All time line up

[Archive]

Posted By: Chad

How about this as a corollary to the pitchers thread. I've probably spent more time thinking about this than I care to admit, but here goes:

C-Josh Gibson
1b- Stan Musial
2b- Joe Morgan
3b- Mike Schmidt
ss- Honus Wagner
lf- Barry Bonds
cf- Willie Mays
rf-Babe Ruth

I can see going for Gehrig over Musial, but I'll stick with Musial because it gives me representation for every era except the 19th century. Wagner for the deadball era, Ruth in the 20's, Gibson in the 30's and 40's and the Negro leagues, Musial in the 40's and 50's, Mays in the 50's and 60's, and so on. And of course, this is just in my humble opinion.

[Archive]

Posted By: john/z28jd

My picks for the best team ever

C-Bench
1b-Gehrig
2b-Hornsby
ss-Wagner
3b-Schmidt
rf-Ruth
cf-Mays
lf-Williams
p-Johnson

I would have them batting:
1-Mays
2-Wagner
3-Hornsby
4-Ruth
5-Williams
6-Gehrig
7-Bench
8-Schmidt
9-Johnson

[Archive]

Posted By: Daniel Bretta

Here we go:

C: Bench
1B: Gehrig
2B: E. Collins
3B: Schmidt
SS: Wagner
LF: Bonds
CF: Mays
RF: Cobb

DH: Ruth

[Archive]

Posted By: dennis

dead ball era outfield cobb,speaker,crawford infield baker,wagner,lajoie,chase,battery bresnahan,matty 1920-1948 outfield ruth,dimaggio,williams infield traynor,appling,hornsby,foxx, battery feller,cochran 1949-modern mays,aaron mantle infield schmidt,ozzie smith,sandberg,musial battery clemens,berra look at fellers record from 1939 thru 1947 missed 3.75 years due to military srv. no teams won more than teams with berra,mantle and joe dimaggio. sorry i just have to do by era.

[Archive]

Posted By: Kieran

C - Johnny Bench
1st - Lou Gehrig
2nd - Rogers Hornsby
SS - Honus Wagner
3rd - Mike Schmidt
OF - Babe Ruth
OF - Willie Mays
OF - Ty Cobb
P - Walter Johnson

DH - Bonds/Aaron




I would have them batting

1 - Ty Cobb
2 - Honus Wagner
3 - Lou Gehrig
4 - Babe Ruth
5 - Willie Mays
6 - Rogers Hornsby
7 - Mike Schmidt
8 - Johnny Bench
9 - P or DH


"I have had balls thrown at me my whole life. When I turned 30 I started to really hate balls - I didnt like the smell, feel or taste!"

Yogi Berra - 1975

[Archive]

Posted By: Jay Miller

C: Bench
1B: Gehrig
2B: Hornsby
SS: Wagner
3B: Schmidt
OF: Ruth
OF: Cobb
OF: Williams
P: Clemens

[Archive]

Posted By: Chris McAlister

My line up would be:
1B George Sisler
2ND Rogers Hornsby
SS Honus Wagner
3RD Pie Traynor
C Johnny Bench
CF Ty Cobb
LF Terry O'Doul
RF Babe Ruth
P Walter Johnson
Pitcher for a World Series I would choose Dickey Kerr. He won two World Series games (one shutout)in 1919 for the Sox, while most of his teamates were trying to lose.

[Archive]

Posted By: warshawlaw

happens when you turn 40, I guess.

My line-up:

C: Bench
1B: Gehrig
2B: Morgan
SS: Wagner
3B: Schmidt
RF: Ruth
CF: Mays or Cobb
LF: Aaron or Williams
SP: Johnson
SP: Grove
SP: Mathewson
SP: Spahn
RP: Wilhelm (knuckler after all those others; it would be sheer hell)

[Archive]

Posted By: identify7

My line up is:

My leadoff hitter is the man who has demonstrated the greatest ability for getting on base in the history of baseball, because that is his job: get on base. If he is a stolen base threat, that is a strong plus. He should keep the pitcher distracted since some serious hitters are to follow. This man is John McGraw.

The second batter will be able to hit behind the runner and hit for high average himself. Ideally he should also be a stolen base threat. This man is Cobb.

My third batter may be the best hitter with both average and power important.
My selection for this slot is Ruth.

I do not see my clean up hitter responsible for cleaning up the bases as much as keeping the rally going. Although power is a factor. My no. 4 hitter is Hornsby.

No. 5 is a difficult call, but I need more punch than Jackson offers. I give the nod to Williams.

Then of course, the other lefty slugger, first baseman Gehrig.

Then the bottom of the order, my lighter hitting shortstop and catcher - a couple of righties. Wagner and Bench.

My pitcher is Johnson.

[Archive]

Posted By: Josh A.

C- Fisk
1B-Gehrig
2B-Collins
3B-Schmidt
SS-Wagner
OF-Jackson
OF-Ruth
OF-Aaron
SP-Matthewson

"I'm thinking about getting a plasma T.V., in case I need a transfusion."- Steven Wright

[Archive]

Posted By: jay behrens

C - Gibson
1B- Gehrig
2B- Hornsby
3B- Schmidt
SS- Wagner
OF- Bonds
OF- Mays
OF- Cobb
DH- Ruth

Not real sure on a batting order, but here goes:

Cobb
Wagner
Gibson
Bonds
Hornsby
Ruth
Mays
Gehrig
Schmidt


My place is full of valuable, worthless junk.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jay Miller

I can see differences of opinion on many positions, but I am lost as to how anyone can select anyone other than Hornsby at 2nd base. Morgan was a lifetime .271 hitter(pretty piss poor for a HOFer) with a .977 fielding percentage. He had a little power and stole bases. Hornsby was a .358 lifetime hitter with a .958 fielding percentage (smaller gloves led to more errors). He had more power and probably had the greatest five year hitting stretch ever. Collins was a good hitter (.333 BA) with little power. His fielding percentage was exactly the same as Hornsby's.

[Archive]

Posted By: Kieran

I have to agree about Hornsby, to me he is the best by far. When i did my list he was one of the easiest.

"I have had balls thrown at me my whole life. When I turned 30 I started to really hate balls - I didnt like the smell, feel or taste!"

Yogi Berra - 1975

[Archive]

Posted By: ItsOnlyGil

Well Jay, I agree with you there, but what about some selections benching Cobb or Ruth?

[Archive]

Posted By: Chad

Hornsby looks superficially better than Morgan, but overall, Morgan was better, I think. First, you have to adjust for eras. Hornsby had his best year in an era where extreme offensive performances were common. Morgan put his numbers up in an era where, relative to the early 30's, runs were MUCH harder to come by. Yes, Hornsby ahs a much higher batting average, but while not insignificant, that gives a very shallow indicator of a hitter's offensive performance. Joe got on bae--a lot. he hit for exceptional power, and he didn't just steal bases, he stole bases A LOT at remarkable level of efficiency. So, adjusting for eras and taking into account the runs each player created, Joe's not far from Hornsby in terms of production. Which isn't to say he's Hornsby's equal with the bat. I'm not crazy, I'm only saying Joe's not as far away as you think. Couple this with the fact Joe is FAR superior with the glove and had a longer career, I give the edge to Joe. It's not a huge edge, but it's an edge. It's no coincidence that every team Joe Morgan was on when he was healthy and productive was a good team. Just one hell of a ballplayer. A terrible broadcaster, tho, unfortunately. Come on Joe, quit hating my A's already!

--Chad

[Archive]

Posted By: jay behrens

Who you play inplace of Ruth or CObb? Williams is a solid choise, but Ruth hit for better power, roughly the same average and had much better speed and was better baserunner than Williams. DiMaggio, while great, doesn't cut it. Maybe Cool Papa Bell in place of Ruth, only becuase there is a ton of power already in the line-up.

Jay

My place is full of valuable, worthless junk.

[Archive]

Posted By: Darren J. Duet

Ty Cobb of
Rajah Hornsby 2b
Barry Bonds of
Babe Ruth of
Lou Gehrig 1b
Honus Wagner ss
Alex Rodriguez 3b
Yogi Berra c
Walter Johnson p

I dare you to intentionally walk anyone(except maybe berra). If a DH is allowed then I'll throw in Ted Williams to hit for Johnson.

[Archive]

Posted By: Peter_Spaeth

C Bench (tempted to say Gibson but don't know enough about reality v. legend)
1B Gehrig
2B Hornsby
SS Wagner
3B Brett (not as much power as Schmidt but much better overall hitter)
OF Mays
OF Ruth
OF Cobb (how can anyone seriously leave off Ty Cobb)
RHP Johnson
LHP Koufax

[Archive]

Posted By: david

i feel that hank aaron is consistently the most over rated player in peoples minds. he benefitted from having a 23 year career which did not emcompass the dead ball era, he it 41 more home runs then ruth in almost 4000 more at bats then ruth. his career ba is nearly 40 points lower then ruth and 60 points lower then cobb. additionally aaron managed only about 90 more rbi's despite playing 795 more games. all the talk that aaron is the greatest hitter/home run hitter of all time is nonesense.
and when people complain about the short right porch in right field for the babe, they must also forget that center field was over five hundred feet so how many hrs did the babe miss out on by hitting the ball 420 or 430 only to be caught or role to the monuments for a double

[Archive]

Posted By: Glenn

SP: Clemens
C: Gibson
1B: Gehrig
2B: Hornsby
3B: Schmidt
LF: Williams
CF: Mays
RF: Ruth

DH: Bonds
RP: Fingers

[Archive]

Posted By: Jay Miller

Chad-I would suggest that you take a closer look at Morgan's and Hornsby's stats. While batting average may not be the only relevant metric, Hornsby outhit Morgan by 87 points. Hornsby's on base percentage was .430 versus Morgan's .390. During the period from 1921-25 Hornsby was the best player in baseball, better even than Babe Ruth. During this period Ruth hit .351 with 206 HRs and 588 RBIs. Hornsby hit .402 with 144 HRs and 598 RBIs.

It is probably more appropriate to compare Joe Morgan to Roberto Alomar. Alomar has a lifetime batting average 30 points over Morgan's and was a better fielder. Alomar is considered to be a borderline HOFer at best. I believe that if Morgan played for a team other than the Reds he would have been remembered in a similar light.