Your All-Century Team

[DoubleX]

I'm sure most of us remember that during the '99 World Series, MLB announced the 30-man roster for the all-century. 25 players were elected by fans, while a special committee added 5 additional players that the fans overlooked (Honus Wagner, Stan Musial, Lefty Grove, Christy Mathewson, and Warren Spahn). I think a lot of us believe that the fans didn't do that great of a job with the players they elected. So I was wondering, who would be on your 30-Man Roster All-Century Team, under the All-Century team format, which was:

- 9 Pitchers
- 2 Players at each IF position (including catcher)
- 1 additional middle IFer
- 10 OFers

Here is what the actual All-Century team looked like (in order of voting finish):

C: Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra
1B: Lou Gehrig, Mark McGwire
2B: Jackie Robinson, Rogers Hornsby
SS: Cal Ripken Jr, Ernie Banks, Honus Wagner
3B: Mike Schmidt, Brooks Robinson
OF: Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb, Ken Griffey Jr, Pete Rose, Stan Musial

P: Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Cy Young, Roger Clemens, Bob Gibson, Walter Johnson, Warren Spahn, Christy Mathewson, Lefty Grove

[SABR Matt]

C - Carlton Fisk/Johnny Bench
1B- Lou Gehrig/Jimmie Foxx
2B- Rogers Hornsby/Eddie Collins/Joe Morgan
3B- Mike Schmidt/Eddie Mathews
SS- Honus Wagner/Robin Yount
OF- Babe Ruth/Willie Mays/Hank Aaron/Tris Speaker/Barry Bonds/Rickie Henderson/Mickey Mantle/Stan Musial/Ted Williams/Ty Cobb (not listed in order of rank...just listed)

SP- Greg Maddux/Walter Johnson/Roger Clemens/Tom Seaver/Satchel Paige/Lefty Grove/Cy Young/Christie Mathewson/Pete Alexander

I left RJ and Pedro off my list (they'd have been included except a big chunk of their best years happened after 1999)

[DoubleX]

Here's who would be on my All-Century team (new players in bold):

C: Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra
1B: Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx
2B: Rogers Hornsby, Joe Morgan, Jackie Robinson
SS: Honus Wagner, Cal Ripken Jr
3B: Mike Schmidt, George Brett
OF: Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Tris Speaker, Frank Robinson, Joe DiMaggio

P: Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove, Pete Alexander, Cy Young, Roger Clemens, Christy Mathewson, Tom Seaver, Warren Spahn, Greg Maddux


The B-Team:

C: Roy Campanella, Mickey Cochrane
1B: Hank Greenberg, Johnny Mize
2B: Eddie Collins, Napoleon Lajoie, Rod Carew (This could really also be Gehringer, Yount, Sandberg, Larkin or Cronin)
SS: Arky Vaughan, Ernie Banks
3B: Eddie Mathews, Wade Boggs
OF: Barry Bonds, Mel Ott, Rickey Henderson, Carl Yastrzemski, Tony Gwynn, Al Kaline, Roberto Clemente, Sam Crawford, Ken Griffey Jr, Reggie Jackson

P: Bob Feller, Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan, Carl Hubbell, Mordecai Brown, Whitey Ford, Hoyt Wilhelm

[SABR Matt]

WOW...I screwed up there...totally forgot Cobb for a second...I fixed it.

[DoubleX]

I really wanted to include Satchel Paige, and I still might, but I just never know really what to do with Negro Leaguers. If I included Paige, then it would open the door for Gibson and Charleston and Lloyd, among others, and just don't know how to evaluate all of them and where a line should be drawn. I suppose I could make an exception for Paige because he did spend some time in the Majors, albeit at the end of his career.

[baseballPAP]

Changes in bold:

C: Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra
1B: Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx
2B: Rogers Hornsby, Joe Morgan, Eddie Collins
SS: Honus Wagner, Arky Vaughan
3B: Mike Schmidt, Eddie Mathews
OF: Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, Rickey Henderson, Tris Speaker, Frank Robinson

P: Roger Clemens, Bob Gibson, Walter Johnson, Warren Spahn, Christy Mathewson, Lefty Grove, Pete Alexander, Greg Maddux, Mariano Rivera

The changes: I booted McSteroids for Foxx, Robinson for Morgan(Jackie did more for the game, Joe did more IN the game), Vaughan for Ripken, Collins for Banks, Mathews for Brooksie, Henderson, Speaker and Robinson for Rose, Griffey and DiMaggio. Yes, I think Henderson was better than DiMaggio...partially because Joe walked away when he could still play, and the competitor in me can't jive with that. Alexander, Maddux and Rivera(the team needs a reliever somewhere) for Ryan, Koufax and Young.

The guy I wanted to include but just couldn't is Satch Paige....I'm assuming that this one is a MLB team.

[DoubleX]

The changes: I booted McSteroids for Foxx, Robinson for Morgan(Jackie did more for the game, Joe did more IN the game), Vaughan for Ripken, Collins for Banks, Mathews for Brooksie, Henderson, Speaker and Robinson for Rose, Griffey and DiMaggio. Yes, I think Henderson was better than DiMaggio...partially because Joe walked away when he could still play, and the competitor in me can't jive with that. Alexander, Maddux and Rivera(the team needs a reliever somewhere) for Ryan, Koufax and Young.

I agree with you that on what they did purely on the field, Morgan and Collins were better than Robinson. However, I just couldn't leave Robinson off. What he symbolized transcended just the game, he embodies a great watershed moment, and to me his inclusion not only honors him and what he did, but honors all the great Negro League players that never got a chance to show what they could do in the Majors. I imagine the All-Century team would look extremely different if intergration occurred earlier; Robinson's place on the team is a reminder of this injustice.

[Myankee4life]

C: Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench
1B: Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx
2B: Rogers Hornsby, Eddie Collins, Joe Morgan
SS: Honus Wagner, Alex Rodriguez
3B: Mike Schmidt, Eddie Mathews
OF: Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Frank Robinson, Stan Musial

P: Grover Cleveland Alexander, Mariano Rivera, Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Bob Gibson, Walter Johnson, Warren Spahn, Christy Mathewson, Lefty Grove

[BillyF29]

C: Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra
1B: Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx
2B: Rogers Hornsby, Joe Morgan, Eddie Collins
SS: Honus Wagner, Arky Vaughan
3B: Mike Schmidt, Eddie Mathews
OF: Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Tris Speaker, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, Barry Bonds

P: Walter Johnson, Roger Clemens, Pete Alexander, Lefty Grove, Greg Maddux, Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver, Cy Young, Warren Spahn

[leecemark]

C: Bench, Berra (Gibson)
1B: Gehrig, Foxx
2B: Morgan, Collins, Hornsby
3B: Schmidt, Mathews
SS: Wagner, Ripken (Lloyd)
LF: Williams, Musial, Bonds
CF: Mays, Mantle, Cobb, (Charleston), Speaker
RF: Ruth, Aaron, Robinson
P: WJohnson, Mathewson, Alexander, Grove, Feller, Spahn, Carlton,Seaver, Clemens, Maddux, (Paige)

[west coast orange and black]

c: bench, berra
1b: foxx, gehrig
2b:collins, hornsby, morgan
3b: brett, schmidt
ss: ripken, wagner
of: aaron, bonds, cobb, mantle, mays, musial, robinson, ruth, speaker, williams
p: alexander, clemens, grove, johnson, maddux, mathewson, seaver, spahn, young

[yanks0714]

C > Bench / Berra
1B > Gehrig / Foxx
2B > Hornsby / E. Collins
3B > Schmidt / Mathews
SS > Wagner / Cronin
INF > Jackie Robinson
OF > Ruth / Mays / Cobb / Williams / Ba. Bonds / Aaron / Speaker / Musial / Mantle / F. Robinson
P > Big Train / Pete / Lefty / Big Six / Rapid Robert / Cy / Rocket / Maddux / Gibby / Meal Ticket.

In regards to the 'extra' infielder, there are a number who have better stats then Jackie Robinson. But for my money, for what he accomplished beyond the stats on the field of play, his dignity, character and professionalism, and how he lived his life make it a cinch for him to make this team.

I just noticed I omitted Warren Spahn. He needs to be in there ahead of the Meal Ticket, Carl Hubbell.

[torez77]

WOW...I screwed up there...totally forgot Cobb for a second...I fixed it.

Hopefully Bill didn't see that!

[538280]

C-Gibson/Bench
1B-Gehrig/Foxx
2B-Morgan/Collins/J.Robinson (need a spot for him)
3B-Schmidt/Mathews
SS-Wagner/Lloyd
LF-Bonds/Williams/Henderson/Musial
CF-Mays/Charleston/Mantle/Cobb
RF-Ruth/Aaron

SP-W.Johnson/Maddux/Clemens/Paige/Grove/Young/Alexander/Gibson/Seaver

[DoubleX]

No one else has included Negro Leaugers, so I assume that they aren't included.

C-Bench/Berra
1B-Gehrig/Foxx
2B-Morgan/Collins/J.Robinson
3B-Schmidt/Mathews
SS-Wagner/Vaughan
LF-Bonds/Williams/Henderson/Musial
CF-Mays/Mantle/Cobb/Speaker
RF-Ruth/Aaron

SP-W.Johnson/Maddux/Clemens/Grove/Young/Alexander/Gibson/Seaver/Spahn

Feel free to include them if you want. I believe that Negro Leaguers were eligible for the All Century Team Fan Voting, so I wouldn't stop them from being eligible here.