Infield: Will (The Thrill) Clark (1986-2000) was one of the best hitters, and one of the toughest competitors, of his generation. He hit the ball often and hit it hard, played good defense. Playing in Candlestick Park (a very difficult place for hitters), and playing in the years before the big offensive boom of the 1990s, Clark was a career .303 hitter who would draw walks, bang out doubles, hit some home runs and drive in baserunners. In the 1989 NLCS, he batted .650 with eight runs and eight RBI in five games. He went out with a bang, too: In 2000, when Mark McGwire got hurt, the Cardinals signed the aging Clark, and he came in and batted .345 with power for the final third of the season, and for good measure, hit .412 in the NLCS. He retired after that season. Second baseman Wayne Causey (1955-68) was a solid player for the moribund K.C. A’s, batting .250-.260, walking more than he struck out and playing dependable defense. Third baseman Wid Conroy (1901-11) was a decent hitter who ran well. He was good for a lot of steals and a lot of triples. Wil Cordero (1992-2005) came up as a hard-hitting shortstop but didn’t field well enough to stick there and eventually moved to the outfield. On this team, we’ll take his 122 home runs, stick him at shortstop and live with his below-average defense.
Outfield: Wes Covington (1956-66) was never a star. Neither was Willie Crawford (1964-77), nor Warren Cromartie (1974-91). They weren’t stars, but they were all good players, and in their better years, very good players. Covington was a lefty slugger who often worked in a platoon role. In 1957-58, he hit a total of 48 home runs for the Braves despite playing in fewer than 100 games both years. If Crawford had played in a different context – other than a pitcher’s park in a pitcher’s era – he might have been a star. He hit for a decent average, had some power and played good defense. He played in the majors one week after his 18th birthday, and at 19 he was a bit player on the Dodgers' championship team of 1965. Cromartie was a good contact hitter with some line-drive pop, and his resume also includes seven years playing with Japan’s Yomiuri Giants, including one season in which he was the Central League MVP. With Covington in left, Crawford in center and Cromartie in right, this is a solid outfield.
Catcher: Walker Cooper (1940-57) was a very fine catcher who spent his best years with the Cardinals. He had some power (173 home runs), played good defense and batted .300 in 16 World Series games. Cooper was an eight-time all-star and had fine seasons for several teams, but he was best known for his tenure with the Cardinals, for whom he frequently caught his brother Mort. He played into his early 40s, retiring after his daughter married second baseman Don Blasingame because he said when your kids are old enough to marry your teammates, it's probably time to get out.
Rotation: Wilbur Cooper (1912-26) - no relation to Walker and Mort - is the winningest pitcher in the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Stump your friends with that one. He won 216 games in his career, including 202 for the Pirates, a team record that seems safe for the foreseeable future. Cooper won 20 four times and had a career ERA of 2.89. Watty Clark (1924-37) was a durable lefty who won 111 games, most of them for bad Brooklyn teams managed by Uncle Robby and the Perfessor. After that, well, the rotation loses steam. Will Calihan (1890-91) had a good year when he was 21, a bad year when he was 22 and then he was gone. Walter Clarkson (1904-08) won 18 games in his career, which is 310 fewer than his Hall of Fame brother John. Taiwanese lefty Wei-Yin Chen (2012- ) joined the Baltimore Orioles rotation in 2012 and immediately became one of the five best starting pitchers in history with the initials W.C. With a career record of 51-37, he'll be a stalwart on this team.
Bullpen: Will Cunnane (1997-2004) had a career ERA of 5.26, and he’s the nominal closer here. That tells you what to expect from the rest of the bullpen. Walker Cress (1948-49) had a brief career in which he wasn’t terrible, but also wasn’t good enough to hang around for long. Woody Crowson (1945) only pitched in one game, but he did last three innings. Walt Craddock (1955-58) spread 61 innings of work over three seasons. His ERAs were 7.80, 6.75 and 5.89 – and no one was brave enough to put him out there for a fourth years to see if he could keep bringing it down. Willie Collazo (2007) was unimpressive in a handful of outings, but he’s a lefty and this team needs him. Webbo Clarke (1955) pitched in seven games, and while he wasn’t very good, he was better than you would expect a guy named Webbo to be. Hell, he might end up closing in this bullpen. Wes Curry (1884) started two games and lost them both.
Bench: Wes Chamberlain (1990-95) was never as good as people thought he would be, but he wasn’t terrible either. Could get some platoon duty with Covington in left. Walton Cruise (1914-24) is another backup outfielder who could hit a bit. Outfielder Wayne Comer (1967-72) hit 15 home runs for the 1969 Seattle Pilots. He hit one home run in the rest of his career. William Coon (1875-76) is a backup catcher, a mop-up reliever and a utility infielder/outfielder, all in one package. Wee Willie Clark (1895-99) backs up the bigger Will Clark at first base. Win Clark (1897) is a backup infielder, and we hope his name could bring this team some luck.
Manager: Win Clark had a long career as a manager in the minors, including many years here in Norfolk and Portsmouth. He'll be assisted by Warren Cromartie, who once spent a year managing an all-Japanese team in an independent league in California.
Outfield: Wes Covington (1956-66) was never a star. Neither was Willie Crawford (1964-77), nor Warren Cromartie (1974-91). They weren’t stars, but they were all good players, and in their better years, very good players. Covington was a lefty slugger who often worked in a platoon role. In 1957-58, he hit a total of 48 home runs for the Braves despite playing in fewer than 100 games both years. If Crawford had played in a different context – other than a pitcher’s park in a pitcher’s era – he might have been a star. He hit for a decent average, had some power and played good defense. He played in the majors one week after his 18th birthday, and at 19 he was a bit player on the Dodgers' championship team of 1965. Cromartie was a good contact hitter with some line-drive pop, and his resume also includes seven years playing with Japan’s Yomiuri Giants, including one season in which he was the Central League MVP. With Covington in left, Crawford in center and Cromartie in right, this is a solid outfield.
Catcher: Walker Cooper (1940-57) was a very fine catcher who spent his best years with the Cardinals. He had some power (173 home runs), played good defense and batted .300 in 16 World Series games. Cooper was an eight-time all-star and had fine seasons for several teams, but he was best known for his tenure with the Cardinals, for whom he frequently caught his brother Mort. He played into his early 40s, retiring after his daughter married second baseman Don Blasingame because he said when your kids are old enough to marry your teammates, it's probably time to get out.
Rotation: Wilbur Cooper (1912-26) - no relation to Walker and Mort - is the winningest pitcher in the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Stump your friends with that one. He won 216 games in his career, including 202 for the Pirates, a team record that seems safe for the foreseeable future. Cooper won 20 four times and had a career ERA of 2.89. Watty Clark (1924-37) was a durable lefty who won 111 games, most of them for bad Brooklyn teams managed by Uncle Robby and the Perfessor. After that, well, the rotation loses steam. Will Calihan (1890-91) had a good year when he was 21, a bad year when he was 22 and then he was gone. Walter Clarkson (1904-08) won 18 games in his career, which is 310 fewer than his Hall of Fame brother John. Taiwanese lefty Wei-Yin Chen (2012- ) joined the Baltimore Orioles rotation in 2012 and immediately became one of the five best starting pitchers in history with the initials W.C. With a career record of 51-37, he'll be a stalwart on this team.
Bullpen: Will Cunnane (1997-2004) had a career ERA of 5.26, and he’s the nominal closer here. That tells you what to expect from the rest of the bullpen. Walker Cress (1948-49) had a brief career in which he wasn’t terrible, but also wasn’t good enough to hang around for long. Woody Crowson (1945) only pitched in one game, but he did last three innings. Walt Craddock (1955-58) spread 61 innings of work over three seasons. His ERAs were 7.80, 6.75 and 5.89 – and no one was brave enough to put him out there for a fourth years to see if he could keep bringing it down. Willie Collazo (2007) was unimpressive in a handful of outings, but he’s a lefty and this team needs him. Webbo Clarke (1955) pitched in seven games, and while he wasn’t very good, he was better than you would expect a guy named Webbo to be. Hell, he might end up closing in this bullpen. Wes Curry (1884) started two games and lost them both.
Bench: Wes Chamberlain (1990-95) was never as good as people thought he would be, but he wasn’t terrible either. Could get some platoon duty with Covington in left. Walton Cruise (1914-24) is another backup outfielder who could hit a bit. Outfielder Wayne Comer (1967-72) hit 15 home runs for the 1969 Seattle Pilots. He hit one home run in the rest of his career. William Coon (1875-76) is a backup catcher, a mop-up reliever and a utility infielder/outfielder, all in one package. Wee Willie Clark (1895-99) backs up the bigger Will Clark at first base. Win Clark (1897) is a backup infielder, and we hope his name could bring this team some luck.
Manager: Win Clark had a long career as a manager in the minors, including many years here in Norfolk and Portsmouth. He'll be assisted by Warren Cromartie, who once spent a year managing an all-Japanese team in an independent league in California.
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