1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft

The 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft was conducted to stock up the rosters of four expansion teams in Major League Baseball created via the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion and which would begin play in the 1969 season.

1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft
General information
Sport	Baseball
Date(s)	October 14, 1968 (National League) October 15, 1968 (American League)
Overview
60 (National League) 60 (American League) total selections
First selection	Manny Mota (Montreal Expos)
← 1961 1976 →

The expansion draft for the Montreal Expos and the San Diego Padres was held on October 14, 1968. The expansion draft for the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots was held on October 15, 1968.

Background

Montreal Expos

On December 2, 1967, Gerry Snyder presented a bid for a Montreal franchise to Major League Baseball's team owners at their winter meetings in Mexico City. One potential wild card in Montreal's favor was that the chair of the National League's expansion committee was influential Los Angeles Dodgers president Walter O'Malley, under whom the minor league Montreal Royals had become affiliated with the Dodgers. On May 27, 1968, O'Malley announced that franchises were being awarded to Montreal and San Diego, beginning play the following year (1969).^[1]

Business executive Charles Bronfman of the Seagram's distilling empire owned the new team.^[2] With a long history of use in Montreal, the "Royals" was one of the candidate nicknames for the new franchise, but the American League's new Kansas City team adopted this name, so the new owners conducted a contest to name the team. Many names were suggested by Montrealers (including the "Voyageurs" and in a coincidental twist, the "Nationals" — now used by the team in its new home in Washington, D.C.) but there was a clear winner. At the time, the city was still basking in the glow of the recently completed Expo 67, the most popular World's Fair to date, and so the name "Expos" was used.^[3] The Expos name also had the advantage of being the same in both English and French, the city's two dominant languages.

San Diego Padres

The Padres adopted their name from the Pacific Coast League team which arrived in San Diego in 1936. That minor league franchise won the PCL title in 1937, led by then-18-year-old San Diego native Ted Williams. Their original owner was C. Arnholt Smith, a prominent San Diego businessman and former owner of the PCL Padres whose interests included banking, tuna fishing, hotels, real estate and an airline. The team was led by longtime baseball executive Buzzie Bavasi.

Kansas City Royals

The "Royals" name originates from the American Royal Livestock Show, held in Kansas City since 1899. Entering Major League Baseball as an expansion franchise in 1969, the club was founded by Ewing Kauffman, a Kansas City businessman. The franchise was established following the actions of Stuart Symington, then-United States Senator from Missouri, who demanded a new franchise for the city after the Athletics—Kansas City's previous major league team—moved to Oakland, California.

Seattle Pilots

Seattle initially had much going for it when it joined the American League in 1969. Seattle had long been a hotbed for minor league baseball and was home to the Seattle Rainiers, one of the pillars of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The Cleveland Indians had almost moved to Seattle in 1965. Many of the same things that attracted the Indians made Seattle a plum choice for an expansion team. Seattle was the third-biggest metropolitan area on the West Coast (behind Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area).

Draft results

Key

‡	All-Star
†	Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame

National League Draft Pick Player Selected from Selected by 1 Ollie Brown San Francisco Giants San Diego Padres 2 Manny Mota^‡ Pittsburgh Pirates Montreal Expos 3 Dave Giusti^‡^[b] St. Louis Cardinals San Diego Padres 4 Mack Jones Cincinnati Reds Montreal Expos 5 Dick Selma New York Mets San Diego Padres 6 John Bateman Houston Astros Montreal Expos 7 Al Santorini Atlanta Braves San Diego Padres 8 Gary Sutherland Philadelphia Phillies Montreal Expos 9 José Arcia Chicago Cubs San Diego Padres 10 Jack Billingham^‡^[e] Los Angeles Dodgers Montreal Expos 11 Donn Clendenon^[e] Pittsburgh Pirates Montreal Expos 12 Clay Kirby St. Louis Cardinals San Diego Padres 13 Jesús Alou^[e] San Francisco Giants Montreal Expos 14 Fred Kendall Cincinnati Reds San Diego Padres 15 Mike Wegener Philadelphia Phillies Montreal Expos 16 Jerry Morales^‡ New York Mets San Diego Padres 17 Skip Guinn^[e] Atlanta Braves Montreal Expos 18 Nate Colbert^‡ Houston Astros San Diego Padres 19 Bill Stoneman^‡ Chicago Cubs Montreal Expos 20 Zoilo Versalles^‡ Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres 21 Maury Wills^‡ Pittsburgh Pirates Montreal Expos 22 Frank Reberger Chicago Cubs San Diego Padres 23 Larry Jackson^‡^[a] Philadelphia Phillies Montreal Expos 24 Jerry DaVanon St. Louis Cardinals San Diego Padres 25 Bob Reynolds San Francisco Giants Montreal Expos 26 Larry Stahl New York Mets San Diego Padres 27 Dan McGinn Cincinnati Reds Montreal Expos 28 Dick Kelley Atlanta Braves San Diego Padres 29 José Herrera Houston Astros Montreal Expos 30 Al Ferrara Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres 31 Mike Corkins San Francisco Giants San Diego Padres 32 Jimy Williams^[h] Cincinnati Reds Montreal Expos 33 Tom Dukes Houston Astros San Diego Padres 34 Remy Hermoso Atlanta Braves Montreal Expos 35 Rick James^[i] Chicago Cubs San Diego Padres 36 Mudcat Grant^‡ Los Angeles Dodgers Montreal Expos 37 Tony González Philadelphia Phillies San Diego Padres 38 Jerry Robertson St. Louis Cardinals Montreal Expos 39 Dave Roberts Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres 40 Don Shaw New York Mets Montreal Expos 41 Ty Cline San Francisco Giants Montreal Expos 42 Ivan Murrell Houston Astros San Diego Padres 43 Garry Jestadt Chicago Cubs Montreal Expos 44 Jim Williams Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres 45 Carl Morton Atlanta Braves Montreal Expos 46 Billy McCool Cincinnati Reds San Diego Padres 47 Larry Jaster St. Louis Cardinals Montreal Expos 48 Roberto Peña Philadelphia Phillies San Diego Padres 49 Ernie McAnally New York Mets Montreal Expos 50 Al McBean Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres 51 Rafael Robles San Francisco Giants San Diego Padres 52 Jim Fairey Los Angeles Dodgers Montreal Expos 53 Fred Katawczik^[f] Cincinnati Reds San Diego Padres 54 Coco Laboy St. Louis Cardinals Montreal Expos 55 Ron Slocum Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres 56 John Boccabella Chicago Cubs Montreal Expos 57 Steve Arlin Philadelphia Phillies San Diego Padres 58 Ron Brand Houston Astros Montreal Expos 59 Cito Gaston^‡ Atlanta Braves San Diego Padres 60 John Glass^[f] New York Mets Montreal Expos

American League Draft Pick Player Selected from Selected by 1 Roger Nelson Baltimore Orioles Kansas City Royals 2 Don Mincher^‡ California Angels Seattle Pilots 3 Tommy Harper^‡ Cleveland Indians Seattle Pilots 4 Joe Foy Boston Red Sox Kansas City Royals 5 Ray Oyler Detroit Tigers Seattle Pilots 6 Jim Rooker New York Yankees Kansas City Royals 7 Jerry McNertney Chicago White Sox Seattle Pilots 8 Joe Keough Oakland Athletics Kansas City Royals 9 Buzz Stephen Minnesota Twins Seattle Pilots 10 Steve Jones Washington Senators Kansas City Royals 11 Chico Salmon Cleveland Indians Seattle Pilots 12 Jon Warden Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals 13 Ellie Rodríguez^‡ New York Yankees Kansas City Royals 14 Diego Seguí Oakland Athletics Seattle Pilots 15 Dave Morehead Boston Red Sox Kansas City Royals 16 Tommy Davis^‡ Chicago White Sox Seattle Pilots 17 Mike Fiore Baltimore Orioles Kansas City Royals 18 Marty Pattin^‡ California Angels Seattle Pilots 19 Bob Oliver Minnesota Twins Kansas City Royals 20 Gerry Schoen Washington Senators Seattle Pilots 21 Gary Bell^‡ Boston Red Sox Seattle Pilots 22 Bill Butler Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals 23 Steve Whitaker New York Yankees Kansas City Royals 24 Jack Aker Oakland Athletics Seattle Pilots 25 Wally Bunker Baltimore Orioles Kansas City Royals 26 Rich Rollins^‡ Minnesota Twins Seattle Pilots 27 Paul Schaal California Angels Kansas City Royals 28 Lou Piniella^‡^[d] Cleveland Indians Seattle Pilots 29 Bill Haynes Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals 30 Dick Bates Washington Senators Seattle Pilots 31 Dick Drago Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals 32 Larry Haney Baltimore Orioles Seattle Pilots 33 Dick Baney Boston Red Sox Seattle Pilots 34 Pat Kelly^‡ Minnesota Twins Kansas City Royals 35 Steve Hovley California Angels Seattle Pilots 36 Billy Harris Cleveland Indians Kansas City Royals 37 Steve Barber^‡ New York Yankees Seattle Pilots 38 Don O'Riley Oakland Athletics Kansas City Royals 39 John Miklos^[f] Washington Senators Seattle Pilots 40 Al Fitzmorris Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals 41 Wayne Comer Detroit Tigers Seattle Pilots 42 Moe Drabowsky Baltimore Orioles Kansas City Royals 43 Jackie Hernández Minnesota Twins Kansas City Royals 44 Bucky Brandon Boston Red Sox Seattle Pilots 45 Mike Hedlund Cleveland Indians Kansas City Royals 46 Skip Lockwood Oakland Athletics Seattle Pilots 47 Tom Burgmeier California Angels Kansas City Royals 48 Gary Timberlake New York Yankees Seattle Pilots 49 Hoyt Wilhelm^†^[c] Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals 50 Bob Richmond^[f] Washington Senators Seattle Pilots 51 Jerry Adair Boston Red Sox Kansas City Royals 52 John Morris Baltimore Orioles Seattle Pilots 53 Mike Marshall^‡ Detroit Tigers Seattle Pilots 54 Jerry Cram Minnesota Twins Kansas City Royals 55 Jim Gosger Oakland Athletics Seattle Pilots 56 Fran Healy Cleveland Indians Kansas City Royals 57 Mike Ferraro New York Yankees Seattle Pilots 58 Scott Northey Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals 59 Paul Click^[f] California Angels Seattle Pilots 60 Ike Brookens^[g] Washington Senators Kansas City Royals

Notes

^a The Expos acquired Bobby Wine as compensation after Larry Jackson decided to retire rather than report to Montreal.^[4]

^b Dave Giusti never played for the Padres. He was traded back to the Cardinals two months later for four players.^[5]

^c Hoyt Wilhelm never played for the Royals. He was traded to the California Angels on December 12, 1968, for two players.

^d Lou Piniella never played for the Pilots. He was traded to the Royals on April 1, 1969.

^e Jesus Alou, Jack Billingham and Skip Guinn never played for the Expos. Alou and Donn Clendenon were traded to Houston for Rusty Staub. When Clendenon threatened to retire rather than report, Billingham and Guinn were sent to Houston to complete the trade.^[6]

^f Katawczik, Glass, Miklos, Richmond and Click never played in the Majors.

^g Ike Brookens never played for the Royals. He did not play in the Majors until making his debut with the Detroit Tigers in 1975.

^g Jimy Williams never played for the Expos or returned to the Majors.

^h Rick James never played for the Padres or returned to the Majors.

References

1. "Key dates in Expos history". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. September 29, 2004. from the original on February 26, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
2. Montreal Expos (1969–2004)
3. . Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved July 10, 2008.
4. "Bobby Wine heading home, will join Phils as coach," The Gazette (Montreal), Tuesday, July 18, 1972.
5. "Why Cardinals traded twice for Dave Giusti in 3 months"
6. "The Planting of Le Grand Orange"