Yankees: 4 Draft Picks New York Couldn’t Make Under 2020 Rules

Don Mattingly was one of the New York Yankees’ greatest draft steals ever.

1. Don Mattingly, 1979 (19th Round)

Thank goodness the Yankees sent an advanced scout or two to Reitz Memorial HS in Evansville, IN.

That’s where they found Don Mattingly in 1979, two-thirds of the way through a trio of World Series appearances, but on the precipice of a strange decade in which Mattingly would become emblematic of the team for a generation of title-starved fans.

After a short cameo in 1982, Donnie Baseball was in the Bronx to stay at age 22 in 1983, before really busting out in ’84, hitting .343 with 23 homers, and finishing fifth in the MVP chase. The very next year, Mattingly had ascended an extra level, winning the honors over George Brett by knocking in an obscene 145 runs.

Any baseball fan in 1988 would’ve sworn Mattingly was headed for a Hall of Fame career, but his back betrayed him, making the 1995 postseason the slugger’s swan song, capping a high-peak burst of a career.

The ’80s edition of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry was captained by Mattingly and Wade Boggs, two players who wouldn’t have been drafted in 2020 (Boggs was a seventh-rounder). Yup, 2020’s going to feature a very strange talent overflow.