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1991 College Baseball All-America Team

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A Caucasian male wearing a baseball uniform with the number 21 and the word Los Angeles in cursive is walking forward and looking to his right.
Mark Sweeney, the career pinch hit RBI recordholder, was named to the All-America Team in 1991 by both the American Baseball Coaches Association and Collegiate Baseball.

An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889.[1] In 1950, the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) selected its first All-American baseball team. It has since chosen All-American teams and a player of the year for each division (National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, Division II, Division III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, junior college and high school).[2] In 1991, Collegiate Baseball began selecting college All-American, Freshman All-American, and High School All-American teams.[3] Baseball America has selected – since 1981 – pre-season and post-season All-American teams and College Player of the Year honorees.[4][5]

Various organizations selected All-American lists of the best players for the 1991 NCAA Division I college baseball season. The ABCA, the magazine Baseball America, and Collegiate Baseball were the NCAA-sanctioned selectors.[6] This list only includes players selected to the post-season All-American first team for each selector. However, many All-American selections choose second, third, etc. teams from the remaining eligible candidates.

Accomplishments

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Bobby Jones was selected as player of the year by both American Baseball Coaches Association and Collegiate Baseball, while David McCarty was the Baseball America player of the year.[6] Brooks Kieschnick went on to be a repeat All-American selection on the 1992 and 1993 teams and be named a player of the year both years.[6] Mike Kelly, who had been 1990 Baseball America player of the year, returned from the 1990 team, along with Phillip Stidham.[6] Kelly won the 1990 Rotary Smith Award and Jones won the award in 1991.[7] Kelly also won the 1991 Golden Spikes Award.[8]

This class produced one Major League Baseball All-Star, one Olympic Games gold medalist and one Major League Baseball record holder. A total of five players were selected by all three NCAA-sanctioned selectors: pitchers Jones and Kennie Steenstra, first baseman David McCarty, shortstop Brent Gates and outfielder Kelly. Four school had two members of the team: Long Beach State, Pepperdine, Villanova and Wichita State

Jones led the National League in sacrifice hits allowed during the 1995 season. The following year, he was selected for the 1996 MLB All-Star Game.[9] However, in the 2001 Major League Baseball season, Jones led the National League in home runs allowed and losses.[9] During the 1995 season, Gates finished second in the American League in sacrifice flies and third in assists.[10] During the 1998 season, Kelly had a perfect fielding percentage with 137 putouts and 4 assists for a total of 141 chances.[11] Mike Neill, whose first-inning home run put the United States ahead to stay in the championship game,[12] earned a gold medal in baseball at the 2000 Summer Olympics.[13] During the 2004 season, Mark Sweeney had five pinch-hit home runs, two shy of the major league record.[14] During the 2007 Major League Baseball season, Sweeney, who ranks second in career pinch hits with 175 and first in career pinch-hit runs batted in with 102,[15] led the major leagues with 24 pinch hits.[16]

Key

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ABCA American Baseball Coaches Association[17]
BA Baseball America[17]
CB Collegiate Baseball[17]
Awarded the Golden Spikes Award, Dick Howser Trophy or Rotary Smith Award as national Player of the Year[17]
Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player had been named an All-American at that point[17]
Inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame[18]

Team lists

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Below are the Division I players selected to the various NCAA-sanctioned lists.[19] The default list order is arranged by the position numbers used by official baseball scorekeepers (i.e., 1 – pitcher, 2 – catcher, etc.).

Position Name School ABCA BA CB Notes
Pitcher Bobby Jones Fresno State
Green tickY
Green tickY
Green tickY
1991 POY (ABCA, CB),[6] 18 complete games in a single season (1991) (2nd in Division I),[20] 1996 MLB All-Star[9]
Pitcher Kennie Steenstra Wichita State
Green tickY
Green tickY
Green tickY
25 consecutive wins (3rd in Division I)[20]
Pitcher Keith Garagozzo Delaware
Green tickY
Green tickY
Pitcher Steve Montgomery Pepperdine
Green tickY
Pitcher Craig Clayton Cal State
Green tickY
Pitcher Steve Whitaker Long Beach State
Green tickY
Pitcher John Burke Florida
Green tickY
Pitcher Bill Blanchette Hawaii
Green tickY
Pitcher Tony Phillips Southern Miss
Green tickY
Pitcher Phil Stidham (2) Arkansas
Green tickY
Catcher Pedro Grifol Florida State
Green tickY
Green tickY
Catcher Michael Daniel Oklahoma State
Green tickY
First baseman David McCarty Stanford
Green tickY
Green tickY
Green tickY
1991 POY (BA)[6]
Second baseman Jimmy Crowley Clemson
Green tickY
Second baseman Steve Rodriguez Pepperdine
Green tickY
Second baseman Billy Hall Wichita State
Green tickY
Third baseman Scott Stahoviak Creighton
Green tickY
Green tickY
Third baseman Andy Bruce Georgia Tech
Green tickY
8 consecutive games with a home run (Division I record)[20]
Shortstop Brent Gates Minnesota
Green tickY
Green tickY
Green tickY
Outfielder Mike Kelly (2) Arizona State
Green tickY
Green tickY
Green tickY
Outfielder Mark Sweeney Maine
Green tickY
Green tickY
Major League Baseball career pinch hit RBI record (102)[15]
Outfielder Mark Smith USC
Green tickY
Green tickY
Outfielder Mike Neill Villanova
Green tickY
Gold medal in the 2000 Olympics[13]
Outfielder Tom Vantiger Iowa State
Green tickY
Outfielder Joe Vitiello Alabama
Green tickY
Designated hitter Gene Schall Villanova
Green tickY
.426 career batting average (20th in Division I)[20]
Designated hitter Michael Daniel Oklahoma State
Green tickY
Designated hitter Scott Talanoa Long Beach State
Green tickY
Utility player Brooks Kieschnick Texas
Green tickY
Utility player Craig Clayton Cal State
Green tickY

References

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General
  • "Baseball Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
Inline citations
  1. ^ The Michigan alumnus. University of Michigan Library. 2010. p. 495. ASIN B0037HO8MY.
  2. ^ "This is the ABCA". American Baseball Coaches Association. September 20, 2007. Archived from the original on April 2, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  3. ^ "All Americans: Collegiate Baseball Newspaper". Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Inc. Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  4. ^ "College: Awards: All-America Teams". Baseball America Inc. Archived from the original on April 23, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  5. ^ "College: Awards: Player of the Year". Baseball America Inc. Archived from the original on April 23, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Baseball Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  7. ^ "Rotary Smith Award". Baseball Almanac. Archived from the original on February 2, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  8. ^ "Previous Golden Spikes Award Winners". USA Golden Spikes Award. Archived from the original on September 21, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  9. ^ a b c "Bobby Jones". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  10. ^ "Brent Gates". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  11. ^ "Mike Kelly". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on May 29, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  12. ^ "USA Baseball in the Olympic Games: A look back at Team USA in previous Olympic contests". USA Baseball.com. June 3, 2008. Archived from the original on September 10, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  13. ^ a b "Mike Neill". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  14. ^ "Pinch Hitting Records". Baseball Almanac. Archived from the original on May 10, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  15. ^ a b "21 Mark Sweeney, 1B". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  16. ^ Crasnick, Jerry (February 13, 2008). "Dodgers agree to deal with Mark Sweeney". ESPN. Archived from the original on February 11, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  17. ^ a b c d e "NCAA Baseball Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  18. ^ "College Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees". College Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  19. ^ "Baseball Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  20. ^ a b c d "Division I Record Book" (PDF). NCAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2012.