The MLB Draft is coming soon, with festivities split across July 13-14 in Atlanta. The event opens the biggest weekend in baseball alongside the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. This year, Maryland celebrates 80 years of producing top MLB talent. In 1965, Jim Spencer made history when the California Angels selected the first baseman with the 11th overall pick out of Andover High School, which is now North County High School. Spencer made his major league debut on Sept. 7, 1968, beginning a 15-year career. In 1978, he became the first Maryland high school draftee to win a World Series. 337 players have followed Spencer's lead from schools across the state. Two, Cal Ripken Jr. and Harold Baines, have made the Hall of Fame. Maryland high school draftees have combined for 37 All-Star appearances, 13 Silver Sluggers, nine Gold Gloves, two MVPs, a Rookie of the Year and seven World Series wins. The Chicago White Sox used their No.1 overall pick in 1977 on Harold Baines out of St. Michaels High School. He became the first and only player to be drafted from the school and the only top selection in state history. The White Sox had faith in the then-18-year-old after he hit .532 as a senior and became an All-American first baseman. Baines played for five teams, headlined by the White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles. He debuted on Opening Day in 1980 and dominated the decade, boasting the 5th most RBIs among American League players from 1980 to 1989. Baines is regarded as one of the most clutch players of all time. He is tied for the fourth-most walk-off home runs and the 10th-most grand slams in MLB history. Baines joined the Hall of Fame in 2019 as an inductee of the Today's Game Era Committee. In his induction speech, Baines gave credit to his Maryland upbringing. “From teachers to coaches to town residents who showed me both kindness and discipline, I thank you all for what you have done for me. I cannot ever express enough appreciation for St. Michaels. It still remains my home to this day,” Baines said. In 1993, the town of St. Michaels named Jan. 9 as Harold Baines Day. The White Sox retired his number 3 in honor of their franchise icon. Baines returned to Chicago as a bench coach in 2004 and finally helped bring a World Series back to the South Side in 2005. Most recently, the San Diego Padres selected Lamar King Jr. (Calvert Hall College High School 22) in the 4th round of the 2022 draft. San Diego has made two of the three most recent Maryland high school selections, joined by Jackson Merrill and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Peter Heubeck. King impressed scouts in his senior season with a .545 batting average and a 1.363 slugging percentage, according to MaxPreps. The catcher had been committed to Georgia Tech before the draft. He ultimately signed for full slot value at the 120th overall pick. King recently won the Minor League Player of the Month award for his June performance. The 21-year-old had a .408 batting average with a 1.084 OPS and 11 doubles in the month. MLB Pipeline ranks King as the Padres’ 29th-best prospect. King now has a chance to follow in his father, Lamar King Sr., a former NFL defensive end, and make it to the pros. The elder King played for Essex High School and the Seattle Seahawks drafted him in the first round of the 1999 NFL draft. In 2025, the legacy of Maryland players could continue with Long Reach High School's Aidan West. MLB lists the shortstop as a top 125 player in the draft class. West could make history for Long Reach as their first draftee and end a three-year drought for Maryland high school talent.
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