Posted by Titan Sports Blogger
Last week Major League Baseball held its annual First-Year Player Draft. That got us thinking, "Has a Westminster College baseball player ever been drafted?"
One of two Titans to make it to the big leagues, 1974 Westminster graduate Darryl Jones was the only Westminster player ever drafted. Jones was selected in the fifth round of the 1972 MLB Draft.
A standout shortstop for the Titans, Jones was selected 110th overall by the New York Yankees. Jones was in the same 1972 draft class as Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley, who was taken in the third round by the Indians before enjoying his best years with Oakland where he won the American League MVP and Cy Young awards in 1992. Only four other local players were taken in the 1972 draft: pitcher Jeffrey Potter (Ellwood City HS) by the Tigers in the sixth round, infielder Ken Macha (Pitt) in the sixth round by the Pirates (Macha is currently the manager for the Milwaukee Brewers), pitcher Steve Bartolin (Youngstown State) by the Tigers in the 22nd round, and catcher Doug Zimmerman (Slippery Rock) by the Pirates in the 36th round.
Jones worked his way through the Yankees farm system and debuted for the parent club in 1979 and saw action in 18 games, including 51 plate appearances while batting .255 (12-47) with five doubles and a triple. In his brief stint between June 6 and July 11, Jones was a designated hitter for 15 games and played outfield in two games (4 innings). It was his only appearance in "The Show." Jones goes down in history as one of two Westminster players to reach the Major League when you include pitcher Harry Wilhelm's five-game cup of tea with the Louisville Colonels in 1899 while playing alongside Honus Wagner, considered the greatest shortstop to ever play the game, one year before Wagner joined the Pittsburgh Pirates for the remaining 18 years of his Hall of Fame career.
Not surprising, the Westminster alumni office does not have a file on Harry Wilhelm -- and can you believe we couldn't track down any of his former classmates! -- but Jones currently lives in Meadville and he is a State Farm Insurance agent in Conneaut Lake.
