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.
