bdj610's End of Year MLB All-Star Teams: 2000 Edition

We've finally made it to the new millennium. What a year this was going to be. My wife and I were expecting our first child, and in April came a 7 pound, 6 ounce little girl. I couldn't believe that we brought this little angel to life. And so began the greatest learning experience of our lives...Parenthood. My baseball card collection, and a lot of other things, took a bit of a backseat. But it didn't mean I had to stop completely. Sure, I had to make sure she didn't grab my binders full of cards, but living in the apartment, just the three of us, was some of the happiest days of my life. By the end of the year, I discovered eBay...and my collection exploded from there.

Baseball in 2000 the Yankees win the World Series, AGAIN. This time, against their crosstown rivals the Mets. The Cubs didn't go anywhere...AGAIN. The White Sox won the division, but lost to the Mariners. But who cared...I had a daughter to raise. In between the diapers, and the bags, the toys, and all, I still named players for my All-Star Teams. This would be the 14th straight year for me doing this. And I have to say I've gotten a lot better at this now. With the papers that I used to write down the players' names back in 2000 (I ran out of room in my notebook if you recall), I am ready to bring them to life, thanks to the internet and the baseball simulation.

This year's teams include 10 pitchers on each team (six starters, four closers), and the usual 3 players per position (1b, 2b, 3b, ss, c, 9 of), and because the 2001 ASG would be in Seattle (at the brand new Safeco Field), each team included a DH. So the rosters were expanded back to 35 players per team.

Without further ado, for the first time online, I am proud to introduce my 2000 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

(Insert space joke here...)

American League First Basemen Carlos Delgado, Blue Jays* Jason Giambi, Athletics Mike Sweeney, Royals* Second Basemen Roberto Alomar, Indians Ray Durham, White Sox* Randy Velarde, Athletics Third Basemen Tony Batista, Blue Jays* Troy Glaus, Angels* Dean Palmer, Tigers Shortstops Nomar Garciaparra, Red Sox Derek Jeter, Yankees Alex Rodriguez, Mariners Outfielders Garret Anderson, Angels Jermaine Dye, Royals* Darin Erstad, Angels* Carl Everett, Red Sox* Matt Lawton, Twins* Magglio Ordoñez, White Sox Manny Ramirez, Indians Greg Vaughn, Devil Rays Bernie Williams, Yankees Catchers Darrin Fletcher, Blue Jays Jorge Posada, Yankees* Ivan Rodriguez, Rangers Designated Hitter: Frank Thomas, White Sox Pitchers Roger Clemens, Yankees Bartolo Colon, Indians Tim Hudson, Athletics* Todd Jones, Tigers* Derek Lowe, Red Sox* Pedro Martinez, Red Sox Mike Mussina, Orioles Mariano Rivera, Yankees Kazuhiro Sasaki, Mariners* David Wells, Blue Jays Manager: Jerry Manuel, White Sox The Starters: 1B: Giambi 2B: Alomar 3B: Glaus SS: Rodriguez OF: Dye OF: Ramirez OF: Williams C: Rodriguez DH: Thomas P: Clemens *First-Time All-Star

National League First Basemen Jeff Bagwell, Astros Andres Galarraga, Braves Todd Helton, Rockies* Second Basemen Jeff Kent, Giants Jose Vidro, Expos* Eric Young, Cubs Third Basemen Jeff Cirillo, Rockies Chipper Jones, Braves Scott Rolen, Phillies* Shortstops Rich Aurelia, Giants* Barry Larkin, Reds Edgar Renteria, Cardinals* Outfielders Barry Bonds, Giants Jim Edmonds, Cardinals Ken Griffey, Jr., Reds Vladimir Guerrero, Expos Geoff Jenkins, Brewers* Andruw Jones, Braves* Gary Sheffield, Dodgers Sammy Sosa, Cubs Preston Wilson, Marlins* Catchers Jason Kendall, Pirates Javy Lopez, Braves Mike Piazza, Mets Designated Hitter: Mark McGwire, Cardinals Pitchers Antonio Alfonseca, Marlins* Armando Benitez, Mets* Tom Glavine, Braves Mike Hampton, Mets Trevor Hoffman, Padres Randy Johnson, Diamondbacks Darryl Kile, Cardinals Al Leiter, Mets Greg Maddux, Braves Robb Nen, Giants Manager: Bobby Valentine, Mets The Starters: 1B: Helton 2B: Kent 3B: Jones SS: Larkin OF: Bonds OF: Griffey, Jr. OF: Sosa C: Piazza DH: McGwire P: Glavine

Twenty-four players are first-time all-stars (14 for the American League, 10 for the Nationals). One-person teams on my 2000 rosters include the Devil Rays (Vaughn), Orioles (Mussina), Rangers (Rodriguez), Twins (Lawton), Astros (Bagwell), Brewers (Jenkins), Diamondbacks (Johnson), Dodgers (Sheffield), Padres (Hoffman), Phillies (Rolen), and Pirates (Kendall). The Braves send six representatives to the NL roster, leading both leagues. The Yankees send five players to the AL squad.

As always, seven regular games (10,000 simulations each, six with the same starting pitchers, one where lineups and starting pitchers change), 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. Game results coming next week.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama