1990s All-Decade Team

The 1990s may be remembered as much for the players strike in August of 1994 as for the PED-fueled home run chase in 1998 that brought the game back into the national spotlight. It was, however, a decade filled with players reaching some of the most respected individual statistical milestones. The 300-win club welcomed all-time strikeout king and hall of famer to be Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens joined the 3,000 strikeout club when he fanned Randy Winn on July 5, 1998. As with much of the decade, even the milestones were dominated by the hitters. Of the 30 players in the 3,000 hit club seven joined during the 1990s. Robin Yount and George Brett reached the milestone in September of 1992. A year later in September of 1993 Dave Winfield collected number 3,000. 1995 saw Eddie Murray join and in 1996 Paul Molitor became the first player who’s 3,000 hit was a triple. Then on back to back days in August of 1999 Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs were welcomed to the elite club with Boggs becoming the first player to collect number 3,000 on a home run. The decade started with Larry Wayne “Chipper” Jones being selected as the number one overall pick in the June 1990 draft. Phil Nevin (1992), Alex Rodriguez (1993), Darin Erstad (1995), Pat Burrell (1998), and Josh Hamilton (1999) are the other position players taken number one overall during the decade making it one of the best classes of number one overall picks and a sign for things to come.

There were definitely some significant bumps during the decade but the game has ultimately come out on top. Below is our list of best players during the decade by position.

Catcher

Mike PiazzaHOFRookie of the Year

Age: 23-30
Years: 1992-1999
Positions: C
Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets

Mike Piazza Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
41.5	981	3,653	611	1,200	173	4	240	768	13	13	381	563	.328	.391	.575	.966

First Base

Frank ThomasHOF2x MVP

Positions: 1B
Teams: Chicago White Sox

Frank Thomas Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
52.7	1,371	4,892	968	1,564	317	10	301	1,040	28	18	1,076	741	.320	.440	.573	1.013

Second Base

Craig BiggioHOF

Age: 24-33
Years: 1990-1999
Positions: 2B
Teams: Houston Astros

Craig Biggio Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
52.9	1,515	5,823	1,042	1,728	362	35	136	641	319	100	730	880	.297	.386	.441	.827

Third Base

Chipper JonesHOFMVP

Age: 21-27
Years: 1993-1999
Positions: 3B
Teams: Atlanta Braves

Chipper Jones Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
26.9	779	2,890	542	871	166	17	153	524	83	19	459	463	.301	.394	.529	.923

Shortstop

Barry LarkinHOFMVP

Age: 26-35
Years: 1990-1999
Positions: SS
Teams: Cincinnati Reds

Barry Larkin Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
52.4	1,293	4,780	834	1,447	269	51	137	639	266	47	658	513	.303	.388	.466	.854

Outfield

Barry Bonds3x MVP

Age: 25-34
Years: 1990-1999
Positions: OF
Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants

Barry Bonds Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
79.9	1,434	4,894	1,091	1,478	299	42	361	1,076	343	94	1,146	747	.302	.434	.602	1.036

Outfield

Ken Griffey, JrMVP

Age: 20-29
Years: 1990-1999
Positions: OF
Teams: Seattle Mariners

Ken Griffey, Jr Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
67.3	1,408	5,377	1,002	1,622	297	30	382	1,091	151	53	703	901	.302	.384	.581	.965

Outfield

Albert Belle

Age: 23-32
Years: 1990-1999
Positions: OF
Teams: Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles

Albert Belle Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
39.4	1,336	5,076	881	1,520	344	16	351	1,099	86	34	619	838	.299	.376	.581	.957

Designated Hitter

Edgar MartinezHOF

Age: 27-36
Years: 1990-1999
Positions: DH
Teams: Seattle Mariners

Edgar Martinez Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
51.6	1,295	4,630	854	1,492	358	12	196	750	38	26	854	708	.322	.430	.532	.962

Starting Pitcher

Greg MadduxHOF4x Cy Young

Age: 24-33
Years: 1990-1999
Positions: SP
Teams: Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves

Greg Maddux Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
65.3	331	331	176	88	2.54	2,394.2	75	23	0	786	677	443	1,764	6.6	1.055

Starting Pitcher

Pedro MartinezHOF2x Cy Young

Age: 20-27
Years: 1992-1999
Positions: SP
Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox

Pedro Martinez Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
40.3	249	182	107	50	2.83	1,359.1	28	11	3	476	428	410	1,534	10.2	1.074

Starting Pitcher

Roger Clemens3x Cy Young

Age: 27-36
Years: 1990-1999
Positions: SP
Teams: Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees

Roger Clemens Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
68.5	305	305	152	89	3.02	2,177.2	57	24	0	813	731	731	2,101	8.7	1.176

Starting Pitcher

Jose Rijo

Age: 25-30
Years: 1990-1995
Positions: SP
Teams: Cincinnati Reds

Jose Rijo Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
29.6	168	168	72	43	2.74	1,111	16	3	0	383	338	313	955	7.7	1.157

Starting Pitcher

Randy JohnsonHOF2x Cy Young

Age: 26-35
Years: 1990-1999
Positions: SP
Teams: Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks

Randy Johnson Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
52.6	298	290	150	75	3.14	2,063.1	65	25	2	805	715	910	2,538	11.1	1.197

Relief Pitcher

Billy WagnerHOF

Age: 23-27
Years: 1995-1999
Positions: RP
Teams: Houston Astros

Billy Wagner Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
7.7	224	0	17	14	2.35	253	0	0	101	72	66	108	394	14.0	1.051

Relief Pitcher

Mariano RiveraHOF

Age: 25-29
Years: 1995-1999
Positions: RP
Teams: New York Yankees

Mariano Rivera Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
15.2	266	10	26	13	2.58	376.2	0	0	129	113	108	119	337	8.1	1.112

Relief Pitcher

Bryan Harvey

Age: 27-32
Years: 1990-1995
Positions: RP
Teams: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Florida Marlins

Bryan Harvey Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
8.9	218	0	7	17	2.44	251	0	0	135	79	68	81	300	10.8	1.028

Relief Pitcher

Rob Dibble

Age: 26-31
Years: 1990-1995
Positions: RP
Teams: Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers

Rob Dibble Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
3.9	274	0	16	19	3.47	318.2	0	0	87	134	123	178	445	12.6	1.271

Relief Pitcher

Ugueth Urbina

Age: 21-25
Years: 1995-1999
Positions: RP
Teams: Montreal Expos

Ugueth Urbina Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
6.6	238	21	29	24	3.40	346.2	0	0	102	146	131	156	401	10.4	1.246

Honorable Mention

Catcher – Mike Stanley
First Base- Mark McGwire
Second Base- Roberto Alomar
Third Base- Bobby Bonilla
Shortstop- Alex Rodriguez
Outfield – Gary Sheffield
Outfield – Manny Ramirez
Starting Pitcher – Curt Schilling
Starting Pitcher – Kevin Brown
Relief Pitcher – Dennis Eckersley

All underlying data used in this analysis is available in The Baseball Scholar Data Library.

1980 all decade team

2000 all decade team

7 responses to “1990s All-Decade Team”

Garry Harris

October 21, 2017 at 3:38 pm

C Mike Piazza, Ivan Rodriguez Benito Santiago
1B Frank Thomas, Jeff Bagwell, Mark McGuire, Rafael Palmeiro, Fred McGriff, Andres Gallarago
2B Roberto Alomar, Craig Biggio
3B Matt Williams, Robin Ventura
SS Barry Larkin, Jay Bell
LF Barry Bonds, Albert Belle
CF Ken Griffey Jr, Steve Finley, Kenny Loften
RF Juan Gonzales, Gary Sheffield

DH Edgar Martinez

SP Greg Maddux
SP Roger Clemens
SP Tom Glavine
SP John Smoltz
SP Kevin Brown
SP David Cone

RP Dennis Eckersley
RP John Franco
RP Randy Myers
RP John Wetteland
RP Doug Jones

LikeLike

Greg

February 8, 2020 at 7:59 am

Blue Jays snubbed here.

LikeLike

Juan Felipe

December 13, 2020 at 12:42 am

No Mike Mussina and his 136 wins during the decade?

Tom Glavine? John Smoltz? Please any of these guys are better than Jose Vidro. Give me a break!

And really? Bobby Bonilla gets honorable mention at 3B over the 6-time gold glove winner Robin Ventura? Bonilla wasn’t even a full time 3B.

And no love for Pudge Rodriguez?

This list needs to be revised.

LikeLike

Anonymous

July 19, 2021 at 8:23 pm

No Gwynn?? Lol ok

LikeLike

Matthew

July 29, 2022 at 8:15 pm

All time 90’s Team

2B Roberto Alomar
SS Barry Larkin
RF Tony Gwynn
LF Barry Bonds
CF Ken Griffey Jr.
1B Frank Thomas
DH Albert Belle
C Mike Piazza
3B Wade Boggs

P Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens & Randy Johnson

Since Arod, & Jeter really began in 96, Barry Larkin takes it for the whole decade. Since Chipper started in 95, Boggs did enough playing every year of the 90’s with 7 AS, 2 GG and 3 SS in the decade. Your dilemma is not having the best pure hitter in the era not having Tony Gwynn on your list. Belle who played LF would be my DH, kicking Edgar M out.

Oh and nobody beats this team, NOBODY., they had to deal with specialty relief pitching, something that the earlier eras didn’t have to deal with. Your not getting anything theough the infield with Alomar and Larkin.

LikeLike

Anonymous

November 25, 2024 at 9:50 am

I’d take Jeff Bagwell at 1b over Frank Thomas any day. Reason: Bagwell brings a lot more to the table, he can hit, hit w/power, field, run the bases…more of an asset on on both offense and defense!

LikeLike

1980s All-Decade Team – The Baseball Scholar

February 9, 2026 at 5:57 pm

[…] 1970 all decade team 1990 all decade team […]

LikeLike