As a major-league baseball player, Chip Hale might generously be described as the Phil Gosselin of a previous generation.
As a slap-hitting backup infielder/pinch-hitter over parts of seven seasons, he played in 333 major-league games and made all of 652 plate appearances. He hit only seven home runs but managed a more-than-respectable .277 career batting average.
So what, other than having worn a major-league uniform, what might the Diamondbacks manager have in common with Jackie Robinson, Barry Bonds, Tom Seaver and Mark McGwire?
Greatness -- in the eyes of the blue-ribbon panel enlisted to choose the Pac-12 Conference All-Century Baseball Team.
A 36-member panel cast ballots for the 30-player team, consisting of 20 position players and 10 pitchers. The panel also voted for Pitcher, Player and Coach of the Century -- honors that were bestowed on USC pitcher Mark Prior, Washington State first baseman/pitcher John Olerud and USC coach Rod Dedeaux.
Hale, who starred at the University of Arizona from 1984 to 1987, is one of three third basemen selected to the team, and he is not the only Diamondbacks connection among the chosen few. One of the 10 pitcher spots went to Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, who pitched for USC from 1983 to 1985. The team also includes former D-backs (and current Astros) manager A.J. Hinch and former D-backs players Troy Glaus, Trevor Bauer and Xavier Nady.
Hale is one of only two University of Arizona players on the team. The other one, Terry Francona, shares a distinction with both Hale and Hinch as being a current major-league manager.
Arizona State had the most players selected with a total of seven: Outfielders Bonds, Oddibe McDowell and Mike Kelly, shortstop Dustin Pedroia, third baseman Brett Wallace, catcher Casey Myers and pitcher Mike Leake.
UCLA and USC each had six selections; Stanford had four; Oregon State two; and California, Washington and Washington State one each.
The complete roster is as follows:
Catcher: Todd Zeile, UCLA (1984-86), A.J. Hinch, Stanford (1992-96); Casey Myers, ASU (1998-2001);.
First base: Mark McGwire, USC (1982-84); John Olerud, Washington State (1987-89).
Second base: Bret Boone, USC (1988-90); Xavier Nady, California (1998-2000); Chase Utley, UCLA (1998-2000).
Third base: Chip Hale, Arizona (1984-87); Troy Glaus, UCLA (1995-97); Brett Wallace, ASU (2006-08).
Shortstop: Jackie Robinson, UCLA (1940); Dustin Pedroia, ASU (2002-04).
Outfield: Fred Lynn, USC (1971-73); Terry Francona, Arizona (1978-80); Oddibe McDowell, ASU (1983-84); Barry Bonds, ASU (1983-85); Mike Kelly, ASU (1989-91); Jacoby Ellsbury, Oregon State (2003-05); Michael Conforto, Oregon State (2012-14).
Pitcher: Tom Seaver, USC (1965); Randy Johnson, USC (1983-85); Jack McDowell, Stanford (1983-87); Mike Mussina, Stanford (1988-90); Mark Prior, USC (2000-01); Tim Lincecum, Washington (2004-06); Mike Leake, ASU (2007-09); Trevor Bauer, UCLA (2009-11); Mark Appel, Stanford (2009-13); David Berg, UCLA (2012-15).
Coach of the Century: Rod Dedeaux, USC (1942-86).
Pitcher of the Century: Mark Prior, USC.
Player of the Century: John Olerud, Washington State.
