STANFORD, Calif. – Four Stanford legends were among the 30 players selected to the Pac-12 Baseball All-Century Team, revealed on the Pac-12 Networks' flagship show, ‘Pac-12 Sports Report' on Monday night.
Three Cardinal pitchers -- Jack McDowell, Mike Mussina, and Mark Appel -- were among those honored as well as former Cardinal catcher and current Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch.
A 36-member blue ribbon panel cast their ballots for 20 infielders/outfielders, 10 pitchers as well as Pitcher, Player and Coach of the Century. USC’s Mark Prior was named Pitcher of Century, Washington State’s John G. Olerud earned Player of the Century honors and USC’s legendary manager Raoul “Rod” Dedeaux was selected as the Coach of the Century.
Arizona State led all schools with seven members, followed by USC and UCLA with six, Stanford with four and Oregon State and Arizona with two. Cal, Washington and Washington State each had one player selected. In all, eight decades are represented – 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s.
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Pac-12 All-Century Team
A.J Hinch • Catcher • 1992-96
• Three-time All-American
• Still ranks among the top 10 in seven statistical career categories, including games (229 – ninth), batting average (.351 – seventh), hits (305 – fourth), doubles (58 – sixth), triples (15 – fifth) and runs batted in (191 – sixth)
• Three All-Pac-10 honors and two Player of the Year awards
• Finalist for the 1996 Golden Spikes Award, given to the national player of the year
• Drafted three times in college
• Graduated with a degree in psychology
• Helped Team USA to a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics
• MLB debut with the Oakland Athletics in 1998 and remained with the team through the 2000 season
• Played for Kansas City from 2000-02, Detroit in 2003 and Philadelphia in 2004 before retiring following the 2005 season
• Recently named as the manager of the Houston Astros and led the team to the playoffs in 2015 (their first appearance since 2005), after serving as the vice president and assistant general manager for the San Diego Padres. He also was manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks from May 2009 to July 2010
Mark Appel • Pitcher • 2009-13
• No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft
• Holds the school record with 372 career strikeouts
• National Pitcher of the Year in 2012
• Two-time first-team All-America selection
• Named the Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2013
• Finished with 28 career wins and was fourth all-time at Stanford with 377.2 innings pitched
• During his final campaign, he was 10-4 with a 2.12 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 106.1 innings – 10th-highest single-season strikeout total in Stanford history.
• In 2012, he was a Golden Spikes Award finalist after he led the Pac-12 in strikeouts and was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Stanford Regional en route to mulitple All-America honors
Jack McDowell • Pitcher • 1983-87
• 1993 American League Cy Young Award winner
• Lettered at Stanford from 1985-87
• Went 35-13 on The Farm
• Ranks second on the all-time school list in career wins and fourth in strikeouts (337)
•Wwinning pitcher in the 1987 College World Series Championship Game versus Oklahoma State.
• Just three months after pitching Stanford to the national title, he made his major league debut with the Chicago White Sox. • In 12 years in the Majors, McDowell went 127-87 and won 20 or more games twice, including 22 in his Cy Young award winning season with the White Sox.
Mike Mussina • Pitcher • 1986-90
• One of the most dominant pitchers in Stanford history, Mussina posted a 25-12 record with a 3.89 ERA in 49 games, including 47 starts, from 1988-90
• Earned freshman All-America honors during Stanford's 1988 national championship season, posting a 9-4 record with a 4.44 ERA in 21 games
• As a junior in 1990, "Moose" finished with a 14-5 record to go along with a 3.50 ERA
• A first-round draft pick (20th overall) by the Baltimore Orioles in 1990
• Enjoyed an 18-year major league career with the Orioles (1991-2000) and the New York Yankees (2001-08)
• Finished with a career record of 270-153 to go along with a 3.68 ERA
• A five-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove Award winner
• Only pitcher in American League history to make at least 24 starts in 17 straight seasons (1992-2008) and ranks as one of five major league pitchers to post at least 10 wins in 17 consecutive seasons