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
The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.

Compensation Picks


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
 * 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