Since we have now finished season 30, it seems like a good time to compile a twenty five man roster of the all-time greats that this world has seen
Catcher
The first player in Yaz's history to reach 3000 hits was Hall of Famer Ron Karnuth. The walls of this thirteen time All Star's rec room are littered with too many plaques from his achievements. The twelve Silver Slugger awards, five World Series titles, four Gold Gloves, and two MVP awards don't leave much space on the walls for wallpaper.
Power hitting Eduardo Sanchez occupies the second catching position. With eleven All-Star appearances and nine Silver Slugger awards, he clearly has the hardware to deserve a spot here.
First Base
Enrique Valdes' career is not over yet, but he finds himself near the top of most important hitting records. This big-money IFA signing started his ML career off with a bang, winning the Home Run Derby, Rookie of the Year, MVP, and Silver Slugger awards as well as making the All-Star team. He has gone on to win five more MVP and Silver Slugger awards and Home Run Derby Championships, twelve more All-Star appearances, and two World Series Rings. He has topped 800 home runs and 3000 hits in his career.
Rick Nicholson was the world's dominant hitter before Valdes came along, and his achievements are still nothing to sneeze at. Eight MVP awards. EIGHT!! Ten All-Star appearances and nine Silver Slugger awards, a Rookie of the Year, two All-Star game MVPs and a Home Run Derby championship line the walls of his Oklahoma home. If his Hall of Fame career could have lasted just a bit longer, he could be higher on the career lists, but he ended up with some nice totals nonetheless, having hit 745 career home runs, and ending up with a whopping career OPS of 1.117. Too bad he never won a World Series ring. Some might argue that he enjoyed his success during HBD's "steroid era", but we feel that he merits a spot either way.
Wilt Blair has had a long and productive career. Blair holds the world's record for career hits, at 3520, which will be a very difficult total to catch. With 709, he sits fourth in world history for home runs. He doesn't hold as much hardware as Nicholson or Valdes, but he has proved himself to be deserving with results on the score sheet. His awards haul is noteworthy any way, as he has won three MVP awards, eight All-Star selections, and four Silver Slugger awards. The only thing missing, like Nicholson, is the championship ring.
Second Base
Ivan Armas was no stranger to the championship ring. Like Karnuth, his five is more World Series rings than can fit on one hand (they don't fit on thumbs I'm told). He played on two separate significant championship dynasties in his career, winning his first three titles in Detroit from season ten to thirteen, (the scandal years!), then his other two in Ottawa (now Iowa) from season twenty to twenty three. Over 3000 hits, 471 home runs and a career OPS of .926 makes him far and away the most productive second bagger ever. Eight All-Star appearances and 5 Silver Slugger awards and a spot in the Hall of fame make him the most decorated as well.
Third Base
The son of migrant fruit pickers, Fernando Rios was born in British Columbia, Canada, but raised in Mexico. He was the clubhouse leader of Montreal's dominant teams from season twelve to twenty one. He won three MVP awards, four World Series titles, was a nine time All-Star, nine time Silver Slugger, Rookie of the Year, won two Gold Gloves and was voted into the Hall of Fame in his first season of eligibility.
Another Detroit dynasty guy, ten time All Star Emil Franco was misused defensively for most of his career. With a physique perfectly suited for left field (decent range and glove with a weak arm), this four time champion and Hall of Famer spent the majority of his career at third base. His bat made up for his defensive deficiencies, having won the Silver Slugger award six times as a third baseman, and once at left field.
Short Stop
It's still early in Gary Leary's career, but he is on pace to be the most prolific SS this world has ever seen. At thirty two he already has seven All Star appearances, five Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove award. With 544 career home runs, he should easily eclipse the career mark of 602 for short stops set by Benny Villafuerte.
Left Field
Hall of Famer Carlos "the" Cruz "missile's" career home run and hitting totals might have been hampered by spending such a great deal of his career in OKC and Las Vegas. His awards cabinet is stuffed to the gills with his Gold Glove award, Rookie of the Year award, nine Silver Slugger awards, six All Star selections, two MVP awards, and two championship rings. With 454 home runs, 314 stolen bases and a career OPS of .953, his stats are still pretty good despite spending most of his career in pitcher friendly parks.
Center Field
Jimmie Lopez was a machine out there. He was a run driving, base stealing, premier fielding machine out there. Ten All Star teams, two Gold Gloves, five Silver Slugger awards, three World Series rings and a spot in the Hall make him the most decorated center fielder ever. His hitting totals are a bit inflated from spending more than a few seasons in Boston, but he chalked up some nice seasons on his other teams as well. Stat wise, 532 home runs, 300 stolen bases and a career .956 OPS stand out as elite for the position. J-Lo won titles on two different teams in his career.
Fernando Rosado has had a whale of a career, and he's still in his late prime. This seven time MVP has piled up the stats and accolades since he entered the majors as a twenty year old. He has been a fixture at the All-Star game, having never missed one except in his rookie year (when he only played half the season at the ML level). Ten Silver Slugger awards, a Gold Glove award, and two Home Run Derby championships so far is a huge awards haul for a player that is still only thirty two. It would be truly sad if this guy never wins a World Series ring, since that is the only award missing for him. He could reasonably finish with over 900 home runs and 3100 hits in his career barring a major injury.
Right Field
Alfonso Mercedes posted some ridiculous numbers in his career. Even though it was in Boston, Mercedes gets credit for being one of the greatest hitters in the history of the world. Only time will tell if his career record for home runs of 845 will ever be touched. He racked up a few awards in his Hall of Fame career, including five All-Star selections, two Home Run Derby championships, a Rookie of the Year award, two Silver Sluggers, an MVP award, and three World Series rings.
Starting Pitcher
In a stellar career, soon to be Hall of Famer Vasco Montanez earned himself five Cy Young awards, eleven All-Star appearances, a Rookie of the Year award, and two World Series rings. He is the world's all-time career leader in wins and strikeouts, and sits second for quality starts. All told, he was one of the most dominant starting pitchers the world has ever seen.
Alex Ortiz isn't the power pitcher that Montanez was, but nonetheless he is arguably just as effective. Although his relatively low stamina has prevented him from logging more than around 200 IP per season, he has always made the very best of his abilities anyway. He sits atop the world in career ERA, WHIP and sports the best career winning percentage of .781. Six Cy Young awards, twelve All-Star selections, two World Series rings, two no-hitters, and a Rookie of the Year award is the most impressive collection of accolades in the world's history, and he's not even close to being done his career. Barring a massive injury or a trade to a bottom feeding franchise, 300 wins is all but assured for him.
Felipe Villa's great career has been helped along by the fact that he has remained a dominant force well into his late thirties. He sits first in the world's history with over 430 quality starts, and is second for wins and strikeouts. This former Rookie of the Year has also won two Cy Young awards, two World Series rings, and nine All-Star appearances.
John Mailman delivered a great Hall of Fame career. This eight time All-Star won three Cy Young awards and a championship. He ended up third in career wins with 271, and is top five for career quality starts.
Ricardo Tavarez was the best pitcher on one of the most dominant dynasties that the world has seen. Spending his whole career with Detroit, this Hall of Famer finished his career with 252 wins, a 1.07 WHIP, a 2.66 ERA and holds the second all time record for winning percentage with .761. More impressively, he amassed those statistics in HBD's steroid era. His awards haul is impressive, with nine All-Star games, four World Series rings, and three Cy Young awards.
If Bill Myers wasn't mishandled early in his career (he was ready for the majors two or three seasons before his rookie year), he would have the stats that should go with his dominant abilities. Alas, you cannot turn back time. Nevertheless, Myers has found a way into the record books, by notching two of the top five singles season records for earned run average, and currently holding the record for single season WHIP. He has been to seven All-Star games, won a Cy Young award, and is a former Rookie of the Year winner.
Edgard Garces Has been a steady and consistent force for the Montreal Maroons for his whole career. Having won the Cy Young award three times, World Series titles three times, earned All Star berths seven times, and a Rookie of the Year award, his hardware cabinet has needed to be expanded more than once in his career. With 248 at age 35, Garces has an outside shot at 300 careers wins.
Middle Relief
We needed a long reliever on the list, so Pedro Lunar is the guy. A key member of Boston's domination of the world from season six till nine, he won three world series titles in that span. His awards haul doesn't amount to much beyond that, but that is due to the lack of respect that pitchers who play this role receive. His 204 wins is impressive considering his lack of stamina. His career ERA of 3.47 and WHIP of 1.22 are both excellent, considering he spent almost half of his career in extremely hitter friendly Fenway Park. His career strikeout to walk ratio stands second in the world at 3.75.
Short Relief (setup/closer)
Kevin Baek's career is still ongoing, but he has set the bar for career saves with 676. He is currently 37, but has shown no signs of slowing yet. He sits in first spot for k/9, with 8.87, and fourth place for career strikeout to walk ratio with 3.22. His awards cabinet is stuffed to the gills with four Fireman of the Year awards, nine All-Star selections, and four World Series rings.
D'Angelo Lopez is second on that career list for saves with 609, but an impressive number for a relief pitcher to accompany that with, is his 127 career wins. A key member of the Montreal Maroons from season twelve to twenty-six, he amassed quite a few awards in his career, such as four Fireman of the Year awards, ten All-Star selections, and three World Series rings.He is tied for second on the career WHIP list with 1.07
Jimmy Parker was the world's elite short relief guy before Lopez and Baek came along, and his Hall of Fame career was pretty impressive. Number three on saves list with 567, he could have had more if he wasn't used as a starting pitcher for a few seasons. Eight All-Star berths and a fireman of the Year award adorn the walls of his rec room in his Indiana home.
Mattthew Langerhans was not used as a closer for much of his career because he played a good chunk of it on the same team as D'Angelo Lopez. Montreal's management was perfectly happy to let Langerhans shut down the opposition for the 6th and 7th innings, and then give the ball to Lopez to pitch the last two. This arrangement worked just fine, as it allowed the team to have the best one-two bullpen punch ever seen. Although his awards cabinet is not as full as others, his impact was reflected in helping Montreal to win two World Series championships. He did rake in five All-Star appearances anyway. Langerhans' dominance was expressed on the scoresheet, which is reflected in his career second bests for ERA of 2.59, and WHIP, at 1.07. His career strikeout to walk ratio of 3.82 sits atop of the list, and his career k/9 rate is fifth ever at 8.37.
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