The final January draft

Moises Alou

The Cleveland Indians, with the No. 1 pick in the old January phase of the amateur draft 38 years ago today, select ... wait for it ... Cuyahoga Community College pitcher Jeff Shaw.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, picking second in the 1986 winter draft, opt for another college kid – an outfielder from Canada College in Redwood City, Calif., named Moises Alou.

Shaw goes on to have a solid 12-year career in the major leagues, and is a two-time All-Star as a relief pitcher.

As for Alou, he becomes a six-time National League All-Star and .303 lifetime hitter with 332 home runs and 1,287 runs batted in over his 17 seasons in the majors.

Alou and Shaw are among the last of a handful of future All-Stars taken in the January draft from 1966-86.

The last future All-Star – and, arguably, a future Hall of Famer – to come out of the final January draft in 1986 is Yavapai College pitcher Curt Schilling, who goes in the second round with the 37th pick overall to the Boston Red Sox.

Schilling is traded two years later to Baltimore, where he makes his debut late in the 1988 season.

So starts a 20-year career in which Schilling becomes a six-time All-Star Game wins three World Series titles and is both an MVP in the National League Championship Series and the World Series.

Schilling does all of this with five teams, the last of which being the same Boston team that initially drafts him 38 years ago today.

Curt Schilling with Boston (Brad Mangin photo)