June 23, 2004

Top Prospects of 1980: With the trade deadline looming and minor-leaguers having had a good amount of time to show what they've got, prospects are in play. Imagine your a GM in 1980. Which of these guys would you bring up or trade for? Hype + reality = retro potential.

posted by yeknod to baseball at 11:45 AM - 16 comments

As Baseball Prospectus once said, "There's No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect."

posted by sashae at 11:54 AM on June 23, 2004

Bah. Unfortunately you self-linked!

posted by jerseygirl at 12:00 PM on June 23, 2004

This is some cool sports-related content, so please pretend that I found and posted it here.

posted by rcade at 12:20 PM on June 23, 2004

It is a hella cool link. It's going to go make me dig out my old Handbook's of Baseball. I've got 1982's with Fernando Valenzuela right handy. As for the html - in Opera 6.1 the fonts get smaller and smaller as you go down the list until it's completely unreadable.

posted by vito90 at 12:43 PM on June 23, 2004

In unrelated but similar way back when retro stuff - it has been 25 years since the NHL's "golden draft".

posted by gspm at 12:43 PM on June 23, 2004

If every self-link were a labor of love that was as cool as this, there'd be no ban on them. Thanks for the post/ time.

posted by yerfatma at 12:52 PM on June 23, 2004

I've got 1982's with Fernando Valenzuela right handy. It's on the wrong side then, isn't it?

posted by yerfatma at 12:53 PM on June 23, 2004

What?! No love for the Toronto Blue Jays!? Bah!

posted by grum@work at 01:03 PM on June 23, 2004

thanks for the comments. as for the Opera font problem, i'll have to research it. i'm not that html-savvy yet. and did i leave out the Jays? dangit! it was an accident. i'll fix it ASAP.

posted by yeknod at 01:30 PM on June 23, 2004

the suspense! i too was looking for the jays.

posted by gspm at 01:31 PM on June 23, 2004

fyi: ASAP for me = tonight

posted by yeknod at 02:03 PM on June 23, 2004

What?! No Colorado Rockies?! (kidding.) This is some cool sports-related content, so please pretend that I found and posted it here. Yay, a pardon from the warden! I really enjoyed the comparison on who was hyped and what panned out. While I've been following baseball for a while, there's so much to learn about the history and many times, what is out there for historical reference doesn't easily offer a comparison on the lauded trade prospects and how their careers panned out. As we enter the heavy trade season now, there's so much talk about prospects and so much debate on who has reached their ceiling already, etc. thanks for the read!

posted by jerseygirl at 04:08 PM on June 23, 2004

Felton pitched in the majors from 1979-82 (4 seasons) for Minnesota. Career: 0-16, 5.53, 3 (W-L, ERA, Saves). Now leading in the "Not Knowing When To Quit" department...

posted by wfrazerjr at 10:27 PM on June 23, 2004

middle reliever?

posted by gspm at 01:09 AM on June 24, 2004

Not Knowing When To Quit Very few do, even with that record. I wouldn't. Would you? Paid to play ball, there can't be a finer existence.

posted by vito90 at 02:59 AM on June 24, 2004

That's fascinating. I'd love to see more of these. (I wonder if other prospectuseseses from other years were as accurate as 1980's.) This really justifies the money paid to good scouts, doesn't it? Props especially to the White Sox (I have no recollection whatsoever of Dewey Hoyt), Cardinals and A's staffs.

posted by chicobangs at 10:08 AM on June 24, 2004

You're not logged in. Please log in or register.