Top 10 MLB RULE 5 Draft Steals Of Past 100 Years!! Insanely Good Players Left EXPOSED!

[@HummBabyBaseball]

Correction: Darrell Evans was drafted by the Kansas City A's.. not Philadelphia A's.. my mistake; I misspoke and got confused in my head because earlier Evans also got drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies

[@jayfelsberg1931]

My grandfather died early because the As left Philly and had to take his grandson to see the 4@#$$%^&**( National League. It took 17 years but it did him no good at all. And he NEVER called it Connie Mack Stadium. It was Shibe Park...period.

[@jasonresler]

Hahaha I came here to comment about this. I enjoy your content!

[@johnnolan33177]

If Shane Victorino ain't on here, by the Phillies, who was their center fielder during their 5 year in a row, 1 title 2 pennants, not even mentioning individual awards, and went in to win another title as the cf in Boston

[@johnnolan33177]

I'd put Shane over Uggla, he was good but much less longevity

[@DavidDykes-dm9lc]

As a lifetime Giants fan, I pray that Darrell Evans makes the HOF before I die. The man was so freaking clutch for us and never got the respect he deserved.😢

[@Dulcimerist]

As a Twins fan, I was disappointed when the Tigers swiped Akil Baddoo. His performance has declined since his initial success, but I still miss him.

[@fastlane1205]

I think he’ll find his swing again, hopefully it’s just the sophomore slump hitting him

[@GaIeforce]

As a Marlins fan, I have to remind myself every year that we had a borderline Hall of Famer in our hands in Johan Santana. We had no real incentive to trade him, as at the time (1999), we weren't particularly a good team, and our days of competing were very, very far away. We had every excuse to keep him on our roster even if he struggled. But then we traded him just as fast as we got him, and well, the rest became history. It didn't matter in the end though, since the Marlins went on to become champions in 2003, but man, it makes you wonder what could have been.

[@tedharrington5432]

It just blows my mind that Roberto Clemente was left unprotected by the Brooklyn Dodgers. As you mentioned, no one really knows for sure if the Dodgers were trying to hide Clemente or the Dodgers really had no idea how good Clemente really was at the time. Thanks for the video!

[@johnnycage1057]

Dodgers tried to kept Roberto Clemente hidden

[@tedharrington5432]

@@johnnycage1057 I have to agree with you. From what I have read it seems the Dodgers knew how good Clemente was going to be and were trying to hide him from the league, especially the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals.

[@jayfelsberg1931]

He was Jorge Bell when we signed him. The name of the farm director who who followed Dallas Green and Paul Owens will not sully my lips (He also said that Sandberg kid could be thrown intp the Larry Bowa-Ivan DeJesus trade as we had a thrird baseman). Reportedly the Fightins tried to sneak him through Rule 5 by saying he had a bad shoulder. However, before the draft the genius Eppy Guerrero happen to be in San Pedro de Macarios (sp) watching a pickup game and Bell was toasting some MLB-level pitchers. Eppy's computer brain whirled and he went to the nearby apy phone and called Pat Gillick. He asked if the Phi;lies left Bell unprotected. Indeed they did, Pat replied, but he has a bum shoulder. Eppy watched Bell smack another tater and said, he looks really fine to me. The rest is history for George Bell.

[@fredaaron762]

The Dodgers knew what they had in Roberto Clemente. However, they didn't have room on the Big League roster and were hoping no one would notice him by not giving him much playing time in Montreal. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the Pirates snagged him, as you pointed out.

[@HummBabyBaseball]

That's true.. but if they really knew how good he would be.. 3000 hits and MVP.. I'm sure they would have found room .

[@fredaaron762]

@@HummBabyBaseball he certainly should have gotten a spot ahead of George Shuba

[@Gronk79]

I saw him play a game against the Cardinals when he hit a double off a pitch that bounced before it got to the plate!

[@fredaaron762]

@@Gronk79 Clemente was considered by many to be the best “bad ball” hitter in the history of the game.

[@patguitare]

The Dodgers tried to hide him in Triple-A Montreal from the Rule 5 draft then, in 1954. Man, just imagine if The Dodgers were able to keep Roberto? They probably would have seen more World Series Championships definitely in the late 50s and early to mid-60s. What could they do? They already had Carl Furillo since the late 40s and he went on through the late 50s and early 60s. He was a solid as they came back then. Roberto was just blossoming and working his craft... The biggest "what if"...

[@jesseasbury2612]

Victorino was my guy on the '13 Red Sox. Still remember his huge grand slam in the ALCS against the Tigers.

[@johnrust592]

So my Phillies gave up both Ryne Sandberg and George Bell in the 1980s. Well, now I'm depressed.

[@HummBabyBaseball]

Yep.. rough stuff; I feel for you!

[@ksendx]

At least we won the series that year

[@davidaltman8831]

branch rickey had alot to do with clemente going to the pirates. he remembered clemente from when he was the dodgers gm and as pirates gm he sent sukeforth to check him out. to see if he was any good. also he saw it as payback for walter o`malley for forcing him out of the dodgers front office

[@MatthewMcMillian]

Darrell Evans was a great player and consistent player for most of two decades. He was a big reason the young Detroit Tigers finally got over the hump and won a world championship in 1984 after they added Evans veteran leadership and big bat before the 84 season. Eavns was often overlooked playing on poor teams in Atlanta and San Francisco early in his career and even when he was a on a very good team in Detroit in the mid 80s he still never got the recognition he deserved as he was always overlooked by media who were all over Kirk Gibson and Alan Trammell during Evans best days with the Tigers. Evans career numbers were nothing to sneeze at as he was a solid hitter who usually compiled very good batting averages throughout his career with plenty of power in a time range when no one was using steroids. He also drove in a lot of runs on a consistent basis until the end of his career in the late 80s. One could argue as I have quite often that if Harold Baines is a hall of famer then why isnt Darrell Evans. Both players careers are comparable. Baines played the prime of his career on mostly very bad Chicago White Sox teams where like Evans he had little lineup protection and little help. Baines never really got any media attention outside Chicago just like Evans never really got any outside Atlanta and San Francisco, or Detroit. While Baines did play on one division winner in 1983 with the White Sox before he was stuck on a team that got old in a hurry after that 83 season. Baines never played on a real contender until late 1990 when he got traded to the Oakland A's. At which time Baines knees were beginning to limit him to mainly DH duty. Baines remained a solid hitter with decent power and run production and solid averages but never put up anything that was jaw dropping. He just was a very good slugger for most of the 80s and 90s. As Evans had been during the 70s and 80s. So when you look at their career numbers. Evans may not have came as close to 3,000 hits as Baines did but Evans had the power numbers and Evans was far more a leader on the Tigers in the 80s than Baines really ever was known for on any of his teams. Baines was very good but never jaw dropping and that is Evans. When you look at the fact that the second half of Baines career was played in a much different steroid era and much more live baseball, compared to Evans playing his prime years during the 1970s which was still a era dominated by pitchers more so and no steroids or altered baseball and one has to say if Baines is a hall of famer then why isnt Darrell Evans

[@csnide6702]

yup-- he wasn't on the STAR level of Trammell , Gibson , Morris , Whitaker, Parrish etc. but it was Evans that got that team over the hump. You have to remember - They won 90 games in 1983 only to finish second in division to Baltimore. (no wild card in those days-win or go home) Evans swing was PERFECT for Tiger Stadium & those years of 40 HRs helped all the way until wheels fell off in 1989.

[@jamesgaston2745]

You missed the most important Bonilla fact. July 1st is now Bobby Bonilla Day

[@HummBabyBaseball]

Haha I remembered but decided not to mention it

[@ticnatz]

Uggla is an interesting case. Not because of the Rule 5 thing, but simply how stunning and precipitous his drop-off happened. The second baseman to Steve Blass....

[@mrlafayette1964]

7:39 on his left is a mustache-less Rollie Fingers

[@djl9919]

I did enjoy this video. Clemente is a favorite of mine all-time.

[@gnosis6656]

Sukeforth is an interesting character in MLB history. Imagine being a key figure in scouting/signing both Robinson and Clemente. He was also an interviewee on Ken Burns’s Baseball.

[@Gronk79]

Outstanding topic & great video!

[@bignov5173]

So glad I found your channel. Keep up the great work dude!

[@chesteralexander4363]

You confused the Phillies with the A's on Darrell Evans. The A's left Philly for Kansas City, then in 1967 moved to Oakland. Bell was a slugger/dh who was not a good outfielder.

[@sdgakatbk]

You got number 1 right though being a Pirates fan for over 50 years, maybe I'm just a tad biased. Arriba Roberto!!!

[@Dulcimerist]

9:33 - I remember watching Jared Camp in 1995! He was horrible, even though his team won their division.

[@EricAKATheBelgianGuy]

I know it's earlier than many, but I'd argue first baseman Ferris Fain has a good case. He played nine years (1946-54), won two batting titles and a doubles title, had a .290 career batting average, and was a 5-time All-Star. He also is 13th all-time in career on-base percentage.

[@jaynash2645]

Really enjoy your videos, being a lifetime fan of the game and knowing a lot of history it's awesome to see someone with history knowledge and not just spouting analytics numbers.. today's game is not the same and I'm old school, I was lucky enough to play college and will never forget my coach, I hit a pretty good shot and was hot dogging around the bases and my coach called me out in a team meeting bc there was a few of us doing dumb stuff being cocky and he told us to act like we've been there before.. that stuck with me bc I felt embarrassed and not thinking about how I appeared.. being cocky is great, you gotta be to succeed at times but you don't need all the other distractions.. I subbed, love the channel..

[@luckylag360]

Not the best but Dbacks drafted Joe Patterson for the 2011 season and he helped them a ton in the bullpen that year.

[@Bandguy333415]

Love Dan uggla. One of my favorite marlins.

[@robertmurdock1848]

Darrell Evans had 41 homers that 73 season for the Braves. Davy Johnson had 43 and Hank Aaron had 40 as they became the first trio of 40+ homer teammates. The Reds nearly accomplished that feat in 70 , but Lee May fell just short of joining Johnny Bench and Tony Perez with 38 dingers.

[@jasonwilliams4159]

I could have swore David Ortiz was a rule 5 draft.

[@jasonwilliams4159]

Nevermind. Just looked it up. He was a that player to be named later in a earlier trade from Seattle to Minnesota. Then released by Minnesota out right.

[@thomash1801]

He was

[@bobconway5958]

great list loved it

[@DPK365]

Yeah #1 was obvious....great video!

[@zach7193]

Great stuff.

[@efg1311]

Great video. Got me to thinking, since my Padres were well represented (losing end) multiple times, you could probably do a whole video on future stars the Padres squandered or traded over the years. We could literally field a full roster of everyday players, starting pitchers, and bullpen of future all-stars we lost in Rule 5 or traded away for next to nothing. It would be painful to watch but also a great case study of how not to run a professional baseball organization.

[@SONICX1027]

Garret Whitlock is a good one since he was a former Yankee

[@fuktrumpanzeeskum]

But he's still nowhere close to even getting an honorable mention on best of all time list like this.

[@wolves1fan830]

Love your videos and I don't even really watch baseball but I love it's history and stats

[@HummBabyBaseball]

Thank you!

[@tryhardfinessedyou]

ROBERTO CLEMENTE?! As a somewhat serious Pirate fan this came as news to me. Love the channel!

[@thebyrdman903]

Ik he wasn’t like a superstar or anything but odubel herrera, was a serviceable outfielder for years for the Phillies and I always enjoyed watching him play

[@johnnycage1057]

Number1 Rule 5 draftee RF Roberto Clemente taken from the Dodgers System damn PIRATES

[@KidFresh71]

Wonder if Rule 5 guy Blake Sabol will stick the entire year with the SF Giants? He's currently penciled is as backup catcher / utility guy, so has a real shot.

[@john94949]

9:12 The look you give when you mistakenly trusted a fart.

[@damianlake3197]

Darrell Evans was drafted by the Phillies as well as the KC A's and signed with KC before being left unprotected after they moved to Oakland. Other than that a very well done video

[@HummBabyBaseball]

Yah I realized I messed up afterwards.. of course it was KC A's.. just got mixed up

[@JGray1968]

As a lifelong Phillies' fan, I was shocked to learn that they moved to Oakland before I was born.

[@jamestiscareno4387]

( Giants fan ) Darrell Evans is one of my favorite Giants of all time. He played a mean 3rd base and a sweet swing at the plate. "" Big D "" 👍⚾

[@luckylag360]

Josh Fields, not because he was good (though he did contribute a lot in the 2015 run) but because the Astros later flipped him for Yordan Alvarez 😊

[@rborden917]

Tony Taters.aka Anthony Santander. Rule 5 pick by my O's from The Tribe; now the Guardians.

[@foolsplay5880]

Nice video. It may be semantics, but saying, "had his career never been derailed..." about Hamilton is too generous. Yes, Hamilton was an otherworldly talent, but he damaged his career not once, but twice. As for Clemente, Sukeforth was familiar with Roberto while he was with the Dodgers, thus his desire to grab Clemente when he had the opportunity.

[@MarkRichardsonDigital]

Nestor Cortes, Jr. is definitely the best recent Rule 5 story.

[@LoowheezeBreeze]

Both Santana and Hamilton peaked as 8.7 WAR players, with the rest of Santana's noticeably better than Hamilton's Hamilton averaged 5.2 WAR per 650 PA during his 5 year prime, while Santana averaged 7.2 WAR per 232 IP during his best 5 year stretch And Santana should've had at least 1 more Cy Young, but the voters get bored writing the same name on their ballots every year, and used Colon's win total to justify a change

[@PaulCarpenter-qt6bc]

I know it's kind of early in his career, but the Red Sox stealing Garrett Whitlock from the Yankees could eventually end up on this list

[@Jose_Hunters_EWF_Remixes]

I need to mention that #3 - Johan Santana Pitched the first no-hitter in NYM's history in 2012, their 51st season of existence My words can't adequately express the importance of this event to us However... The following is an excerpt from a Mets-dedicated website immediately after Santana's no-hitter: It finally happened. And it couldn’t happen to a better guy. History was made tonight, in case you hadn’t heard. Johan Santana threw the very first no-hitter in the history of the New York Mets. It took a spectacular Mike Baxter robbery of a long fly to left to keep it in place, but HOLY CRAP! I’m having trouble typing this. My hands are shaking. My emotions are barely under my control. The last time I was shuddering and pacing like I was in the ninth tonight was moments before the ball trickled through Bill Buckner’s legs.

[@Gronk79]

Not to take anything away from Santana, but the Cardinal's Carlos Beltran hit a double down the left field line and you could see the chalk fly, but the umps called it foul.

[@jasonwilliams4159]

I had a teacher one time offer extra credit on a test. And the question was who is the greatest baseball player of all time? We would only get extra credit if we answered Roberto Clemente.

[@ruffkuntry2574]

I’m hoping Ryan Noda is the next Mark Canha for my A’s.

[@user-he6gf4vz2q]

God had the astros stayed with Johan Santana those mid 2000s Astros may have had a chance of winning it all

[@aVerveQuest]

Anthony Santandar was snagged from Boston

[@iraevans2013]

Chris Shelton had an insane month

[@patrickorourke8081]

Bobby Abreu?

[@forgerelli1]

Came here to say the same thing. Abreu`s career should put him near the top of this list.

[@ldo1308]

# 11: Blake Sabol

[@cmoore185]

Darrel Evans was drafted by the Phillies. They didn't move to Oakland. The Philladelphia A's moved to Kansas City and then to Oakland. I know that you know this. I guess you didn't catch it before you uploaded the video.

[@HummBabyBaseball]

I meant Kansas City A's not Philadelphia... my bad

[@mikesbaseballcards]

By far ROBERTO CLEMENTE IS THE GREATEST RULE 5.

[@asherconway8656]

Garrett Whitlock will be on this list soon

[@thomash1801]

Hall of fame David O