Who Are Your All-Time Starting Nine (Baseball)?

Since the MLB is entering the postseason, I thought a baseball thread would be fitting.

So, who would make your all-time starting lineup?

P: Walter Johnson/Satchel Pagie (Can't makeup my mind)
C: Johnny Bench
1B: Jimmie Foxx (Thought about Gehrig, but Foxx doesn't get the love he deserves. If he stays away from the drink, he might have caught Ruth)
2B: Jackie Robinson (Thought about Jeff Kent, but he called the D-Backs, my team, "a bunch of assholes" back in '99)
3B: Mike Schmidt
SS: Honus Wagner
OF: Ty Cobb (Greatest ever)
OF: Willie Mays
OF: Babe Ruth

P: Pedro Martinez - what he did in this era of offense is better than any pitcher ever. Post-season he's great as well. These are facts. (I'm not a fan, but just trying to "win" with the best 9. Runner up = Lefty Grove.
C: Johnny Bench - hard to argue this.
1B: Columbia Lou, with a nod to Foxx.
2B: Honus Wagner - it's not even close.
3B: Mike Schmidt - possibly greatest player ever, though few would think of him that way. His production relative to era is mind-boggling.
SS: Alex Rodriguez
OF: Ty Cobb
OF: Willie Mays (hard to argue any of these three)
OF: Babe Ruth


These lists are always fun.

Since I'm more a team fan - I'd go with the 83' Orioles or my personal favorite the 89 Orioles. Plus I'd put Brooks Robinson in there at third base. And probably have Bo Jackson pinch hit.

But both line-ups above I would have no disagreement with any of them.

The 1976 0r 1977 Cincinati Reds works for me. The BIg Red Machine !

RHP- Walter Johnson
LHP- Lefty Grove
Relief- Mariano Rivera

Catcher- Josh Gibson (I have no doubt about this one)
1b- Lou Gehrig
2b- Eddie Collins (Joe Morgan was better at his peak, but Collins sustained it longer)
ss- Honus Wagner (I can't visualize what A-Rod's career might have looked like without 'roids, unlike Bonds- see below).
3b- Mike Schmidt
Rf- Babe Ruth
Cf-Willie Mays (when Mantle was healthy and sober I might have picked him, but...)
Lf- Barry Bonds (he would have deserved this even without steroids IMO. Don't ask me to defend him further though cause I don't like him either!)
DH-Ted Williams

this isn't the best clubhouse atmosphere even without Cobb. For chemistry I might boot Bonds and Williams and add Hank Aaron and Stan Musial. The Babe could be a pain in the ass, but I'd take my chances with him anyway.

Quote :

I'd go with the 83' Orioles

Bro!! My favorite team as well.

Eddie! Eddie!

Man, the glory days were so long ago.

LHP-Sandy Koufax (props to a fellow South-Paw)
RHP-Grag Maddux
Relief-Mariano Rivera

1b-Lou Gherig
2b-Rogers Hornsby
3b-Chipper Jones
SS-Alex Rodriguez (even if I can't stand the Yankees).
LF-Carl Yazstremski
CF-Willy Mays
RF-Roberto Clemente
C-Yogi Berra
DH-Paul Molitor (I had a hard time with this one).

Manager-Sparky Anderson (Another hard decision).

This shall be fun...

Pitchers...Pedro Martinez, Steve Carlton, Mariano Rivera

1B - Albert Puljos (This man wouldve been a beast in any era of baseball)
2B - Chase Utley (My fav player and will go down as one of the best offensive second baseman ever)
3B - Mike Schmidt - No need to say why
SS - A-Rod (One of the games best)
OF - Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Willie Mays
C - Yogi Berra
PH - Pete Rose

Nice call on Ted Williams & Pete Rose, I had a hard time leaving them out believe you me.

Starting pitchers: Warren Spahn & Walter Johnson
Reliever: Mariano Rivera
Catcher: Carlton Fisk
First Base: Lou Gherig
2nd Base: Jackie Robinson
Shortstop: Ozzie Smith
3rd Base: Brooks Robinson
Right Field: Hank Aaron
Left Fielder: Ted Williams
Center Fielder: Willie Mays

DH: Babe Ruth

Summary: I think for a starting pitcher, one needs to name at least one lefty and one righty, and the two mentioned are probably considered the greatest of all time. The same goes for Mariano Rivera in the pen. His stats in the post season speak for themselves.

I think good defense within that of the infield (especially with the left side & the amount of ride handed hitters versus that of left handed hitters, and where players pull the ball) is vital, so that's why I went with Brooks Robinson over that of Mike Schmidt, or Ozzie Smith over that of Alex Rodriguez.

Regarding the outfield, I think Ty Cobb would be a horrible selection, because he would simply be a cancer in the clubhouse. He played in an era where there were no blacks in baseball, and he was a racist. I doubt that he could've co-existed with the likes of Aaron in the outfield. Right field was probably the most difficult to pick, because I think that Aaron and Clemente could be interchangeable. Aaron was no slouch on defense, but Clemente was the better defensive player.

Best player on this team: Undoubtedly the Splendid splinter. The numbers he amassed were amazing, even with the 5 years he lost to being a fighter pilot in WWII and the Korean War. Had he not missed those 5 years, the record books would be looking a whole lot different right now. One could conceivably add another 900-1000 hits to his hit total, 150 more HR's, and another 400-500 RBI's. I think he would undoubtedly be considered the best player to have played the game.

Batting order:

2B Jackie Robinson
RF Hank Aaron
LF Ted Williams
DH Babe Ruth
1B Lou Gherig
CF Willie Mays
3B Brooks Robinson
SS Ozzie Smith
C Carlton Fisk

Manager: Joe McCarthy
Bench Coaches: John McGraw & Joe Torre

MetalRob331 wrote:

This shall be fun...

Pitchers...Pedro Martinez, Steve Carlton, Mariano Rivera

1B - Albert Puljos (This man wouldve been a beast in any era of baseball)
2B - Chase Utley (My fav player and will go down as one of the best offensive second baseman ever)
3B - Mike Schmidt - No need to say why
SS - A-Rod (One of the games best)
OF - Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Willie Mays
C - Yogi Berra
PH - Pete Rose

I would agree with most of those. I would probably take out A-Rod and put in Ozzie and put Bench in for Berra.

P: Fernando Valenzuela
C: Yogi Berra
1B: Pete Rose
2B: Ryne Sandberg
3B: Cal Ripken, Jr.
SS: Rafael Ramirez
OF: Ty Cobb
OF: Joe DiMaggio
OF: Babe Ruth

Difficult because most of my all time favorite players are either pitchers or outfielders (and most of my fav. outfielders played right field). Also I haven't followed baseball since around '94 (had to consult my baseball cards collection to remember some of the positions and wikipedia because most of the cards just said outfielder but not which outfield position):

P: Nolan Ryan
C: Carlton Fisk
1B: Don Mattingly
2B: Ryne Sandberg
3B: Robin Ventura
SS: Ozzie Smith
LF: Ricky Henderson
CF: Brett Butler
RF: Ruben Sierra

I'd do better with a list of favorite hitters or pitchers because I payed more attention to pitching and hitting at the time.

P: Sandy Koufax
C: Roy Campanella
1B: Gil Hodges
2B: Jackie Robinson
3B: Jim Gilliam
SS: Pee Wee Reese
CF: Duke Snider
RF: Zack Wheat
LF: Willie Davies

Can you tell I love the Dodgers?