The first draft pick from 1973 had lots of promise, but his youth and talent were severely mishandled in Texas.
David Clyde in 1974, the season after he become one of the youngest players to ever play in Major League BaseballAt age 13, Dallas Mavericks’ star Luka Doncic signed a five-year contract with European basketball giant Real Madrid. Jennifer Capriati made it to consecutive tennis tournament finals at the same, tender age. Freddy Adu debuted in Major League Soccer at 14. Michelle Wie earned $1 million on the LPGA tour at 15.
In a state that has bred pitching legends from Nolan Ryan to Roger Clemens to Clayton Kershaw , Clyde was – is – the most dominant high-school pitcher in Texas history. In 1973 as a senior at Houston Westchester, he went 18-0, threw five no-hitters, allowed only three earned runs in 148 innings and struck out an astounding 328 hitters. He set 14 national career records, two of which still stand.
In the 1973 draft the Rangers – coming off a dismal 54-100 first season in Arlington – owned the draft’s top pick and chose Clyde over future Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Dave Winfield. Texas was averaging 7,000 fans per game when – just 22 days after the draft – Clyde started a game against the Minnesota Twins. D/FW went berserk. The game was delayed 15 minutes, allowing a crowd of 35,698 to enter the stadium.
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