Major League Baseball All-Century Team
In 1999, the Major League Baseball All-Century Team was chosen by popular vote of fans. To select the team, a panel of experts first compiled a list of the 100 greatest Major League Baseball players from the past century. Over two million fans then voted on the players using paper and online ballots.[1]
The top two vote-getters from each position, except outfielders (nine), and the top six pitchers were placed on the team. A select panel then added five legends to create a thirty-man team:[1]—Warren Spahn (who finished #10 among pitchers), Christy Mathewson (#14 among pitchers), Lefty Grove (#18 among pitchers), Honus Wagner (#4 among shortstops), and Stan Musial (#11 among outfielders).[1]
The nominees for the All-Century team were presented at the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park. Preceding Game 2 of the 1999 World Series, the members of the All-Century Team were revealed. Every living player named to the team attended.
For the complete list of the 100 players nominated, see The MLB All-Century Team.
Selected players
Player | Player's name |
Position | Players's position |
Votes | Number of votes |
* | 'Legends' chosen by select panel |
** | Player still active in 1999 |
ö | Player is deceased |
† | Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame |
Player | Position | Votes |
---|---|---|
Ryan, NolanNolan Ryan† | Pitcher | 992,040 |
Koufax, SandySandy Koufax† | Pitcher | 970,434 |
Young, CyCy Young†ö | Pitcher | 867,523 |
Clemens, RogerRoger Clemens** | Pitcher | 601,244 |
Gibson, BobBob Gibson† | Pitcher | 582,031 |
Johnson, WalterWalter Johnson†ö | Pitcher | 479,279 |
Spahn, WarrenWarren Spahn†ö* | Pitcher | 337,215 |
Mathewson, ChristyChristy Mathewson†ö* | Pitcher | 249,747 |
Grove, LeftyLefty Grove†ö* | Pitcher | 142,169 |
Bench, JohnnyJohnny Bench† | Catcher | 1,010,403 |
Berra, YogiYogi Berra†ö | Catcher | 704,208 |
Gehrig, LouLou Gehrig†ö | First baseman | 1,207,992 |
McGwire, MarkMark McGwire** | First baseman | 517,181 |
Robinson, JackieJackie Robinson†ö | Second baseman | 788,116 |
Hornsby, RogersRogers Hornsby†ö | Second baseman | 630,761 |
Schmidt, MikeMike Schmidt† | Third baseman | 855,654 |
Robinson, BrooksBrooks Robinson† | Third baseman | 761,700 |
Ripken, Jr., CalCal Ripken, Jr.†** | Shortstop | 669,033 |
Banks, ErnieErnie Banks†ö | Shortstop | 598,168 |
Wagner, HonusHonus Wagner†ö* | Shortstop | 526,740 |
Ruth, BabeBabe Ruth†ö | Outfielder | 1,158,044 |
Aaron, HankHank Aaron† | Outfielder | 1,156,782 |
Williams, TedTed Williams†ö | Outfielder | 1,125,583 |
Mays, WillieWillie Mays† | Outfielder | 1,115,896 |
DiMaggio, JoeJoe DiMaggio†ö | Outfielder | 1,054,423 |
Mantle, MickeyMickey Mantle†ö | Outfielder | 988,168 |
Cobb, TyTy Cobb†ö | Outfielder | 777,056 |
Griffey, Jr., KenKen Griffey, Jr.†** | Outfielder | 645,389 |
Rose, PetePete Rose | Outfielder | 629,742 |
Musial, StanStan Musial†ö* | Outfielder | 571,279 |
Pete Rose controversy
There was controversy over the inclusion in the All-Century Team of Pete Rose, who had been banned from baseball for life 10 years earlier. Some questioned Rose's presence on a team officially endorsed by Major League Baseball, but fans at the stadium gave him a standing ovation. During the on-field ceremony, which was emceed by Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully, NBC Sports' Jim Gray questioned Rose about his refusal to admit to gambling on baseball.[2] Gray's interview became controversial, with some arguing that it was good journalism,[3] while others objected that the occasion was an inappropriate setting for Gray's persistence.[4] After initially refusing to do so, Gray apologized a few days later.[5] On January 8, 2004, more than four years later, Rose admitted publicly to betting on baseball games in his autobiography My Prison Without Bars.
See also
- Major League Baseball All-Time Team, a similar team chosen by the Baseball Writers Association of America in 1997
- Latino Legends Team
- DHL Hometown Heroes (2006): the most outstanding player in the history of each MLB franchise, based on on-field performance, leadership quality and character value
- Baseball awards #United States
- List of MLB awards
- Team of the century
- National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
References
- 1 2 3 All-Century Team Information "All Century Team" Check
|url=
value (help). Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2011-11-28. - ↑ Pete Rose transcript with Jim Gray
- ↑ Top 10 Most Embarrassing TV/Radio Interview Moments
- ↑ Darren Everson (27 October 1999). "Chad Shows No Curtis-y To Gray After Game-winner". New York Daily News.
- ↑ George Solomon; Dave Sheinin (27 October 1999). "Gray's Apology Is Not Enough for Players". Washington Post. p. D1.
External links
- All-Century Team Vote Totals from ESPN.com
- All-Century Team DVD from Amazon.com
- All-Century Team Information from Baseball Almanac