With the World Series about to begin, it's time for baseball's unofficial all-time team.
It's tough to leave out some players, like Mickey Mantle, but if I expanded the "farm team" to 25 as opposed to having a single 40-man roster, I'd find myself choosing among Bob Feller, Bob Gibson, and Tom Seaver and leaving one of them out.
One question is whether I should have five dedicated closers in the bullpen or do as other all-time teams have and simply use leftover starters. The latter would be consistent with my choice not to have a DH like Paul Molitor, right?
I chose no managers, doubting the runners-up would be content with being coaches.
For years, the universal all-time team has been an unchanging pantheon of legends, with a few exceptions. Grafting five relief pitchers onto it may seem incongruous, but that's how I went about it.
Anyway, here it is, derived from lists made by the BBWAA, Street & Smith's, Sports Illustrated, and more.
POSITION-PLAYING STARTERS
C: Johnny Bench
1B: Lou Gehrig
2B: Rogers Hornsby
3B: Mike Schmidt
SS: Honus Wagner
LF: Ted Williams
CF: Ty Cobb
RF: Babe Ruth
POSITION-PLAYING SUBS
C: Yogi Berra
1B: Jimmie Foxx
2B: Jackie Robinson
SS: Cal Ripken Jr.
LF: Stan Musial
CF: Willie Mays
RF: Hank Aaron
PITCHING ROTATION
Walter Johnson
Sandy Koufax
Christy Mathewson
Warren Spahn
Cy Young
BULLPEN, IN REVERSE ORDER
Hoyt Wilhelm
Rich Gossage
Rollie Fingers
Dennis Eckersley
Mariano Rivera
EXPANDED ROSTER
C: Roy Campanella
1B: Albert Pujols
2B: Joe Morgan
3B: Brooks Robinson
SS: Derek Jeter
LF: Rickey Henderson
CF: Joe DiMaggio
RF: Roberto Clemente
SP: Lefty Grove
SP: Greg Maddux
SP: Randy Johnson
RP: Lee Smith
RP: Trevor Hoffman
RP: Bruce Sutter
RP: Dan Quisenberry
Thank you, national pastime, for such a long and profound legacy.
October 21, 2019
August 19, 2019
The Baseball Video Games of 1994
I noticed since childhood, probably by three years after, that there were so many baseball video games made in 1994, along with the American League-licensed movies Little Big League, Angels in the Outfield, and -- as I didn't learn until much later -- Major League II.
As for the video games, here are the ones for the consoles and a quick write-up for my memories of each.
MLB & MLBPA LICENSE
World Series Baseball (Sega, Genesis) - Can't relate anything about this game at all because I didn't have a Genesis in my elementary school years.
MLB LICENSE, BUT NO MLBPA LICENSE
Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball (Nintendo, Super NES) - For a while, the only baseball game we owned. My perception of the leagues and my first exposure to the new logos came from here. Editing player names was definitely a plus.
ESPN Baseball Tonight (Sony Imagesoft, Super NES) - Only rented this one a time or two, learning the name "I'll Never Be Your Beast of" Berman.
MLBPA LICENSE, BUT NO MLB LICENSE
MLBPA Baseball (EA Sports, Super NES & Genesis) - I liked the music, the scoreboard, and that team select menu. Hearing the Chop for the Cleveland team was a memorable moment. This was a rental for us.
Tecmo Super Baseball (Tecmo, Super NES & Genesis) - Finally, a game that had the National stars in red and the American stars in blue (I liked red and the NL better). The music was cool to me, and I liked how they handled shorter seasons by staggering games. A rental.
Super Bases Loaded 3 (Jaleco, Super NES) - It had its own thing, but I guess I preferred SBL2 because of its presentation. A rental.
HardBall III (Accolade, Super NES) - By the time I rented this one, it was late enough for me to buy New York and make them Tampa Bay because Boggs was there.
RBI Baseball '94 (Tengen, Genesis) - Again, no Genesis.
NEITHER MLB NOR MLBPA LICENSE
Super Bases Loaded 2 (Jaleco, Super NES) - The numbers on the backs of jerseys, the unique camera, and the edit teams made this a frequent rental and eventually a title I owned.
Sports Illustrated Championship Football & Baseball (Malibu Games, Super NES) - Rented it one time. I remember one of the football players' names was C.Schultz and that the baseball players had no names. That's about it.
Relief Pitcher (Tengen, Super NES) - I don't even remember seeing it on video store shelves. A compilation video many years later is where I learned it existed.
Super Baseball 2020 (Electronic Arts, Genesis) - The SNES port from '93 was a 21st-century pickup for me. By then, the controller was out of whack.
TO CONCLUDE
The baseball video game market really picked up. Was some of it because both sides were expecting a strike? Was it part of the cause of the strike? Or were this wave of baseball video games and the real-life players' strike just coincidental?
Whatever the case, 1994 gave us all of these baseball video games and several more.
As for the video games, here are the ones for the consoles and a quick write-up for my memories of each.
MLB & MLBPA LICENSE
World Series Baseball (Sega, Genesis) - Can't relate anything about this game at all because I didn't have a Genesis in my elementary school years.
MLB LICENSE, BUT NO MLBPA LICENSE
Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball (Nintendo, Super NES) - For a while, the only baseball game we owned. My perception of the leagues and my first exposure to the new logos came from here. Editing player names was definitely a plus.
ESPN Baseball Tonight (Sony Imagesoft, Super NES) - Only rented this one a time or two, learning the name "I'll Never Be Your Beast of" Berman.
MLBPA LICENSE, BUT NO MLB LICENSE
MLBPA Baseball (EA Sports, Super NES & Genesis) - I liked the music, the scoreboard, and that team select menu. Hearing the Chop for the Cleveland team was a memorable moment. This was a rental for us.
Tecmo Super Baseball (Tecmo, Super NES & Genesis) - Finally, a game that had the National stars in red and the American stars in blue (I liked red and the NL better). The music was cool to me, and I liked how they handled shorter seasons by staggering games. A rental.
Super Bases Loaded 3 (Jaleco, Super NES) - It had its own thing, but I guess I preferred SBL2 because of its presentation. A rental.
HardBall III (Accolade, Super NES) - By the time I rented this one, it was late enough for me to buy New York and make them Tampa Bay because Boggs was there.
RBI Baseball '94 (Tengen, Genesis) - Again, no Genesis.
NEITHER MLB NOR MLBPA LICENSE
Super Bases Loaded 2 (Jaleco, Super NES) - The numbers on the backs of jerseys, the unique camera, and the edit teams made this a frequent rental and eventually a title I owned.
Sports Illustrated Championship Football & Baseball (Malibu Games, Super NES) - Rented it one time. I remember one of the football players' names was C.Schultz and that the baseball players had no names. That's about it.
Relief Pitcher (Tengen, Super NES) - I don't even remember seeing it on video store shelves. A compilation video many years later is where I learned it existed.
Super Baseball 2020 (Electronic Arts, Genesis) - The SNES port from '93 was a 21st-century pickup for me. By then, the controller was out of whack.
TO CONCLUDE
The baseball video game market really picked up. Was some of it because both sides were expecting a strike? Was it part of the cause of the strike? Or were this wave of baseball video games and the real-life players' strike just coincidental?
Whatever the case, 1994 gave us all of these baseball video games and several more.
Celebrating 90 Years of Arcade Baseball
The All-American Automatic Base Ball game was first shown to the public in 1929. The machine gave the player a lever to control the bat, which may have been the predecessor of pinball's flipper. It kept track of balls, strikes, outs, and runners. It counted called strikes and foul strikes. It had the pitcher pitch both balls and strikes, and it positioned an umpire behind him to signal the call with his arms.
The names of some period players were used. Before the advent of the All-Star Game, these teams were made up of players from a mixture of the two leagues.
The mechanical baseball game was shown in a 1929 issue of Popular Mechanics and written about in a 1930 issue of the coin-op magazine Automatic Age. A new version for 1931 was advertised in Automatic Age.
George Miner filed his patent for the apparatus near the beginning of 1932, and it was granted near the end of 1936. Unfortunately, Miner had died in a plane crash a year before.
The game lived on and became Rock-ola's 1937 World Series. By then a few other bat games had been made, but this one is the father of all arcade baseball.
Flippers were introduced for pinball in 1947, an innovation that changed the coin-op game business for the better. In what might not be a coincidence, Williams made its first of many baseball machines that year, a line that ended with that Slug-Fest machine I enjoyed at an Outer Banks boardwalk in the '90s.
LINKS TO VIDEOS
A restored version of the 1929 game being shown off
A quick look at the 1937 arcade machine
Fifteen-minute video, the first six minutes being the 1937 game in action (the same channel also has part 2 of the technical descriptions and a 40-minute video on how it differs from an earlier model)
EDIT 10/21/19: Added two words that were missing. Also, removed one parenthetical aside.
July 8, 2019
MLB 150 Teams
The All-Star Game is coming up, and for years I was visualizing ways to celebrate the 50th anniversary of MLB's 100th Anniversary celebration, or the 25th of its 125th Anniversary celebration. I envisioned something for this year akin to the Franchise Fours and All-Century Team ceremonies. It doesn't look as if there'll even be an all-time team for this occasion, much less what I've come up with here.
Some of these decisions can invite passionate debate. They weren't easy. I'd better be good and ready to defend these.
TEAMS OF THE HALF CENTURIES
First Half Century (1869-1918)
P: Christy Mathewson
C: Roger Bresnahan
1B: Cap Anson
2B: Nap Lajoie
3B: Frank Baker
SS: Honus Wagner
LF: Jesse Burkett
CF: Ty Cobb
RF: Willie Keeler
Second Half Century (1919-1968)
P: Warren Spahn
C: Yogi Berra
1B: Lou Gehrig
2B: Jackie Robinson
3B: Eddie Mathews
SS: Ernie Banks
LF: Ted Williams
CF: Joe DiMaggio
RF: Babe Ruth
Third Half Century (1969-2018)
P: Greg Maddux
C: Johnny Bench
1B: Eddie Murray
2B: Joe Morgan
3B: Mike Schmidt
SS: Cal Ripken Jr.
LF: Barry Bonds
CF: Ken Griffey Jr.
RF: Reggie Jackson
Now, the decade teams. Players can appear on only one each. Some selections were made for the sake of having particular legends (Alexander over Herb Pennock, Ward over Jack Glasscock). When it comes to outfielders, I make distinctions between the three individual positions and select accordingly.
Feel free to see in your mind's eye how these teams would be shown with period presentation and music.
TEAMS OF THE DECADES
1870s: Al Spalding, Deacon White, Cap Anson, Ross Barnes, Levi Meyerle, George Wright, Jim O'Rourke, Paul Hines, Orator Shafer
1880s: Tim Keefe, Buck Ewing, Dan Brouthers, Bid McPhee, Ned Williamson, John Ward, Harry Stovey, Pete Browning, King Kelly
1890s: Cy Young, Deacon McGuire, Jake Beckley, Cupid Childs, John McGraw, Hughie Jennings, Ed Delahanty, Billy Hamilton, Willie Keeler
1900s: Christy Mathewson, Roger Bresnahan, Frank Chance, Nap Lajoie, Jimmy Collins, Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford
1910s: Walter Johnson, Ray Schalk, Jake Daubert, Eddie Collins, Home Run Baker, Buck Weaver, Sherry Magee, Tris Speaker, Joe Jackson
1920s: Pete Alexander, Mickey Cochrane, Jim Bottomley, Rogers Hornsby, Joe Dugan, Joe Sewell, Zack Wheat, Hack Wilson, Babe Ruth
1930s: Lefty Grove, Bill Dickey, Lou Gehrig, Charlie Gehringer, Pie Traynor, Arky Vaughan, Joe Medwick, Lloyd Waner, Mel Ott
1940s: Bob Feller, Walker Cooper, Johnny Mize, Bobby Doerr, Bob Elliott, Lou Boudreau, Ralph Kiner, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial
1950s: Warren Spahn, Yogi Berra, Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson, Eddie Mathews, Ernie Banks, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron
1960s: Sandy Koufax, Joe Torre, Harmon Killebrew, Pete Rose, Ron Santo, Maury Wills, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente
1970s: Tom Seaver, Johnny Bench, Willie Stargell, Joe Morgan, Mike Schmidt, Dave Concepcion, Lou Brock, Cesar Cedeno, Reggie Jackson
1980s: Fernando Valenzuela, Gary Carter, Eddie Murray, Ryne Sandberg, George Brett, Cal Ripken Jr., Rickey Henderson, Robin Yount, Dale Murphy
1990s: Greg Maddux, Mike Piazza, Frank Thomas, Craig Biggio, Matt Williams, Barry Larkin, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Juan Gonzalez
2000s: Randy Johnson, Joe Mauer, Albert Pujols, Chase Utley, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez, Jim Edmonds, Ichiro Suzuki
2010s: Clayton Kershaw, Buster Posey, Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Adrian Beltre, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Braun, Mike Trout, Ben Zobrist
INSPIRATION FOR THESE LISTS: Sports Illustrated's The Baseball Book all-time team and all-decade teams (2006); The Sporting News Selects Baseball's 100 Greatest Players decade teams (1998); Street & Smith's Baseball "Team of the Century" (1998); New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract decade teams and position rankings (2001); BWAA all-time teams of 1969 and 1997; Sports Illustrated's Baseball's Greatest (2013); ESPN Hall of 100 (2012); SABR top 100 (1999); Athlon Sports Baseball's "All-Century Team...So Far" (2019); and other sources
Some of these decisions can invite passionate debate. They weren't easy. I'd better be good and ready to defend these.
TEAMS OF THE HALF CENTURIES
First Half Century (1869-1918)
P: Christy Mathewson
C: Roger Bresnahan
1B: Cap Anson
2B: Nap Lajoie
3B: Frank Baker
SS: Honus Wagner
LF: Jesse Burkett
CF: Ty Cobb
RF: Willie Keeler
Second Half Century (1919-1968)
P: Warren Spahn
C: Yogi Berra
1B: Lou Gehrig
2B: Jackie Robinson
3B: Eddie Mathews
SS: Ernie Banks
LF: Ted Williams
CF: Joe DiMaggio
RF: Babe Ruth
Third Half Century (1969-2018)
P: Greg Maddux
C: Johnny Bench
1B: Eddie Murray
2B: Joe Morgan
3B: Mike Schmidt
SS: Cal Ripken Jr.
LF: Barry Bonds
CF: Ken Griffey Jr.
RF: Reggie Jackson
Now, the decade teams. Players can appear on only one each. Some selections were made for the sake of having particular legends (Alexander over Herb Pennock, Ward over Jack Glasscock). When it comes to outfielders, I make distinctions between the three individual positions and select accordingly.
Feel free to see in your mind's eye how these teams would be shown with period presentation and music.
TEAMS OF THE DECADES
1870s: Al Spalding, Deacon White, Cap Anson, Ross Barnes, Levi Meyerle, George Wright, Jim O'Rourke, Paul Hines, Orator Shafer
1880s: Tim Keefe, Buck Ewing, Dan Brouthers, Bid McPhee, Ned Williamson, John Ward, Harry Stovey, Pete Browning, King Kelly
1890s: Cy Young, Deacon McGuire, Jake Beckley, Cupid Childs, John McGraw, Hughie Jennings, Ed Delahanty, Billy Hamilton, Willie Keeler
1900s: Christy Mathewson, Roger Bresnahan, Frank Chance, Nap Lajoie, Jimmy Collins, Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford
1910s: Walter Johnson, Ray Schalk, Jake Daubert, Eddie Collins, Home Run Baker, Buck Weaver, Sherry Magee, Tris Speaker, Joe Jackson
1920s: Pete Alexander, Mickey Cochrane, Jim Bottomley, Rogers Hornsby, Joe Dugan, Joe Sewell, Zack Wheat, Hack Wilson, Babe Ruth
1930s: Lefty Grove, Bill Dickey, Lou Gehrig, Charlie Gehringer, Pie Traynor, Arky Vaughan, Joe Medwick, Lloyd Waner, Mel Ott
1940s: Bob Feller, Walker Cooper, Johnny Mize, Bobby Doerr, Bob Elliott, Lou Boudreau, Ralph Kiner, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial
1950s: Warren Spahn, Yogi Berra, Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson, Eddie Mathews, Ernie Banks, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron
1960s: Sandy Koufax, Joe Torre, Harmon Killebrew, Pete Rose, Ron Santo, Maury Wills, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente
1970s: Tom Seaver, Johnny Bench, Willie Stargell, Joe Morgan, Mike Schmidt, Dave Concepcion, Lou Brock, Cesar Cedeno, Reggie Jackson
1980s: Fernando Valenzuela, Gary Carter, Eddie Murray, Ryne Sandberg, George Brett, Cal Ripken Jr., Rickey Henderson, Robin Yount, Dale Murphy
1990s: Greg Maddux, Mike Piazza, Frank Thomas, Craig Biggio, Matt Williams, Barry Larkin, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Juan Gonzalez
2000s: Randy Johnson, Joe Mauer, Albert Pujols, Chase Utley, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez, Jim Edmonds, Ichiro Suzuki
2010s: Clayton Kershaw, Buster Posey, Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Adrian Beltre, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Braun, Mike Trout, Ben Zobrist
INSPIRATION FOR THESE LISTS: Sports Illustrated's The Baseball Book all-time team and all-decade teams (2006); The Sporting News Selects Baseball's 100 Greatest Players decade teams (1998); Street & Smith's Baseball "Team of the Century" (1998); New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract decade teams and position rankings (2001); BWAA all-time teams of 1969 and 1997; Sports Illustrated's Baseball's Greatest (2013); ESPN Hall of 100 (2012); SABR top 100 (1999); Athlon Sports Baseball's "All-Century Team...So Far" (2019); and other sources
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