This article is part of a series. Also see: Introduction | Jeff Kallman's Team
I built my team with three principles in mind: on-base percentage, sound defense, and left-handed pitching. On-base percentage is hugely important for any team, but I considered it even more so for this exercise. With a lineup this good, all you need to do is get on base, and someone's probably going to send you home. I didn't want to give away any outs. Of course, the other teams are great, too, so I wanted to make sure my team didn't have any defensive liabilities. Finally, I tried to prioritize left-handed pitching because I figured my colleagues would be choosing a lot of lefties. A disproportionate share of great batters hit lefty, so logically our all-time teams would have more left-handed hitters than an average lineup; I wanted a pitching staff that would be able to handle them.
Batting Order
1. CF Ty Cobb .367 / .431 / .513
2. SS Honus Wagner .328 / .391 / .466
3. RF Babe Ruth .342 / .474 / .690
4. LF Barry Bonds .298 / .444 / .607
5. 1B Stan Musial .331 / .417 / .559
6. 3B Chipper Jones .310 / .407 / .548
7. 2B Eddie Collins .333 / .424 / .429
8. C Johnny Bench .267 / .342 / .476
Pitching Rotation
LHP Lefty Grove 300-141, 3.06 ERA
RHP Christy Mathewson 373-188, 2.13 ERA
RHP Cy Young 511-316, 2.63 ERA
RHP Pete Alexander 373-208, 2.56 ERA
LHP Warren Spahn 363-245, 3.09 ERA
Relief Ace
RHP Bob Feller 3.25 ERA, 2581 strikeouts
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Jeff Kallman Brad Oremland Diane M. Grassi Bill Hazell 1 Yogi Berra Babe Ruth Joe DiMaggio Walter Johnson 2 Sandy Koufax Honus Wagner Carl Yastrzemski Willie Mays 3 Mike Schmidt Johnny Bench Brooks Robinson George Brett 4 Jackie Robinson Lefty Grove Frank Robinson Lou Gehrig 5 Juan Marichal Stan Musial Joe Morgan Roberto Alomar 6 Mickey Mantle C.Mathewson Gary Carter Roberto Clemente 7 Hank Aaron Barry Bonds Pete Rose Roger Clemens 8 Bob Gibson Cy Young Tom Seaver Ivan Rodriguez 9 Randy Johnson Pete Alexander Nolan Ryan Whitey Ford 10 Greg Maddux Warren Spahn Goose Gossage Mariano Rivera 11 Ted Williams Ty Cobb Steve Carlton Pedro Martinez 12 Cal Ripken, Jr. Bob Feller Ron Guidry Ken Griffey, Jr. 13 Rollie Fingers Eddie Collins Ozzie Smith Alex Rodriguez 14 Willie McCovey Chipper Jones Catfish Hunter Don Drysdale
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Babe Ruth
.342 / .474 / .690
2873 H, 714 HR, 2213 RBI
Ruth played on seven teams that won the World Series, and his teams had an estimated regular-season winning percentage of .605 (98 wins in a 162-game schedule) in games he played, the highest of any player in major league history (min. 2,500 games). He single-handedly brought offense into the modern era. Ruth is the best power hitter of all time, he had a .342 career batting average, and he held the career walks record for three-quarters of a century. With apologies to Ted Williams, he is the greatest hitter who ever lived.
On my team, Ruth plays right field and bats third.
Honus Wagner
.328 / .391 / .466
3415 H, 101 HR, 1732 RBI
Honus Wagner never played with the lively ball; he retired in 1917, when the NL leader in home runs hit 12. In today's game, he'd have an OPS near 1.000. According to Bill James' Win Shares system, Wagner is the greatest offensive shortstop in history and the greatest defensive shortstop in history.
On my team, Wagner plays shortstop and bats second. His .391 OBP is the second-lowest on my team, but in the modern game, he would be well over .400. Wagner also ranks ninth all-time in stolen bases (722). With that combination of on-base ability and baserunning prowess, he's an ideal top-of-the-order hitter. With all due respect to my colleagues' teams, I don't think there's much doubt that I have the best table-setters of any team we drafted.
Johnny Bench
.267 / .342 / .476
2048 H, 389 HR, 1376 RBI
Before the draft, I had some trouble deciding whether Bench or Yogi Berra was the best catcher of all time. Well, in all honesty, I'm fairly certain that Josh Gibson was the best catcher of all time, but our draft focused on major leaguers, so it was Berra or Bench. Ultimately, I went with Bench. Yogi Berra was a phenomenal catcher, and he has justly been lauded as perhaps the greatest team player in history. But my colleague Jeff Kallman selected Berra with the first pick in our draft, and I'll leave it to him to elaborate on Yogi's greatness. Let me make the case for Bench.
Johnny Bench was one of the greatest defensive catchers in history, maybe the greatest. He won 10 Gold Gloves, and I don't think anyone really questions that he and Ivan Rodriguez are the best who ever lived at throwing out baserunners on steal attempts. Bench was also a very good offensive player, recording 2,000 hits, 1,000 runs, and 1,000 RBI (actually 1,376). At various times in his career, Bench led the majors in home runs (twice), RBI (three times), and total bases. He is the only catcher ever to lead MLB in any of those categories. He also walked more than any other catcher in history (891). Bench was a two-time NL MVP, World Series MVP (1976), Rookie of the Year, and a 14-time all-star. And maybe the finest defensive catcher ever. That guy can play on my team any time.
And now he does, starting at catcher and batting eighth. Bench is probably the second- or third-best hitting catcher in MLB history, but he's actually the weakest link in my lineup. As a power hitter coming up behind Eddie Collins, he's still going to get plenty of RBI.
Lefty Grove
300-141, 3.06 ERA, 1.28 WHIP
2266 K, 5.18 K/9, 1.91 K/BB
Lefty Grove's raw statistics are not impressive at first glance. He won 300 games, and his .680 winning percentage ranks in the top 10 all-time. But his career marks for ERA and WHIP are merely good, certainly not historic. This is misleading. Grove pitched in the 1930s, during an offensive explosion not unlike that of the steroid era. No one from those years has a great ERA or a legendary WHIP. Grove actually led the AL in ERA nine times. Furthermore, Grove pitched in hitter's parks, Shibe and Fenway, the latter being perhaps the worst major league park in history for southpaws.
Grove was the most dominant pitcher of his era. His adjusted ERA+ (which is one of the nerdiest sabermetric tools ever devised, and consequently one of the best methods to evaluate pitchers) is 148, the third-best in history, behind only Mariano Rivera and Pedro Martinez (who have fewer innings pitched, combined, than Grove). Grove led the American League in strikeouts for each of his first seven seasons, and led the International League in the four years prior, when the Baltimore Orioles refused to sell his contract to a major league club. In today's game, a pitcher who goes 25-10 in AAA and leads his league in strikeouts would get an immediate call-up. Grove played three more seasons in the minors. Altogether he was 108-36 (.750) with the Orioles. Grove's MLB stats don't reflect that he was already a great pitcher for several years before he got a chance to play in the big leagues.
Grove is the first pitcher in my rotation. He was a sensational big-game pitcher who led the Athletics to three straight pennants (1929-1931), going 79-15 (.840) during those seasons and leading the majors in ERA all three years. In the World Series, Grove was 4-2 with a 1.75 ERA and struck out six times as many batters as he walked.
Stan Musial
.331 / .417 / .559
3630 H, 475 HR, 1951 RBI
If you wanted a good clubhouse guy to build your team around, your first choice might be Musial. Stan the Man was one of the really good guys in baseball, a team leader in every sense. I'm counting on Musial to help keep the clubhouse peace, since I chose two players (Bonds and Cobb) known for their nasty dispositions. I actually have several players known for their character and leadership qualities (Bench, Collins, Wagner, Mathewson), but Musial was virtually unmatched as a team leader. He is remembered so much as a character guy that we sometimes forget what an incredible player he was. Musial won three MVPs and played in 24 All-Star Games. He led the NL in OBP and slugging six times each, in batting seven times. He ranks among the top 10 all-time in hits, extra-base hits, total bases, runs, and RBI.
On my team, Musial bats fifth and plays first base. He played more games in left field than any other position, but he also had more than 1,000 games at first.
Christy Mathewson
373-188, 2.13 ERA, 1.06 WHIP
2502 K, 4.71 K/9, 2.96 K/BB
Matty is the only pitcher among the all-time top 10 in wins, ERA, and WHIP. Mathewson was the Greg Maddux of the early 20th century, the greatest control pitcher of his era. He led the NL in BB/9 (walks per nine innings) seven times, and from 1907-1914, he led the league in strikeout to walk ratio every season. At various times in his career, Mathewson led the NL in games, wins, winning percentage, shutouts, innings, ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, SO/9, BB/9, SO/BB, and H/9. He was the first pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame, earning even more votes than Walter Johnson.
Mathewson is the second pitcher in my rotation. I won't ever ask him to pitch three shutouts in a series, but we know he could.
Barry Bonds
.298 / .444 / .607
2935 H, 762 HR, 1996 RBI
Let's start with something a lot of fans have forgotten: Barry Bonds was a phenomenal defensive player, one of the best left fielders ever, winning eight Gold Gloves. Of course, you don't choose Bonds for his defense. He won 12 Silver Sluggers (a record), he's fourth all-time in OPS, and he's the all-time leader in walks and home runs. Bonds also ranks among the top five in MLB history in runs, RBI, and total bases. Something else people forget about Bonds is that he was a terrific baserunner (514 steals), undoubtedly the greatest power/speed player in history.
On my team, Bonds plays left field and bats fourth. That's as good a left fielder as you could ask for, and the all-time home run leader batting cleanup.
Cy Young
511-316, 2.63 ERA, 1.13 WHIP
2803 K, 3.43 K/9, 2.30 K/BB
Young holds all-time records for wins, innings, starts, and complete games. He finished among the top 10 in strikeouts for 18 years in a row and led his league in strikeout-to-walk ratio 11 times. Young also was the first 20th-century pitcher to throw a perfect game, and came within a leadoff walk of becoming the only player ever to record two. Did I mention that he won 500 games?
Young is the third pitcher in my rotation.
Pete Alexander
373-208, 2.56 ERA, 1.12 WHIP
2198 K, 3.81 K/9, 2.31 K/BB
Grover Cleveland Alexander ranks third all-time in wins (tied with Mathewson), 2nd in shutouts, and tied for first in pitching Triple Crowns (3). He was a workhorse who seven times led the NL in innings pitched, and who won 30 games three times. Alexander's 1915 season is not the best ever by a pitcher, but it is on the short list. That year, Alexander went 31-10 for a team that was 59-52 in its other games. He led the NL in strikeouts by almost 50%, posting an ERA of 1.22 and a WHIP of 0.84 while pitching in the hitter-friendly Baker Bowl. The next season, he pitched 16 shutouts, which is still a record. You know a player is special if he holds a major single-season record, and it's not even his best season.
Old Pete is the fourth pitcher in my rotation.
Warren Spahn
363-245, 3.09 ERA, 1.19 WHIP
2583 K, 4.43 K/9, 1.80 K/BB
Spahn is the winningest left-handed pitcher in history, by a large margin. He had thirteen 20-win seasons, five more than any other pitcher who played after World War II. Spahn led the NL in wins eight times, in ERA three times, and in strikeouts four times. He also pitched more innings than any other left-handed pitcher in history, and Spahn's longevity is part of his legend. At 42, Spahn was still an elite pitcher (23-7, 2.60 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, MLB-leading 22 complete games), but in his last two seasons, Spahn played for three different teams and went 13-29 with a 4.62 ERA. This dropped his career winning percentage under .600 and his ERA over 3.00, but I believe that if Spahn had retired in 1963, he would be widely regarded as one of the five best pitchers in the history of baseball. Here are his essential stats through '63:
350-216 (.618), 2.97 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 2415 K, 4.46 K/9, 1.82 K/BB
Spahn was 35 when the first Cy Young Award was given, and he retired before they started giving one in each league. He did win the second Cy Young ever awarded, in 1957, when only one major league pitcher was honored, but Spahn also would have been a strong candidate in 1947, when he was 21-10 and led MLB with a 2.33 ERA; in 1953, when he was 23-7 and led MLB with a 2.10 ERA; in 1958, when he led the NL in wins, winning percentage, innings pitched, and WHIP; in 1961, when Spahn again led the NL in wins, ERA, and WHIP; and every season from 1949-51, when each year he won more than 20 games and led the NL in strikeouts. If a National League Cy Young had been awarded every season of Spahn's career, I suspect he would have won at least three, probably twice that.
Spahn is the fifth pitcher in my rotation. I know I drafted Grove in the fourth round and Spahn in the 10th, but I think there is a strong argument to be made that Spahn is the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time.
Ty Cobb
.367 / .431 / .513
4191 H, 117 HR, 1938 RBI
It is widely accepted that Rickey Henderson was the greatest leadoff hitter ever, but most teams bat their best hitter third or fourth. What if you had a lineup so good you could put Wagner, or Rogers Hornsby, or Ted Williams in the leadoff position? What if you could play Ty Cobb there? Using Cobb as a leadoff man has been a fantasy of mine for years. The all-time leader in batting average (.367!), he's also top-10 in on-base percentage (.431) and stolen bases (892).
I would argue that Cobb was just as good a baserunner as Henderson. He hit 724 doubles, 295 triples, and 46 inside-the-park home runs. Cobb stole home 54 times (which is 50 more than Henderson). He stole second, third, and home in the same inning four times. Cobb's batting average is 88 points higher than Henderson's, his OBP is 30 points higher, his slugging percentage is almost 100 points higher, and he did this despite playing most of his career during the deadball era. No other player with Cobb's on-base ability was anywhere near the baserunner Cobb was, and no one with Cobb's base-running skill was anywhere near as good at getting on base. Ty Cobb, batting first, would be the greatest leadoff man ever.
On my team, Cobb plays center field and bats first. He was an outstanding fielder, so good that John McGraw chose Cobb to play center on his all-time team, moving Tris Speaker to left.
Bob Feller
266-162, 3.25 ERA, 1.32 WHIP
2581 strikeouts, 6.07 K/9, 1.46 K/BB
I feel a little bad about this one. My colleagues all drafted true relievers for their teams; I chose a guy who won 266 games and saved 21. Barring the unlikely scenario that Mariano Rivera was still available in the 12th or 13th round, my plan all along was to pick a dominant strikeout pitcher and move him to the bullpen. It takes some imagination to evaluate Feller — who five times led the AL in innings pitched — as a reliever. At least we know he can handle long relief if I need it.
Feller was a strikeout pitcher, a dominator, and that's what I look for in a relief ace. He led the majors in strikeouts four years in a row. Then the war came, and Feller enlisted in the Navy. When his service was over, Feller led MLB in strikeouts for three more years in a row. Without the war, he might have led all pitchers in strikeouts for 11 straight seasons. Feller is one of five pitchers in major league history with at least three no-hitters.
On my team, Feller is the relief ace.
Eddie Collins
.333 / .424 / .429
3315 H, 47 HR, 1300 RBI
So, here's something strange. I rated Rogers Hornsby as my first choice at second base, just barely. When I chose Collins, Hornsby was still available, and I passed him over. Why? Clubhouse chemistry. I had already taken Bonds and Cobb, and adding Hornsby to the mix would have been asking for trouble. Collins, in contrast, was someone any team would want in its clubhouse, one of the Clean Sox, a gentleman. He played for eight pennant winners and six World Series champions, though he was a part-time player for two of them.
But character isn't the only reason to choose Collins over Hornsby. The idea of getting Hornsby's offensive production from a second baseman is immensely appealing, but Collins was a great offensive player, too. He was perfectly suited to the "small ball" of his era, getting on base and making the most of his opportunities. Collins was a singles hitter; only Pete Rose and Ty Cobb hit more singles. He was a fine baserunner who led the AL in steals four times and retired with 744 stolen bases, then the second-best mark in history. Collins also holds a record that will never be broken: 512 career sacrifice hits. No one else has over 400 — Collins probably was the best bunter in the history of baseball. So the offense is at least close. His real advantage over Hornsby — apart from character — is defense. Hornsby was a mediocre defensive player, whereas Collins probably was the best defensive second baseman of his era.
On my team, Collins plays second base and bats seventh. I mentioned earlier that I built my team looking for on-base percentage, sound defense, and left-handed pitching. The third point obviously doesn't apply to position players, but no one on my team exemplifies the first two principles better than Collins (Wagner and Bonds are probably his equal). Collins has a fantastic OBP because, unlike most singles hitters, he walked a ton. He led the AL in 1915, and he was second five other times. His 1,499 BB place him among the top 20 in history. Collins was also a very good defensive player. He probably is not one of the five greatest defensive players ever at his position, but he might be among the top 10, and he certainly is in the top 20.
Chipper Jones
.310 / .407 / .548
2287 H, 408 HR, 1374 RBI (at start of 2009 season)
Chipper's stats above are only through 2008: he is now over 2,300 hits and 1,400 RBI. He was my fourth choice at third base. I had hoped to pick Mike Schmidt 10th overall, but he was taken ninth. That's not to say Jones is unworthy. He's a career .300 hitter who walks (.400 OBP) and hits for power (400 HR), at a position that is typically defense-first. He had six straight seasons with 100 R and 100 RBI, and he has 4000 total bases. Chipper is still playing well — his OPS was over 1.000 the last three years — and I believe that by the time he retires, he will be commonly regarded as one of the three best third basemen ever. Already, Jones rivals Eddie Mathews and Schmidt as the best-ever power hitter at third. Chipper's .548 slugging percentage is easily the highest of any third baseman in history; Schmidt is next at .527, but Jones could go 0-for-his next 286 and still be ahead.
On my team, Jones plays third base and bats sixth. One thing I love about having Chipper on my roster is that he's a switch-hitter. Right-handed pitchers will face a murderer's row of Ruth, Bonds, Musial, Jones, and Collins in succession, all batting left-handed. Good luck getting off the mound against that group. Against southpaws, Jones can hit righty, so that I never have more than three lefties in a row.
What I Love About the Other Teams
In alphabetical order by last name:
It seems obvious to me that Diane has assembled the best fielding team in history. Even without including pitchers, her lineup collected a combined 47 Gold Gloves, and that doesn't count Joe DiMaggio, who retired before the award began but would have won a dozen. That's an average of about 7 GG per position.
Bill drafted a number of players I was hoping to get, and I think his team is the most similar to mine. My favorite part of his roster, if I had to pick just one, is probably the pitching staff. It's an incredible group, led by Walter Johnson, whom I had rated as the best pitcher in history.
I am absolutely blown away by Jeff's outfield: Williams, Mantle, and Aaron. All three are 500-homer guys. Jeff's lineup has by far the most home runs (3,807) of the four teams we drafted. He also has world-class left-handed pitching.
Why I Think My Team is the Best
Statistics.
I chose more old players than any of my colleagues, and our only real tool to compare them to modern players is statistics. We know that these men were regarded as the best players of their day, but I never saw Collins hit, or Cobb run, or Wagner field, or Mathewson pitch. None of us have. But I think most readers will agree that my players have the best stats of any team we drafted. Let's start with offense:
If you compare our four teams, my batters combine for the most hits (24,738). Also for the most doubles (4,472) and triples (1,187) and total bases (40,647). And the most runs (14,649) and RBI (13,911). We have the most walks (12,099) and the fewest strikeouts (6,983). We have the most steals (3,281) by over 1,000. My lineup has the highest collective batting average (.325), on-base percentage (.417), and slugging percentage (.533). My team leads the other three in every major offensive category except home runs (3,021).
My top two hitters, Cobb and Wagner, combine for 4,000 runs, 7,500 hits, 2,200 walks, 1,600 stolen bases, and just 684 strikeouts, with a collective batting average of .348. Behind them are perhaps the two greatest power hitters in history, Ruth (second all-time in RBI) and Bonds (fourth), followed by three-time MVP Musial (sixth). Sixth up is Chipper Jones, who by now could reasonably be regarded as the second-best switch-hitter in MLB history (behind Mantle, and maybe Eddie Murray or Pete Rose). Eddie Collins is an ideal hitter at any point in the order. With his on-base percentage and baserunning ability, he's perfectly suited to start a rally. If there's already a runner on, Collins — a legendary contact hitter and the best bunter ever — will move him up or send him home. Finally, my slugging catcher, Bench, who holds the single-season record for HR by a catcher.
The players I drafted are less exceptional as fielders than as batters. It is still a superb fielding team, a better fielding team than any real MLB club has ever assembled. At the game's two most important defensive positions, I have historically great fielders, arguably the best ever (Bench and Wagner). At the other defense-first positions, my team features exceptional fielders, not just good but very good (Cobb and Collins). I also chose a historically great left fielder (Bonds), which leaves only right field and the corner infield positions as potential question marks.
Babe Ruth is probably the worst fielder on my team. He was not a terrible fielder, but he was not a good one. He did have a good throwing arm, of course. Chipper Jones is not a particularly good defensive third baseman; he is adequate. I am not aware that anyone has ever suggested Stan Musial was a defensive liability. I think this meets my goal of sound defense: there are no glaring weaknesses, and my fielding is exceptionally good at the most important defensive positions.
If you compare the four teams, my pitching rotation (not including Feller) combines for by far the most wins, 1,920 (Bill's team was next at 1,430). We also have the best winning percentage (.636), the best collective ERA (2.68), and 5,000 more innings (26,511) than the other rotations. Five of my six pitchers won Triple Crowns, almost as many as the other three teams together (6). Grove, Mathewson, and Alexander won multiple Triple Crowns. Four of my six pitchers threw multiple no hitters, more than the other three teams together (3).
There are eight pitchers in MLB history who won 150 games more than they lost:
1. Cy Young, +195
2. Al Spalding, +187
3. Christy Mathewson, +185
4. Roger Clemens, +170
5. Pete Alexander, +169
6. Lefty Grove, +159
7. Kid Nichols, +153
8. John Clarkson, +150
Spalding played in the early 1870s, and Clarkson mostly in the 1880s, in leagues that bore little resemblance to the modern game. Four of the other six pitchers are on my roster. Warren Spahn was +118, which ranks 15th all-time and 11th among 20th-century pitchers. Bob Feller was +104 (23rd, 17th). All of my pitchers won 100 games more than they lost, and my rotation is a combined +822, an average of +164½.
For those less inclined toward statistics, consider that I drafted the first four players elected to the Hall of Fame. Everyone acknowledges Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson as all-time greats, but in the first Hall of Fame vote, Cobb got more votes than Ruth, Wagner got just as many, and Mathewson got more votes than the Big Train. My colleagues drafted terrific teams, but I think this one takes the cake.
Monday, July 6: Introduction
Wednesday, July 8: Jeff Kallman's Team
Thursday, July 9: Brad Oremland's Team
Friday, July 10: Diane Grassi's Team
Monday, July 13: Bill Hazell's Team
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