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He was highly-regarded for his size (a sturdy 6-foot-5), his stuff, and, perhaps most of all, his ultra-clean mechanics. Had they taken him first, no one would have flinched. Failing to sign their first pick didn’t seem like something the Yankees wanted to risk, but they were willing to roll the dice with Prior at 43rd overall. Signability was very much in question for Mark Prior, to the point where he appeared willing to sign with only one of four teams. This one was a right-handed pitcher from University City High School in San Diego, and he too had placed a high bar on his desired bonus. Like Teixeira, there was another phenom who interested the Yankees at No. He agreed to a bonus of just over a million dollars, and that allowed the Yankees to get aggressive with their next pick. Brown was athletic, he fit the physical profile of someone who would thrive in Yankee Stadium were he to reach his potential, the organization liked his makeup, and, importantly, he was signable. Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Imagesĭrafting and signing Teixeira in the first round would have made the 1998 draft one of the Yankees’ best ever, but they passed on him and chose 6-foot-6, 190-pound, lefty-hitting Andy Brown out of Richmond, Indiana. (Although the Red Sox picked him, he indeed became a Yellow Jacket.) The Yankees felt better about meeting Mark Teixeira’s price in 2008 when they signed him to an eight-year, $180 million contract to play first base for them. They had serious interest in a switch-hitting infielder from Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, who had idolized Don Mattingly and was a clear first-round talent but also had seven-figure bonus demands and the option to play at Georgia Tech. Perhaps the failure to sign the athletic Godwin affected the strategy of the Yankees’ organization when their first pick was on the clock. There was a chance for the ‘98 draft to be historic, just like the big league team, but it would end up as one of the great “what-ifs” of the era. 43-a compensatory pick because they had failed to sign Tyrell Godwin, a North Carolina high schooler and their ‘97 first-rounder. They also had the rare opportunity to choose in the supplemental first round at No.

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Unlike previous years when they had lost their first-round pick after signing a major league free agent, the Yankees were choosing 24th overall.

There were no bonus pools or slot limits, just 50 rounds of opportunity to improve the franchise. As long as they were willing to pay the bonus demand, they could sign him. This all meant that on June 2nd, the first night of the 1998 MLB Draft, the Yankees could select any eligible player they’d like.

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They had a World Series title under their belt from 1996, and the league hadn’t yet set up the rules to stop them from acting like the George Steinbrenner Yankees. Their second selection in the 1997 draft, reliever Ryan Bradley, was tearing it up in his debut season and on the verge of a promotion to Triple-A. They had legitimate prospects like outfielder Ricky Ledee, third baseman Mike Lowell, and first baseman Nick Johnson pushing toward the big leagues (and their top pick from 1996, Eric Milton, had helped them net Chuck Knoblauch). They had a budding juggernaut in the major leagues that would win its 39th game against 13 losses that night. Twenty-five years ago today, everything was coming up roses for the Yankees organization.