[majesty95]

The player draft, like all other things during this time, was held in secrecy. The owners agreed that only players who had not played in at least 10 years would be allowed to be selected. Of course, they all had to be convinced to get into this “time machine” and return to the future. That was of little concern though. The main concern was figuring out the targets for each team.

Each team would be able to draft three players from their own team’s history. Any player chosen would have had to play at least three full seasons worth of games for their franchise. Those players would also be brought back prior to their rookie season (or the year before if the player had a strong enough sample size to suggest they could play full-time right away). The idea was to give them another entire career in today’s game. They would all receive a Major League minimum salary and would inherit the service time they had established at the time they were brought back.

Since the player selection process was in reverse order of record over the past 10 years that meant San Diego would have first choice of players to return. There had been many great players in San Diego’s history. Tony Gwynn, for one, seemed to be a lock to return. He was not only the best Padre to ever play the game but also the most beloved. He had also passed away just a few years ago. His return would be a boon to the dilapidated franchise. But who else would they pick? And how would it affect the teams to select after them?

The submissions began to come in one team at a time. Who would we get to watch re-live their careers all over again? How would it impact their teams? How would they fare in today’s game?

Return to History Major League Baseball Player Selections

San Diego Padres – Tony Gwynn, Dave Winfield, Randy Jones
Seattle Mariners – Edgar Martinez, Mark Langston, Erik Hanson
Colorado Rockies – Larry Walker, Vinny Castilla, Andres Galarraga
Florida Marlins – Livan Hernandez, Alex Fernandez, Charles Johnson
Minnesota Twins – Kirby Puckett, Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew
Pittsburgh Pirates – Roberto Clemente, Honus Wagner, Ralph Kiner
Chicago White Sox – Carlton Fisk, Tommy John, Jack McDowell
Arizona Diamondbacks – Curt Schilling, Greg Swindell, Matt Williams
Houston Astros – Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Nolan Ryan
Kansas City Royals – George Brett, Bret Saberhagen, Kevin Appier
Cincinnati Reds – Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Pete Rose
Baltimore Orioles – Cal Ripken, Jr., Jim Palmer, Frank Robinson
New York Mets – Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, Mike Piazza
Oakland Athletics – Dennis Eckersely, Rickey Henderson, Jimmie Foxx
Milwaukee Brewers – Rollie Fingers, Teddy Higuera, Dan Plesac
Philadelphia Phillies – Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Nap Lajoie
Toronto Blue Jays – Fred McGriff, Juan Guzman, Tom Henke
Atlanta Braves – Hank Aaron, Eddie Matthews, Dale Murphy
Cleveland Indians – Bob Feller, Al Rosen, Larry Doby
Chicago Cubs – Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Fergie Jenkins
Detroit Tigers – Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, Darrell Evans
Tampa Bay Rays – Greg Vaughn, Roberto Hernandez, Wilson Alvarez
Texas Rangers – Kevin Brown, Charlie Hough, Jeff Burroughs
Washington Nationals – Andre Dawson, Gary Carter, Tim Raines
San Francisco Giants – Willie Mays, Mel Ott, Wille McCovey
Los Angeles Angels – Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew, Chuck Finley
Boston Red Sox – Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Roger Clemens
St. Louis Cardinals – Stan Musial, Rogers Hornsby, Bob Gibson
Los Angeles Dodgers – Sandy Koufax, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson
*New York Yankees – Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio