BoSox Injection
Fansided

Boston Red Sox: 10 biggest first-round draft pick disasters

By Sean Penney

PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 14: A Rawlings leather baseball glove and a hat sit on the bench in the dugout before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on August 14, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Red Sox won 2-1. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 14: A Rawlings leather baseball glove and a hat sit on the bench in the dugout before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on August 14, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Red Sox won 2-1. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 11
Next
Mandatory Credit: Al Bello /Allsport
Mandatory Credit: Al Bello /Allsport /

Red Sox 1988 Draft

No. 12 – Tom Fischer
No. 14 – Tino Martinez (Mariners)

Left-handed pitcher Tom Fischer spent six years in the Red Sox farm system and made it as far as Triple-A Pawtucket but never took that last step to the majors. He was last seen making a brief stint in the Independent leagues in 1996 after washing out of the Red Sox organization a few years earlier.

First baseman Tino Martinez had a breakout year in 1995, his final season with the Seattle Mariners. He hit .293 with 31 home runs to earn his first All-Star appearance while helping to lead the Mariners to the ALCS.

Seattle traded him to the New York Yankees after that season and he signed a five-year extension with his new team. Martinez made another All-Star appearance in 1997 when he hit .296 with 44 home runs and 141 RBI to win a Silver Slugger and finish as the runner-up on the MVP ballot.

Martinez won four World Series titles with the Yankees. Had the Red Sox taken him in the 1988 draft ahead of Seattle, they not only could have added a talented bat to their lineup but they potentially would have deprived their bitter rivals of a key piece of their dynasty.

Home/Red Sox Prospects