Infield: Lou Whitaker (1977-85) was one of the 10-15 greatest second basemen who ever lived. He was a .276 hitter who would draw about 80 walks a year, hit about 30 doubles and 15-20 home runs, and he was a Gold Glove fielder. He and Alan Trammell came up together and worked as Detroit's double play combination for a long, long time. For some reason, when Whitaker's name came up on the Hall of Fame ballot, the voters turned up their collective noses (while giving far longer looks to guys who weren’t half the player that Sweet Lou was). No clue how that happened, but the guy was the complete package. Third baseman Larry Wolfe (1977-80) and shortstop Leo Wells (1942-46) never showed much in the majors. First baseman Lew Whistler (1890-93) was a .240 hitter with a little speed, back in the day when a .240 average was pretty good.
Outfield: Right fielder Larry Walker (1989-2005) was a terrific ballplayer but no one fully recognized that because he was playing in Montreal. Then he signed with the Colorado Rockies, went into the thin air of Denver and put up insane numbers for 10 years – things like .370 batting averages and forty-some doubles and big bunches of home runs. He slugged .600 routinely, .700 in his better seasons, while playing Gold Glove defense. That got everyone’s attention. He was a great hitter who spent 10 years playing in a spectacular hitter’s ballpark, and he finished with some great career numbers. At his peak, he was a monstrously good ballplayer, and his peak was not short. Left fielder Leon Wagner (1959-69) wasn’t as good as Larry Walker, but he could hit a bit. He was a colorful fellow – a laidback guy with a sense of humor. He called himself “Daddy Wags” and for a while he operated a clothing store whose slogan was “Get Your Rags From Daddy Wags.” He hit 25-30 home runs per year, drove in 100 runs a couple of times. He could run a little, but he was an absolutely terrible defensive player. Like, famously bad. Center fielder Lloyd Waner (1927-45) wasn’t as good as Larry Walker. He was probably a better player than Leon Wagner, but not by much (they were very different types of players). He is no better than the fourth best player in major-league history with the initials L.W. But he is the only one in the Hall of Fame. Go figure. He was a terrific center fielder, and he batted .316 for his career. But he played in a time of very high batting averages, he didn’t have any power and he didn’t draw many walks, so his .316 batting average was somewhat empty. He was the younger brother (and Pirates teammate) of Paul Waner, who was a legitimately great player, and they were known as Big Poison (Paul) and Little Poison (Lloyd). This sounds very intimidating until you learn that they got the nickname because a Dodgers fan once noted quite loudly that when his team played Pittsburgh, “that big person and that little person” were always on base, and with his Brooklyn accent it sounded like “poison.”
Catcher: Larry Woodall (1920-29) spent a decade with the Tigers as a backup and a role player behind the plate.
Rotation: Lon Warneke (1930-45) was a gregarious country boy from Arkansas who liked to play with really big snakes. He once brought one into the dugout and turned it loose as a prank, which (a.) caused a panic and (b.) got him ejected. He won 192 games in his career with the Cubs and the Cardinals. He pitched in two World Series with the Cubs, and he pitched well, though the team lost both Series. Lefty Williams (1913-20) was a 20-game winner with the White Sox who was banned as one of the participants in the fixing of the 1919 World Series. Luke Walker (1965-74) pitched for the Pirates in the Roberto Clemente era and was part of the championship team in 1971. He was the first pitcher ever to take the mound for a World Series night game. Lefty Weinert (1919-31) and Lefty Wallace (1942-46) weren’t very good. They fill out the rotation with four lefthanders after Warneke.
Bullpen: Les Webber (1942-48) once led the league in saves – with 10 for Brooklyn in 1943, long before saves were an official statistic – but that’s enough to make him this team’s closer. Lefty Willis (1925-27) pitched pretty well in a short career for the Philadelphia A’s. Len Whitehouse (1981-85) pitched fairly well at times for the Twins, but he didn’t last long. Lefty Wilkie (1941-46) pitched for the Pirates during World War II, when the better players were out of the picture and when the ball was very dead, and he still gave up a lot of hits and runs. Lefty West (1944-45) also pitched during World War II, and wasn’t much better than Wilkie. Les Willis (1947) won 142 games in the minors before Bill Veeck and the Cleveland Indians decided to let him pitch a few games in the majors – and considering that he was a 39-year-old rookie, he didn’t do too badly. Les (I Am the) Walrond (2003-08) had a long career in the minors but pretty much got clobbered in the majors. If you’re counting, the seven-man bullpen has three guys named Lefty and three guys named Les (one of who was nicknamed Lefty), including a matched set of Willises.
Bench: Lee Walls (1952-64) had a long career as an outfielder and sometimes hit pretty well. La Rue Washington (1978-79) and Larry Whisenton (1977-82) were little-used reserve outfielders who will most likely serve as defensive replacements for Daddy Wags. Lenny Webster (1989-2000) was a fine backup catcher for several years. Les Wilson (1911) is another reserve outfielder, suggesting that someone is going to have to learn to play infield on this bench.
Manager: We don’t have one yet, but we’re thinking of giving Lenny Wilkens a shot.
Outfield: Right fielder Larry Walker (1989-2005) was a terrific ballplayer but no one fully recognized that because he was playing in Montreal. Then he signed with the Colorado Rockies, went into the thin air of Denver and put up insane numbers for 10 years – things like .370 batting averages and forty-some doubles and big bunches of home runs. He slugged .600 routinely, .700 in his better seasons, while playing Gold Glove defense. That got everyone’s attention. He was a great hitter who spent 10 years playing in a spectacular hitter’s ballpark, and he finished with some great career numbers. At his peak, he was a monstrously good ballplayer, and his peak was not short. Left fielder Leon Wagner (1959-69) wasn’t as good as Larry Walker, but he could hit a bit. He was a colorful fellow – a laidback guy with a sense of humor. He called himself “Daddy Wags” and for a while he operated a clothing store whose slogan was “Get Your Rags From Daddy Wags.” He hit 25-30 home runs per year, drove in 100 runs a couple of times. He could run a little, but he was an absolutely terrible defensive player. Like, famously bad. Center fielder Lloyd Waner (1927-45) wasn’t as good as Larry Walker. He was probably a better player than Leon Wagner, but not by much (they were very different types of players). He is no better than the fourth best player in major-league history with the initials L.W. But he is the only one in the Hall of Fame. Go figure. He was a terrific center fielder, and he batted .316 for his career. But he played in a time of very high batting averages, he didn’t have any power and he didn’t draw many walks, so his .316 batting average was somewhat empty. He was the younger brother (and Pirates teammate) of Paul Waner, who was a legitimately great player, and they were known as Big Poison (Paul) and Little Poison (Lloyd). This sounds very intimidating until you learn that they got the nickname because a Dodgers fan once noted quite loudly that when his team played Pittsburgh, “that big person and that little person” were always on base, and with his Brooklyn accent it sounded like “poison.”
Catcher: Larry Woodall (1920-29) spent a decade with the Tigers as a backup and a role player behind the plate.
Rotation: Lon Warneke (1930-45) was a gregarious country boy from Arkansas who liked to play with really big snakes. He once brought one into the dugout and turned it loose as a prank, which (a.) caused a panic and (b.) got him ejected. He won 192 games in his career with the Cubs and the Cardinals. He pitched in two World Series with the Cubs, and he pitched well, though the team lost both Series. Lefty Williams (1913-20) was a 20-game winner with the White Sox who was banned as one of the participants in the fixing of the 1919 World Series. Luke Walker (1965-74) pitched for the Pirates in the Roberto Clemente era and was part of the championship team in 1971. He was the first pitcher ever to take the mound for a World Series night game. Lefty Weinert (1919-31) and Lefty Wallace (1942-46) weren’t very good. They fill out the rotation with four lefthanders after Warneke.
Bullpen: Les Webber (1942-48) once led the league in saves – with 10 for Brooklyn in 1943, long before saves were an official statistic – but that’s enough to make him this team’s closer. Lefty Willis (1925-27) pitched pretty well in a short career for the Philadelphia A’s. Len Whitehouse (1981-85) pitched fairly well at times for the Twins, but he didn’t last long. Lefty Wilkie (1941-46) pitched for the Pirates during World War II, when the better players were out of the picture and when the ball was very dead, and he still gave up a lot of hits and runs. Lefty West (1944-45) also pitched during World War II, and wasn’t much better than Wilkie. Les Willis (1947) won 142 games in the minors before Bill Veeck and the Cleveland Indians decided to let him pitch a few games in the majors – and considering that he was a 39-year-old rookie, he didn’t do too badly. Les (I Am the) Walrond (2003-08) had a long career in the minors but pretty much got clobbered in the majors. If you’re counting, the seven-man bullpen has three guys named Lefty and three guys named Les (one of who was nicknamed Lefty), including a matched set of Willises.
Bench: Lee Walls (1952-64) had a long career as an outfielder and sometimes hit pretty well. La Rue Washington (1978-79) and Larry Whisenton (1977-82) were little-used reserve outfielders who will most likely serve as defensive replacements for Daddy Wags. Lenny Webster (1989-2000) was a fine backup catcher for several years. Les Wilson (1911) is another reserve outfielder, suggesting that someone is going to have to learn to play infield on this bench.
Manager: We don’t have one yet, but we’re thinking of giving Lenny Wilkens a shot.
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