bdj610's End of Year MLB All-Star Teams: 1989 Edition

It's now 1989, and it's a big year for baseball in Chicago. Don Zimmer's Cubs were the talk of the town, and the White Sox were mired in last place in a seven-team American League West (take a moment for that to sink in...). I'm still new to this concept called baseball, and while I'm getting to know more and more about the players, I'm still influenced by outside sources when it comes to naming my end of the year All-Star teams. It actually isn't until the early part of 1990 that I finally get around to naming my teams.

The main source of influence when it came to picking teams was actually the 1990 Panini sticker album. I was still crazy about sticker albums then, and as I didn't see Topps come out with one for the 1990 season, the Panini album was a good alternative. All the Panini regular player stickers were the same size as the Topps stickers from the year before, and none were the "half size" pictures. They were all large. Panini even included a little caption stating "All-Star" somewhere near the player's name. And I will have to admit that most of the players on the lists you see below were named All-Stars by Panini. Now whether they were actually All-Stars during the 1989 ASG or not I can't recall. All I do remember is that every team had an All-Star named by Panini, and to get the rosters up to 34 members, I did stick to the same formula as the year before when it came to roster sizes (3 each for the infield spots, 3 catchers, 9 outfielders, 9 pitchers), but because the 1990 ASG was coming to Wrigley Field, I took out the DH spot and replaced it with a 10th pitchers spot (which broke down to five starters, and five closers).

Let's cut to the chase. Without further ado, for the first time online, I am proud to introduce my 1989 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

(Lots of space here when I added the table. Don't know why...)

American League First Basemen Wally Joyner, Angels* Don Mattingly, Yankees Mark McGwire, Athletics Second Basemen Julio Franco, Rangers Steve Sax, Yankees Lou Whitaker, Tigers Third Basemen Wade Boggs, Red Sox Gary Gaetti, Twins Kelly Gruber, Blue Jays* Shortstops Tony Fernandez, Blue Jays Ozzie Guillen, White Sox* Cal Ripken, Orioles Outfielders Harold Baines, Rangers Joe Carter, Indians Rickey Henderson, Athletics Bo Jackson, Royals* Jeffrey Leonard, Mariners Kirby Puckett, Twins Ruben Sierra, Rangers* Devon White, Angels* Robin Yount, Brewers Catchers Carlton Fisk, White Sox Terry Steinbach, Athletics* Mickey Tettleton, Orioles* Pitchers Chuck Finley, Angels* Mark Gubicza, Royals Mike Hennemann, Tigers* Doug Jones, Indians Dan Plesac, Brewers Jeff Russell, Rangers* Nolan Ryan, Rangers* Dave Stewart, Athletics Greg Swindell, Indians* Bobby Thigpen, White Sox* Manager: Frank Robinson, Orioles The Starters: 1B: McGwire 2B: Franco 3B: Boggs SS: Ripken OF: Puckett OF: Sierra OF: Yount C: Fisk P: Stewart *First-Time All-Star

National League First Basemen Will Clark, Giants Glenn Davis, Astros Pedro Guerrero, Cardinals Second Basemen Tommy Herr, Phillies Willie Randolph, Dodgers Ryne Sandberg, Cubs Third Basemen Bobby Bonilla, Pirates Howard Johnson, Mets Tim Wallach, Expos Shortstops Shawon Dunston, Cubs Barry Larkin, Reds Ozzie Smith, Cardinals Outfielders Vince Coleman, Cardinals* Eric Davis, Reds Andre Dawson, Cubs Tony Gwynn, Padres Von Hayes, Phillies* Kevin Mitchell, Giants* Dale Murphy, Braves Tim Raines, Expos Darryl Strawberry, Mets Catchers Craig Biggio, Astros* Benito Santiago, Padres Mike Scioscia, Dodgers* Pitchers Tim Burke, Expos* Mark Davis, Padres John Franco, Reds Orel Hershiser, Dodgers Jay Howell, Dodgers Joe Magrane, Cardinals* Rick Reuschel, Giants* Mike Scott, Astros John Smoltz, Braves* Mitch Williams, Cubs* Manager: Don Zimmer, Cubs The Starters: 1B: Clark 2B: Sandberg 3B: Johnson SS: Smith OF: Davis OF: Gwynn OF: Mitchell C: Santiago P: Scott

Twenty-four new players are first-time all-stars from the previous year's teams (14 for the American League, 10 for the Nationals). One-person teams on my 1989 rosters include the Mariners (Leonard), Red Sox (Boggs), and Pirates (Bonilla). The Dodgers have five representatives on the NL roster, leading both leagues. The Athletics, Indians, Rangers, and Cubs each send four players to their respective squads.

Very veteran-heavy teams on both sides. Had I known better, players like Fred McGriff, Ken Griffey, Jr., and even Jerome Walton would have made it onto either team. But again, Panini influence and a tendency to stay with players I was already familiar with keeps the teams above where they are.

Seven regular games (10,000 simulations each, five with the same starting pitchers, two where lineups and starting pitchers change...since I have only five starters...a home and home battle where anything goes), and one All-Star Game will be simulated during the course of the week. I hope to have the results of all the games by the end of the week.

Now it's time for me to create the .DAT files before getting the games set. This is a lot of fun. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama