TMS All-90's Team: Third Base

After the mild huge success of the All-80's Team, we're back to look at the players from a decade later. Oh the '90's. What a strange new world it was. Baseball cards were becoming glossy and overpriced. A strike cancels the 1994 World Series (Sorry Montreal!). And of course who can forget the homers, homers, homers?! One issue I noticed with the All-80's Team is that there was very little argument in the polls. So to make it more interesting and spark a little more debate, I've decided to combine both leagues instead of doing separate NL and AL features. This will also keep it from dragging on well into August. As always be sure and vote for your choice in the poll in the left sidebar.

Sandberg got out to an early lead in the 2B poll, but Robbie Alomar prevailed to win a spot on the All-90's Team.

Now we head to the hot corner. We've got a mixed bag here of MVP's, hall of famers, known 'roid freaks, and Vinny Castilla.







THIRD BASE

Wade Boggs
Boston Red Sox (1990-92), New York Yankees (1993-97), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998-99)

Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2005
All-Star: 1990-96
Gold Gloves: 1994, 1995
Silver Sluggers: 1991, 1993, 1994
Postseason: 1990 ALCS, 1995 ALDS, 1996 WS, 1997 ALDS

Notes: Went in to the Hall with a Boston hat. Got his World Series ring with the Yankees. But I think we'll all remember Wade most for his glorious tenure with the Devil Rays. Did you know Wade hit the first home run in Tampa Bay franchise history? Boggs is also associated with another hall of fame. The WWE Hall of fame that is. Just this year, Boggs inducted the late "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, whom he was close friends with. You can't make this shit up folks.



Ken Caminiti
Houston Astros (1990-94), San Diego Padres (1995-98)

Awards: 1996 NL MVP
All-Star: 1994, 1996, 1997
Gold Gloves: 1995-97
Silver Sluggers: 1996
Postseason: 1996 NLDS, 98 WS, 99 NLDS

Notes: The lesson as always kids. Never do drugs.











Vinny Castilla
Atlanta Braves (1991-92), Colorado Rockies (1993-99)

All-Star: 1995, 1998
Silver Sluggers: 1995, 1997, 1998
Postseason: 1995 NLDS

Notes: Blah. What do you want me to say? It was either him or Dean Palmer. Vinny is the most ironclad case study there is for the Coors Effect. 28% of Vinny's career at bats came at Coors. Over 40% of his career home runs were hit there.









Travis Fryman
Detroit Tigers (1990-97), Cleveland Indians (1998-99)

All-Star: 1992-94, 1996
Silver Sluggers: 1992
Postseason: 1998 ALCS, 1999 ALDS

Notes: While I started collecting baseball cards in the 80's, I'd say my peak years were between 1990 & 1993, just before I got to high school and decided girls were more interesting than cards. During that time I amassed a large collection of players who at the time seemed to be destined for big things. Well at least in our naive adolescent minds they were. Alas, fast forward 14 years later and I probably have three full pages in my old card book dedicated to just Fryman.





Chipper Jones
Atlanta Braves (1993-99)

All-Star: 1996-98
Awards: 1999 NL MVP
Silver Sluggers: 1999
Postseason: 1995 WS, 1996 WS, 1997 NLCS, 1998 NLCS, 1999 WS

Notes: Way back when, before he was too busy being constantly hurt and plaguing fantasy rosters, Chipper was one of the most prolific young hitters in the late 90's. Jones capped off the decade with an MVP season in 1999, hitting 45 home runs and leading the Braves to yet another postseason letdown. His real first name is Larry.






Terry Pendleton
St. Louis Cardinals (1990), Atlanta Braves (1991-94, 1996), Florida Marlins (1995-96), Cincinnati Reds (1997), Kansas City Royals (1998)

Awards: 1991 NL MVP
All-Star: 1992
Gold Gloves: 1992
Postseason: 1991 WS, 1992 WS, 1993 NLCS, 1996 WS
League Leader: 1991 AVG

Notes: Can someone explain to me how Pendleton won an MVP? I don't recall, as I was too busy showing off my Travis Fryman collection.






Robin Ventura
Chicago White Sox (1990-98), New York Mets (1999)

All-Star: 1992
Gold Gloves: 1991-93, 1996, 1998, 1999
Postseason: 1993 ALCS, 1999 NLCS

Notes: Aside from maybe Jim Abbott, Ventura is one of the few guys who had a 1989 Topps #1 Draft Pick card and went on to what could be considered a pretty good career. Unlike, oh I don't know, this guy, this guy, this guy, oh and let's not forget this guy. Robin was a solid defensive 3B with a pretty good bat. However most will undoubtedly always remember him for the Nolan Ryan fight.






Matt Williams
San Francisco Giants (1990-96), Cleveland Indians (1997), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-99)

Nickname: Carson Crusher
All-Star: 1990, 1994-96, 1999
Gold Gloves: 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997
Silver Sluggers: 1990, 1993, 1994, 1997
Postseason: 1997 WS, 1999 NLDS

Notes: Matt Williams has a bit of a history with the folks here at TMS. He once put the Governor in a headlock during Spring Training. He also hit a line drive home run during BP at Wrigley that drilled Brant in the forearm as he was reaching for it, before it bounced between a couple more people and eventually into my hands. You could actually see the stitch marks imprinted in Brant's arm. It's the only HR ball from Wrigley I've ever gotten. Also it was BP, not an actual game, so don't give me shit about not throwing it back. The rules are different during BP. Anyway, during the 90's, Matt was probably one of the best all-around players at his position. The 1994 strike cut short a potential run at Maris' record.



Be sure and vote for your choice of third baseman for the TMS All-90's Team. Check out the poll in the left sidebar.