1981 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 team 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 together 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]

1981 All-Americans included Bobby Meacham.

The NCAA recognizes two different All-America selectors for the 1981 college baseball season: the American Baseball Coaches Association (since 1947) and Baseball America (since 1981).[2]

ABCA American Baseball Coaches Association[2]
BA Baseball America[2]
Awarded the Golden Spikes Award as national Player of the Year[2]
Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player had been named an All-American at that point[2]
Inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame[3]

All-Americans

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Position Name School ABCA BA Notes
Pitcher Tony Arnold Texas
 Y
 Y
21 consecutive wins (8th in Division I)[4]
Pitcher Neal Heaton (2) ♦ Miami
 Y
 Y
BA Pitcher of the Year,[2] 1990 NL All-Star,[5] 23 strikeouts vs. Indiana State Sycamores (March 10, 1981)(T-3rd in Division I)[4]
Pitcher Kendall Carter Arizona State
 Y
47 career wins (T-5th in Division I),[4] 19 wins in a single season (1981) (T-2nd in Division I)[4]
Pitcher Frank Viola St. John's
 Y
1988 Cy Young Award,[6] 3x MLB All-Star[6]
Catcher Tom Nieto Oral Roberts
 Y
 Y
First baseman Phil Stephenson Wichita State
 Y
 Y
420 career runs (Division I record),[4] 418 career hits (Division I record),[4] 730 total bases (Division I record),[4] 206 career SB (Division I record),[4] 300 career BB (Division I record),[4] 91 career doubles (3rd in Division I),[4] 322 career RBI (3rd in Division I)[4]
Second baseman Billy DeMann Arizona State
 Y
Second baseman Jeff Ronk Cal
 Y
Third baseman Mike Sodders Arizona State
 Y
 Y
BA POY[2]
Shortstop Dan Davidsmeier USC
 Y
Shortstop Bobby Meacham San Diego State
 Y
Outfielder Mike Fuentes (2) Florida State State
 Y
 Y
Outfielder Joe Carter Wichita State
 Y
5x MLB All-Star,[7] 2x Silver Slugger Award winner,[7] 1992 & 1993 World Series Champion,[7] 312 RBI (4th in Division I),[4] 640 career total bases (8th in Division I).[4] 430 career batting average (15th in Division I)[4]
Outfielder John Christensen Cal State Fullerton
 Y
Outfielder Mark Gillaspie Mississippi State
 Y
Outfielder Kevin Romine Arizona State
 Y
Designated hitter Phil Strom Utah
 Y
Designated hitter Franklin Stubbs Virginia Tech
 Y

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The Michigan alumnus. University of Michigan Library. 2010. p. 495. ASIN B0037HO8MY.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "NCAA Baseball Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  3. ^ "College Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees". College Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Division I Record Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
  5. ^ "Neal Heaton". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Frank Viola". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c "Joe Carter". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 12, 2012.