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MLB All-Stars – Tony Gwynn, Don Mattingly, and My Favorites

By Brian Del Castillo |
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Jun 26, 2014; San Deigo, CA, USA; San Diego Padres former player Tony Gwynn

It’s been over a year now since the great Tony Gwynn passed away.  Being a fan of his, I got to thinking about some of my favorite players that I ever had the joy to watch.  I then narrowed that down to my favorite players from the late 80’s and early 90’s.  Those were the glory days of my baseball education, and I still look back fondly on that era.

So, I decided to construct my favorite starting nine from that period.  It is not necessarily the best player at each position, but rather my own personal favorites during this window of time.  It is meant to spark a conversation about your favorite 9 (or 10) from that era, so no one is right or wrong.  We’re all just rehashing memories of former All-Stars.

First Base

Jun 8, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager

Don Mattingly

(8) and Dodgers batting coach

Mark McGwire

(25) look on during the first half against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

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Let’s begin at first base.  I don’t know how it happened exactly, but when I began to learn about baseball, my favorite player quickly became Don Mattingly from the New York Yankees.  During the span of 1984-1990, Mattingly put up hall of fame credentials. This included an MVP (1985), a batting title (1984), and numerous records like 6 grand slams in one season (1987).  His slick fielding led to a gold glove in almost every season he played, missing out on only the one season where his back problems cost him most of his playing time.

Don Mattingly is my first baseman over Mark McGwire and Will Clark.  I consider Frank Thomas and Jeff Bagwell to be sort of on the outside of this era.

Second Base

Apr 4, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Former Toronto Blue Jays player

Roberto Alomar

during a ceremony before the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Toronto Blue Jays at the Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

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Second base was a little bit more complicated for me.  When I was coming up, it was really all about Ryne Sandberg.  He was on TV every day thanks to WGN, nd he seemed like a likable enough guy.  However, I always was drawn more to the five-tool guys, and nobody embodied that more than Roberto Alomar.  Sure, he was a jerk and spit in umpires’ faces, but he was amazing to watch in the field and at the plate.  I’m a sucker for the power and speed combination.  The Blue Jay version of Robbie Alomar clinched it for me. No, Craig Biggio is not on this list for a reason, because of the period and position.

Next: Third Base, Shortstop, and Catcher

Third Base, Shortstop, and Catcher

Third Base

Jul 27, 2014; Cooperstown, NY, USA; Hall of Fame player

Wade Boggs

responds to being introduced during the class of 2014 national baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at National Baseball Hall of Fame. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Like first base, third base was easy for me.  It should be no surprise that the two players are somewhat similar.  Wade Boggs was teaching me about contact hitting before I ever fell in love with Tony Gwynn.  He had 200+ hits in seven straight years (83-89)!!  Plus, who else was I going to pick?  Carney Lansford? Chris Sabo?  Ken Caminiti was a favorite of mine, but I was more a fan of his defense than his offense and even the hometown ‘Stro couldn’t supplant Boggs from my list.

Shortstop

Shortstop was the battle between offense and defense.  Alan Trammel was a fantastic player but never was one of my favorites and Barry Larkin played for the hated Reds who were in the Astros’ division.  Cal Ripken is one of my all-time favorite players.  Sure, there is the streak, he had two MVP awards almost a decade apart, 3000 hits, and he’s a really nice guy.

One of the greats and one of my favorites, but this is where this team delved into a gray area.  For that time-period, no one excited me more at that position than Ozzie Smith.  His highlight reel is well documented, and his back flips were sensational in a time where baseball could have probably used a little flair.  He’ll bat 9th for sure, but he’s my shortstop for this exercise.

Catcher

Apr 1, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros former players Craig Biggio (left) and

Nolan Ryan

(right) wave to the crowd before a game against the New York Yankees at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

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I’m not going to shock you with my backstop.  In the late 80’s and early 90’s, you were on the cusp of Mike Piazza and Ivan Rodriguez, but you didn’t have them yet.  Gary Carter would get the nod even, but he was towards the end of his career.  Carlton Fisk never moved the needle for me, so who was there? I remember Lance Parish.  I remember Terry Steinbach.  I also remember growing up a huge Astros fan and distinctly remember the first and last game of the man who was catching the likes of Nolan Ryan and Mike Scott when I was a kid.  Craig Biggio is clearly my pick here.  I’m not wrong.  You are.

Next: Outfielders

Outfielders

March 31, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics former player

Rickey Henderson

after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before an opening day baseball game against the Cleveland Indians at O.co Coliseum. The Indians defeated the Athletics 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

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Now, to the outfield.  I really struggled here.  There are just not enough spots for all of my favorites.  I can tell you that Rickey Henderson is out there though.  Rickey has that combination of power and speed that I mentioned with Alomar earlier.  He also has the flash that I always found to be so entertaining.

Everything he did looked cool to me.  It could have been his home run trot or his first step on a stolen base.  He’s a lock for me.

Next, I have to go with Tony Gwynn.  I loved his ability to hit almost as much as I loved his personality and goofy laugh.  He’ll always amaze me in the fact that he didn’t look like a great athlete towards the end of his career.  He was heavier and slower than his younger years in the MLB and certainly his basketball days in college.  However, that “bad body” still achieved the most success for him.  He was driven and worked hard at his craft.  I always appreciated that.

My third outfielder will be patrolling centerfield.  He’ll be running around with another “bad body” and making sensational catches while driving in critical runs.  Kirby Puckett was a ton of fun to watch.  He could do it all, but he didn’t look the part.  He’s a lot like Gwynn in that sense.  Also, like Gwynn, he left us far too soon

Next: Designated Hitter and Pitchers

Designated Hitter and Pitchers

Designated Hitter

Oct 31, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants former left fielder

Barry Bonds

waves to the crowd during the World Series celebration at City Hall. The San Francisco Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals in game seven of the World Series. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

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Ok, I’m going to cheat a little here and add a DH because I was unable to fit in all of the outfielders that were influential to me.  My DH will be someone who is more of a physical specimen like Henderson.  Barry Bonds was an incredible player before he did what he did on steroids and I couldn’t get enough of him.  Like Alomar, he may not be the greatest guy, but he was someone I could watch play baseball all day long.

If he was hitting, I wasn’t going to turn the channel.  If I was filling out a ballot, he was always on it.  Bonds was perhaps the best player I’ve ever seen, like him or not.

Pitchers

My pitchers would be Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens.  Enough said.

Guys I hated leaving off this list were plentiful, but my honorable mention starts with Ken Griffey Jr.  like Frank Thomas, I just see him being a little outside of this era, although he technically is right in the middle.  Andre Dawson was one of my guys, but there just wasn’t room for him.

Players like Eric Davis, Darryl Strawberry, Glen Davis and Bo Jackson just didn’t do enough for me, although I clearly liked them enough to give them a mention.  It’s a hard list to create.  I challenge you to create your own.   Tell me your nine (or ten) and we can discuss the good old days together.

Aug 9, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds former outfielder

Ken Griffey

Jr. speaks after being inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

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