1980s First Round Ratings
I took a look at every team’s first-round picks over the course of the decade and rated the best and worst.
Cleveland Indians
Doug Ault’s Cleveland Laser Show
Early August in a nearly empty stadium with two bad teams going head-to-head isn’t exactly the setting you’d expect for a memorable performance. But Doug Ault provided it anyway. When the Toronto Blue Jays came to Cleveland to face the Indians for a mid-week series on August 4th, 1980, the two teams were a combined …
Missed it by that much: The Karl Pagel story
If there was a Futures Game in 1980 he would have been a headliner. Karl Pagel was a can’t miss star. He was a high draft pick of the Chicago Cubs in 1976 and absolutely tore up the minor leagues. He hit .344 in AA in 1977 with 28 homers and 104 RBI and was …
Super Joe Charboneau
Being an Indians fan is hard. REALLY HARD. But in the spring of 1980, there was a glimmer of hope and it came courtesy of an injury to one of their best players. During spring training, first baseman Andre Thornton, who led the team in home runs in 1979 with 26, tore cartilage in his …
