilson 1994 New York Mets
If there is one thing the New York Mets had shown during their history it’s that the franchise knows how to develop pitchers. So when they selected hard throwing right hander Paul Wilson out of Florida State with the first pick in the 1994 draft you can forgive Mets fans for thinking they might have another Tom Seaver or Doc Gooden on their hands.

Sadly, this couldn’t be further from the case. Wilson was actually pretty good during his first couple minor league seasons and ended up rated the number two prospect in all of baseball after the 1995 minor league year. However the majors weren’t kind to Wilson and he flopped with 5-12 record and 5.38 ERA during his rookie year in 1996.

So it was back to the minors for Wilson, where he began suffering a series of shoulder injuries culminating in his missing the entire 1999 season.

Wilson did return to the Majors in 2001 and then pitched six completely forgettable seasons with Tampa Bay and Cincinnati. He ended up with a 40-58 record and a 4.66 ERA.

Number 8: RHP Bryan Bullington 2002 Pittsburgh Pirates
Prior to 2013 the Pittsburgh Pirates had endured 20 straight losing season, a record for a North American sports franchise. A lot of the Bucos’ historical ineptitude was related to them never taking advantage of the high draft picks that they received every year.

Never was that more true than in 2002 when Pittsburgh selected pitcher Bryan Bullington out of Ball State with the first pick in the draft. After a few good but not great years in the minors Bullington got the call up and just plain stunk it up with a 1-9 record, 5.62 ERA and 54 Ks over five Major League seasons.

These days Bullington is a mediocre starter in Japan, and the Pirates’ future would be even brighter if they had instead selected Zack Greinke or Prince Fielder with the overall first pick they wasted on Bullington.

Number 7: Outfielder Shawn Abner 1984 New York Mets
With the first pick in the 1984 draft, the New York Mets selected Shawn Abner out of Mechanicsburg Area High School in Pennsylvania. The Mets had had a pretty good recent track record with high picks, selecting Darryl Strawberry first overall in 1980 and Doc Gooden with the fifth overall pick in 1982. But their run of good luck ended with Abner, who struggled in the minors right out of the gate.

In fact, the Mets gave up on Abner in 1986 and shipped him to San Diego as part of an eight player deal. Although Abner’s minor league stats didn’t improve much in the Padres’ system they still promoted him to the majors and over the next six seasons Abner would bat .227 with little power.

It’s true the Mets somewhat mitigate their loss by trading Abner. Especially since Kevin McReynolds, a pretty decent player, was part of their return. However Mark McGwire and Greg Maddux were among the players the Mets could have drafted in ‘86 instead of Abner. Each of those baseball legends would have looked mighty good next to Strawberry and Gooden in what may have been a Mets’ dynasty.

Number 6: Outfield Al Chambers 1979 Seattle Marines
When a draft prospects is called “Toolsy” it usually means two things. First that he has a great deal of athletic ability and, second, that his baseball skills are still pretty raw.

Al Chambers, whom the Marines picked first in the 1979 draft, was the ultimate toolsy prospect. So toolsy, in fact, that the Harrisburg, Pa. high school senior had also signed a letter of intent to play football at Arizona State University.

But the Marines blew him away with a $85,000 signing bonus, which just turned out to be doubling down on a bad investment.

Chambers hit decently in the minors, but the power he showed as a prep player and that had scouts comparing him to Dave Parker and Jim Rice never developed. His time in the majors was short and unpleasant, finishing his 120f at bat career with a .208 batting average and only two home runs. Seattle would go on to have much better luck with their next three overall number ones — Mike Moore, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez — but it was selections like Chambers which kept the franchise picking high over and over again.

Number 5: LHP David Clyde 1973 Texas Rangers
Billed as the next Sandy Koufax and the best pitching prospect of all-time, David Clyde was drafted number one out the Westchester High School in Houston by the Texas Rangers.

His legend was such that Rangers owner Bob Short decided to jump him right to the major leagues as a way to improve the gate for his struggling club. The move was roundly criticized as unfair to Clyde — bumping a college hitter right to the majors is pretty unusual so doing so with a high school pitcher was considered straight up baseball malpractice.

Clyde did about as well as you would expect a green 18-year old would do against Major League hitters; he posted a 4-8 record with 5.01 ERA. He was little better in 1974 and then — surprise, surprise — he started developing shoulder problems.

Clyde last pitched in the majors in 1979, washed up as 24-year old. The mismanagement of David Clyde is to this day a sad and cautionary tale.

Number 4: Catcher Danny Goodwin 1971 Chicago White Sox, 1975 California Angeles
Danny Goodwin is the only man to ever be drafted with the first pick in the MLB draft twice. While this would suggest a player who would eventually go onto a successful baseball career, this couldn’t have been further from the case.

In some ways, the Chicago White Sox dodged a bullet in 1971 when Goodwin decided to attend Southern University rather than sign with the Southsiders. Because when the Angels drafted him again in 1975 Goodwin quickly proved to be nothing but a waste of roster space.

To be fair to Goodwin, he did put up decent numbers in the minors. However he also hurt his arm there, prompting a position move from catcher to first base. While his major league OPS of .674 over seven seasons would have been serviceable for a backup catcher it was atrocious for a first baseman/DH.  Especially one who was twice selected with the first pick in the draft.

Number 3: Catcher Steve Chilcott 1966 New York Mets
The surest sign that you are a bust of a number one overall pick is that you never even made it to the major leagues. Steve Chilcott, a catcher out of Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster California, is one of three men to own that sad distinction.

In fact, the Mets’ 1966 draft pick barely ever made it to triple-A, appearing in just 22 games at the minor league’s highest level. Chilcott can blame poor health for his failure to live up to his potential. He suffered a season ending separated shoulder during his first year of pro ball and was plagued by injuries the rest of his career, which ended after the 1972 minor league season.

To make matters worse for the Mets the second player picked in the 1966 draft was Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.

But while Chilcott was an epic draft bust at least he isn’t in prison. Which, as you will soon learn, is where the other two top picks to never make the Major Leagues currently call home.

Number 2: LHP Brien Taylor 1991 New York Yankees
It was unusual to see the Yankees, the most successful franchise in Major League history, with the first pick in the draft. But that’s what they had in 1991, and the Bronx Bombers believed they scored themselves a player that would put them right back on top in Brien Taylor.

The left-handed high school pitcher out of Beaufort, North Carolina was immediately compared to former crosstown phenom Doc Gooden. And while Taylor’s first couple years in the minors weren’t quite Gooden-esque, he looked to be headed to a big time career.

However in December of 1993 disaster struck. Taylor dislocated his shoulder and tore his labrum while defending his brother in a fist fight. After surgery he had lost almost ten MPH off of his fastball and just wasn’t the same pitcher.

He was out of baseball by 2000, having never advanced past double-A. In 2012, Taylor was arrested for cocaine trafficking and eventually sentenced to 38 months in federal prison.

Number 1: Shortstop/RHP Matt Bush 2004 San Diego Padres
In 2004 the San Diego Padres used their first overall draft pick to select hometown boy Matt Bush, who had been a star pitcher and shortstop at Mission Bay High School in San Diego.

While his high school stats were quite gaudy, maybe the Padres should have used their local contacts to look into Bush’s character, as he was suspended for his participation in a bar fight before he even played in his first minor league game.

Drafted as shortstop, Bush struggled to hit minor league pitching when he returned from his suspension and became known for his injuries and behavioral problems. By 2007 the Padres had seen enough of Bush the shortstop and tried to take advantage of his 98 MPH fastball and convert him to a pitcher.

That experiment was derailed by Tommy John surgery and the last most people heard about Matt Bush is in March of 2012 when he got drunk, got in his truck, and ran over the head of a 72-year old motorcyclist, who luckily survived. Bush is currently serving a 51-month prison sentence for what was his third DUI.