DHL Hometown Heroes explained

DHL Hometown Heroes was a 2006 promotional event, sponsored by shipping company DHL, where Major League Baseball (MLB) fans were encouraged to vote for the most outstanding player in the history of each MLB franchise.

Fans were asked to vote for the most outstanding player in the history of each MLB franchise, based on on-field performance, leadership quality and character value.^[1] The candidates for the ballot were chosen by the clubs themselves, in conjunction with a blue-ribbon panel of baseball experts, journalists, and historians. The award winners were then chosen, over two months of voting, in a process similar to MLB all-star voting. Votes were cast by fans at every MLB ballpark, as well as online and via cell-phone. In all, nearly 17 million votes were cast.

On September 27, 2006 MLB announced a list of winning players, one from each team.

Of the players awarded, Nolan Ryan was the only player to win the award for two different teams: the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers.

Three of the honored players were true "hometown heroes" in the sense of starring with MLB teams in or near their actual hometowns. Ryan grew up from infancy in the Houston suburb of Alvin, Texas. Cal Ripken Jr., chosen by Baltimore Orioles fans, was born in Havre de Grace and grew up in Aberdeen, towns in Harford County, Maryland within 45 minutes' drive of Baltimore. Pete Rose, chosen by Cincinnati Reds fans, was born and raised in Cincinnati. (Note that although Jackie Robinson, selected by Los Angeles Dodgers fans, grew up in Pasadena, California, he never played for the franchise in Los Angeles. His entire MLB career was with the Brooklyn Dodgers.)

Award winners

Team	Nominee	Nominee	Nominee	Nominee	Winner	Years	Ref
Angels	Jim Abbott	Don Baylor	Chuck Finley	Tim Salmon		1979–1985	^[2]
Astros	Jeff Bagwell	Craig Biggio	Larry Dierker	Jimmy Wynn		1979–1988
Athletics	Dennis Eckersley	Lefty Grove	Rickey Henderson	Catfish Hunter		1967–1975, 1987
Blue Jays	Roberto Alomar	Tony Fernández	Pat Hentgen	Dave Stieb		1991–1997
Braves	Chipper Jones	Phil Niekro	John Smoltz	Warren Spahn		1954–1974
Brewers	Cecil Cooper	Rollie Fingers	Jim Gantner	Paul Molitor		1974–1993
Cardinals	Lou Brock	Bob Gibson	Albert Pujols	Ozzie Smith		1941–1944, 1946–1963
Cubs	Ferguson Jenkins	Ryne Sandberg	Ron Santo	Billy Williams		1953–1971
Devil Rays	Carl Crawford	Roberto Hernández	Aubrey Huff	Fred McGriff		1998–1999
Diamondbacks	Jay Bell	Luis Gonzalez	Todd Stottlemyre	Matt Williams		1999–2004, 2007–2008
Dodgers	Roy Campanella	Sandy Koufax	Pee Wee Reese	Duke Snider		1947–1956
Giants	Barry Bonds	Juan Marichal	Willie McCovey	Mel Ott		1951–1952, 1954–1972
Indians	Earl Averill	Larry Doby	Nap Lajoie	Tris Speaker		1936–1941, 1945–1956
Mariners	Jay Buhner	Edgar Martínez	Jamie Moyer	Ichiro Suzuki		1989–1999, 2009–2010
Marlins	Josh Beckett	Luis Castillo	Jeff Conine	Robb Nen		2003–2007
Mets	John Franco	Tug McGraw	Mike Piazza	Darryl Strawberry		1967–1977, 1983
Nationals^[3]	Liván Hernández	Brian Schneider	Rusty Staub	José Vidro		1974–1984, 1992
Orioles	Eddie Murray	Jim Palmer	Brooks Robinson	Frank Robinson		1981–2001
Padres	Brian Giles	Trevor Hoffman	Randy Jones	Dave Winfield		1982–2001
Phillies	Richie Ashburn	Steve Carlton	Chuck Klein	Robin Roberts		1972–1989
Pirates	Ralph Kiner	Bill Mazeroski	Willie Stargell	Honus Wagner		1955–1972
Rangers	Rusty Greer	Iván Rodríguez	Jim Sundberg	Mark Teixeira		1989–1993
Red Sox	Roger Clemens	Jim Rice	Carl Yastrzemski	Cy Young		1939–1942, 1946–1960
Reds	Johnny Bench	Joe Morgan	Tony Pérez	Frank Robinson		1963–1978, 1984–1986
Rockies	Dante Bichette	Vinny Castilla	Andrés Galarraga	Todd Helton		1995–2004
Royals	Amos Otis	Bret Saberhagen	Mike Sweeney	Frank White		1973–1993
Tigers	Charlie Gehringer	Hank Greenberg	Al Kaline	Alan Trammell		1905–1926
Twins	Rod Carew	Kent Hrbek	Harmon Killebrew	Tony Oliva		1984–1995
White Sox	Luke Appling	Harold Baines	Nellie Fox	Minnie Miñoso		1990–2005
Yankees	Yogi Berra	Joe DiMaggio	Lou Gehrig	Mickey Mantle		1920–1934

The "Hometown Heroes" panel

• Orestes Destrade (ESPN and XM Satellite Radio broadcaster)
• Steve Hirdt (Elias Sports Bureau Executive Vice President)
• Jerome Holtzman (Hall of Fame writers wing official MLB historian)
• Richard C. Levin (Yale University president)
• Dinn Mann (MLB.com editor-in-chief)
• Tim McCarver (Fox Sports broadcaster)
• Jose de Jesus Ortiz (Houston Chronicle writer)
• Harold Reynolds (ESPN broadcaster)
• Ken Shouler (historian and author)
• Claire Smith (The Philadelphia Inquirer assistant sports editor)
• Don Sutton (Washington Nationals broadcaster and Hall of Fame pitcher)^[1]

See also

• Baseball awards
• List of Major League Baseball awards

External links

• DHL Presents Major League Baseball Hometown Heroes (2006) imdb.com
• Five 'All-Century' players not included Ken Shouler ESPN.com

Notes and References

1. Web site: Major League Baseball, DHL unveil nominees for the "DHL Presents Major League Baseball Hometown Heroes" platform. MLB.com. July 17, 2006. June 29, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20110615063344/http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060717&content_id=1560868&vkey=pr_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb. June 15, 2011. dead.
2. News: Newman . Mark . Fans select teams' Hometown Heroes . October 1, 2006 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20121106053753/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061001&content_id=1694664&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb . November 6, 2012 . dead . March 27, 2011 .
3. Staub and Carter were players for the former Montréal (QC) franchise that became the Nationals in 2005. Because of rules established, no former Washington Senator (before 1971) could have been nominated.