Best baseball team ever

[tiger8mush]

Pre-war lineup:
1. CF Cobb
2. SS Wagner
3. 1B Gehrig
4. LF Ruth
5. 2B Hornsby
6. RF Ott
7. C Cochrane
8. 3B Baker
9. SP WaJo
(RP = Grover C. Alexander; DH = Foxx)

Post-war lineup:
1. RF Ichiro
2. 1B Musial
3. CF Mays
4. LF Williams/Bonds (can't decide)
5. C. Pudge Rodriguez
6. 2B Carew
7. SS Ripken
8. 3B B. Robinson
9. SP Gibson
(RP = Mariano; DH = Big Papi)
(wanted to get Rickey Henderson at LF, but ...)

Rob

[alanu]

1. Ty Cobb CF
2. Ryne Sandberg 2B
3. Babe Ruth LF
4. Lou Gehrig 1B
5. Roberto Clemente RF
6. Ernie Banks SS
7. Josh Gibson
8. Mike Schmidt 3B
9. Walter Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Christie Mathewson, Bob Feller, Bob Gibson

[RTK]

Originally Posted by alanu

1. Ty Cobb CF
2. Ryne Sandberg 2B
3. Babe Ruth LF
4. Lou Gehrig 1B
5. Roberto Clemente RF
6. Ernie Banks SS
7. Josh Gibson
8. Mike Schmidt 3B
9. Walter Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Christie Mathewson, Bob Feller, Bob Gibson

Nice call on Ernie at SS, I had thought about that but I never saw him play the position live or on film. I know he wasn't known for great range. I only saw him play 1st later in his career.

Mantle probably would have made the OF had he not injured his knee and taken better care of himself through out his career. Watching Mike Trout these days must have been what it was like to watch a young Mantle

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by alanu

1. Ty Cobb CF

2. Ryne Sandberg 2B

3. Babe Ruth LF

4. Lou Gehrig 1B

5. Roberto Clemente RF

6. Ernie Banks SS

7. Josh Gibson

8. Mike Schmidt 3B

9. Walter Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Christie Mathewson, Bob Feller, Bob Gibson

Sandberg over Hornsby? What made you pick him?

[33rd Street]

I'd guess he was thinking about defense with Rhino that was my thought with Jackie but I have always thought that given his first 7 years there wouldn't be much doubt on the best second baseman. Could be a personal favorite I always want to put Brooks at third on these things but he just couldn't with the Schmidt's, Mathews etc.

[the 'stache]

I'm just blown away by how many people don't have Babe Ruth as their starting pitcher. There may be better pure pitchers out there, like Koufax, Walter Johnson, Pedro Martinez, or Greg Maddux. But none of them provide the pitching and offense combination of Ruth.

Look at his 162 game averages as a pitcher and a hitter between 1914 and 1919. This is before he became the Sultan of Swat.



His 162 game averages:

21-11 2.18 ERA, 1.14 WHIP
.308 AVG, 21 HR, 96 RBI, .981 OPS, 190 OPS +.

Yes, he led the AL in HRs in 1918 and 1919 with 11 and 29, and that's where the majority of his offensive numbers came from. But he was still a pitcher first. In 1919 he threw 12 complete games, was 9-5 with a sub 3.00 ERA, and put up Triple Crown caliber numbers at the plate.

Walter Johnson was a career .235 hitter. When offense and pitching are both considered, would you take him over Ruth? Sandy Koufax and his .097 average?

Ruth on the mound clears out right field for Clemente, or Aaron, or Kaline.

[t206hof]

How could Cobb not be in some of you guys lineup? Best player this world will ever see.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

I'm just blown away by how many people don't have Babe Ruth as their starting pitcher. There may be better pure pitchers out there, like Koufax, Walter Johnson, Pedro Martinez, or Greg Maddux. But none of them provide the pitching and offense combination of Ruth.

I understand the argument but I think that my team has enough offense without Ruth as the pitcher. Also, I trust Koufax to shut the other team down.

[RTK]

Save room for Mike Trout. Bump the thread back up in 10-15 years.

[MooseDog]

The 1972 Oakland A's could beat any all-star team you put together…now THAT was a TEAM!

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by I Only Smoke 4 the Cards

I understand the argument but I think that my team has enough offense without Ruth as the pitcher. Also, I trust Koufax to shut the other team down.

That's a pretty good point, Alex.

Hmm.

Ok, since I can have 25 guys on my team...

The lineup:

1. Ted Williams, LF
2. Honus Wagner, SS
3. Lou Gehrig, 1B
4. Babe Ruth, RF
5. Mike Schmidt, 3B
6. Ken Griffey, Jr CF
7. Rogers Hornsby, 2B
8. Johnny Bench, C
9. Sandy Koufax, lhp

Rotation

1. Walter Johnson, rhp
2. Pedro Martinez, rhp
3. Greg Maddux, rhp
4. Steve Carlton, lhp

Bullpen
1. Mariano Rivera, rhp
2. Mike Marshall, rhp
3. Dennis Eckersley, rhp
4. Billy Wagner, lhp
5. John Franco, lfp


Bench
1. Ivan Rodriguez, C
2. Joe Morgan, 2B
3. Robin Yount, SS-OF
4. Ty Cobb, CF
5. Willie Mays, CF
6. Roberto Clemente, RF
7. Hank Aaron, RF-1B

I'd be happy with that as my dream team. Lots of versatility. I wanted to keep Rickey Henderson on the team, but I'll be darned if I could find a place to put him. I love my bench. If Johnny Bench gets tired, I have catcher that can hit, and throw out anybody on Earth trying to steal. While I don't have Henderson, I have Joe Morgan and his 689 stolen bases. I guess he'll have to suffice as a pinch runner. Need a pinch hitter? The greatest hitter who ever lived, the true all-time home run king, and a four-time NL batting champion give me some nice options. Oh yeah, and then there's the Say Hey Kid, and the Kid.

[stlcardsfan]

Once again Musial is forgotten. Has to be considered as one of the outfielders. Look at Musial vs. Clemente and it's not even close.