Friday, June 6, 2008

Dade County's 100 Greatest High School Baseball Players



Pictured: Pace's Alex Fernandez (top) and Westminster Christian's Alex Rodriguez


Baseball has long been called the nation's "national pastime". In South Florida, football is considered king. Afterall, some of the best football talent comes from our back yard. But when you look at the baseball talent that has been developed and nurished from our backyard, South Florida takes a backseat to nobody.

Here's my list of the 100 greatest high school baseball players to come out of Miami-Dade County. You'll find a hall of famer (Steve Carlton), a bunch of soon-to-be hall of famers (Alex Rodriguez, Andre Dawson) and a who's who of great high school baseball players who excelled at various levels of the sport. Players are listed in alphabetical order with the high schools each attended.

Dade County's 100 Greatest High School Baseball Players

Yonder Alonso - Coral Gables
Alfredo Amezaga - Miami High
Robert Andino - Southridge
J.P Arencibia - Westminster Christian
J.D. Arteaga - Westminster Christian
Ronnie Belliard - Central
Nick Belmonte - North Miami
Tom Bernhardt - Columbus
Skip Bertman - Miami Beach
Kurt Bevacqua - North Miami
Randy Bush - Carol City
Juan Bustabad - Hialeah-Miami Lakes
Steve Butler - Westminster Christian
Marty Bystrom - Killian
John Cangelosi - Miami Springs
Jose Canseco - Coral Park
Ozzie Canseco - Coral Park
Adrian Cardenas - Pace
Ronald Caridad - Westminster Christian
Steve Carlton - North Miami
Tony Casas - Jackson
Frank Castro - Miami Springs
Lee Corso - Jackson
Leroy Cromartie - Booker T. Washington
Warren Cromartie - Jackson
Midre Cummings - Edison
Andre Dawson - Southwest
Bucky Dent - Hialeah
Orestes Destrade - Columbus
Nick Esasky - Carol City
David Espinosa - Gulliver
Eddy Martinez-Esteve - Westminster Christian
Jorge Fabregas - Columbus
Alex Fernandez - Pace
Mike Fiore - Coral Gables
Tom Foley - Palmetto
Fred Frink - Miami High
Mike Fuentes - Coral Gables
Alex Gonzalez - Killian
Gio Gonzalez - Pace
Orlando Gonzalez - Miami High
Yasmani Grandal - Miami Springs
Otis Green - Carol City
Rick Greene - Coral Gables
Pedro Grifol - Columbus
Ricky Gutierrez - American
Ben Grzybek - Hialeah
Garry Harper - Hialeah-Miami Lakes
Lenny Harris - Jackson
Bill Henderson - Westminster Christian
Chris Hernandez - Pace
Gaby Hernandez - Belen
Nick Hernandez - Hialeah
Steve Hertz - Miami High
Jackie Holmes - Norland
Charlie Hough - Hialeah
Raul Ibanez - Sunset
Ryan Jackson - Florida Christian
Calvin James - American
Jon Jay - Columbus
Ross Jones - Hialeah
Mickey Lopez - Westminster Christian
Mike Lowell - Coral Gables
Ed Lynch - Columbus
Jim Maler- Coral Gables
Chris Marrero - Pace
Eli Marrero - Coral Gables
Danny Matienzo - Columbus
Tony Menendez - American
Doug Mientkiewicz - Westminster Christian
Luis Montanez - Coral Park
Rob Murphy - Columbus
Steve Nicosia - North Miami Beach
Fred Norman - Jackson
Alex Ochoa - Hialeah-Miami Lakes
Orlando Palmeiro - Southridge
Rafael Palmeiro - Jackson
Jose Prado - Coral Gables
Danny Rams - Gulliver
Mickey Rivers - Northwestern
Alex Rodriguez - Westminster Christian
Javy Rodriguez - Gulliver
Sean Rodriguez - Braddock
Ricky Rojas - Hialeah-Miami Lakes
Al Rosen - Miami High
Wade Rowdon - Palmetto
Gaby Sanchez - Brito Private
Nelson Santovenia - Southridge
Howie Shapiro - Miami Beach
Dennis Sherrill - South Miami
Dale Soderholm - Coral Park
Eric Soderholm - Coral Park
David Sorokowski - Southridge
Shannon Stewart - Southridge
Bob Stinson - Miami High
Danny Tartabull - Carol City
David Yocum - Columbus
Eddie Williams - Edison
Woody Woodward - Coral Gables
Jason Woolf - American