My Franchise Fours

The All-Star Game is tomorrow, and there will it be revealed what players won the fans' votes for the latest promotion. I voted once, sometimes using the rule of one player representing each of four periods in franchise history, and other times going with players common to pennant-winning teams. I later came up with some short series of words about them.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Cal Ripken Jr.: Famous across the country, an idol in the Mid-Atlantic.
Brooks Robinson: One of the best third basemen, and the cornerstone of the '60s-'70s team.
Frank Robinson: The last important piece for the '66 championship squad.
Jim Palmer: The Orioles' ace pitcher in its best days.

BOSTON RED SOX
Ted Williams: The Red Sox' best ever. A legend.
Cy Young: His pitching helped Boston win pennants in their earliest days.
Carl Yastrzemski: Ted's successor as the face of the franchise.
David Ortiz: Major contributor to the club's three world titles this century.

NEW YORK YANKEES
Babe Ruth: The franchise and the game matured with him at the forefront.
Derek Jeter: For the most recent dynasty, it's this guy.
Joe DiMaggio: Led the Yankees to more championship years; beloved across America.
Mickey Mantle: Ditto.

TAMPA BAY RAYS
Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, David Price, and Ben Zobrist: For their numbers and for their participation on the pennant-winning team of 2008.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Roberto Alomar: The only one whose number the club's retired.
Roy Halladay: A player to watch when the Jays weren't a team to watch.
Carlos Delgado: One of the team's biggest names in the '90s for several years.
Joe Carter: Four words. World Series home run.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Frank Thomas: The star of the ballclub while it redefined itself again.
Eddie Collins: The best of the Sox that won the '17 and '19 flags.
Nellie Fox: Of two middle infielders who sparked the team in and around '59, he did a bit more than Luis.
Luke Appling: Represents the franchise in his time.

CLEVELAND INDIANS
Nap Lajoie: So much of the Cleveland club's early history comes from him.
Tris Speaker: Among the best of his time, he helped them get their world championship in 1920.
Bob Feller: Think of the Tribe in their best days and he comes up.
Lou Boudreau: Manager and shortstop for that '48 team.

DETROIT TIGERS
Ty Cobb: An all-time great who helped define the Tigers early.
Al Kaline: Star of the club for a good portion of the postwar period.
Hank Greenberg: Seeing that he had a 58-homer season gives something of a glance at the team of his day.
Miguel Cabrera: The biggest contributor to Detroit as they excelled in the 2010s.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS
George Brett, Brett Saberhagen, Willie Wilson, and Dan Quisenberry: Two pitchers and two batters who were big contributors on those '80s teams.

MINNESOTA TWINS
Walter Johnson: Said to be the best pitcher of all time. The team's Washington years cannot be denied.
Kirby Puckett: The face of the franchise in its Series-winning years.
Harmon Killebrew: Not just a 500 Club member; he's a 580 Club member.
Rod Carew: Along with Harmon, one of two players who got the team its '69 and '70 division titles.

HOUSTON ASTROS
Jeff Bagwell: Shone the brightest of the '90s Astros.
Craig Biggio: Also a major star in the team's prime years.
Nolan Ryan: Continued to be one of the league's best pitchers throughout the '80s.
Lance Berkman: Supplemented the other Killer B's and was more than present for the club's first pennant.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM
Nolan Ryan: Had his best strikeout years in Anaheim.
Jim Fregosi: If not for his presence on the early Angels, then for the fact that he was the one traded for Nolan.
Mike Trout: Leading the way in an outstanding time for the club.
Tim Salmon: The franchise star in the '90s; helped them win the World Series in '02. A lifetime Angel.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Eddie Collins: The jewel in the crown of the "$100,000 Infield." Made it as a write-in.
Jimmie Foxx: The Elephants' answer to Babe Ruth during their three-year pennant run.
Reggie Jackson: Extremely high profile player during and after those '70s championships.
Rickey Henderson: The Man of Steal is a man of many teams, but Oakland was his home.

SEATTLE MARINERS
Ken Griffey Jr.: The symbol of '90s baseball. The all-time Mariners favorite.
Ichiro Suzuki: Other teams lost 116 games in 2001 getting used to his style and skills.
Felix Hernandez: Excellent among today's pitchers.
Randy Johnson: Helped make the AL fear having to face the M's, which was quite an accomplishment.

TEXAS RANGERS
Nolan Ryan: On the emerging Rangers of '89-'93, not just a figurehead.
Ivan Rodriguez: Stood out among the young players leading the '90s team; best AL catcher of the time.
Rafael Palmeiro: A strong player for the club in both his stints.
Josh Hamilton: Quite a notable player for the back-to-back pennant winners.

ATLANTA BRAVES
Hank Aaron: An idol for Braves fans and non-fans alike.
Chipper Jones: The standout position player for the club in the '90s.
Greg Maddux: Ace of that legendary staff, and maybe best MLB pitcher of the decade.
Warren Spahn: This super southpaw makes it so the '50s and '90s are equally represented.

MIAMI MARLINS
Gary Sheffield: Three-time All-Star in the six seasons when he spent some time with the Fish.
Mike Lowell: One of the best players for the '03 Series winners.
Jeff Conine: For a second '97 player, I picked this guy, a franchise man from the beginning.
Josh Beckett: His pitching was a key contribution on that '03 team.

NEW YORK METS
Tom Seaver: One of the forces driving the '69 miracle and a star pitcher beyond that.
Keith Hernandez: Not just a great fielder, his contact hitting and good eyes helped the '86 team go far.
Mike Piazza: Best NL catcher of the '90s; came up as a Dodger, but won a pennant as a Met.
David Wright: In a time that's anything but the club's salad days, he's remained the man to talk about.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Mike Schmidt: The best the Phillies ever had. Full stop.
Robin Roberts: When I think of the Whiz Kids, he might be the first or second one to come up.
Chase Utley: Outstanding second baseman in his prime, and just the man to represent the '08 champs.
Grover Cleveland Alexander: My write-in. Pete spent some great years with the Phils.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Rusty Staub: The star of the team as it was building its Montreal fan base.
Andre Dawson: One of two Hall of Famers for the club in its golden early '80s.
Gary Carter: The other.
Vladimir Guerrero: A bright spot for the Expos in a bleak period.

CHICAGO CUBS
Mordecai Brown: The ace for Chance's Cubs, four-time pennant winners.
Gabby Hartnett: Players came and went on the '20s and '30s Cubs, but he stayed.
Ernie Banks: No lights at Wrigley Field, entertaining but still losing; Ernie exemplifies those days.
Ryne Sandberg: Standout on a team that got to the playoffs twice in the '80s.

CINCINNATI REDS
Johnny Bench: A Red for life and a catcher among catchers.
Joe Morgan: Thrived on the turf at Riverfront Stadium. A patient hitter and a base stealer.
Pete Rose: Hard to find players like him.
Barry Larkin: Not exactly a new arrival when they won the '90 Series, he's associated with the '95 division champs.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Rollie Fingers, and Cecil Cooper: The first three of these are easy choices, and I got my fourth from the '82 pennant winners as well.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Honus Wagner: To this day, shines among Pirates and shortstops.
Pie Traynor: Best thirdsacker of the first half century.
Roberto Clemente: Three thousand hits, two world titles, and a whole lot of legacy.
Willie Stargell: The charismatic captain of the club that earned the crown in '79.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Rogers Hornsby: The cornerstone of the franchise and one of the true greats of the game.
Stan Musial: No question about him.
Ozzie Smith: Like my other three picks, the face of the club in one of its surges of excellence.
Albert Pujols: Cast a long shadow in St. Louis.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Luis Gonzalez, and Reggie Sanders: Including my write-in, four guys who were key to the club's proudest achievement.

COLORADO ROCKIES
Larry Walker: When you think of the '95 Rockies, you think of him, and vice versa.
Todd Helton: A Rockie for most of the club's history, and a very good one.
Matt Holliday: Young player who helped the team soar to the pennant in '07.
Troy Tulowitzki: Ditto.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Jackie Robinson: His career represents a golden age for the Dodgers.
Sandy Koufax: The club's continued success was led by this fine pitcher.
Fernando Valenzuela: This phenom gave the team the push they needed in '81.
Clayton Kershaw: Too early to say if he's leading LA into a new age of success, but I went one per period.

SAN DIEGO PADRES
Tony Gwynn: His presence at the plate made the Padres something.
Dave Winfield: Before Tony arrived, the club was at least worth a look thanks to this guy.
Trevor Hoffman: He had the last word in ballgames, but he's not my last pick.
Steve Garvey: Carried his star power from LA, which might've helped them in '84 in a non-statistical way.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Christy Mathewson: Heroic figure who led the way for the Giants early in the last century.
Mel Ott: The Babe didn't have New York's only big bat anymore.
Willie Mays: You can't say "amazing" without saying his surname.
Barry Bonds: Excellent before 2001, a huge drawing card to the China Basin ballpark since.

NEGRO LEAGUE PLAYERS
Satchel Paige: A showman and a master hurler.
Josh Gibson: The star slugger wherever he played.
Oscar Charleston: Some say he could do it all.
Buck Leonard: The Gehrig to Gibson's Ruth.

EARLY PLAYERS
George Wright: A Red Stocking in Cincinnati and Boston.
Cap Anson: The most famous of all 19th-century players.
King Kelly: A big star in his day.
Willie Keeler: I picture him always bunting, but I'm sure he did more.

GREATEST LIVING PLAYERS
Aaron, Mays, Rickey, and Barry: Three of the top five home run hitters and the all-time stolen bases leader. The record holders can't be denied, and the image of Aaron and Mays in 1001 Reasons to Love Baseball set my image of the words "living legends." Maybe because those words were next to it.

After all that, you might notice a few things. Bias toward position players might be one of them. This is obviously subjective, and methods differ by team (not every team's the same). Most of these are still raw and off the cuff. I also wanted to put in "everyone else" sections to justify not picking the others on the ballot, but sometimes it's just difficult to explain, sometimes I don't remember my reasoning all that vividly, and sometimes I don't want to put anyone down (hence avoiding talk about unsavory details). Stating these concerns would show I'm self-aware, and it would be necessary in fully fleshing out the post.

EDIT 10/21/2019: With the look of this blog being overhauled, I might as well not have the players' names in red.