The first ten years of the Classic Baseball Union saw ups and downs. Nobody knew what to expect with the CBU competing against the MLB, but when the MLB went on strike, the CBU got a foothold without any competition at all. The first decade was filled with many fallouts, retreads and forgotten players who had dreams of making it to Major League Baseball.

(All stats and awards listed are from 1994-2003 only.)

The Pitching Staff

Pitching in the first ten years of the Classic Baseball Union was full of great starters, peak seasons, and instability. The cream of the crop were pitchers who stabilized their teams, consistently performing at a high level, and occasionally dominating the league in a season. In this 12 man staff there are only 6 Sandy Koufax Awards of the 20 won during the period. Two players on this list each have two of these awards.

This all decade staff finished games they started, closed out games they were asked to finish, and consistently got hitters out with their own stuff. Here is the twelve man staff of the first All-Decade team in the Classic Baseball Union:

The Starters

Franck Hardouin Tacoma (’94-’99) Galveston (’00-’03)

161-116, 3.52 ERA, 2529.7 IP, 436 BB, 1,834 K, 54 CG, 8 SO, 536.9 VORP
5 Time All-Star

Neil Montgomery Augusta (’94-’03)

136-82, 3.64 ERA, 1967.7 IP, 631 BB, 1,202 K, 2 CG, 409.1 VORP
7 Time All-Star, 2 Time Brooks Robinson Award Winner

Justin Rice Savannah (’94-’95) Redbank (’96-’99) Denver (’00-’02) Brainerd (’03)

148-103, 3.76 ERA, 2159.0 IP, 655 BB, 2,036 K, 32 CG, 7 SO, 401.1 VORP
4 Time All-Star, 2 Time Sandy Koufax Award Winner (’97, ’98)

Dale Johnston Brainerd (’94-’98) Sioux Falls (’99-’02) Wisconsin (’03)

145-112, 4.05 ERA, 2,238.3 IP, 840 BB, 1,813 K, 39 CG, 5 SO, 360.9 VORP
3 Time All-Star

Anderson Bishop Brooklyn (’94-’95) Wisconsin (’96-98) Augusta (’99)

93-64, 3.58 ERA, 1,416 IP, 327 BB, 930 K, 30 CG, 10 SO 323.3 VORP
5 Time All-Star

Bullpen

Dave Taylor Vermont (’94-’99) Portland (’00-’01) Nashville (’02-’03)

62-31, 395 SV, 1.10 ERA, 746 IP, 146 BB, 916 K, 359 VORP
9 Time All-Star, 2 Time Sandy Koufax Award Winner (’97, ’03)

Sam Glover Rapid City (’94-’95) Brooklyn (’96-’97) Sioux Falls (’98-’03)

53-49, 387 SV, 2.31 ERA, 677.3 IP, 137 BB, 861 K, 237.2 VORP
8 Time All-Star

José Casas Charlotte (’94-03)

49-36, 360 SV, 2.50 ERA, 716 IP, 262 BB, 819 K, 233.3 VORP
8 Time All-Star

Mike Fritz Portland (’94-’99) Brainerd (’00-’03)

42-51, 318 SV, 2.45 ERA, 654 IP, 277 BB, 761 K, 221.2 VORP
2 Time All-Star

Extended Starting Staff

Claudio Meza Brooklyn (’95-’01) Nashville (’02-’03)

140-101, 3.89 ERA, 2,167.7 IP, 567 BB, 1,656 K, 49 CG, 5 SO, 358.8 VORP
4 Time All-Star, 1 Time Brooks Robinson Award

Pete Bursey Vermont (’94-’95) Tacoma (’96-’01) Indianapolis (’02)

120-75, 3.75 ERA, 1,706.3 IP, 478 BB, 1,615 K, 34 CG, 6 SO, 345.0 VORP
4 Time All-Star, 1 Sandy Koufax Award Winner (’94)

Todd McCarty Sioux Falls (’97-’03)

111-82, 3.61 ERA, 1,711.3 IP, 858 BB, 1,156 K, 34 CG, 6 SO, 345.0 VORP
5 Time All-Star, 1 Time Sandy Koufax Award Winner (’00)

The Hitters

The Classic Baseball Union was dominated by guys who could field but not hit, or hit but not field, as they would have likely found paths to the MLB much easier. But the quality did increase as time went on, and there were some devastatingly good hitters in the Union.

Peter Adams came onto the scene and dominated halfway through the decade. Carlos Gonzalez was one of the most complete players in the league offering top of the line defense, and a bat that was feared. Jimmy Carr set the standard for center fielders and hit a lot of home runs to boot. Santos, Lee, Hodges and Johnson all produced at pristine levels.

The cream of the crop produced enough to hook the passion of the fans of many. Generations to come will remember guys from this list as they defined what it meant to play baseball at a high level. Here is the starting line up and reserves for the first All-Decade CBU team.

The Line-Up

C Jorge Torres Charlotte (’94-’96) Buffalo (’97-’03)

1,114 G, .299 BA, 1,165 H, 264 2B, 21 3B, 212 HR, 741 RBI
878 R, 1,109 RBI, 5 SB, 1.006 OPS, 585.2 VORP
8 Time All-Star, 2 Time Babe Ruth Award Winner (’94, ’95) 2 Time (C) Brooks Robinson Award Winner

1B Peter Adams Denver (’98-’03)

919 G, .345 BA, 1,100 H, 215 2B, 17 3B, 213 HR, 624 RBI,
676 R, 659 BB, 0 SB, 1.086 OPS, 527.3 VORP
5 Time All-Star, 5 Time Babe Ruth Award Winner (’99-03), Jackie Robinson Rookie Award (’98)

2B Don Patrick Augusta (’96-’02) Portland (’03)

1,034 G, .313 BA, 1,244 H, 288 2B, 42 3B, 67 HR, 596 RBI,
632 R, 453 BB, 144 SB, .844 OPS, 295.5 VORP
5 Time All-Star, 4 Time (2B) Brooks Robinson Award Winner

3B Bill Nichols Nashville (’94-’99) Indianapolis (’00-’03)

1,373 G, 1,512 H, 349 2B, 72 3B, 41 HR, 561 RBI,
837 R, 1,092 BB, 37 SB, .862 OPS, 485.4 VORP
5 Time All-Star, 3 Time (C) Brooks Robinson Award Winner

SS Carlos González Redbank (’94-’03)

1,522 G, .351 BA, 2,160 H, 433 2B, 57 3B, 65 HR, 769 RBI,
1,142 R, 883 BB, 150 SB, .904 OPS, 647.8 VORP
7 Time All-Star, 4 Time (SS) Brooks Robinson Award Winner, Jackie Robinson Rookie Award Winner (’94)

LF Alonso Santos Indianapolis (’94-’00) Portland (’01-’03)

1,530 G, .341 BA, 2,153 H, 288 2B, 42 3B, 282 HR, 1,026 RBI,
1,026 R, 533 BB, 199 SB, .928 OPS, 586.3 VORP
7 Time All-Star, 2-Time Babe Ruth Award Winner (’96, ’98)  2-Time (LF, RF) Brooks Robinson Award Winner, Jackie Robinson Rookie Award Winner (’94)

CF Jimmy Carr Sioux Falls (’94-’03)

1,465 G, .291 BA, 1,547 H, 258 2B, 35 3B, 366 HR, 1,161 RBI,
973 R, 686 BB, 89 SB, .940 OPS, 489.4 VORP
6 Time All-Star, 7 Time (CF x5, LF x2) Brooks Robinson Award Winner

RF Tim Lee Denver (’94-’95, ’03) Rapid City (’96-03)

1,510 G, .317 BA, 1,756 H, 402 2B, 24 3B, 287 HR, 1,014 RBI,
1,132 R, 1,339 BB, 2 SB, 1.004 OPS, 767.6 VORP
9 Time All-Star, 3 Time Babe Ruth Award Winner (’94, ’95, ’98)

The Bench

1B Joey Brown Portland (’96-’03)

1,254 G, .302 BA, 1,478 H, 240 2B, 19 3B, 405 HR, 1,121 RBI
949 R, 598 BB, 2 SB, .933 OPS, 492.6 VORP
6 Time All-Star, Jackie Robinson Rookie Award Winner 1996

OF Tony Hodges Sioux Falls (’94-’95) Wisconsin (’95-’98) Brooklyn (’99-’03)

1,486 G, .294 BA, 1,666 H, 348 2B, 45 3B, 315 HR, 1,106 RBI,
1,132 R, 1,007 BB, 127 SB, .938 OPS, 510.6 VORP
6 Time All-Star, 2 Time Babe Ruth Award Winner (’02-’03), 3 Time (LF) Brooks Robinson Award Winner (’95, ’96, ’98)

OF Flint Johnson Nashville (’94-’97) Buffalo (’98-’00) Wisconsin (’01-’02) Savannah (’03)

1,520 G, .306 BA, 1,771 H, 307 2B, 41 3B, 344 HR, 1,126 RBI,
1,068 R, 815 BB, 65 SB, .955 OPS, 637.1 VORP
9 Time All-Star, 1 Time (RF) Brooks Robinson Award Winner

IF António Serrano Brainerd (’94-’00) Rapid City (’01-’03)

1,327 G, .325 BA, 1,670 H, 272 2B, 32 3B, 168 HR, 699 RBI,
997 R, 900 BB, 164 SB, .914 OPS, 571.7 VORP
6 Time All-Star, 2 Time (SS, 1B) Brooks Robinson Award Winner

C Robby Harper Tacoma (’94-’00) Dijon (’01-’03)

1,121 G, .277 BA, 1,100 H, 190 2B, 12 3B, 247 HR, 802 RBI,
721 R, 695 BB, 6 SB, .905 OPS, 358.4 VORP
3 Time All-Star, 1 Time Babe Ruth Award Winner (’96)