Build an All-Star team with just your initials

Plantiers Wart

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 16, 2002
4,092
west hartford
M.C. Off to the races..........

C - Mickey Cochrane WAR 49.9, 129 OPS+, HOF, 2XMVP
1B - Michael Cuddyer 17.8 WAR, 113 OPS+
2B - Matt Carpenter 26.9 WAR, 122 OPS+
SS - Miguel Cairo 7.7 WAR, 77 OPS+
3B ` Matt Chapman 23.2 WAR, 120 OPS+
LF - Max Carey 55.3 WAR, 108 OPS+, HOF
CF - Mike Cameron 46.7 WAR, 106 OPS+
RF - Melky Cabrera 20.6 WAR, 103 OPS+
DH - Miggy Cabrera 68.7 WAR, 145 OPS +, 2X MVP, Triple Crown
SP - Matt Cain 29.1 WAR
SP - Matt Clement 12.3 WAR
SP - Mike Clevinger 13.2 WAR
SP - Mike Caldwell 18.4 WAR
SP - Mort Cooper 32.7 WAR, MVP
RP - Mickey Callaway -1.5 WAR
RP - Matt Capps 6.3 WAR
RP - Mark Clark 5.9 WAR
RP - Mark Clear 7.8 WAR
Middling OF reserves -
Marty Cordova, 7.6 WAR, 104 OPS+
Midre Cummings, 0.9 WAR, 81 OPS+
Milt Cuyler, 5.4 WAR, 71 OPS+
Mike Carp 1.9 WAR, 108 OPS+

In the end, not too shabby. 5 MVP seasons, one Triple Crown, only SS below replacement level.
 
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GreenMonsterVsGodzilla

Member
SoSH Member
Solid middle-of-the-road all the way. 1 MVP, 2 All-Stars. Nice right side of the infield. Basically only looking at B-Ref pages for players with long-ish careers, it’s amazing how many stuck around for a decade-plus of mediocre ball. E.g. Jésus Alou - 16 seasons for .8 career WAR.

C Jimmy Archer (10.3)
1B Jose Abreu (27.7)
2B Jose Altuve (41.4)
SS Jerry Adair (8.4)
3B Jimmy Austin (22.8)
LF Joe Adcock (33.5)
CF Jabbo Andrews (8.6) Negro Leagues player, great name!
RF John Anderson (24.6) of 1894 Brooklyn Grooms fame
DH Joe Azcue (8.6)

P Johnny Allen (26.4)
P Jim Abbott (19.6)
P Jake Arrieta (23.3)
P Joe Antonelli (31.8)
P Jeremy Affeldt (9.7)
CL Jack Aker (8, 124 career saves)
 

The Talented Allen Ripley

holden
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2003
12,723
MetroWest, MA
CC here:

C - Clint Courtney (7.1 WAR)
1B - Charlie Comiskey
2B - Craig Counsell
3B - Chico Carrasquel
SS - Carlos Correa
LF - Carl Crawford
CF - Coco Crisp
RF - Cesar Cedeno
DH - Cecil Cooper
Bench - Chris Chambliss (1B/DH), Chad Curtis (OF), Charlier Culberson (3B,LF), Cesar Crespo (2B/SS/OF sentimental reasons only), Curt Casali (C)


SP - Carlos Carrasco
SP - Chris Capuano
SP - Chris Carpenter (the good one, not the one we got for Theo)
SP - Cliff Curtis
RP - Carter Capps
RP - Chad Cordero

Lots of AAA guys that could shuttle for injuries too.
I'd have Cooper start at 1B (won a couple of Gold Gloves) and Chambliss as the DH. Comiskey was a steaming pile of shit as a player, he doesn't even belong on your team.
 

Didot Fromager

New Member
Apr 23, 2010
31
I think I might be in the lead in the 1899 Cleveland Spiders/1962 NY Mets sweepstakes

C - Ed Ott (5.9 WAR)
1B - Eddie O'Meara (-0.2)
2B - Eric Owens (-0.4)
SS - Eddie O'Brien (-2.2)
3B - Ed O'Neil (-0.5)
RF - Edward Olivares (-0.7)
CF - Ernie Orsatti (4.4)
LF - Ed Olivares (-0.8) (a different person than the RF)
DH - Eddie Onslow (-0.8)
SP - Emmett O'Neill (-2.6)
RP - Eric O'Flaherty (3.8)

PS - This is a two layer failure. I almost never use my first name and the name I use begins with "L." There are only 9 major leaguers with initials LO, two of them pitchers, and none of them in the infield. As bad as the EO team is, the LO team couldn't even take the field.
 
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Brand Name

make hers mark
Moderator
SoSH Member
Oct 6, 2010
4,397
Moving the Line
JB? I like my chances for a balanced squad here. The J part especially. Always been weird to me how common a letter is to start names but uncommon in the language as a whole. Anyway, of my 350 options:

C: Johnny Bench
1B: Jeff Bagwell
2B: Jack Burdock
3B: Joe Battin (80 grade name at least!)
SS: Jay Bell
LF: Jesse Burkett
CF: Johnny Bates
RF: Jesse Barfield
DH: Of those with 51%+, it’s Jeremy Brown, the one and only. The fat catcher profiled in Moneyball. Badge. Using any remaining batter, it’s Jake Beckley. I’ll take the guy in Cooperstown.
UTIL: John Beckwith
4th OF: Jose Bautista
PR: Jon Berti
Reserve C: Johnny Bassler
SP1: Jim Bunning
SP2: Josh Beckett
SP3: Jim Barr
SP4: Jim Bagby
SP5: John Burkett
Swing: Jesse Barnes
LHRP specialist: Jerry Blevins
RP: Juan Berenguer
RP: Jeff Brantley
RP: Jim Brosnan
SU: Jim Brewer
CP: Joaquin Benoit

2B and 3B need work. To say the least. Have to get some 19th century players each never succeeded 7 bWAR in total. It’s solid for a team, not great. No all time, inner inner legends but quite a few outstanding players.
 

jezza1918

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
2,608
South Dartmouth, MA
JB? I like my chances for a balanced squad here. The J part especially. Always been weird to me how common a letter is to start names but uncommon in the language as a whole. Anyway, of my 350 options:

C: Johnny Bench
1B: Jeff Bagwell
2B: Jack Burdock
3B: Joe Battin (80 grade name at least!)
SS: Jay Bell
LF: Jesse Burkett
CF: Johnny Bates
RF: Jesse Barfield
DH: Of those with 51%+, it’s Jeremy Brown, the one and only. The fat catcher profiled in Moneyball. Badge. Using any remaining batter, it’s Jake Beckley. I’ll take the guy in Cooperstown.
UTIL: John Beckwith
4th OF: Jose Bautista
PR: Jon Berti
Reserve C: Johnny Bassler
SP1: Jim Bunning
SP2: Josh Beckett
SP3: Jim Barr
SP4: Jim Bagby
SP5: John Burkett
Swing: Jesse Barnes
LHRP specialist: Jerry Blevins
RP: Juan Berenguer
RP: Jeff Brantley
RP: Jim Brosnan
SU: Jim Brewer
CP: Joaquin Benoit

2B and 3B need work. To say the least. Have to get some 19th century players each never succeeded 7 bWAR in total. It’s solid for a team, not great. No all time, inner inner legends but quite a few outstanding players.
Frank Costanza weeps
EXvtRHEWsAULQME.jpg
 

CaptainLaddie

dj paul pfieffer
SoSH Member
Sep 6, 2004
36,692
where the darn libs live
I like this exercise.

C: BilL Carrigan
1B: Bob Cerv
2B: Bill Cissell
3B: Billy Cox
SS: Bert Campaneris
LF: Birdie Cree
CF: Ben Chapman
RF: Bernie Carbo
DH: Brandon Crawford
SP: Bartolo Colon
SP: Bob Caruthers
RP: Bill Campbell

Not exactly a murderer's row.
 

CoolPapaBellhorn

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 15, 2006
1,119
Medfield
Lots of help from B-ref on G.S. Offense is strong, and I love the all-Germany double-play combo. There were only 13 pitchers with a positive WAR, so the staff leaves a bit to be desired. Four active players and one hall-of-famer (Sisler).

Position Player (first season-last season) Career bWAR
C Geovany Soto (2005-2017) 12.0
1B George Sisler (1915-1930) - HOF 57.1
2B Germany Schaefer (1901-1918) 9.0
SS Germany Smith (1884-1898) 21.5
3B George Scales (1921-1946) 22.4
LF George Stone (1903-1910) 26.0
CF George Springer (2014-2021) 30.2
RF Gary Sheffield (1988-2009) 60.5
DH Giancarlo Stanton (2010-2021) 44.1
Bench (C) Gary Sanchez (2015-2021) 11.7
Bench (CI) George Scott (1966-1979) 36.6
Bench (MI) George Strickland (1950-1960) 6.8
Bench (OF) Grady Sizemore (2004-2015) 27.8
Bench (OF) George Selkirk (1934-1942) 23.4
SP Greg Swindell (1986-2002) 30.5
SP George Suggs (1908-1915) 22.5
SP George Stone (1967-1975) 6.7
SP Garrett Stephenson (1996-2003) 4.9
SP Greg Smith (2008-2010) 1.8
RP Gerry Staley (1947-1961) 18.9
RP George Sherrill (2004-2012) 5.2
RP Gregory Soto (2019-2021) 1.9
RP George Susce (1955-1959) 1.6
RP George Spencer (1950-1960) 1.4
Swing Gene Schott (1935-1939) 4.9
Swing Gary Serum (1977-1979) 1.5
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

critical thinker
SoSH Member
Dec 19, 2009
9,386
I haven't seen any MLs yet....

SP: Mark Langston
C: Mike Lieberthal
1B:
2B: Mark Loretta
3B: Mike Lowell
SS:
LF: Matt Lawton
CF:
RF:

DH:
RP: Mike LaCoss
RP: Max Lanier
RP: Mickey Lolich
Manager:

Now I know why.
 

HangingW/ScottCooper

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 10, 2006
2,493
Scituate, MA
SP - Tom Glavine
SP - Tyler Glasnow
SP - Tom Gorzelanny
SP - Tommy Greene
SP - Tommy Griffin
RP - Tom Gordon
C - Tony Giuliani
1B - Todd Greene
2B - Tony Graffanino
3B - Troy Glaus
SS -
LF - Tony Gonzalez
CF - Tom Goodwin
RF - Tony Gwynn
DH - Tom Grieve
 

mjs

New Member
Mar 30, 2020
36
I can build a nice little starting rotation but the lineup is a bit weak. The bullpen will be a shitshow. I guess Scioscia is player-manager and drives me insane with the smallball crap.

C: Mike Scioscia
1B: Mike Sweeney
2B: Myles Straw
SS: Marcus Semien
3B: Mike Schmidt
LF: Mule Suttles
CF: Manny Sanguillen
RF: Matt Stairs
DH: Mike Stanley
SP: Max Scherzer
SP: Mel Stottlemyre SP
SP: Marcus Stromanm SP
SP: Monty Stratton
SP: Mario Soto
RP: Mike Stanton
Not bad. Strong starting pitching and left side of infield.
How about a few changes?
Mgr Mike Sciosa
C Manny Sanguillen 27 bWAR
2B marco Scutaro 22
CF Mickey Stanley. 17 3xGold Glove
SP Mike Scott. 22. 1986 Cy Young
DH Mike Sweeney. 24
 

jmcc5400

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 29, 2000
5,219
Ha HA, snuck in with the 30th out of the 30 most common initials and... the options are not great. But my defense is oddly outstanding. We're trying to win a lot of 2-1 games.

C - Del Crandall (11x All Star, 4 Gold Gloves!)
1B - Donn Clendendon (WS MVP, 117 OPS+)
2B - Dave Chalk? (2x All Star, played a little 2B, double play partner with Remy for the California Angels)
3B - Dewey Creacy (Negro League star!)
SS - Dave Concepcion (5 Gold Gloves!)
LF - Darnell Coles (UT journeyman who played 120+ games here, 102 OPS+)
CF - Doc Cramer - strong up the middle!
RF - Dylan Carlson (might look better in a few years)
DH - Danny Cater (1968 version)
SP1 - David Cone (61 WAR, 5 World Series, 1 Cy Young)
SP2 - Dean Chance (Cy Young winner in '64, lost to the Sox & Longborg in '67)
SP3 - Dad Clarke (started 70 games for the 1895 and 1896 NY Giants -- rubber arm!)
SP4 - Dylan Cease (promising young arm for the White Sox, bet he looks better after 2022/2023 seasons)
SP5 - Ugh... Daniel Cabrera (6 career WAR, and the best two words a Red Sox hitter could hear when he was throwing for the Orioles)
CL - Diego Castillo
RP - Doug Corbett (solid closer for the Twins in 80/81)
Bench - Davey Crockett (hit .280 in 1901, name makes him a lock)
We need to find a place for Dolph Camilli in our lineup. Maybe Dave Cash at 2b instead of Chalk?
 

moretsyndrome

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 24, 2006
2,180
Pawtucket
I’m in trouble. Paul Waner and pray for rainer. He had about half of the WAR I could dig up under my initials.

That’s about it, except for Paul Wilson, whose 2 and change WAR were not nearly as memorable as the time he got his ass kicked by Kyle Farnsworth, and Preston Wilson, who was not as memorable as his father, along with a bunch of WWII era guys named Pinky and some Negro League journeymen.
 

NickEsasky

Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em
Silver Supporter
SoSH Member
Jul 24, 2001
9,191
Not bad. Strong starting pitching and left side of infield.
How about a few changes?
Mgr Mike Sciosa
C Manny Sanguillen 27 bWAR
2B marco Scutaro 22
CF Mickey Stanley. 17 3xGold Glove
SP Mike Scott. 22. 1986 Cy Young
DH Mike Sweeney. 24
I like these changes. I was just scanning B-Ref for people with last initial S and looking for M first names so I clearly missed a few folks. I didn't put much stock in actual positions like LF, CF, or RF just that they had a position listed on B-Ref.
 

dynomite

Member
SoSH Member
We need to find a place for Dolph Camilli in our lineup. Maybe Dave Cash at 2b instead of Chalk?
Wow this is a great call, shame on me for missing Camilli. Also, wow, completely correct re Cash at 2B. Their careers were almost overlapping timewise ('69-'80 for Cash, '73-'81 for Chalk) and Cash was better at literally everything -- more games played, double the career hits, better hitter (20 oWAR to 10), tons more speed (120 SBs to 36 and a negative net SB ratio), far better fielder (9 dWAR to 2.8).

Now the question is who is at 1B, DH, and on the Bench between Camilli, Donn Clendendon, and Danny Cater, and pretty obvious Cater's relegated to pinch hitting work.

Career OPS+:
Camilli: 136
Clendendon: 117
Cater: 101

oWAR:
Camilli: 40
Clendendon: 19
Cater: 10

dWAR:
Camilli: -5
Clendendon: -7
Cater: -5

Peak season:
1941 Camilli: .285/34/120 (6.9 WAR, 164 OPS+, MVP)
1966 Clendendon: .299/27/98 (3.8 WAR, 141 OPS+)
1968 Cater: .290/6/62 (2.0 WAR, 127 OPS+)

Will update.
 

Humphrey

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 3, 2010
3,163
P Bob Gibson (hell of a start, eh?)
P Burleigh Grimes
P Bill Gullickson
RP Brusstar Graterol
RP Buddy Groom

C/Mgr Bob Geren
1B Billy Goodman (yeah, more 2b and 1b but I had to fill the position)
2B Bobby Grich
3B Bill Grabarkewitz
SS Billy Gardner (yeah, more of a second baseman too)

OF Brian Giles
OF Ben Grieve
OF Bobby Guindon (a 21 year old Red Sox call-up in September, 1964; who went 1-8 and never played in the bigs again. Graduated from Boston English High School!)
 

Hendu At The Wall

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2005
108
Woodstock, NY
C - Dwight Lowry - 1.3 WAR
1B - Derek Lee - 34.5 WAR
2B - DJ LeMahieu - 26.5 WAR
SS - Dick Lundy - 20.0 WAR
3B - Denny Lyons - 35.5 WAR
LF - Danny Litwhiler - 18.6 WAR
CF - Duffy Lewis - 21.2 WAR
RF - Davey Lopes - 42.4 WAR
DH - Adam LaRoche - 14.2 WAR (Like JD Drew, his actual first name is David!)

SP - Dutch Leonard (‘33-’53) - 48.9 WAR
SP - Dolf Luque - 48.1 WAR
SP - Dutch Leonard (‘13-’25) - 36.9 WAR
SP - Dennis Leonard - 25.7 WAR
SP - Don Larsen - 18.4 WAR

Closer - Derek Lowe - 34.3 WAR

(BBRef WAR)
 

RIrooter09

Alvin
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2008
7,254
What resource is everyone using to find names by initials? I can find first or last name starting letters on BRef but not both.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 23, 2009
20,676
Maine
What resource is everyone using to find names by initials? I can find first or last name starting letters on BRef but not both.
I used stathead.com. It's Sports Reference's (b-ref) subscription-based service. Searches can be filtered by first and/or last initials (or any combination of letters) and you end up with not just the list but all their career stats all in one table.
 

Max Power

thai good. you like shirt?
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
7,879
Boston, MA
What resource is everyone using to find names by initials? I can find first or last name starting letters on BRef but not both.
I used the last name list at BRef and then did a search on page for my first initial. It highlights all of them on the page, so I could easily scroll and stop at the ones with the first letter highlighted. The list shows career length and I really only looked at people who played more than a few years in the big leagues. It's possible I missed someone who played the bulk of their career before the Negro Leagues were officially recognized as major leagues in the 20s, but it was good enough for separating the wheat from the chaff.
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,300
deep inside Guido territory
C-Jason Castro (13 career WAR)
1B-Jack Clark(53.1 career WAR, 4 time All-Star, 2 time Silver Slugger)
2B-Joey Cora(7.9 career WAR, 1 time All Star)
SS-Joe Cronin(64.8 career WAR. Hall of Famer, 7 time All Star)
3B-Jimmy Collins(53.3 career WAR, Hall of Famer)
OF-Jose Canseco(42.4 career WAR, 1988 AL MVP, 4 time Silver Slugger, 2-time WS champ)
OF-Jose Cruz, Jr(19.5 career WAR)
OF-Joe Carter(19.6 career WAR, 5 time All-Star, 2 time Silver Slugger, 2 time WS Champ)
Bench: Ji-Man Choi, JP Crawford, Jose Cardenal

SP-Jhoulys Chacin(20.6 WAR, ERA+ of 110)
SP-Jose Contreras(13.1 career WAR, ERA+ of 100)
SP-Johnny Cueto(32.9 career WAR, ERA+ of 118)

RP-Joba Chamberlain(7.6 career WAR, ERA+ of 114)
RP-Jim Corsi(8.0 career WAR, ERA+ of 133)

Starting Lineup for AL
1. Cronin SS
2. Collins 3B
3. Canseco OF
4. Clark 1B
5. Carter RF
6. Choi DH
7. Cruz CF
8. Castro C
9. Cora 2B
SP-Cueto
 
My pitching won't be great, but I think the team will score runs. And I got to include a player named Glasscock, so that's pretty sweet, too.

C: Josh Gibson
1B: Jason Giambi
2B: Joe Gordon
3B: Jim Gilliam
SS: Jack Glasscock
OF: Jonny Gomes
OF: Jack Graney
OF: Juan Gonzalez
DH: Jim Gentile
SP: Juan Guzman
RP: Jason Grilli
The British comedian Alan Davies once said, "I knew a kid named Jimmy Glasscock at school. You could always see when he was coming."
 

bsj

Renegade Crazed Genius
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2003
22,776
Central NJ SoSH Chapter
My team is meh

C - Jimmy Archer
1B - Jose Abreu
2B - Jose Altuve
3B - Jerry Adair
SS - Joaquin Arias
LF - Joe Adcock
CF - Jesus Alou
RF - John Anderson (1894)
DH - Jabbo Andrews
RHSP - Jake Arrieta
LHSP - Jim Abbott
RP - John Axford
RP - Jose Alvarado
 

GrandSlamPozo

New Member
May 16, 2017
105
1B: Al Zarilla
2B: Al Zarilla
3B: Al Zarilla
SS: Al Zarilla
LF: Al Zarilla
CF: Al Zarilla
RF: Al Zarilla
C: Al Zarilla
P: Al Zarilla
 

jmcc5400

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 29, 2000
5,219
C-Jason Castro (13 career WAR)
1B-Jack Clark(53.1 career WAR, 4 time All-Star, 2 time Silver Slugger)
2B-Joey Cora(7.9 career WAR, 1 time All Star)
SS-Joe Cronin(64.8 career WAR. Hall of Famer, 7 time All Star)
3B-Jimmy Collins(53.3 career WAR, Hall of Famer)
OF-Jose Canseco(42.4 career WAR, 1988 AL MVP, 4 time Silver Slugger, 2-time WS champ)
OF-Jose Cruz, Jr(19.5 career WAR)
OF-Joe Carter(19.6 career WAR, 5 time All-Star, 2 time Silver Slugger, 2 time WS Champ)
Bench: Ji-Man Choi, JP Crawford, Jose Cardenal

SP-Jhoulys Chacin(20.6 WAR, ERA+ of 110)
SP-Jose Contreras(13.1 career WAR, ERA+ of 100)
SP-Johnny Cueto(32.9 career WAR, ERA+ of 118)

RP-Joba Chamberlain(7.6 career WAR, ERA+ of 114)
RP-Jim Corsi(8.0 career WAR, ERA+ of 133)

Starting Lineup for AL
1. Cronin SS
2. Collins 3B
3. Canseco OF
4. Clark 1B
5. Carter RF
6. Choi DH
7. Cruz CF
8. Castro C
9. Cora 2B
SP-Cueto
I think you want Jose Cruz Jr.'s dad in your lineup (and you can DH Canseco that way)! https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cruzjo01.shtml
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,386
My list of possibilities is not super large, but there's some good players thrown in there. Lots of filler, but here's the top players with my initials:

C Javier Valentin
SS John Valentin
IF Jose Valentin
SP John Valentine
RP Jose Valverde
SP Johnny Vander Meer
SP Jason Vargas
SP Justin Verlander
C Jason Varitek
RP Jonny Venters
RP Jose Veras
2b Jose Vidro
IF Jonathan Villar
IF Jose Vizcaino
1b Joey Votto

So a handful of all-stars in there, and guys who got a lot of MVP votes (VERLANDER!!). The starting rotation wouldn't be too bad. Good catching duo. Solid IF actually. And a couple of pretty good bullpen arms.

Prime John Valentin and Joey Votto in the middle of the lineup wouldn't be the worst in the world either.
 

TimNJsoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 14, 2004
2,718
NW New Jersey
DH: Tony Gwynn
1B: Tookie Gilbert
2B: Tony Graffanino
3B: Troy Glaus
SS: Turkey Gross
OF: Tony Gonzalez
OF: Tony Gwynn Jr.
OF: Tom Goodwin
SP: Tom Glavine
RP: Tom Gordon

Player/Coach: Tom Goodwin
 

GreenMonsterVsGodzilla

Member
SoSH Member
This is no one's initials that I know, but I think Team RC might be unbeatable.

(C) Roy Campanella 41.7 11x All-Star, 3x MVP, HOF
(1B) Roger Connor 84.3 Batting Champ, HOF
(2B) Rod Carew 81.2 18x All-Star, MVP, 7x Batting Champ, HOF
(SS) Royce Clayton 19.5 1x All-Star
(3B) Ron Cey 53.8 6x All-Star
(LF) Rico Carty 32.6 1x All-Star, Batting Champ
(RF) Roberto Clemente 94.8 15x All-Star, MVP, 12x Gold Glove, 4x Batting Champ, HOF
(OF) Rocky Colavito 44.8 9x All-Star
(DH) Robinson Cano 61.4 8x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove
(P) Roger Clemens 139.2 11x All-Star, MVP, 7x Cy Young, HOF?

Total 653.3 WAR
 

Marbleheader

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2004
11,726
Not exactly an all-star bonanza, but:

C- Sandy Martinez (1995-2004)
C- Sean Murphy (2019-)
1B- Stuffy McInnis (1909-1927) 1918 WS Champion, 2x top 10 in MVP voting
2B- Stu Martin (1936-1943)
3B- Steve Mesner(1938-1945)
*OF- Stan Musial (1941-1963) HOF, 3x MVP, 20x All-Star
OF- Starling Marte (2012-) 2x GG, All-Star
OF- Shane Mack (1987-1998)
OF- Sherry Magee (1904-1919) Led League in Slugging and RBI 1910 and 1914
SP- Scott McGregor (1976-1988) 1983 WS, All-star, 20 Game winner
SP-Shelby Miller (2012-) All-Star
SP- Sam McDowell (1961-1975) 6x All-Star, led league in ERA and strikeouts in 1965
SP- Sean Manaea (2016-)
SP- Shawn Marcum (2005-2015)
SP- Steven Matz (2015-)
SP- Steve McCatty (1977-1985) 2nd in Cy Young 1981
RP- Sean Marshall (2006-2013)
RP- Seth McClung (2003-2009)
RP- Sergio Mitre (2003-2011)
RP- Steve Mura (1978-1985)
RP- Stu Miller (1952-1968) All-Star, MVP votes in 4 seasons

There are 2 guys named Sam McConnell that played just one season in MLB 1904, 2015
Guys with cool names that sucked: Swat McCabe, Stoney McGlynn, Scat Metha
 

Sin Duda

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
818
(B)Austin Texas
Ladies and gentlemen, and children of all ages, let me introduce to you the Moe Berg All-Stars!

These denizens of the diamond eat, sleep, and bleed baseball. When they’re cut, they always require 108 stiches, regardless of the gash. When they travel round-trip, they always make three stops along the way. These All-Stars are ever ready to hurl the horsehide and mash the melon.

The starting 9 (no DH for these ballers of today and yesteryear):
  • Michael Barrett mans the dish, with 3 WAR and 1 Silver Slugger to his name,
  • Mark Bellhorn rings the bell at 1B (yes, he played some 1B), amassed 8 career WAR in 11 seasons,
  • Max Bishop at 2B played for the A’s in the ‘20s then finished in Boston in 1935; 38 WAR in 12 seasons),
  • Mike Bordick slings the leather at 3B; 14 years with OAK & BAL, mostly at SS where he collected 27 WAR and one All-star game nod,
  • Mark Belanger, 41 WAR, slickly manning SS for 18 years, with 1 AS game selection and 8 GGs
“Two-thirds of the earth is covered by water”; the other third by these flying fielders, beginning with:
  • Michael Brantley, patrolling LF to the tune of 5 AS game selections, 33 WAR, and 1 Silver Slugger,
  • Marlon Byrd, traversing in CF, gathering flyballs and 26 WAR, with a solo AS game appearance, and
  • Markus Lynn (Mookie) Betts, locking down RF and forcing LH sluggers to rethink their hitting approach, has already compiled 50 WAR, 5 All-star appearances, 5 Gold Gloves, and 4 Silver Sluggers, all before his 30th birthday. Mercy
Headlining the pitching staff is:
  • Hall of Famer Mordecai “3-Finger” Brown, with 58 WAR (and would likely have made 8 or 9 AS games),
  • Backed by left-hander Mark Buehrle, with 59 WAR, 5 AS games and 4 GGs,
  • Portsider and World Series hero Madison Bumgarner, 38 WAR to date, 4 AS games and 2 SSs,
  • Mike Boddicker, 31 WAR, 1 AS games and 1 GG, and
  • And Mark Baldwin, with 19 WAR.
The bench brigade and bullpen (with WAR) are: middle infielders Marty Barrett (9) and Mike Benjamin (7), corner infielder Mike Blowers (4), outfielders Milton Bradley (17 WAR and 1 AS game) and Michael Bourn (23 WAR, 2 AS games, 2 GG), catcher Mark Bailey (3); RH relievers Miguel Batista (13) and Mace Brown (11), LH Reliever Marshal Bridges (3) and closer Mat Barnes (5 WAR, 1 AS game and counting).

This band of ballers averages 13 years of service, and collected 36 All-Star game selections, 21 Gold Gloves, and 9 Silver Slugger awards. Managing this 9 is none other than Moe Berg (also 3rd-string catcher), who never made it to the captain’s chair in his career but would be a fine manager and an expert sign stealer. The Moe Berg All-Stars ladies and gents!
 

HurstSoGood

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 14, 2006
2,181
C: Todd Greene
1B: Tookie Gilbert
2B: Tony Graffanino
3B: Troy Glaus
SS: Tony Giarratano
LF: Tom Grieve
CF: Tony Gonzalez
RF: Tony Gwynn, SR.
DH: Tommy Griffith
SP: Tom Glavine
SP: Tom Gorzelanny
SP: Tyler Green
SP: Ted Gray
RP: Tom Gordon
Manager: Turkey Gross
 

Leskanic's Thread

lost underscore
Silver Supporter
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
2,774
Los Angeles
Using my wife's initials, the team has, uh, a very good catcher, and then four guys who have a combined 132 games played (three of them being pitchers). She's not fielding a team.
This got me thinking about Lady Leskanic's initials, which have not been done yet. And whoooo boy, it's a jackpot. Two hall-of-famers, three MVP awards, 12 multiple-time All-Stars (edit: 51 total All-Star appearances!), and two catchers with amazing stats that end up on the bench. Now we're cooking.

After cutting almost a whole team of players better than all but two of the players with my initials, I ended up with this for her:

Starting Lineup:
2B Jackie Robinson - 63.9 WAR (1947-1956) - HOF, MVP, ROY, 7x All-Star, Batting Title
CF Jimmy Ryan - 43.7 WAR (1885-1903)
DH Jose Ramirez - 34.3 WAR (2013-pres) - 3x All Star, 3x Silver Slugger
LF Jim Rice - 47.7 WAR (1974-1989) - HOF, MVP, 8x All Star
RF Josh Reddick - 24.7 WAR (2009-pres) - 1x Gold Glove
SS Jimmy Rollins - 47.6 WAR (2000-2016) - MVP, 3x All-Star, 4x Gold Glove, 1x Silver Slugger
C J.T. Realmuto - 23.3 WAR (2014-pres) - 3x All-Star, 1x Gold Glove, 2x Silver Slugger
1B Joe Rudi - 25.4 WAR (1967-1982) - 3x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove
3B José Reyes - 37.4 WAR (2003-2018) - 4x All-Star, Batting Title, 1x Silver Slugger

Bench:
C John Roseboro - 22.4 WAR (1957-1970) - 6x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove
C John Romano - 20.9 WAR (1958-1967) - 4x All-Star
1B/OF John Reilly - 23.4 WAR (1880-1891)
2B Johnny Ray - 24.2 WAR (1981-1990) - 1x All-Star, 1x Silver Slugger
SS/C/OF Jack Rowe - 28.4 WAR (1879-1890)
OF Jim Russell - 18.2 WAR (1942-1951)

Starting Rotation:
SP Jose Rijo - RHP - 36.5 WAR (1984-2002) - 1x All Star, WS MVP
SP Jerry Reuss - LHP - 35.1 WAR (1969-1990) - 2x All Star
SP J.R. Richard - RHP- 22.2 WAR (1971-1980) - 1x All Star, ERA Title
SP Johnny Rigney - RHP - 20.1 WAR (1937-1947*)
SP Jim Rooker - LHP - 19.7 WAR (1968-1980)

Bullpen:
CL Jeff Reardon - RHP - 18.6 WAR (1979-1994) - 2x All-Star, Rolaids Reliever
RP Jack Russell - RHP - 17.1 WAR (1926-1940) - 1x All-Star
RP Jeff Russell - RHP - 14.8 WAR (1983-1996) - 2x All-Star, Rolaids Reliever
SP/RP Jimmy Ring - RHP - 12.3 WAR (1917-1928)
RP J.C. Romero - LHP - 7.8 WAR (1999-2012)
RP Jordan Romano - RHP - 2.9 WAR (2019-pres)

Manager:
Jim Riggleman

Broadcast Team:
Play-by-Play: John Rooney
Color Commentator: Jerry Remy
Spanish Commentary/Social Media: Jerry Romo

Some tough cuts here (including losing Remy as a player, along with other potential bench players Joe Randa, Jody Reed, and John Henry Russell). I have a collection of 5-6 WAR relief pitchers I could have gone with for the last spot in the bullpen, but went with Romano for his future potential.

I would potentially tweak the lineup to get Jim Ed to the DH slot instead of Ramirez, but that would involve losing WAR in the lineup or playing someone out of position. I'm sure many of the IF or the impressive bench catchers could pick up a 1B mitt and solve that problem...but I'll stick with this for now.
 
Last edited:

CaptainLaddie

dj paul pfieffer
SoSH Member
Sep 6, 2004
36,692
where the darn libs live
This got me thinking about Lady Leskanic's initials, which have not been done yet. And whoooo boy, it's a jackpot. Two hall-of-famers, three MVP awards, 12 multiple-time All-Stars, and two catchers with amazing stats that end up on the bench. Now we're cooking.

After cutting almost a whole team of players better than all but two of the players with my initials, I ended up with this for her:

Starting Lineup:
2B Jackie Robinson - 63.9 WAR (1947-1956) - HOF, MVP, ROY, 7x All-Star, Batting Title
CF Jimmy Ryan - 43.7 WAR (1885-1903)
DH Jose Ramirez - 34.3 WAR (2013-pres) - 3x All Star, 3x Silver Slugger
LF Jim Rice - 47.7 WAR (1974-1989) - HOF, MVP, 8x All Star
RF Josh Reddick - 24.7 WAR (2009-pres) - 1x Gold Glove
SS Jimmy Rollins - 47.6 WAR (2000-2016) - MVP, 3x All-Star, 4x Gold Glove, 1x Silver Slugger
C J.T. Realmuto - 23.3 WAR (2014-pres) - 3x All-Star, 1x Gold Glove, 2x Silver Slugger
1B Joe Rudi - 25.4 WAR (1967-1982) - 3x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove
3B José Reyes - 37.4 WAR (2003-2018) - 4x All-Star, Batting Title, 1x Silver Slugger

Bench:
C John Roseboro - 22.4 WAR (1957-1970) - 6x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove
C John Romano - 20.9 WAR (1958-1967) - 4x All-Star
1B/OF John Reilly - 23.4 WAR (1880-1891)
2B Johnny Ray - 24.2 WAR (1981-1990) - 1x All-Star, 1x Silver Slugger
SS/C/OF Jack Rowe - 28.4 WAR (1879-1890)
OF Jim Russell - 18.2 WAR (1942-1951)

Starting Rotation:
SP Jose Rijo - RHP - 36.5 WAR (1984-2002) - 1x All Star, WS MVP
SP Jerry Reuss - LHP - 35.1 WAR (1969-1990) - 2x All Star
SP J.R. Richard - RHP- 22.2 WAR (1971-1980) - 1x All Star, ERA Title
SP Johnny Rigney - RHP - 20.1 WAR (1937-1947*)
SP Jim Rooker - LHP - 19.7 WAR (1968-1980)

Bullpen:
CL Jeff Reardon - RHP - 18.6 WAR (1979-1994) - 2x All-Star, Rolaids Reliever
RP Jack Russell - RHP - 17.1 WAR (1926-1940) - 1x All-Star
RP Jeff Russell - RHP - 14.8 WAR (1983-1996) - 2x All-Star, Rolaids Reliever
SP/RP Jimmy Ring - RHP - 12.3 WAR (1917-1928)
RP J.C. Romero - LHP - 7.8 WAR (1999-2012)
RP Jordan Romano - RHP - 2.9 WAR (2019-pres)

Manager:
Jim Riggleman

Broadcast Team:
Play-by-Play: John Rooney
Color Commentator: Jerry Remy
Spanish Commentary/Social Media: Jerry Romo

Some tough cuts here (including losing Remy as a player, along with other potential bench players Joe Randa, Jody Reed, and John Henry Russell). I have a collection of 5-6 WAR relief pitchers I could have gone with for the last spot in the bullpen, but went with Romano for his future potential.

I would potentially tweak the lineup to get Jim Ed to the DH slot instead of Ramirez, but that would involve losing WAR in the lineup or playing someone out of position. I'm sure many of the IF or the impressive bench catchers could pick up a 1B mitt and solve that problem...but I'll stick with this for now.
Holy shitballs. I think we found the best pair of initials. And it probably isn't that close.
 

Comfortably Lomb

Koko the Monkey
SoSH Member
Feb 22, 2004
12,959
The Paris of the 80s
I like the BB team:

C - Bob Brenley / Bob Boone
1B - Brandon Belt / Bob Bailey
2B - Brett Boone
3B - Buddy Bell / Bill Bradley
SS - Bo Bichette
LF - Barry Bonds
CF - Brett Butler / Byron Buxton
RF - Bobby Bonds

SP - Burt Blyleven
SP - Bud Black
SP - Bullet Joe Bush
SP - Bill Bonham
SP - Bill Bailey

Starting pitching could be stronger after Blyleven but the lineup would mash.