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| | Tuesday, December 14 Mantle is Player of the Decade for 1950-59 | |||||
The respect that Mickey Mantle commanded at the plate and in life carried over to the polls. Even Ernie "Mr. Cub" Banks and Jackie Robinson couldn't come close to matching the popularity of Mantle, who ESPN.com users tabbed as their Player of the '50s.
The voting was conducted on ESPN.com in conjunction with the Players Choice Awards in Las Vegas on Nov. 5. ESPN.com users picked winners for the first nine decades of the century, and the players themselves will select the player of the '90s. The winner of that honor will be announced as part of the Players Choice Awards show, which will be televised on ESPN (8:30 p.m. ET).
Ernie BanksBanks was the precursor to today's power-hitting shortstops. He joined the Chicago Cubs late in 1953 and in 1955 hit 44 home runs. He also topped 40 from 1957-60 and his 47 blasts in 1958 remain the record for a shortstop. He led the NL in RBI in 1958-59 with 126 and 143 and was the NL MVP Award both years, even though the Cubs finished in fifth place. Bad knees forced a move to first base in 1962 and he wasn't the same ballplayer after that. Yogi Berra There has never been a winner like Yogi Berra. During his 17 full seasons with the Yankees, the team reached the World Series 14 times. Yogi could also play. He was AL MVP in 1951, 1954 and 1955 and drove in more than 100 runs five times during the 1950s. His best was 1950 when he hit .322 with 28 homers and 124 RBI -- and only 12 strikeouts. Al Kaline Kaline went straight from the sandlots of Baltimore to the major leagues, never spending a day in the minors. He won a batting title in 1955 at age 20 when he hit .340. He never hit that high again but finished with 3,007 career hits and a .297 average. He was also a sensational right fielder who won 11 Gold Gloves. Mickey Mantle The Mickey Mantle of the late 1950s may have the most valuable baseball player of all time. In 1956 he won the Triple Crown by hitting .353 with 52 home runs and 130 RBI. He won the MVP again the next season when hit .365 with 34 home runs and 146 walks. According to Total Baseball, he was the best player in the American League for eight consecutive seasons (1955-1962). Jackie Robinson Even though he didn't reach the majors until he 28, Robinson remained an outstanding player for 10 seasons and played on six pennant winners. At a time when baseball was played station-to-station, Robinson was an exciting, aggressive baserunner. He stole home 19 times in his career. But he could also hit -- .311 lifetime, including reaching .300 each year from 1949-1954. He was a patient hitter and had good power for a second baseman. Warren Spahn The winningest left-hander of all time (363 victories). Spahn was a machine of consistency for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves during the 1950s. Spahn won 20 or more games 13 times in his career (tying Christy Mathewson's NL record), including eight times in the '50s. He led the league in wins in 1949, 1950, 1953 and 1957-61. He pitched at least 16 complete games each year during the decade and seven pitched at least 20. His ERA never exceeded 3.26. He even led the NL in strikeouts 1950-52. | ALSO SEE Baseball's Players Choice Awards Player of 1900-09: Honus Wagner Player of 1910-19: Ty Cobb Player of the '20s: Babe Ruth Player of the '30s: Jimmie Foxx Player of the '40s: Ted Williams Player of the '60s: Willie Mays Player of the '70s: Pete Rose Player of the '80s: Mike Schmidt  | |||||
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