Infield: On one side of the infield, you’ve got one of the most prodigious lefty sluggers and perhaps the best right-handed hitter of all-time. On the other side of the infield you’ve got two very functional hitters with mid-range power. Second baseman Rogers Hornsby (1915-37) wasn’t much with the glove, and he was apparently a consummate jackass, but oh my, could he hit. A .358 career batting average, with walks, with doubles, with home runs. At the dawn of the live ball era, he was just behind Ruth on the list of the best hitters in the game, and in the early 1920s he put up some of the greatest offensive numbers ever. Hornsby was arrogant, tempermental and mean, and as he bounced from team to team over the second half of his career, the teams he left often got better and the teams he joined often took steps backward. An unquestionably great hitter, but he comes with some baggage. At first base there’s Ryan Howard (2004- ), who between 2006-09 had 198 home runs, 572 RBI and 765 strikeouts. He is listed at 6-4 and 240 pounds, but he looks much bigger. Immobile on defense and slow on the bases, but he can still mash the ball. Third baseman Richie Hebner (1968-85) hit 15-20 home runs per year and finished with more than 200 in his career. He was a consistent hitter who did a lot of things right, and in the offseasons he worked as a gravedigger. How cool is that? Ron Hansen (1958-72) was a fine defensive shortstop who could hit 20 home runs in a good year, but his career was derailed by back problems. Playing for Washington on July 30, 1968, Hanson turned the first unassisted triple play in 41 years. Two days later, on Aug. 1 he hit a grand slam. On Aug. 2, the Senators traded him. OK, granted, he had struck out in the six previous at-bats before the grand slam, and he was hitting .185, but still …
Outfield: Center fielder Rickey Henderson (1979-2003) could be obnoxious and narcissistic at times, but he was never as toxic in the clubhouse as Hornsby was. Like Hornsby, he spent the second half of his career moving from one team to the next, but there was always the sense that he was helping each team that he moved to, and he was able to remain useful well into his 40s through intelligence and remarkable conditioning. Henderson, the greatest leadoff batter in history, will score a hell of a lot of runs batting in front of Rajah and Ryan Howard. (Hebner probably bats in the 2-hole and scored 120 runs.) Henderson scored more runs than anyone in history, and his career stolen base record (1,406) is going to be on the books for a while - if you took the top three active base stealers and added their career totals together, they are still well short of Rickey's record. He spent the first half of his career with the A's and the Yankees, and he was about as electrifying a player as you've ever seen. He never won a Gold Glove but he could have. Left fielder Richard Hidalgo (1999-2005) batted .314 for the Astros in 2000, with 42 doubles, 44 home runs, 118 runs and 122 RBI. Do that a few times and they send you to Cooperstown. Hidalgo had other good seasons but never came close to those numbers again. He finished his career with some fine numbers - 171 home runs and a .490 slugging percentage - but is mostly remembered for that one season hammering the ball. Right fielder Ralph Hodgin (1939-48) was a left-handed hitter without any power, but he’d get some singles.
Catcher: Ramon Hernandez (1999- ) has more than 150 career home runs and plays solid defense. He’s still adding to that home run total, still going strong in his mid-30s.
Rotation: Roy Halladay (1998- ) is one of the top pitchers of his generation and appears to be on his way to a Hall of Fame-caliber career. He's a workhorse who has won two Cy Young Awards and is moving toward 200 career victories. When he gets on a roll, he's almost unbeatable, and in 2010 he threw the second postseason no-hitter in history - against the Reds in the NLDS. Ray Herbert (1950-66) won 104 games, including a 20-win season for the White Sox in 1963. Rich Harden (2003- ) is a really, really good pitcher when he’s healthy, but that's not often. He strikes out a batter per inning, and his career record of 56-34 should be much better. Rick Honeycutt (1977-97) was a solid lefty who spent the first half of his career as a starter on bad teams and the second half of his career as a reliever on good teams. Rick Helling (1994-2006) won 20 games for Texas in 1998 and won 93 games in his career.
Bullpen: Roberto Hernandez (1991-2007) was a big ol’ workhorse who pitched in more than 1,000 games and saved more than 300 of them. There was never any one point when he seemed like the best closer in the game, but he had a pretty long run as a pretty good closer. Ramon Hernandez (1967-77), no relation to the catcher, was a really good lefty who spent most of his career with the Pirates. Ricky Horton (1984-90) was a useful lefty who spent most of his career with the Cardinals. Rich Hinton (1971-79) is another lefty, not as good as Hernandez or Horton. Ron Herbel (1963-71) was a decent righty for the Giants. Roy Henshaw (1933-44) was a lefty swingman and the only player in major league history with the middle name Knikelbine. Roric Harrison (1972-78) was a righty swingman and the only player in major league history with the first name Roric.
Bench: Super utility man Rex “The Wonder Dog” Hudler (1984-98) was a scrappy guy who would play anywhere you asked him and give it his all. He had some good years but was best suited to being a role player more than a starter. Rollicking Rollie Hemsley (1928-47) had a drinking problem (Bill James suggests that he "seemed to take Prohibition as a personal challenge") but he was a fine defensive catcher for a long time. Ron Hunt (1963-74) was a second baseman who never learned to hit the inside fastball, so he learned to let the inside fastball hit him. (Rimshot!) Hunt specialized in getting on base by crowding the plate and getting hit by pitches. Take away his hit-by-pitches, and it would cost him about 40 points in career on-base percentage. Roy Howell (1974-84) was a third baseman with some power. Roy Hughes (1935-46) will be Hornsby’s defensive sub.
Manager: Ralph Houk won more than 900 games, and his Yankees won the World Series in 1961 and ’62. He moved into the front office for a while and then back into the Yankees dugout, spending several years overseeing the franchise's doldrums. He later managed the Tigers and the Red Sox with some success. He was very much a "players' manager," and Tommy Lasorda said Houk was a major influence on his style. Houk was a decorated World War II hero who rose to the rank of major, and in the Yankees clubhouse that was always his nickname - The Major.
Outfield: Center fielder Rickey Henderson (1979-2003) could be obnoxious and narcissistic at times, but he was never as toxic in the clubhouse as Hornsby was. Like Hornsby, he spent the second half of his career moving from one team to the next, but there was always the sense that he was helping each team that he moved to, and he was able to remain useful well into his 40s through intelligence and remarkable conditioning. Henderson, the greatest leadoff batter in history, will score a hell of a lot of runs batting in front of Rajah and Ryan Howard. (Hebner probably bats in the 2-hole and scored 120 runs.) Henderson scored more runs than anyone in history, and his career stolen base record (1,406) is going to be on the books for a while - if you took the top three active base stealers and added their career totals together, they are still well short of Rickey's record. He spent the first half of his career with the A's and the Yankees, and he was about as electrifying a player as you've ever seen. He never won a Gold Glove but he could have. Left fielder Richard Hidalgo (1999-2005) batted .314 for the Astros in 2000, with 42 doubles, 44 home runs, 118 runs and 122 RBI. Do that a few times and they send you to Cooperstown. Hidalgo had other good seasons but never came close to those numbers again. He finished his career with some fine numbers - 171 home runs and a .490 slugging percentage - but is mostly remembered for that one season hammering the ball. Right fielder Ralph Hodgin (1939-48) was a left-handed hitter without any power, but he’d get some singles.
Catcher: Ramon Hernandez (1999- ) has more than 150 career home runs and plays solid defense. He’s still adding to that home run total, still going strong in his mid-30s.
Rotation: Roy Halladay (1998- ) is one of the top pitchers of his generation and appears to be on his way to a Hall of Fame-caliber career. He's a workhorse who has won two Cy Young Awards and is moving toward 200 career victories. When he gets on a roll, he's almost unbeatable, and in 2010 he threw the second postseason no-hitter in history - against the Reds in the NLDS. Ray Herbert (1950-66) won 104 games, including a 20-win season for the White Sox in 1963. Rich Harden (2003- ) is a really, really good pitcher when he’s healthy, but that's not often. He strikes out a batter per inning, and his career record of 56-34 should be much better. Rick Honeycutt (1977-97) was a solid lefty who spent the first half of his career as a starter on bad teams and the second half of his career as a reliever on good teams. Rick Helling (1994-2006) won 20 games for Texas in 1998 and won 93 games in his career.
Bullpen: Roberto Hernandez (1991-2007) was a big ol’ workhorse who pitched in more than 1,000 games and saved more than 300 of them. There was never any one point when he seemed like the best closer in the game, but he had a pretty long run as a pretty good closer. Ramon Hernandez (1967-77), no relation to the catcher, was a really good lefty who spent most of his career with the Pirates. Ricky Horton (1984-90) was a useful lefty who spent most of his career with the Cardinals. Rich Hinton (1971-79) is another lefty, not as good as Hernandez or Horton. Ron Herbel (1963-71) was a decent righty for the Giants. Roy Henshaw (1933-44) was a lefty swingman and the only player in major league history with the middle name Knikelbine. Roric Harrison (1972-78) was a righty swingman and the only player in major league history with the first name Roric.
Bench: Super utility man Rex “The Wonder Dog” Hudler (1984-98) was a scrappy guy who would play anywhere you asked him and give it his all. He had some good years but was best suited to being a role player more than a starter. Rollicking Rollie Hemsley (1928-47) had a drinking problem (Bill James suggests that he "seemed to take Prohibition as a personal challenge") but he was a fine defensive catcher for a long time. Ron Hunt (1963-74) was a second baseman who never learned to hit the inside fastball, so he learned to let the inside fastball hit him. (Rimshot!) Hunt specialized in getting on base by crowding the plate and getting hit by pitches. Take away his hit-by-pitches, and it would cost him about 40 points in career on-base percentage. Roy Howell (1974-84) was a third baseman with some power. Roy Hughes (1935-46) will be Hornsby’s defensive sub.
Manager: Ralph Houk won more than 900 games, and his Yankees won the World Series in 1961 and ’62. He moved into the front office for a while and then back into the Yankees dugout, spending several years overseeing the franchise's doldrums. He later managed the Tigers and the Red Sox with some success. He was very much a "players' manager," and Tommy Lasorda said Houk was a major influence on his style. Houk was a decorated World War II hero who rose to the rank of major, and in the Yankees clubhouse that was always his nickname - The Major.
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