There's probably going to be more outrage over this than there needs to be, given how late in the draft these choices were made, but nevertheless, I received the following note via email from Jon Wells:
The M's also selected Kent State first baseman Andy Hargrove, the son of Mariners manager Mike Hargrove, in the 47th round; and Princeton left-handed pitcher Rufus Lumry IV, son of M's investor Rufus Lumry, in the 46th round. of Bellevue Christian High School, was 1-2 with an 8.41 ERA in 15 games for Princeton. His father, part of the Mariners' ownership group, is the founder and president of Acorn Ventures, Inc., and was one of the founders of McCaw Cellular, where he served as director and chief financial officer.
Others
Mike Piazza - 62nd round pick, and only as a courtesy to the Piazza's who were friends of Lasorda's family. You never know.Whether these picks turn out to be good or bad, it's better than the White Sox picking Larry Himes' (then the Sox GM) daughter with a late pick.
mike42 - June 9, 2005
It was Shueler's daughter...
Drafted ahead of Mark Buehrle. Himes was on the Northside at the time...Sox also selected Kenny Williams Jr last year.
The Cheat @ Lookout Landing - June 9, 2005
I thought so
I would have sworn it was Schueler, but I was only able to Google for Himes.mike42 - June 9, 2005
nepotism
meh - if the Mariners promote family values, why not family members?Steve Nelson - June 9, 2005
come on...
We are talking rounds 46 (FORTY-SIX) and 47 (FORTY-SEVEN). The A's didn't even make a pick past the 39th! I guess the A's suck at drafting! Seriously these last picks are always just a toss up anyways. I mean what makes the 1508th pick shine so much brighter than picks 1509, 1510 and 1511 that he should be taken first?OBF - June 9, 2005
GERPOTENWOGEN!
Oh, man am I fumed. My blood pressure just tripled!!!How could they waste such a pick, when such gems as Kyle Thornton, Brent Weiss, and Albert Gonzalez were still available?
Maybe I'm just WAAAY to into it.
/sarcasm
PositivePaul - June 9, 2005
All-Nepotism Team
Let's see, we have Andy Hargrove at first, Aaron Looper and Rufus Lumry on the mound, Trevor Heid in the outfield, along with Casey Craig (his father is an M's scout, good player though he may be).Anyone else we can get on there?
JY - June 9, 2005
Marketing
"And if you make a deposit on a luxury box before December, you'll get TWO members of your organization drafted in the next June amateur draft! What better way to reward the sales leader, the hard-working clerical staff or to use as a raffle prize?Order at least 4 season tickets outside of the luxury box area, and you'll get ONE designee drafted! Makes a great father's day gift!"
*Designees need not have ever played baseball. Deceased designees will be honored, so long as they come with a permission slip from next of kin.
Designees by job title will be accepted too - the designee does not need to be named!(ie., 'with the 1489 pick in the 2006 draft, the Seattle Mariners select Stoneway Roofing Supply employee of the month, September 2006')
The Seattle Mariners Baseball club would also like to announce the formation of a new auction website to trade unused draft designations on the web! Everyone WINS, except the lowlife roustabouts trading designations outside of Safeco Field. They're subhuman.
marc w - June 9, 2005
you know..
If I could get drafted by buying a luxury box...AND I had a lot of money...I would probably get one....but if I had that much money I would probably get one anyway.gumbostu - June 9, 2005
Apparently
Bannister belongs on the All Nepotism team as well. Someone on USSM said he's the nephew of one of the execs or somesuch.bluemax - June 9, 2005
Why would there be an outrage?
This is a fairly common practice within Major League Baseball. When you are talking about picks that were the #1366 and #1395 taken overall, you would have had better luck throwing darts at a board with names on it.Trent - June 9, 2005
re: Why would there be an outrage?
Because the casual M's fan likes to blame global warming, world poverty, AIDS, and high gas prices on the organizaion.PLU Tim - June 9, 2005
re: Why would there be an outrage?
I don't think the casual M's fan follows the draft that much, but perhaps. Either way, they are just cheap picks that were wasted on family instead of someone else.Trent - June 9, 2005
If this were a much earlier pick
I'd be pissed, but seeing as its practicly towards the end of the draft, I dont care.Pretty much anybody picked at that level isnt going anywhere anyways, so why does it matter?
Goose - June 9, 2005
At least...
...you'd presume Andy Hargrove would inherit some good baseball knowledge from his old man.Oh wait...
D'oh.
Brian Sullivan - June 9, 2005
Meh.
We're just following the crowd. The Twinkies drafted Gardenhire's son 6 rounds before we drafted Grover's.http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2080642
PositivePaul - June 9, 2005
not to mention the Astros
drafting Koby ClemensGoose - June 9, 2005
It's *not* important
..and it's not worth getting real upset over, but that Lumry pick is just a total waste.Jeff Sullivan - June 9, 2005
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Lookout Landing to post a comment.