Cal Ripken for one, unless we’re gonna be pedantic and not call the Orioles his hometown team because he grew up in Havre de Grace and Aberdeen and not within Baltimore city limits.

Can’t imagine there aren’t any players from the Canadiens, for example, who wouldn’t fit the bill without the additional “number one overall pick” requirement.

just "drafted by his hometown team". It was presumably supposed to say something about being the number one overall pick.

Joe Mauer of the Twins is the first player in MLB/NBA/NFL/NHL history to be drafted No. 1 overall by a team from his birth state/province, play 15+ seasons for that team and reach the Hall of Fame.

but the NHL draft wasn't until '63.

in football. He was a quarterback who led his high school team (Cretin-Durham Hall in St. Paul) to the state championship, and had signed a letter of intent to Florida State.

He was the first pick in the baseball draft. I remember Cub fans on this board crowing that the Twins blew it because they passed on Mark Prior.

Helton, for a brief time in college, was the starting QB at tense ahead of one P. Manning.

We thought it was cute that the Twinsies took the hometown boy. Oops. Worked out well for a couple of years. Don't know if Prior would have held up better had his college arm not been run out there by Dusty for 120+ pitches per outing as he passed 200 innings in September and October. I thought it was great then, until it wasn't. Anyway, counterfactuals aren't worth mulling over. Mauer proved it in fact.

comparing the readiness for the major leagues of an 18 year old signed out of high school (Mauer) with a 21 year old signed out of college (Prior). Of course Prior was going to get to the majors sooner.

I liked picking Prior over Mauer at the outset. I was still pleased after 2 years, but that was based purely on Prior pitching as well or better than the hype, not on his being on a fast track vs Mauer. And there was a whole lot of hype for Prior. Not quite Kerry Wood level, but close.