Infield: First baseman Roger Connor (1880-1897) isn’t a household name, but he was one hell of a hitter. Batted .317 for his career, and he held the career record for home runs (138) before Mr. Ruth surpassed and obliterated it. Third baseman Ron Cey (1971-87) was often overshadowed by his Dodgers teammates, but he was as good as any of them. He hit 316 home runs, drove in 1,139 runs and was a solid defensive player despite the stubby little legs that earned him the nickname “Penguin.” Ray Chapman (1912-20) quite likely would have made the Hall of Fame if he hadn’t been killed by a fastball to the temple at age 29. (His death had a profound impact on the game – it led to a stricter ban on spitballs and other “doctored” pitches, as well as the practice of keeping clean, white baseballs in the game, helping to usher in the “lively ball” era.) Second baseman Rod Carew (1967-85) won seven batting titles and finished with 3,053 hits and a career average of .328. He was a methodical, consistent player who took his job seriously and put up his numbers every year.
Outfield: Right fielder Roberto Clemente (1955-72) was an electrifying player who won four batting titles, 10 Gold Gloves and an MVP. He helped open the door to future generations of Latin American players, to whom he was godlike. He had perhaps the most famous outfield arm in baseball history, and his performance in October 1971 is on the short list of the great World Series performances of all time. Clemente was highly respected, though he could be vain and tempermental, and he played the game with fire. He died a hero’s death - in a New Year's Eve plane crash while running supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua, which he was handling personally to combat smugglers and black marketeers. He finished his career with exactly 3,000 hits. He had his waiting period for the Hall of Fame waived, and baseball named one of its most prestigious awards after him (the one given annually to the player who does the most to help his community). Left fielder Rocky Colavito (1955-68) was really a right fielder, but he moves across the pasture to make room for Clemente. His arm was just as strong, but maybe not quite as deadly accurate. Colavito blasted 374 home runs and drove in 100 runs a half-dozen times. Center fielder Roy Cullenbine (1938-47) is the most anonymous player in this starting lineup, but he’ll bat leadoff and score an insane number of runs. He was a .276 hitter who drew enough walks to push his on-base percentage over .400.
Catcher: Roy Campanella (1948-57) was a prodigious slugger who won three MVP awards, had a cannon arm behind the plate and was a beloved team leader on the “Boys of Summer” Brooklyn Dodgers. He was paralyzed in a car accident and never played with the team after its move to L.A., but he remained a familiar presence until his death in 1993.
Rotation: Roger Clemens (1984-2007) is one of the great pitchers of all time – a 354-184 record, 4,672 strikeouts, seven Cy Young Awards and an MVP. He pissed a lot of people off and never seemed too worried about that fact. He came up with the Red Sox and starred for many years, but when the team decided that he had run out of gas he left on a mission - he went out and won the next to Cy Young Awards (with Toronto) just to spite the folks in Boston who had written him off. He went on to win two more Cy Youngs, one with the Yankees and one with the Astros. He was as tough a competitor as there ever was on the mound. Accusations of steroid use arose after he retired. He has adamantly denied it; very few people believe him, but he is going to court to protest his innocence. Rip Collins (1920-31) was a fine pitcher who won 108 games, then retired to a career in law enforcement (in addition to sheriff and police chief, he was one of the few major leaguers who was a true Texas Ranger). Ray Caldwell (1910-21) won 133 games, most of them for the Yankees in the teens, though he was also a 20-game winner on the Cleveland Indians championship team in 1920. Roger Craig (1955-66) was a good pitcher who had the unfortunate role of staff ace on the expansion Mets, for whom he went 15-46 in two years. As a manager and pitching coach, he helped popularize the split-fingered fastball. Ray Culp (1963-73) won 122 games, including six seasons between 14-17 victories.
Bullpen: Here is the Achilles’ heel on an otherwise fabulous team. The closer is Rick Camp (1976-85), a decent but hardly dominant reliever who won 56 games and saved 57 for the Braves. Reggie Cleveland (1969-81) was a durable righty who spent half his career as a starter and won 105 games. Rickey Clark (1966-72) was a swingman who had a good rookie year at age 21 but did not develop into anything special. Red Causey (1918-22) bounced around the National League and won 39 games. Rheal Cormier (1991-2007) was a pretty decent lefty who hung around until he was 40, as pretty decent lefty relievers tend to do. Russ Christopher (1942-48) was a good righty for the Phillies. Ralph Citarella (1983-87) did some OK work out of the Cardinals’ bullpen. Not a terrible bullpen, but not exactly a well-defined one either.
Bench: Second baseman Robinson Cano (2005- ) is a .300 hitter with good power and is just entering the prime of his career. Outfielder Rico “Beeg Mon” Carty (1963-79) was a terrific hitter whose knees betrayed him, and a colorful character whose spirit never let him down. He batted .299 with 200 home runs, and if we were using the DH, he would be playing a whole lot here. Royce Clayton (1991-2007) was never a star, but what the hell, he finished his career with 935 runs, 110 homers and 231 steals, so he can find work as a backup shortstop. Ripper Collins (1931-41) was a switch-hitting slugger and one of the hard-partying members of the Gas House Gang. He and Carty will be monstrous pinch-hitters and will keep the bench lively. Rick Cerone (1975-92) had the unfortunate task of taking over (the following season) as Yankees catcher after Thurman Munson’s plane went down, and he responded admirably with the best year of his career.
Manager: Red Corriden Sr. was a little pepperpot who finished out the dismal 1950 season as interim manager of the White Sox after Jack Onslow was fired. We’re guessing he’ll have better luck with the talent on this roster.
Outfield: Right fielder Roberto Clemente (1955-72) was an electrifying player who won four batting titles, 10 Gold Gloves and an MVP. He helped open the door to future generations of Latin American players, to whom he was godlike. He had perhaps the most famous outfield arm in baseball history, and his performance in October 1971 is on the short list of the great World Series performances of all time. Clemente was highly respected, though he could be vain and tempermental, and he played the game with fire. He died a hero’s death - in a New Year's Eve plane crash while running supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua, which he was handling personally to combat smugglers and black marketeers. He finished his career with exactly 3,000 hits. He had his waiting period for the Hall of Fame waived, and baseball named one of its most prestigious awards after him (the one given annually to the player who does the most to help his community). Left fielder Rocky Colavito (1955-68) was really a right fielder, but he moves across the pasture to make room for Clemente. His arm was just as strong, but maybe not quite as deadly accurate. Colavito blasted 374 home runs and drove in 100 runs a half-dozen times. Center fielder Roy Cullenbine (1938-47) is the most anonymous player in this starting lineup, but he’ll bat leadoff and score an insane number of runs. He was a .276 hitter who drew enough walks to push his on-base percentage over .400.
Catcher: Roy Campanella (1948-57) was a prodigious slugger who won three MVP awards, had a cannon arm behind the plate and was a beloved team leader on the “Boys of Summer” Brooklyn Dodgers. He was paralyzed in a car accident and never played with the team after its move to L.A., but he remained a familiar presence until his death in 1993.
Rotation: Roger Clemens (1984-2007) is one of the great pitchers of all time – a 354-184 record, 4,672 strikeouts, seven Cy Young Awards and an MVP. He pissed a lot of people off and never seemed too worried about that fact. He came up with the Red Sox and starred for many years, but when the team decided that he had run out of gas he left on a mission - he went out and won the next to Cy Young Awards (with Toronto) just to spite the folks in Boston who had written him off. He went on to win two more Cy Youngs, one with the Yankees and one with the Astros. He was as tough a competitor as there ever was on the mound. Accusations of steroid use arose after he retired. He has adamantly denied it; very few people believe him, but he is going to court to protest his innocence. Rip Collins (1920-31) was a fine pitcher who won 108 games, then retired to a career in law enforcement (in addition to sheriff and police chief, he was one of the few major leaguers who was a true Texas Ranger). Ray Caldwell (1910-21) won 133 games, most of them for the Yankees in the teens, though he was also a 20-game winner on the Cleveland Indians championship team in 1920. Roger Craig (1955-66) was a good pitcher who had the unfortunate role of staff ace on the expansion Mets, for whom he went 15-46 in two years. As a manager and pitching coach, he helped popularize the split-fingered fastball. Ray Culp (1963-73) won 122 games, including six seasons between 14-17 victories.
Bullpen: Here is the Achilles’ heel on an otherwise fabulous team. The closer is Rick Camp (1976-85), a decent but hardly dominant reliever who won 56 games and saved 57 for the Braves. Reggie Cleveland (1969-81) was a durable righty who spent half his career as a starter and won 105 games. Rickey Clark (1966-72) was a swingman who had a good rookie year at age 21 but did not develop into anything special. Red Causey (1918-22) bounced around the National League and won 39 games. Rheal Cormier (1991-2007) was a pretty decent lefty who hung around until he was 40, as pretty decent lefty relievers tend to do. Russ Christopher (1942-48) was a good righty for the Phillies. Ralph Citarella (1983-87) did some OK work out of the Cardinals’ bullpen. Not a terrible bullpen, but not exactly a well-defined one either.
Bench: Second baseman Robinson Cano (2005- ) is a .300 hitter with good power and is just entering the prime of his career. Outfielder Rico “Beeg Mon” Carty (1963-79) was a terrific hitter whose knees betrayed him, and a colorful character whose spirit never let him down. He batted .299 with 200 home runs, and if we were using the DH, he would be playing a whole lot here. Royce Clayton (1991-2007) was never a star, but what the hell, he finished his career with 935 runs, 110 homers and 231 steals, so he can find work as a backup shortstop. Ripper Collins (1931-41) was a switch-hitting slugger and one of the hard-partying members of the Gas House Gang. He and Carty will be monstrous pinch-hitters and will keep the bench lively. Rick Cerone (1975-92) had the unfortunate task of taking over (the following season) as Yankees catcher after Thurman Munson’s plane went down, and he responded admirably with the best year of his career.
Manager: Red Corriden Sr. was a little pepperpot who finished out the dismal 1950 season as interim manager of the White Sox after Jack Onslow was fired. We’re guessing he’ll have better luck with the talent on this roster.
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