# 1981 Major League Baseball draft

The 1981 Major League Baseball draft took place in June 1981. The draft saw the Seattle Mariners select Mike Moore first overall.

## First round selections

| = All-Star | = Baseball Hall of Famer |
The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.
| Pick | Player | Team | Position | Hometown/School |
| 1 | Mike Moore | Seattle Mariners | Pitcher | Oral Roberts |
| 2 | Joe Carter | Chicago Cubs | Outfield | Wichita State |
| 3 | Dick Schofield | California Angels | Shortstop | Griffin High School |
| 4 | Terry Blocker | New York Mets | Outfield | Tennessee State |
| 5 | Matt Williams | Toronto Blue Jays | Pitcher | Rice |
| 6 | Kevin McReynolds | San Diego Padres | Outfield | Arkansas |
| 7 | Daryl Boston | Chicago White Sox | Outfield | Woodward High School |
| 8 | Bobby Meacham | St. Louis Cardinals | Shortstop | San Diego State |
| 9 | Ron Darling | Texas Rangers | Pitcher | Yale |
| 10 | Mark Grant | San Francisco Giants | Pitcher | Joliet Catholic High School |
| 11 | Mike Sodders | Minnesota Twins | Third Base | Arizona State |
| 12 | Jay Roberts | Atlanta Braves | Outfield | Centralia High School |
| 13 | George Alpert | Cleveland Indians | Outfield | Livingston High School (NJ) |
| 14 | Jim Winn | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pitcher | John Brown University |
| 15 | Tim Pyznarski | Oakland Athletics | Third Base | Eastern Illinois |
| 16 | Vance Lovelace | Chicago Cubs | Pitcher | Hillsborough High School (FL) |
| 17 | Ricky Barlow | Detroit Tigers | Pitcher | Woodville High School (Woodville, TX) |
| 18 | Darren Dilks | Montreal Expos | Pitcher | Oklahoma State |
| 19 | Steve Lyons | Boston Red Sox | Shortstop | Oregon State |
| 20 | Johnny Abrego | Philadelphia Phillies | Pitcher | Mission High School (CA) |
| 21 | John Cerutti | Toronto Blue Jays | Pitcher | Amherst College |
| 22 | Dave Anderson | Los Angeles Dodgers | Shortstop | Memphis |
| 23 | Dave Leeper | Kansas City Royals | Outfield | USC |
| 24 | Al Lachowicz | Texas Rangers | Pitcher | Pittsburgh |
| 25 | Kevin Burrell | Boston Red Sox | Catcher | Poway High School |
| 26 | Frank Castro | San Diego Padres | Catcher | Miami (FL) |

## Compensation Picks

* ↑ Pick from Cincinnati Reds as compensation for signing of free agent Larry Biittner
* ↑ Pick from Milwaukee Brewers as compensation for signing of free agent Roy Howell
* ↑ Pick from Houston Astros as compensation for signing of free agent Dave Roberts
* ↑ Pick from Baltimore Orioles as compensation for signing of free agent Jim Dwyer
* ↑ Pick from New York Yankees as compensation for signing of free agent Dave Winfield

## Other notable players

* Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs
* Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33rd overall by the Oakland Athletics
* Mark Gubicza†, 2nd round, 34th overall by the Kansas City Royals
* Mark Langston†, 2nd round, 35th overall by the Seattle Mariners
* Frank Viola†, 2nd round, 37th overall by the Minnesota Twins
* Neal Heaton†, 2nd round, 39th overall by the Cleveland Indians
* Sid Bream, 2nd round, 48th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
* John Elway, 2nd round, 52nd overall by the New York Yankees
* Phil Bradley†, 3rd round, 53rd overall by the Seattle Mariners
* Tony Gwynn‡, 3rd round, 58th overall by the San Diego Padres
* Sid Fernandez†, 3rd round, 73rd overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
* David Cone†, 3rd round, 74th overall by the Kansas City Royals
* Curt Young, 4th round, 92nd overall by the Oakland Athletics
* Paul O'Neill†, 4th round, 93rd overall by the Cincinnati Reds
* Todd Benzinger, 4th round, 96th overall by the Boston Red Sox
* Shane Mack, 4th round, 100th overall by the Kansas City Royals, but did not sign
* Eric Plunk, 4th round, 103rd overall by the New York Yankees
* Bip Roberts, 5th round, 117th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but did not sign
* Mickey Tettleton†, 5th round, 118th overall by the Oakland Athletics
* Bill Wegman, 5th round, 124th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers
* John Franco†, 5th round, 125th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
* Devon White†, 6th round, 132nd overall by the California Angels
* Alvin Davis†, 6th round, 144th overall by the Oakland Athletics, but did not sign
* Mike Pagliarulo, 6th round, 155th overall by the New York Yankees
* Mark McGwire†, 8th round, 199th overall by the Montreal Expos, but did not sign
* Steve Lombardozzi, 9th round, 218th overall by the Minnesota Twins
* Fred McGriff‡, 9th round, 233rd overall by the New York Yankees
* Roger Clemens†, 12th round, 289th overall by the New York Mets, but did not sign
* Lenny Dykstra†, 13th round, 315th overall by the New York Mets
* Danny Cox, 13th round, 319th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals
* Bob Tewksbury†, 19th round, 493rd overall by the New York Yankees
* Matt Nokes†, 20th round, 503rd overall by the San Francisco Giants
* Vince Coleman, 20th round, 513th overall by the Philadelphia Phillies, but did not sign
* Al LeBoeuf, 28th round, 705th overall by the Philadelphia Phillies
* Chris Bosio, 29th round, 722nd overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but did not sign
* Lance Johnson, 30th round, 742nd overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but did not sign
* Cecil Fielder, 31st round, 767th overall by the Baltimore Orioles, but did not sign
† All-Star
‡ Hall of Famer

### NFL players drafted

* John Elway, 2nd round, 52nd overall by the New York Yankees
* Jack Del Rio, 22nd round, 550th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays, but did not sign