1994 College Baseball All-America Team
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] Collegiate Baseball selects All-American, Freshman All-American, and High School All-American teams.[ 3] Baseball America magazine selects 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 1994 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
The 1994 College Baseball All-America Team included the most highly regarded college baseball players as recognized by various national selectors and its members accumulated numerous collegiate awards. With Nomar Garciaparra , Jason Varitek , and Danny Graves , the team included three future Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Stars . The following is a summary of the collegiate and MLB accomplishments of the players from the team. However, as of 2016[update] , R. A. Dickey remains an active MLB player.[ 7] Five players were selected by all three NCAA-sanctioned selectors: pitcher Danny Graves ; catcher Varitek; first baseman Tommy Davis ; shortstop Garciaparra; and outfielder Payton. Varitek and Todd Walker had both been selected unanimously to the 1993 College Baseball All-America Team , while Antone Williamson is a repeat All-American according to Baseball America . Veritek had also been a unanimous selection to the 1992 College Baseball All-America Team . José Cruz Jr. would repeat as a selection to the 1995 College Baseball All-America Team by all selectors and Shane Monahan would repeat as a selection by Collegiate Baseball .[ 6] Walker won the 1993 College World Series Most Outstanding Player .[ 8] Varitek swept the Dick Howser Trophy , the Rotary Smith Award , and the Golden Spikes Awards in 1994.[ 9] [ 10] [ 11]
Garciaparra is a two-time American League (AL) batting champion, AL Rookie of the Year , six-time All-Star, who led the AL in at bats , hits , doubles , triples , and intentional walks . He led the AL in errors regardless of position in 2002 and in putouts as a shortstop in 1997.[ 12] Varitek is a three-time All-Star (2003 , 2005 and 2008 ), Gold Glove -winner, Silver Slugger-winner, and two-time World Series champion (2004 and 2007 ).[ 13] He called the pitches for a major league record four no-hitters .[ 14] Danny Graves, who is a two-time All-Star (2000 and 2004 ) and won the 2002 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award , is the only Vietnamese-born player in MLB history.[ 15] Georgia Tech had three selections and Clemson had two.
Several other players made notable marks as professional players. Paul Wilson became the MLB number one overall draft pick in 1994.[ 16] Walker led the NL second basemen in fielding percentage and putouts during the 2002 season.[ 17] Cruz, who won a Gold Glove in 2003 in the NL, led the NL in putouts as a rightfielder (2003) and the AL in putouts as a centerfielder (2000) but also led the AL in errors committed as a rightfielder (2004). He accumulated over 1,100 hits and 200 home runs .[ 18] Payton led the AL outfielders in fielding percentage in both 2005 and 2008 with perfect ratings. He led the NL in putouts as a leftfielder in 2003 and in assists as a centerfielder in 2004, but he also led the NL in errors as a centerfielder in 2000.[ 19]
Key
All-Americans
Below are the Division I players selected to the various NCAA-sanctioned lists.[ 22] 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
Shane Dennis
Wichita State
Y
—
Y
Pitcher
Gary Rath
Mississippi State
Y
Y
—
Pitcher
Scott Rivette
Long Beach State
Y
—
Y
Pitcher
Paul Wilson
Florida State
Y
Y
—
MLB number one overall draft pick (1994)[ 16]
Pitcher
Danny Graves
Miami
Y
Y
Y
21 saves in a single season (1994) (T-4th in Division I),[ 23] 4.72 H/9 (11th in Division I),[ 23] 2x MLB All-Star (2000 and 2004 ) and 2002 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award winner[ 15]
Pitcher
Jason Bell
Oklahoma State
—
Y
—
Pitcher
R. A. Dickey
Tennessee
—
Y
Y
Pitcher
Matt Beaumont
Ohio State
—
—
Y
Pitcher
Brett Merrick
Washington
—
—
Y
20 saves in a single season (T-6th in Division I)[ 23]
Catcher
Jason Varitek * (3)
Georgia Tech
Y
Y
Y
3x MLB All-Star (2003 , 2005 & 2008 ), Gold Glove , Silver Slugger , 2x World Series champion (2004 & 2007 ),[ 13] Caught 4 no-hitters [ 14]
First baseman
Tommy Davis
Southern Mississippi
Y
Y
Y
Second baseman
Todd Walker (2) ♦
LSU
Y
Y
—
1993 College World Series Most Outstanding Player [ 8]
Third baseman
Kevin Young
Central Michigan
Y
—
—
Third baseman
Antone Williamson (2)
Arizona State
—
Y
—
Third baseman
Mike Hampton
Clemson
—
—
Y
Shortstop
Nomar Garciaparra ♦
Georgia Tech
Y
Y
Y
2× AL batting champion, AL Rookie of the Year , and 6x MLB All-Star (1997 , 1999 , 2000 , 2002 , 2003 and 2006 )[ 12]
Outfielder
José Cruz Jr.
Rice
Y
Y
—
Gold Glove (2003)[ 18]
Outfielder
Mark Little
Memphis
Y
—
Y
.424 career batting average (24th in Division I),.[ 23] 771 career slugging percentage (24th in Division I)[ 23]
Outfielder
Shane Monahan
Clemson
Y
Y
—
137 hits in a single season (1994) (2nd in Division I)[ 23]
Outfielder
Jay Payton
Georgia Tech
Y
Y
Y
129 hits (1994) (T-7th in Division I)[ 23]
Outfielder
Jeff Abbott
Kentucky
—
—
Y
Designated hitter
Ryan Hall
BYU
Y
—
Y
Designated hitter
Brian Buchanan
Virginia
—
Y
—
Utility player
Ryan Jackson
Duke
—
—
Y
8 consecutive games with a home run (Division I record)[ 23]
See also
References
General
Inline citations
^ The Michigan alumnus . University of Michigan Library. 2010. p. 495. ASIN B0037HO8MY .
^ "This is the ABCA" . American Baseball Coaches Association . September 20, 2007. Archived from the original on April 2, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2010 .
^ "All Americans: Collegiate Baseball Newspaper" . Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Inc . Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2010 .
^ "College: Awards: All-America Teams" . Baseball America Inc . Archived from the original on April 23, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2010 .
^ "College: Awards: Player Of The Year" . Baseball America Inc . Archived from the original on April 23, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2010 .
^ a b "Baseball Award Winners" (PDF) . National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved May 11, 2010 .
^ "R. A. Dickey" . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on June 26, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2010 .
^ a b "Most Outstanding Player Award" . CWS Omaha, Inc. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2010 .
^ "Rotary Smith Award" . Baseball Almanac . Archived from the original on February 2, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010 .
^ "Previous Golden Spikes Award Winners" . USA Golden Spikes Award. Archived from the original on September 21, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010 .
^ "Dick Howser Trophy" . National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association . Archived from the original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010 .
^ a b "Nomar Garciaparra" . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 12, 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2010 .
^ a b "Jason Varitek" . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on May 11, 2010. Retrieved May 13, 2010 .
^ a b Kaplan, Thomas (May 21, 2008). "Red Sox' No-Hitter Puts Varitek in Record Books" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2010 .
^ a b "Danny Graves" . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 23, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2010 .
^ a b "1st Picks Overall in the MLB June Amateur Draft" . Baseball-Reference.com . Archived from the original on June 14, 2010. Retrieved October 30, 2010 .
^ "Todd Walker" . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2010 .
^ a b "Jose Cruz" . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2010 .
^ "Jay Payton" . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2010 .
^ a b c d e "NCAA Baseball Award Winners" (PDF) . NCAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2012 .
^ "College Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees" . College Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2012 .
^ "Baseball Award Winners" (PDF) . National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved June 8, 2010 .
^ a b c d e f g h "Division I Record Book" (PDF) . NCAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2012 .