200-196

Twenty-five years ago, the world was on the precipice of an exciting milestone, at least for those who followed the Gregorian calendar. If you did the quick math in your head, you’ve already learned that takes us back to 1999, when everyone was shitting themselves that the Y2K bug might force planes to fall out of the sky. It also brought about many lists and celebrations which reflected on the turn of the century as we punted the 1900s to the archives. Major League Baseball was no different and they took the opportunity to name their All-Century Team. Baseball had played such a huge role in the American experience for almost the entirety of the century, so it was a great way to look back at the best of the best and allow fans to choose their favorites. They did a pretty good job for the most part.

An initial list of 100 players were chosen by a panel of experts and then fans were asked to vote for the best players among that list. The top two players at each infield position, top nine outfielders and top six pitchers received spots on the All-Century Team. To round out the team, the panel placed five additional players on the roster who didn’t receive enough votes. Those five added to the team were Warren Spahn, Christy Mathewson, Lefty Grove, Honus Wagner and Stan Musial. The final roster looked like this:

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

Catchers: Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra

First Basemen: Lou Gehrig, Mark McGwire

Second Basemen: Jackie Robinson, Rogers Hornsby

Third Basemen: Mike Schmidt, Brooks Robinson

Shortstop: Cal Ripken, Ernie Banks, Honus Wagner

Outfielders: Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb, Ken Griffey Jr., Pete Rose, Stan Musial

That’s some team right there. Just think, some players left off the squad were Tom Seaver, Bob Feller, Greg Maddux, Jimmie Foxx, Joe Morgan, George Brett, Roy Campanella, Frank Robinson, Rickey Henderson, Mel Ott and Roberto freaking Clemente!

If you think a team like that deserves a fitting celebration, you’re right! Back when baseball did more things right than they did wrong, they really nailed it when it came to honoring these legends. It was such a memorable event that it falls right smack in the middle of The Stud 400.

Before we move on to this week’s edition of The Stud 400, here’s a look at the last five entries as we count down the 400 greatest moments in Major League Baseball history:

205: St. Louis Browns win American League pennant (1944)

204: Expos move from Montreal (2004)

203: Home plate collisions banned (2014)

202: MLB adds Wild Card (1994)

201: Pirates take Roberto Clemente in Rule 5 draft (1954)

And now, here’s Episode XLI of The Stud 400.

200. MLB honors All-Century Team (1999)

No sport does milestones like baseball, so when the end of the 1900s was upon us, Major League Baseball was there to celebrate in their own way. The league put a process in place to select the ultimate team of ballplayers from the century and fans played a big part in selecting the team. The first step was naming the players who would be eligible to be voted on as potential members of the All-Century Team. The initial list of 100 players was formed by a panel of experts and presented at the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park in a memorable pregame ceremony.

All living players from the top 100 were on hand and as Kevin Costner announced their names, legends like Bob Feller, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and Willie Mays doffed their caps to the crowd. The whole event was capped by Ted Williams coming in after the ceremony and anthem to throw out the first pitch. Williams, seated in his golf cart, was famously surrounded by all of the current All-Stars, had a quick conversation with Tony Gwynn and then delivered the first pitch to Carlton Fisk with Gwynn steadying the Splendid Splinter on his feet. A truly incredible celebration of the best players to ever do it.

199. Derek Jeter records 3,000^th hit (2011)

To say Derek Jeter had a knack for rising to the occasion would be quite an understatement. His postseason resume speaks for itself there. As Jeter pushed towards entry into one of the game’s most revered groups, the 3,000 hit club, you just had the sense he would do it in dramatic fashion. In the summer of 2011, the main narrative was not whether Jeter would do it or not; that was a foregone conclusion. People were more concerned with where and when he would do it.

Fans in the Bronx desperately wanted to see it happen in Yankee Stadium and Jeter wanted to accommodate them. There’s nothing like a historical moment at Yankee Stadium. On July 9, Jeter sat on 2,998 hits and was facing young Rays pitcher David Price. He got hit number 2,999 out of the way in the first inning and didn’t have the crowd waiting around much longer for the next one. Jeter battled Price in an eight-pitch at bat in the bottom of the third, winning the showdown in dramatic fashion, blasting a home run for his 3,000^th hit deep into the left field stands. Jeter became the second player to ever hit a home run for his 3,000^th hit, joining Wade Boggs, and ended the day 5-5. As with all things Jeter, the most important part of the day was winning the game. He made sure of that by driving in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth. Talk about rising to the occasion.

198. Darryl Kile’s death (2002)

Unfortunately, Major League Baseball players passing away during their careers really isn’t that rare of an occurrence. Over the past 50 years, 26 Major Leaguers have died while still active. The last time we went more than three years without an active player passing were the years between 1996-2002. On May 26, 1996, Mike Sharperson died in a car accident on the way to the airport after being called up and then the next tragedy after that happened on June 22, 2002. As the Cardinals and Cubs gathered for a day game at Wrigley Field, Cardinals personnel realized that Kile had not arrived to the ballpark and that was extremely out of character. It was learned that Kile had a heart attack in his hotel room and passed away during the night. Joe Girardi made an announcement to the crowd at Wrigley Field, stating the game had been cancelled due to the tragedy in the Cardinals family and asked for prayers. Kile’s death became public soon after. A three-time All-Star and author of a no-hitter against the Mets in 2003, Kile was a beloved teammate and mentor to many young pitchers. Tributes to Kile were visible for the remainder of the season, which ultimately ended with the Cardinals falling to the Giants in the NLCS.

197. Lou Gehrig’s four-homer game (1932)

When you put up the stats Lou Gehrig did, you’re bound to have some huge games at the plate, and Gehrig had plenty. Perhaps his best game came on June 3, 1932 in what can only be described as a complete offensive outburst by both the Yankees and A’s. There were eight total Hall of Fame batters in the lineup that day, including icons like Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Cochrane, Al Simmons and of course, Gehrig.

Pitchers on this day didn’t stand a chance as all nine men that took the mound gave up at least one run in the Yankees 20-13 win. The fact that the Yankees set a record with 50 total bases in a game wasn’t even the main headline as the Iron Horse stole the spotlight. Gehrig became the first player in the 1900s to lash four home runs in a game, doing so in each of his first four at bats. His 16 total bases were a record at the time too. Gehrig had two chances at a fifth homer, but grounded out in the eighth and was robbed of extra bases on a diving catch in center field in the ninth. Gehrig finished the day 4-6 with four runs and six RBIs in perhaps the best offensive game of his insane career.

196. Bo Jackson’s All-Star Game home run (1989)

Let’s go back to the summer of 1989. New Kids on the Block and Richard Marx were all over the radio, girls were still rocking acid wash jeans with hair reaching up to the sky and some dude holding his groceries stood in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square to protest communism in China. OK, maybe we shouldn’t go back. If there was one fellow who could save us from the nonsense of the time, it would be Bo Jackson, after all the commercials told us there was nothing he couldn’t do. Jackson was in his fourth season with the Royals and finally just starting to realize the insane potential of his athletic gifts in the sport. By the time June ended, he already had 18 homers, 20 stolen bases, 52 RBIs and a lifetime worth of eye-popping highlights.

He made his first All-Star Game as the sport’s top vote getter, and it was totally warranted. All eyes were on Jackson and it just seemed like a foregone conclusion that he would deliver. Veteran Rick Reuschel, who was 40 years old, was on the mound and that worked in Jackson’s favor. Jackson was a low ball hitter and that’s where Reuschel lived. The second pitch of the at bat, Reuschel threw one of his patented bowling ball sinkers that ran down and in to righties. It was no issue to Jackson as he inside-outted the ball a solid 450 feet to dead center field. Making the moment even more iconic, former President Ronald Reagan was visitng the booth with Vin Scully and joined in on the call. Reagan had been discussing his own days of playing football and baseball when Jackson stole the show. In one of the great coincidental moments in advertising and sports, after the first inning, the famous “Bo Knows” Nike commercial debuted. Bo Jackson’s peak was short, but it was so special. Maybe 1989 wasn’t so bad after all.

Stay tuned for next week’s episode of The Stud 400 when we nurse a hangover to perfection and spend time with the Christian Gentleman. We’re rounding third and headed for home, rather slowly and going back to the bare bones of one of the signature events on the MLB calendar. Get ready for an all-out melee in next week’s Stud 400 and don’t be surprised if someone ends up without a shirt in the process.