All-Time Top ABL Players: #10, J.D. Drew

#10 J.D. Drew
OF - Peninsula Oilers (1995)
Bats: Left - Throws: Right
Drafted: SF '94 Rd. 20 (Did Not Sign). PHI '97 Rd. 1 (Did Not Sign). StL '98 Rd. 1 
MLB Career: 1998-Present
MLB Teams: St. Louis, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles

You might be seeing a trend here. During the late 80's and early 90's the Peninsula Oilers were virtually mass-producing future MLB stars. We've covered several of them so far, but as we reach the top-ten portion of our list we're going to look in detail at another: Georgia native J.D. Drew.

Drew's collegiate career was legendary. Originally drafted in the 20th round in 1994 by San Francisco, Drew declined to sign, believing that his draft stock could rise through college ball. He was right. He amassed a number of records and accolades in his days at Florida state: first to hit three home runs in a College World Series game, most career HR in CWS play, third NCAA career triple-triple (100 hits, runs and RBI's), first NCAA 30/30 season. .455 average as a Junior. The Dick Howser trophy, the Golden Spikes Trophy, two separate Collegiate Player of the Year Trophies. I'm going out on a pretty flimsy limb here but I might...just might...argue that Drew was the greatest player in NCAA history.



Drew was again drafted in 1997, this time by Philadelphia, and he and agent Scott Boras demanded an $11 million signing bonus. When the Phils refused the bonus, Drew closed off negotiations (later claiming that he never received three counter offers sent by Fed-Ex both to his parents' home and his address on the Florida State campus). This led to an interesting twist in his career: his decision to sign with the St. Paul Saints of the independent Northern League. After his contract fiasco Drew didn't always fit in on the blue-collar indy circuit but his stats were impressive nonetheless: in his two partial Northern League seasons (74 games) he put a .359 average, 28 HR, and 83 RBI's.

When he was drafted again by St. Louis in 1998, Drew finally inked a deal. Signing an $8.5 million contract with the Cardinals, drew burned his way through the minors and got his cup of coffee with the big club that fall. By the midpoint of next season he was in the Majors for good. Since then he's been one of the league's better outfielders, putting up a .283 career average with 705 RBI's and 216 HR. His breakout year came in his sole season in a Braves uniform, putting up a .305 avg, 31 homers and 93 RBI's. Over the course of his career he's managed an All-Star appearance (for which he was named All-Star Game MVP) and a World Series ring.

Unfortunately, Drew has had at least one -- and possibly two -- big knocks against him. The first and most obvious of these is his history of injury. In his 11 full MLB seasons, Drew has only made 120 appearances in six of them, and in only four did he have more than 450 at-bats. The second drawback with Drew is his reputation as a careerist. Many people believe that his enormous talent is squandered because, they allege, he has a tendency to hold back (except when a big contract is on the line) despite his top-dollar contract demands. On the other hand, Drew's fans argue that his talent allows him to do phenomenal things and still make them look easy. They would tell you that what to some seems like a lack of passion is simply the man's professional and even-keeled approach to the game.

The lingering question, then, is whether or not we've seen all of J.D. Drew that we could have. We know that Drew has enormous talent, and has been able to demonstrate that from time to time. But what could he have done if he had stayed healthy more often? And could he reached even greater heights if he had pushed himself a little harder? These questions aside, a lot of Major League teams could use a .280/20HR guy in the middle of their lineup. Having spread that average over an 11-year career (with a few years left to go), Drew has earned himself a spot in our Top 20 list.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ekilby/ / CC BY-SA 2.0