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In the majors’ amateur free-agent draftNEW YORK (UPI) - Will Ken Griffey Jr. follow the path of A1 Chambers or Darryl Strawberry?The Seattle Mariners made Griffey the No. 1 selection Tuesday in major-league baseball’s amateur free-agent draft, an honor that does not always translate into success on the field.While several top picks have become stars — Strawberry, Bob Horner, Harold Baines and Jeff Burroughs among them — many other No.I choices were busts. Remember Chambers, David Clyde and Danny Goodwin?Chambers, the No. 1 pick by Seattle in 1979, spent 4 1-2 seasons in the minors before making the Mariners. He hit .208 with two homers andII RBI in 57 games in parts of three seasons. Clyde was 18-33 in a brief major-league career after being the top choice of Texas in 1973. Goodwin, the No. 1 selection in both 1971 and 1975, hit .236 with 13 homers in the big leagues.Seattle is convinced Griffey, the son of the veteran Atlanta Braves outfielder, will not become another Chambers. The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder batted .478 with seven home runs, six doubles and 26 RBI this season for Moeller HighSchool in Cincinnati.“We are real excited because Ken has got great bloodlines and lots of talent,” said RogerJongewaard, the Mariners’ scouting director. “All of his tools are good — there’s nothing he can’t do above average. But what really sold us were his instincts for the game and his power potential.”Griffey, 17, became the first son of a major leaguer to be the nation’s top pick in the summer draft. His father, a lifetime .300 hitter, was a 29th-round choice by the Cincinnati Reds in1969.“It’s a dream come true for me,” the younger Griffey said of his selection. “I’d like to make it to the majors by the time I’m 20 to 21. I need work on stealing bases. ”Griffey’s high school coach, Mike Cameron, says the younger Griffey must work harder in pro baseball than he did in high school.“I don’t think he was challenged enough,” Cameron said. “Things come too easy for him. I would hope that he would improve on his work habits as he goes through the minor leagues.”Griffey signed with the Mariners immediately. He will spend three days working out with the team beginning Monday and then will head to Bellingham, Wash., of the Northwest League.The first three picks were used to draft high school players. Fifteen pitchers went in thefirst round, including eight of the first 10 play-ers chosen.Following the Mariners, Pittsburgh selected outfielder Mark Merchant of Oviedo (Fla.) High School, who stole 48 bases in 49 attempts this season. He hit .419 in 28 games this year with seven doubles, two triples, five home runsand 23 RBI.“Mark has the necessary talent to become a complete player,” said Pittsburgh General Manager Syd Thrift. “He’s shown rare power from both sides of the plate despite the fact that he only started to hit from the left side a year ago.”Minnesota chose pitcher Willie Banks of St. Anthony’s High School in Jersey City, N.J., with the third pick. The right-hander, who throws a 93 mph fastball, was 7-2 this year with a 0.59 ERA. He had 140 strikeouts in 71 2-3 innings.The first collegian selected was Mike Har-key, a right-handed pitcher from Fullerton State chosen by the Chicago Cubs.The first-round selections were released by Commissioner Peter Ueberroth’s office. The remaining choices, an undetermined number, will be released bv the clubs next week.
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