Shocker: Going into this team, the safe assumptions were Cal Ripken, Brooks Robinson, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer and Mike Mussina. Not so. Murray (5.63) was overtaken at 1B by George Sisler and Urban Shocker, who starred for the team from 1918 through 1924 – when they were the St. Louis Browns – was a bit better than Mussina (5.97). Household names? Not so: Ken Williams (not the White Sox GM, but the one who played from 1915-29), Paul Blair, Bobby Grich and Chris Hoiles were obviously good players – good enough to qualify for this franchise that has existed for more than a century - but it’s surprising that a team this old would have so many players that only the most dedicated of fans would know. No clear designation: Baltimore has opted to rotate players at designated hitter. The career leader in games played at DH for the team is Harold Baines, with 602. Ken Singleton is second at 477.
Shocker: Going into this team, the safe assumptions were Cal Ripken, Brooks Robinson, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer and Mike Mussina. Not so. Murray (5.63) was overtaken at 1B by George Sisler and Urban Shocker, who starred for the team from 1918 through 1924 – when they were the St. Louis Browns – was a bit better than Mussina (5.97). Household names? Not so: Ken Williams (not the White Sox GM, but the one who played from 1915-29), Paul Blair, Bobby Grich and Chris Hoiles were obviously good players – good enough to qualify for this franchise that has existed for more than a century – but it’s surprising that a team this old would have so many players that only the most dedicated of fans would know. No clear designation: Baltimore has opted to rotate players at designated hitter. The career leader in games played at DH for the team is Harold Baines, with 602. Ken Singleton is second at 477.No Yogi!?: I thought this one would more or less write itself, starting with the usual suspects of Ruth, Mantle and DiMaggio in the outfield, Gehrig at first and Jeter at short. I would have also included C Yogi Berra (5.42), 2B Willie Randolph (5.32) and SP Whitey Ford (4.92). I was way off, particularly on Ford, who came in behind Gomez and Guidry as well as Bob Shawkey (5.5), Mike Mussina (5.3), Red Ruffing (5.07) and Mel Stottlemyre (4.97). Overlooked: Because he was followed by Berra, Bill Dickey (5.03) may be the most overlooked great Yankee. The Hall of Famer was an 11-time All-Star and was the catcher for seven World Series champions. Other notables falling short were Roy White (5.48), Craig Nettles (5.7), Don Mattingly (5.48), Bernie Williams (5.48), Tony Lazzeri (5.27) and, at reliever, Colorado Springs’ own Goose Gossage (3.13). The Sultan: Most teams never had a player reach 10 WAR in a single season. Babe Ruth had three such seasons that weren’t even factored in here because they weren’t among his six best seasons.Glove required: Manny Ramirez (4.93) would have made a run for an outfield spot, but he was docked 11.4 WAR during his time in Boston for his fielding. Tough crowd: Pedro Martinez (8.11) would have qualified as a top-two pitcher for nearly every other team. But it’s tough when your competition is quite literally Cy Young. Tough crowd, Part II: Speaking of tough crowd, Ramirez wasn’t the only one left out of this outfield. Jim Rice (5.53) and Dwight Evans (5.48) were also left out. At second base, Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr didn’t quite make the cut.Injury casualty: Every team has its story of players who never panned out because of injuries. For the Rays, it’s Rocco Baldelli. The outfielder averaged 3.03 WAR over his first three years, but he missed an average of 87 games over his first six years in the league and by the time he reached what should have been his prime years he was on the way out of the game. Experience necessary: It didn’t work out like this for most teams, but in the case of the Rays the player who has logged the most games at almost every position earned a spot on this team as quantity mattered. Hall, Pena, Zobrist, Lugo, Longoria, Crawford and Upton have played more at their positions than any other Ray in the franchise’s short history and Shields and Price have pitched the most innings. Slim pickins: Not only is Tampa Bay one of baseball’s youngest franchises, but it’s also long been a downtrodden one. Before breaking through under Joe Madden, the team finished fifth in the five-team AL East in nine of its first 10 seasons (it was fourth the other year, 30.5 games out of first).Northern exposure: Bautista averaged minus-2.9 WAR over his first five seasons, spanning 462 games with four teams. Who could have possibly foreseen what was to come. From 2010 through 2015 he averaged 38 home runs, 97 RBIs and a .945 OPS. Also rans: A few longtime, or at least well-known, Blue Jays didn’t make it. Included are Lloyd Moseby (4.03), John Olerud (3.45), George Bell (3.32) and Fred McGriff (3.22), who only played five years in Toronto. Roger that: In his two seasons with Toronto, Roger Clemens accumulated 20 WAR. Even with such a short time there, he’s seventh all-time in franchise history among pitchers.
