Fans To Vote On MLB's Best

June 22, 1999 / 5:40 PM EDT / AP

Fans will get a chance to vote for the top 25 players of the 20th century under a promotion announced Tuesday by Major League Baseball and MasterCard International Inc.

A panel of experts selected by former Chicago Tribune baseball writer Jerome Holtzman, now baseball's official historian, and the commissioner's office will select 100 players for the ballot.

Fans will vote from July 13-Sept. 10, selecting two players at each infield position, two catchers, six pitchers and nine outfielders for an All-Century team.

Â"The panel has the ability to add up to five additional names so that we can bring it into balance, so it's not just pure popularity of voting,Â" said Kathy Francis, baseball's vice president of marketing.

The team will be announced before Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 23, and the panel will select a 10-man starting lineup (including a right-handed and a left-handed pitcher), which will be announced before Game 2 the following night.

Â"People will sit in the coffee shops in the morning with their paper and you'll see them arguing, you'll see them arguing which was the greatest player Mantle, Mays or DiMaggio,Â" said former Cincinnati and Detroit manager Sparky Anderson, the program's spokesman. Â"There is no answer. That's why baseball is the greatest mystery.Â"

Francis said that banned players, including Pete Rose, are eligible for the team but would not be able to participate in any ceremonies or functions if they are picked.

A commercial featuring Hank Aaron, George Brett, Willie Mays and Barry Bonds will start airing around the time of the All-Star game on July 13.

Ballots will be available at all major league ballparks, and fans can vote on baseball's Web site in a process similar to the vote for All-Star starters.

MasterCard will put a special advertising insert in Sports Illustrated, even though the company last week sued the magazine's parent, Time Warner Inc., over an ad for the HBO show Â"Arli$$.Â"

The disputed ad mimics MasterCard advertising. Â"There are some men money can't buy. Arliss isn't one of them,Â" the ad says.