To keep my mind active on a fairly lengthy drive home to Chicago yesterday, I started a game of sorts in my head. I set out to make a roster of the 30 greatest baseball players of all time, with two key rules:
1. It has to be a working roster- meaning every position must have at least one true starter and one true backup. (Fielder to pitcher ratio would be 17-13)
2. Every major league franchise must be represented, and only one representative per team.
It's harder than it sounds. After my stop in Valpo, and discussing it with the likes of Kenny, Champ and Viano- my options only grew deeper and my mind only got more into it. Once I was home and everyone was asleep, I finally put pen to paper and came up with this:
C: Johnny Bench (Reds), Carlton Fisk (White Sox)
1B: Harmon Killebrew (Twins), Todd Helton (Rockies)
2B: Jackie Robinson (Dodgers), Roberto Alomar (Blue Jays)
3B: Frank Robinson (Orioles), George Brett (Royals), Wade Boggs (Devil Rays)
SS: Ernie Banks (Cubs), Alex Rodriguez (Mariners)
LF: Ted Williams (Red Sox), Al Kaline (Tigers)
CF: Willie Mays (Giants), Robin Yount (Brewers)
RF: Babe Ruth (Yankees), Roberto Clemente (Pirates)
Pitchers: Roger Clemens (Astros), Pedro Martinez (Nationals), Randy Johnson (Diamondbacks), Nolan Ryan (Angels), Steve Carlton (Phillies), Bob Gibson (Cardinals), Bob Feller (Indians), Kevin Brown (Marlins), Tom Seaver (Mets), Greg Maddux (Braves), Fergie Jenkins (Rangers), Dennis Eckersley (Athletics), Trevor Hoffman (Padres)
To do a list like this, there were hundreds of tough omissions, none tougher than Hank Aaron. The all-time home run king was edged out by former Brave Greg Maddux because Pitchers were so much harder to come by on this list than hitters were. Every team you think of- the first player is usually a hitter. I thought about placing Aaron on as a Brewer, but operated under the unwritten rule that a player must have had some lasting impact on the team he represented. I don't think anyone would object to Maddux being on there, and I could have slipped him in as a Cub, but that would leave a tough hole at SS. Sorry, Hank.
Other Tough Omissions:
Barry Bonds (Giants-Pirates): Come to think of it, with Mays and Clemente representing those respective teams, it wasn't that hard after all.
Every Other Yankee: Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio, Lou Gehrig represent just a small sample of great players behind the Babe.
Sandy Koufax (Dodgers): Nudged out by Jackie Robinson- and though pitching was extremely difficult to find, second base was harder. (Joe Morgan and Ryne Sandberg were thoughts, but Bench and Banks play premium positions too)
Stan Musial (Cardinals): Was written into left field until the team was a pitcher short- and Gibson was the best pitcher available, plus Kaline is a capable replacement.
Frank Thomas (White Sox): Sox fans (reluctantly) name him their greatest, but first base as a little crowded.
Tony Gwynn (Padres): First thought when thinking Padres, but a victim of pitching.
Cy Young (Cardinals, Red Sox, Indians): He could have been backdoored as an Indian, but only threw 500 innings for that franchise. Spent a considerable amount of time with the Cleveland Spiders, however that team has no franchise to represent them in today's game.
Quick aside: I thought of putting Ozzie Smith in as Padre, moving Banks out of SS and Sandberg in at 2B for Jackie Robinson, leaving Koufax in for the Dodgers while pushing out Hoffman, but couldn't because I can't think of Ozzie's lasting impression with the Padres. That, and Ozzie Smith might be the most overrated player in all of baseball history, and is one of the worst hall-of-famers ever. (A .262 hitter with an OPS of 655? He compares well to Omar Vizquel. Where is Omar's plaque?)
While it was hard to leave certain players out, it was almost just as tough to include certain players, such as the entrants for the Rockies, Marlins and Devil Rays. Of the four most recent expansion clubs, only the Diamondbacks (Randy Johnson) had a player who meant something to them worthy of inclusion.
Other Tough entries:
Pedro Martinez (as a National): He was a pretty good Expo, but still thought of as a Red Sock.
Fergie Jenkins (as a Ranger): Fergie is fine, but I had Walter Johnson as my Ranger until I realized that Johnsons Washington Senators became the Twins and that a later version of the Senators became the Rangers. Jenkins won 93 games for the franchise, and pitched more innings for them than Nolan Ryan did.
Carlton Fisk (as a White Sock): He would object to his placement too. Pudge Rodriguez and Gary Carter were in the queue as catchers, but to be honest, this alignment (Kaline, Seaver, Fisk) representing those teams maxed out the talent.
Kevin Brown (as a Marlin): The worst career of anyone on the team, but despite 2 World Series Titles, find me a better entrant for Florida.
Roger Clemens (as an Astro): Can't as a Red Sock, can't as a Yankee, and a Blue Jay would be just as shady as an Astro. He did pitch them to a world series, right?
Wade Boggs (as A Devil Ray): Boggs is fine, but the team affiliaton is flimsy.
6 comments:
Not only was Ty Cobb a great baseball player, he also had the determination to attack a crippled fan and kill a black man, just because he hated everyone and was a racist.
And yet you omitted him.
-Tomke
Very interesting. I think my team last year was better though.
Wink wink.
This makes my head hurt. I have to think, in the interest of justice, that you can cheat a little and backdoor Aaron as a Brewer and put him in center, even though that wasn't his true position. Then again, Yount was an infielder just as much of his career as he was an outfielder, so all's fair. I know we're not talking about the same franchise, but he did spend a lot of time in Milwaukee, his number is retired by the Brewers, and for god sake, he's the greatest home run hitter ever.
Good lord, no Koufax. He had the left arm of God. But this is a tough, tough exercise. It's like what the All-Star managers go through each year, only far tougher.
Another scenario: Yount to shortstop (where he spent a ton of his career), Aaron becomes the Braves rep in the outfield and Maddux becomes the Cubs rep. No disrespect to Ernie Banks. Damn.
Six simple letters:
JJ Putz
-Drew
Livan Hernandez should replace Kevin Brown on the Marlins. Hernandez was the MVP of both the NLCS and the WS (four wins compared to two for Brown). It wouldn't change the makeup of the team at all, but you dared me to find a better Marlin and I did.
-Stem
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