Looking at baseball-reference.com recently to see which players had been born on that day, I found myself wondering which calendar date might yield the best possible roster. While I didn’t research the idea extensively, I do kind of wonder if it might be January 7.
January 7 features only one player enshrined in Cooperstown, Johnny Mize, and I know there are calendar dates which claim multiple Hall of Famers. There would also be relatively few star-quality players surrounding Mize in a Born-on-January-7 lineup, and the starting pitching would admittedly be far more workmanlike than outstanding. That said, from top to bottom, position by position, it would be a highly competitive squad.
The question is: Could another Born-on-This-Date team beat the January 9s over a 162-game season? Keeping in mind that you need to fill every position – you might have five superstars, but if you don’t have a catcher or a shortstop, you can’t play – are they the best?
Ladies and gentlemen, the BORN-ON-JANUARY 7-ALL-STAR-TEAM:
"I found myself wondering which calendar date might yield the best possible roster"
I've always wondered what kind of twisted mind does it take to work as a BP writer. Now we know- the type of twisted mind that wonders what calendar date might yield the best roster.
And I'm going to be thinking about this for WEEKS now. Thanks.
If you read Malcolm Gladwell's, The Outliers, you would have to think that you'd find better teams in players born earlier in the year.
That being said, here's my all-time birthday team (June 5)
1 Hall of Famer, 3 All Stars and many scrubs
Pos Name Year Playing Career
C Duke Sims 1941 1964-1974
1B Gene Schall 1970 1995-1996
2B Chip Coulter 1945 1969
3B Bill Spiers 1966 1989-2001
SS Eddie Joost 1916 1936-1955
LF Frank Huelsman 1874 1897-1905
CF Ray Lankford 1967 1990-2004
RF Billy Maloney 1878 1901-1908
C Truck Hannah 1889 1918-1920
IF Billy Urbanski 1903 1931-1937
IF Mike Coolbaugh 1972 2001-2002
OF Ray Rohwer 1895 1921-1922
OF Darryl Jones 1951 1979
IF/OF Randy Elliott 1951 1972-1980
SP Jack Chesbro 1874 1899-1909 (HOF)
SP Russ Ortiz 1974 1998-2007
SP Al Javery 1918 1940-1946
SP Dennis Blair 1954 1974-1980
SP Fred Mitchell 1878 1901-1905 (player manager)
RP Lou Brissie 1924 1947-1953
RP Bill Bray 1983 2006-2008
RP Paul Siebert 1953 1974-1978
RP Allan Collamore 1887 1911-1915
RP Beany Jacobson 1881 1904-1907
RP Mark Schaeffer 1948 1972
My understanding is that his take is that the first-half-of-year rule applied to Canadian hockey players specifically as a result of the rule structure of Canadian junior league hockey, which set an age cut-off date for eligibility that had the effect of making early-born kids the oldest, hence biggest and fastest, kids in the league. I gather the relevant comparison would be to Little League rules, and whatever the Dominican/Japanese/etc. equivalent would be. It's been too long since I played my one year of Little League so I have no idea what the rules are. In any event, I doubt it would have any effect on pre-war players.
I can put together a powerful lineup for April 4, but I cannot construct a pitching staff at all. My lineup would be:
c: Ray Fosse
1B: Gil Hodges
2B: Tom Herr
3B: Scott Rolen
SS: Jim Fregosi
LF: Gary Geiger
CF: Tris Speaker
RF: Joe Vosmik
DH: Mike Epstein
Bench: Mickey Owen, Bill Hinchman, John Hummel, Brad Komminsk, Eric Valent, Cameron Maybin
Unfortunately the only really decent pitcher I can find is Eddie Watt, a solid reliever for quite a few years in Baltimore. There are also Carlos Reyes and Frank Smith who relieved, but otherwise there are no real starters that I can identify.
I'm not sure this tops January 7th, but I think a pretty good case can be made for ranking January 31st near the head of the class.
In addition to three Hall of Famers (Robinson, Banks, Ryan), there’s Hank Aguirre in the rotation, George Burns at first, and an outfield that’s better than league average by *OPS+.
The lineup lacks a primary third baseman – but outfielder Tex McDonald did field the position, and of course you could plug in Robinson at 3B, shift Betancourt from the bench to 2B, and have a fine infield.
Here’s what a January 31st team could look like before those switches:
Rotation
Nolan Ryan (HoF, 8x A.S.)
Hank Aguirre (15 seasons, career *ERA+ 116, 2x A.S.)
Josh Johnson
Brad Thompson
Jim Willoughby / Duke Maas / Charlie Robertson
Bullpen
Ted Power, Bob Apodaca, Don Songer
Lineup
C Pinky Hargrave (10 seasons, 99 *OPS+)
1B George Burns (16 seasons, 113 *OPS+, 1926 MVP)
2B Jackie Robinson (10 seasons, 132 *OPS+, HOF, 6x A.S.)
SS Ernie Banks (512 HR, *OPS+ 122, HOF)
OF Tim Hendryx (8 seasons, *OPS+ 115)
OF Mel Mazzera (5 seasons to 1940, *OPS+ 90)
OF Tex McDonald (4 seasons, *OPS+ 125) or 3B
Bench
SS Yuniesky Betancourt
C Fred Kendall
C/1B Rip Williams
January 31st might work as a date, Ernie Banks, Nolan Ryan, and Jackie Robinson were all born on it. Only problem seems to be that outfield and 3rd base are pretty thin.
You could play Jackie Robinson at 3rd. That's where he was playing in the Don Larsen perfect game. (It was pretty cool watching that on the mlb network on new year's day.) Does 1/31 have any good 2nd basemen?
I'll throw out June 15 against any of your teams, even though the SPs are a bit top heavy:
CF- Brett Butler, 1 time AS
SS- Babe Dahlgren, 1 time AS
3B- Wade Boggs, HOF
LF- Billy Williams, HOF
RF- Dusty Baker, 2 time AS
C- Lance Parrish, 8 time AS
1B- Tony Clark, 1 time AS
2B- Gene Baker, 1 time AS
SP- Andy Pettite, 5 times in top 6 of CY voting
SP- Tim Lincecum, CY winner
SP- Bruce Dal Canton, 98 ERA+
SP- Zach Day, 95 ERA+
SP- Lou North
RP- Ramiro Mendoza
Great idea. April 2 isn't bad for pitching, but the hitting gets a little weak. Hughie Jennings plays first base, his secondary position, out of deference to Luke Appling.
I think you would have a hard time finding a *worse* group of MLB players than those born on February 11:
J.R. Towles 1984 2007-2008
Matt Lindstrom 1980 2007-2008
Chris Mabeus 1979 2006
Eric Cyr 1979 2002
Brent Butler 1978 2001-2003
Trey Beamon 1974 1996-1998
Brian Daubach 1972 1998-2005
Bryan Eversgerd 1969 1994-1998
Kevin King 1969 1993-1995
Dave Swartzbaugh1968 1995-1997
Scott Pose 1967 1993-2000
John Patterson 1967 1992-1995
Todd Benzinger 1963 1987-1995
Steve Springer 1961 1990-1992
Tom Veryzer 1953 1973-1984
Ben Oglivie 1949 1971-1986
John Paciorek 1945 1963
Ollie Brown 1944 1965-1977
Sammy Ellis 1941 1962-1969
Willie Smith 1939 1963-1971
George Alusik 1935 1958-1964
Ralph Beard 1929 1954
Chris Kitsos 1928 1954
Hal Rice 1924 1948-1954
Boyd Bartley 1920 1943
Sam Page 1916 1939
George Hausmann 1916 1944-1949
Yank Terry 1911 1940-1945
Ed Walsh 1905 1928-1932
Jimmy O'Connell 1901 1923-1924
Red Shannon 1897 1915-1926
Joe Shannon 1897 1915
Red Miller 1897 1923
Ray Collins 1887 1909-1915
Ray Boyd 1887 1910-1911
Bill Warren 1884 1914-1915
Jimmy Ryan 1863 1885-1903
Curt Welch 1862 1884-1893
Leech Maskrey 1854 1882-1886
I didn't build a complete roster, but 11/26 looks solid. It is the date with the most total all-star seasons on it [45].
Hugh Duffy CF 122 OPS+ in 7827 PA
Bob Johnson LF 138 OPS+ in 8047 PA
Brian Schneider C 83 OPS+ in 2992 PA
Jorge Orta 2B 107 OPS+ in 6458 PA
Eddie Miller SS 80 OPS+ in 5816 PA
Bob Elliot 3B 124 OPS+ in 8190 PA
Harold Reynolds 2B 83 OPS+ in 5398 PA
Lefty Gomez SP 125 ERA+ 2503 IP
Chuck Finley SP 115 ERA+ 3197 IP
Larry Gura SP 106 ERA+ in 2047 IP
Mike Moore SP 95 ERA+ in 2831 IP
Bob Walk SP 91 ERA+ in 1666 IP
Jay Howell RP 114 ERA+ in 845 IP
Bob Lee 124 ERA+ in 493 IP
February 11 is bad, but December 15 is almost as bad. There was only one OF with more than 1 season and he was awful. The pitching is mediocre at best. And there were 2 decent hitters and both played 1B. The team would have a good manager in Jim Leyland, but even he couldn't get 70 wins out of this team.
C - Nig Clarke (102 OPS+), Haywood Sullivan (69 OPS+)
1B - Mo Vaughn (132 OPS+), Eddie Robinson (113 OPS+)
2B - Aaron Miles (77 OPS+)
SS - Jimmy Sexton (65 OPS+)
3B - Art Howe (102 OPS+), Sammy Esposito (66 OPS+)
OF - Bill Van Dyke (81 OPS+)
SP - Rick Helling (101 ERA+), Doug Rau (105)
SP - Stan Bahnsen (97), Ray Herbert (96), George Hemming (98)
RP - Mike Prendergast (106), Ken Trinkle (100)
RP - Mike Proly (121), Robert Ellis (78)
RP - Michael Wuertz (127), Kevin Cameron (138)
Complete list:
Player Year Born Years Played
Luis Montanez 1981 2008
Andy Gonzalez 1981 2007-2008
Kevin Cameron 1979 2007-2008
Michael Wuertz 1978 2004-2008
Aaron Miles 1976 2003-2008
Edgard Clemente 1975 1998-2000
Hector Ramirez 1971 1999-2000
Rick Helling 1970 1994-2006
Robert Ellis 1970 1996-2003
Mo Vaughn 1967 1991-2003
Bud Bulling 1952 1977-1983
Jimmy Sexton 1951 1977-1983
Chuck Hockenbery 1950 1975
Mike Proly 1950 1976-1983
Doug Rau 1948 1972-1981
Ken Crosby 1947 1975-1976
Art Howe 1946 Manager
Gil Blanco 1945 1965-1966
Stan Bahnsen 1944 1966-1982
Jim Leyland 1944 Manager
Sammy Esposito 1931 1952-1963
Haywood Sullivan 1930 1955-1963
Ray Herbert 1929 1950-1966
Bill Bonness 1923 1944
Eddie Robinson 1920 1942-1957
Ken Trinkle 1919 1943-1949
George Stumpf 1910 1931-1936
Tom Kane 1906 1938
Frank Watt 1902 1931
Mike Prendergast 1888 1914-1919
Jim Nealon 1884 1906-1907
Nig Clarke 1882 1905-1920
Walt Slagle 1878 1910
George Hemming 1868 1890-1897
Bill Van Dyke 1863 1890-1893
Abner Powell 1860 1884-1886
April 12th is the day of the catcher and two hall of fame pitchers and not much else:
C Paul Lo Duca
1B Dave Staton
2B Danny Garcia
SS Eric McNair
3B Terry Harmon
LF Walt Moryn
CF Justin Ruggiano
RF Buster Hoover
SP Addie Joss
SP Vic Willis
RP D.J. Carrasco
Bench:
C Mike Macfarlane
C Jerry Goff
In addition, we have our own batting coach, Charlie Lau.
1B Bill Terry HOF 3 A/S
2B Marco Scutaro
3B Jim Ray Hart 1 A/S
SS Jason Bartlett 1 A/S
OF Danny Tartabull 1 A/S
Ed Delahanty HOF plus one of the great deaths in MLB
Buck Freeman
C Dave Valle
P Leon Day HOF - is he the most obscure HOF-er??
Jim Perry 3 A/S
Scott Garrelts 1 A/S
Lee Tunnell
Ian Snell
Mark Portugal
Bench Joe Adcock
Gerald Perry
Tom Poquette
Clyde Manion
Mgr Bobby Bragan or Bill Terry
Post game entertainment:
Grace Slick
Henry Winkler
Harry Hamlin
Claude Lelouch
Louis Malle
Charles Atlas
Ruth Gordon
February 22 has the dubious honor of having 2 HOFers... neither of whom were players. We've also got one ROY and two 2nd place ROY finishers -- all relief pitchers. Pretty strong bullpen; horrible lineup heavy on the current right side of the Braves infield. It certainly gives the other worst lineup days a run for their money.
With Sparky Anderson (2/22/1934) setting the lineup and Bill Klem (1874) calling the balls and strikes, we can field a team of:
SP
Steve Barber (1960-74; 2-time AS)
Clarence Mitchell (1911-1932)
Tom Griffin (1969-82)
Karl Drews (1946-54)
John Halama (1998-2006)
George Washington "Jumbo" McGinnis (1882-1887) (Note: George Washington was wlso born on 2/22).
RP
JJ Putz (2003-present; AS)
Kaz Sasaki (2000-03; AL ROY, 2000; 2-time AS)
Ryne Duren (1954-65; 3-time AS; 2nd in ROY, 1958)
Chet Nichols (1951-64; 2nd in ROY, 1951; led league in ERA, 1951)
C
Roy Spencer (1925-38)
Bill Baker (1940-49)
1B
Casey Kotchman (2004-present)
2B
Kelly Johnson (2005-present)
SS
Johnny Lucadello (1938-47; played 12 games at SS)
3B
Russ Johnson (1997-2005)
OF
Joe LeFebvre (1980-86)
Mike Rogodzinski (1973-75)
Eric Yelding (1989-93)
The February 2 All Stars are legit, including an owner AND a manager. Offense is a little light, with catching being a black hole, and Travis Snider better start hitting homers. VERY good starting pitching, however.
Offense(13)
C: Walt Kuhn
1B: Pat Tabler
2B: Red Schoendist (HOF)
3B: Willie Kamm
SS: Ronnie Cedeno
LF: Melvin Mora
CF: Don Buford
RF: Travis Snider
Bench: Adam Everett (IF), Max Alvis (IF), Roy Demmitt (OF), Emil Haberer (C), Chin-Lung Hsu (IF)
Pitching (12)
SP: Wes Ferrell
SP: Orval Overall
SP: Scott Erickson
SP: John Tudor
SP: Sheldon Jones
RP: Paul Kilgus
RP: Pat CLements
RP: Manny Sarmiento
RP: Warren Brusstar
RP: Jason Vargas
RP: Frank Mack
CL: Dale Murray
Hey, I think my May 20 team can compete here, so long as all my starters stay healthy/
C: Ramon Hernandez (Career OPS+ 96)
1B: Joe Harris (OPS+ 136)
2B: Boots Grantham (OPS+ 121)
3B: Ken Boyer (1964 MVP, OPS+ 116)
SS: Wilson Valdez (OPS+ 41, but at least he makes some up with the glove. I think I may hand this off to rookie/AAA prospect Adam Rosales, though)
LF: Jayson Werth OPS+ 109)
CF: Bobby Murcer (OPS+ 124)
RF: Austin Kearns (OPS+ 105)
DH/Manager: Sadaharu Oh (868 career HR's)
Bench OF: Jose Zardon
Bench OF: Jim Lyttle
Bench IF: Luis Garcia
Bench IF: Stan Benjamin
Util/C: Fritz Von Kulnitz
SP: Hal Newhouser (HOF, 130 ERA+)
SP: David Wells (career 108 ERA+)
SP: Pete Appleton (14-9 136 ERA+ in 1932, career 103 ERA+)
SP: Todd Stottlemyre (career 100 ERA+)
SP: Harry Taylor (career 103 ERA+)
Swing: Jake Thielman (242 IP in 1905, career 86 ERA+)
RP: Tom Morgan
RP: Wilcy Moore
RP: Lee Griffeth
RP: Jess Buckles
CL: Walter Bernhardt (infinite ERA+, a K/9 of 9.00, of course he just pitched one inning...)
Thanks Roxgirl for saving me the work for my b-day - I hadn't known about Newhouser Wilcy or JWerth. We could compete! though our 2B is named Boots and our SS bats with a wet noodle
You're welcome. Shortstop's definitely our weak spot besides the bench. I don't know if Boots lived up to his nickname in the field, but at least he put up a solid offensive line.
The March 5th crew is a middling bunch, featuring one HOF-er (deadball great Sam Thompson), some multiple all-star players (Paul Konerko, Del Crandall) and two guys who were champion on-base percentage players before it was cool (Lu Blue, Elmer Valo). The starting pitching staff is thin as -- pick your favorite metaphor, but the relief is as solid as kent Tekulve.
LF Elmer Valo
1B Lu Blue
RF Sam Thompson
3B Paul Konerko (29 career games here!!)
C Del Crandall
2B Felipe Crespo
CF Brian Hunter
SS John Richmond (1875 - 85)
Bench: Jeffrey Hammonds, Phil Roof, Mike Squires
Starters: Jeff Tesreau, Steve Ontiveros, Virgil Barnes, Ryan Franklin
Bullpen: Kent Tekulve, Doug Bird, Mike MacDougal
I decided to check out my birthday because I knew Lou Whitaker, Yogi Berra, and Felipe Alou were all born that day, and I wasn't disspointed. I was able to put together and above average team.
Pos Player OPS+ Career high OPS+
C Yogi Berra 125 142
1B Jim Poole 86 100
2B Lou Whitaker 116 141
3B Lave Cross 100 132
SS Felipe Lopez 89 118
LF Kevin Bass 105 134
CF Jimmy Wolf 118 167
RF Felipe Alou 113 142
DH Joe Dugan 82 108
B (C) Joe Nolan 95 120
B (IF) Wes Helms 93 149
B (IF) Ted Kubiak 73 97
B (OF) Earl McNeely 78 104
Pos Player ERA+ Career high ERA+
SP1 Hank Borowy 104 136
SP2 George Kaiserling 118 127
SP3 Gene Krapp 102 132
SP4 Mark Clark 93 122
SP5 Tom Timmermann 97 110
R Floyd Weaver 69 87
R Pat Darcy 86 100
R Al Schulz 90 101
R Dutch Henry 95 111
R Johnny Hetki 91 113
CL Archie McKain 112 168
The list for Dec. 18 (my birthday) is pretty bleak...except for one Ty Cobb. Some All-Stars (Bill Skowron and Zoilo Versalles were the only ones to be named to more than one all-star team). Unfortunately, no real catcher. Hmmm...
I too recently read Gladwell's book and his observation about ages of the best players in Canadian youth hockey and european youth soccer would seem to hold best in organized sports leagues. In a sport (like basketball) or a time (pre-1970's baseball) when pick-up games are the main source of competitive play, I'm not sure Gladwell's hypothesis would hold as well.
Checking my birthday, which is December 2, yields a pretty lousy team. My fourth starter pitched in 172 G and only started 63, so technically I can't even field a full starting rotation. A grand total of 7 position players who even played 100 G in the majors, and a backup catcher whose career comprised 2 games in which he went 1-for-5 (with 2 RBI!). My last bullpen slot went to a guy who pitched a whole 5 games, beating out the immortal Bob Kammeyer.
The *best* player on my team? Either Darryl Kile or Mark Kotsay, I guess.
Lineup
C Tom Doran (51 G/32 OPS+)
1B Mike Kelley (76 G/74 OPS+)
2B Julio Cruz (1156 G/71 OPS+)
3B Bob "Ducky" Jones (853 G/75 OPS+)
SS Andre Rodgers (854 G/90 OPS+)
LF Art Jahn (104 G/75 OPS+)
CF Mark Kotsay (1450 G/99 OPS+)
RF Glenn Crawford (87 G/107 OPS+)
DH Chip Hale (333 G/87 OPS+)
Bench
C Jay Kleven (2 G/17 OPS+)
2B Ray Morehart (177 G/83 OPS+)
IF Eddy Garabito (42 G/97 OPS+)
IF Hal Leathers (9 G/129 OPS+, but 7 errors in 6 G at SS)
OF Eric Reed (60 G/-28 OPS+)
UT Steve Sisco (25 G/42 OPS+)
Rotation
SP Darryl Kile (2165 IP/104 ERA+)
SP Roscoe Miller (773 IP/101 ERA+)
SP Wayne Simpson (636 IP/85 ERA+)
SP Johnny Welch (648 IP/98 ERA+)
Bullpen
RP Pedro Borbon (593 G/101 ERA+)
RP Adrian Devine (217 G/95 ERA+)
RP Don Brennan (141 G/94 ERA+)
RP Peter Moylan (102 G/195 ERA+)
RP Leon Williams (8 G/71 ERA+)
RP Chick Smith (5 G/91 ERA+)
Others
John Haldeman (1G at 2B in 1877, went 0-for-4)
John Hibbard (pitched 2G in 1884, went 1-1 w/ERA+ 118)
Tom Stouch (4G at 2B in 1898, went 5-for-16 w/ 6 RBI)
Dan McGarvey (1G in the OF in 1912, went 0-for-3 w/ 1 BB)
Howard Armstrong (pitched 1G in 1911, 2UER in 3IP)
Tommy Vereker (pitched 2G in 1915, 5ER in 3IP)
Mike Wilson (5G at C in 1921, went 0-for-4)
Gene Bedford (2G at 2B in 1925, went 0-for-3)
Harry Taylor (pitched 2G in 1957, 8.2 IP, 4R)
Bob Kammeyer (pitched 8G in 1977-78 with a 40 ERA+)
I've always noticed on the wikipedia page for my birthday, November 3, was Bob Feller. That's a pretty good guy to build around, so I was delighted to see that 11/3 has a pretty great rotation, perhaps an all-time caliber rotation. The rest of the team however...
C Clyde Southwick (the only catcher I could find, had 12 AB in 4 games for the 1911 Browns)
1 Fred Richards (mysteriously, the only viable 1B I could find. Played 10 games in 51 with a 91 OPS)
2 Larry Kopf (Originally called himself Fred Brady. Played nine partial seasons and in his one full season for the 1917 Reds OPS'd 94)
3 Spider Jorgensen (There wasn't a lot of talent for the other side either. I chose this guy because his name is Spider. He did OPS 129 in 90 AB for the Dodgers in 48, but never had a full season after his rookie appearance the year before.)
S Bob Fisher (two full seasons out of seven, but OPS'd 136 in half-time in 1918 for the Cardinals)
L Phil Geier (only full season was his last, OPS'd 88)
C Larry Herndon (one of the few full-time players in the lineup or bench, OPS'd 103 in 14 seasons, best year was with the 1983 Tigers, OPS'ing 129 and driving in 92)
R Dwight Evans (AS, extremely borderline HOFer)
IF Jonathan Herrera (Young'un currently with the Rockies. 2008 was his rookie year, though he's still elligible for rookie status in 09. Was 15/17 in SB in AAA with a .367 OBP -- 1/2, .277 in his 61 ML ABs)
IF Ike Rockenfield (Posted 94 OPS in closest approximation to full season -- 322 AB)
OF Homer Summa (Best year was with Cleveland, OPS'ing 108 in 525 ABs in 1923)
OF Earl Robinson (Extreme part timer. OPS'd 119 in 222 ABs for the Orioles in 1961.)
S1 Bob Feller (HF, one of the top-ten pitchers of all time, in my opinion. Finished 2nd in the 1940 MVP to Hank Greenberg's 41 HR season. Two other top 3 MVP finishes)
S2 Bob Welch (AS, 1990 AL CY. Had a 136 ERA+ in 83 for the Dodgers finishing 8th in the NL CY -- John Denny won that year going 19-6 with a 152 ERA+ for the NL champion Phillies)
S3 Ken Holtzman (AS. Had an ERA+ of 132 for the Cubs in 1970 over 287.2 IP.)
S4 Harry Staley (ERA+ of 138 in 1891)
S5 Gentleman Jim McCormick (Semi-legendary pitcher from Scotland. Was one of the last to win 40 games, which he did between the Spiders and the Outlaw Reds in 1884 which he did over 569 IP with a 134 ERA+)
CL Armando Benitez (AS, finished 28 in 2004 NL MVP with 47 saves and a 317 ERA+)
RP Paul Quantrill (AS, had a 1.94 ERA for the 1997 Blue Jays in his first year in the bullpen.)
RP Anastacio Martinez (Ok, he's on here because he was a member of the 04 Red Sox)
RP Walter Clarkson (ERA+ of 127 over 151.1 in 1906)
Mgr Johnny Keane? (won WS w/ STL, 64)
Not quite 25 guys, in favor of not putting in a bunch of people like the ones that fill my lineup. But I think with that pitching rotation and that backend of the bullpen, my squad would do just fine!
Not a ton of information to go with this, but here's April 27th. The starting lineup and rotations are solid, but the bullpen is a stretch, with Chad Zerbe (from the Giants) probably the closer...yeah, yikes.
C Tony Eusebio
1B Willie Upshaw
2B Rogers Hornsby (Hall of Fame)
SS Pedro Feliz (24 games here)
3B Frank Catalanatto
LF Pat Lennon
CF Hy Myers
RF Enos Slaughter (Hall of Fame)
BENCH Brian J. Giles (MIF)
BENCH Joey Gathright (OF)
BENCH Jim Eppard (OF/1B)
BENCH George Archie (CIF)
BENCH Bob Williams (C) (Feliz is the emergency guy)
SP Chris Carpenter
SP Runelvys Hernandez
SP Allen Sothoron
SP Charlie Chech
SP George Winter
RP Chad Zerbe (LHP)
RP Bob McDonald
RP Orber Moreno
RP Steve Connelly
RP Bob Ayrault
RP John Whitehead
RP Benj Sampson (LHP)
Sorry for not including more info for some of the obscure names.
My birthday, December 11th, can technically field a team if I can put an OF at first base. The starting eight hitters are ok, probably league average when combined together. The bench is pretty bad. The rotation is solid with no weak spots 1 through 6. The bullpen is good albeit all right handed.
The Strat supersubs available from Dec. 11 are pretty amazing but only available 1 or 2 days each for the season.
I'd say this team is good enough to win the NL West. :)
Position, Name, Career OPS+, Career PA
C, Art Wilson, 113, 2440
1B, Thomas Howard, 85, 2696 (Played 1 game at 1B)
2B, Rob Andrews, 76, 1641
SS, Jay Bell, 101, 8525 (All-Star)
3B, Andy Tracy, 78, 302
OF, Bill Nicholson, 132, 6418 (All-Star)
OF, Lee Maye, 107, 4382 (Could also sing the national anthem before the game)
OF, Derek Bell, 99, 5068
Bench C, Johnny Walker, 50, 476
Bench OF, Joe Riggert, 98, 625
Bench OF, Tom Gettinger, 83, 541
Bench MI, Rob Andrews, 76, 1641
Supersubs
2B, Lou Raymond, 193, 2
OF, Walt Meinert, 143, 9
OF/SS, Ed Callahan, 140, 28
Pitching, Name, Career ERA+, IP
SP1, Charley Radbourn, 119, 4535 (Hall of Fame)
SP2, Fred Toney, 113, 2206
SP3, Fred "Spitball" Anderson, 101, 986
SP4, Joe Blanton, 101, 831
SP5, Bill Mountjoy, 101, 503
Swing, Slim Harriss, 100, 1750
CL, Mike Hennemen, 130, 732 (All-Star)
RP, Hal Brown, 98, 1680
RP, Greg Shanahan, 97, 22
RP, Petie Behan, 96, 189
RP, Nate Field, 93, 87
RP, Ray Phelps, 91, 602
RP, Bob Sykes, 84, 456 (LOOGY)
I have an awfull collection of talent with me on 9/26. Bobby Shantz is the player I can safely call "very good." Buechele, Gedman, Thurman Tucker and Dave Martinez are the best position players, and none of them managed an OPS+ of 100.
Brian Shouse and Doug Sisk complete the "better than replacement value" portion of the team, and I'd still have 8 pitchers and 4 fielders to find, plus a bench. Yeesh.
41 comments have been left for this post.
"I found myself wondering which calendar date might yield the best possible roster"
I've always wondered what kind of twisted mind does it take to work as a BP writer. Now we know- the type of twisted mind that wonders what calendar date might yield the best roster.
And I'm going to be thinking about this for WEEKS now. Thanks.