[FatJack]

For those who criticize the Mets for choosing Steve Chilcott over Reggie Jackson, I give you Mike Nunn, a first round draft pick of the California Angels in 1967. The connection? Left-hand hitting catchers. If you're a lefty hitting catcher, you're going to be seen as a greater commodity than an outfielder. Of course, being a left-hand hitting catcher only pays off if you, you know, can hit. Nunn spent most of his career below the Mendoza line and finished just above it at .209. He spent his final season of 1972 in the Yankees' system and he was out of baseball at age 24. He looks older than his years in this Topps Vault shot. A few picks earlier in the same draft, the Senators took Johnny Jones, another lefty hitting catcher who would've killed to be as good as Nunn. Jones hit just .150 over his 4 year career, never advancing beyond Class A and out of the game at just 21. Taken just after Nunn was a switch-hitting catcher named Ted Simmons. He, at least, panned out. Dave Rader, another lefty hitting catcher, was also a first round pick that year.