Infield: Third baseman Wade Boggs (1982-89) was an on-base machine. Over his first seven years in the majors he batted .356 and drew enough walks to push his on-base average to .445. He was good for 40-50 doubles a year, too, so he scored a ton of runs. He won five batting titles and finished his career with 3,011 hits, a .328 batting average, a .415 on-base, and 578 doubles. He was a fine defensive third baseman and won two Gold Gloves. Boggs was a perfectionist and could be cantankerous; he had a superstition about eating chicken before every game, and he created an uproar at mid-career when it came out that he had a "second wife" who frequently traveled with him on road trips (unbeknownst to his actual wife). Finally won a World Series title with the Yankees at age 38 and celebrated by riding a police officer's horse all around the field. Second baseman Wally Backman (1980-93) could get on base, too. Not like Boggs, mind you, but he knew his way around the basepaths. Backman was a scrapper - he hit for a decent average, drew a few walks, bunted well, and was an aggressive baserunner. First baseman Walt Bond (1960-67) was a great "what if" guy - a 6-foot-7 slugger who moved well enough, but he played in bad parks for hitters, got injured and then, for good measure, died of leukemia before he turned 30. Bond was never destined to be a Hall of Famer, but he could have been a pretty good hitter if the fates had been kinder to him. Shortstop Walter Barbare (1914-22) was a weak hitter with a good glove who played all around the infield.
Outfield: Center fielder Wally Berger (1930-40) was a .300 hitter with good power. He hit 242 home runs in his career, and playing for Boston in 1939 he led the NL in home runs (34) and RBI (130). Berger played good defense and was an underrated player, in large part because he spent his prime years with bad teams. Right fielder Willard Brown was a great power hitter in the Negro Leagues but was never really given a chance in his brief flirtation with the majors (though he was the first black player to hit a home run in the American League, in 1947 with the St. Louis Browns). Willard Brown swung a big, heavy bat and was a tremendous slugger. He was eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The fact that Willie Bloomquist (2002- ), a bad utility player, starts in left field tells you all that you need to know about the WB's depth.
Catcher: Walter Blair (1907-15) was nicknamed "Heavy." It wasn't because of his size (6-foot, 185) and it wasn't because he was a heavy hitter (.217 with no power). We don't have any explanations.
Rotation: Wally Bunker (1963-71) was a solid enough starting pitcher for the Orioles and the Royals. He won 19 games for the Orioles at age 19, with a 2.69 ERA, but he proved Bill James' maxim about not trusting young pitchers who win a lot of games with low strikeout totals. Bunker pitched 214 innings, pitched very well, but only struck out 96. Sure enough, he was never that good again, and he was done long before he turned 30. William Bell was a right-handed pitcher who was a very fine starter in the Negro Leagues. He was a key contributor to two championship teams with the Kansas City Monarchs. Willie Blair (1980-91) pitched for eight teams in 12 years. He went 16-8 for the Tigers in 1997, but that was an anomaly; for the rest of his career his record was 42-72. Wade Blasingame (1963-72) wasn't very good, but he was quite a fashion plate (according to teammate Jim Bouton in "Ball Four"). Willie Banks (1991-2002) was a high draft pick who never panned out.
Bullpen: Warren Brusstar (1977-85) kept the ball low and had a good career, mostly with the Phillies. Win Ballou (1925-29) didn't pitch all that well, but he has a great name for a pitcher (full name: Noble Winfred Ballou). Walter Brown (1947) pitched OK - for one year, for the Browns, during World War II, at age 32. William Brennan (1988-93) was not the same guy as the Supreme Court Justice, but they probably pitched about the same. Will Brunson (1998-99) is here because every bullpen needs an ineffective lefty, right? Walter Beall (1924-29) did nothing memorable but was good enough to earn a spot in this bullpen and to get his share of spot starts as well. Walter Bernhardt (1918) faced two batters in his career. Got both of them out. One of them by strikeout. He was 25 years old. Go figure.
Bench: Wes Blogg (1883) is a backup catcher, a local boy from here in Norfolk, Va., and he can write a journal on the team's Web site. Wayne Belardi (1950-56) will see some time at first base when Walt Bond is feeling poorly. Wilson Betimit (2001- ) is a useful utility guy. Wladimir Balentien (2007- ) is a backup outfielder from The Netherlands. Walt Bashore (1936) can play outfield or third base, but probably won't.
Manager: The immortal Watch Burnham will run the dugout. He had a 6-22 record with Indianapolis in 1887.
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