Infield: Second baseman Maxie Bishop (1924-35) drew walks. He was a .270 hitter, which sounds OK until you realize that the league average in his time was a few ticks shy of .300. He wasn't completely devoid of power, but he certainly wasn't a slugger. He stole 43 bases and got thrown out 50 times, so that's no good. But he was good for 110-120 walks a year, which pushed his on-base percentage over .400 and helped him score almost 1,000 runs in his career. On those great Philadelphia A's teams that won three pennants and two championships between 1929-31, he was the guy getting on base so Jimmie Foxx and Al Simmons could pile up those huge RBI totals. Shortstop Mark Belanger (1965-82) was the preeminent defensive shortstop in baseball between Aparicio and Ozzie. He was a tall, thin guy who didn't hit much, a smart man who was a big advocate for the players' union, and he was one of the defensive anchors of Earl Weaver's great Orioles teams. Mike Bordick (1990-2003) was a great defensive shortstop, too, but he wasn't Mark Belanger, so he'll move to third base on this team, and God help anyone who hits the ball to left side of the infield. Mark Bellhorn (1997-2007) primarily played second and third, but this team needs at first baseman, so that's where he'll be starting out. He was a .230 hitter who drew some walks and had some pop and was a better player than people realized.
Outfield: Right fielder Milton Bradley (2000- ) is never dull. He is a good hitter who gets on base, hits the ball hard and runs reasonably well, and he's a decent fielder. But he has breakdowns, both mental and emotional, dating back to his days in the minor leagues when his repeated run-ins with umpires led him to take anger management courses. They didn't seem to work. His major-league career has been pock-marked by volatile battles with umpires, teammates, managers and ownership. He once tore up his knee trying to break free from a coach who was restraining him from going after an umpire. He has played for eight teams in 12 seasons, and he was released by the Mariners early in the 2011 season after his latest meltdown. Too soon to say it's the end of the road, but it might be. Center fielder Marlon Byrd (2002- ) has gotten better at an age when most players are starting to decline. In his early 30s, he has emerged as a .300 (or close to it) hitter with mid-range power. Left fielder Marvin Benard (1995-2003) was more of a fourth outfielder than a starter, but when he did get the opportunity to start he did OK. Pretty similar to Marlon Byrd, actually.
Catcher: Michael Barrett (1998-2009) is a catcher who had the power to hit 30 doubles and 10-15 homers per year, but he is equally well known as the guy who sucker-punched A.J. Pierzynski on the field and exchanged jabs with Carlos Zambrano in the dugout. He and Milton Bradley should get along swimmingly.
Rotation: Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown (1903-16) lost or mangled a couple of fingers in a farming accident as a child, but he learned to use his deformed hand to do wicked things with a baseball. He went 239-130 in his career, and his 2.08 ERA is among the best in history. He helped the Cubs to World Series victories in 1907 and '08, working 20 innings and giving up no earned runs in those two Series. His duels with Mathewson were legendary. Mike Boddicker (1980-93) had all five fingers on his pitching hand, but he wasn't as good as Mordecai Brown. He wasn't bad either, winning 134 games. Mark Baldwin (1887-93) pitched 450-500 innings a year and went 156-165 back in the prehistoric age. He lost 34 games in 1889, then won 34 in 1890. Young lefty Madison Bumgarner (2009- ) joined the San Francisco Giants rotation at age 20 and has pitched well. His career ERA at the end of 2011 was 3.10 (in 325 innings), he strikes out eight batters per nine innings and walks barely two. Still in his early 20s, so he could either burn out or take a huge step forward. Max Butcher (1936-45) has 95 career wins, but he probably won't reach 100, since he died in 1957.
Bullpen: Mace Brown (1935-43) was a closer before they invented the word closer, with 48 retroactive saves. He was a track star (javelin) before his baseball career, and he had a long run as a scout afterward. Marshall Bridges (1959-65) was a solid lefty who had a good season in relief for the 1962 championship Yankees. Miguel Batista (1992- ) is a swingman who has won 100 games and is still chuckin' it in his early 40s. Lefty Mike Beard (1974-77) was a first-round pick out of University of Texas who showed promise but had his career cut short by arm troubles. Mike Birkbeck (1986-95) pitched 1,250 very successful innings in the minors but was never really able to capitalize when he would get called up. Marty Bystrom (1980-85) was a rookie on the Phillies championship team of 1980. For the Single-A Peninsula Pilots, here in Hampton, Va., he pitched a perfect game in 1978, the Carolina League's last perfect game of the 20th century. Mike Bielecki (1984-97) won 18 games for the Cubs in 1989, but he didn't make a habit of doing things like that. He pitched a long time and finished with a rather mundane 70-73 record and 4.18 ERA.
Bench: You have to like a baseball player named Matt Batts (1947-56), and as backup catchers go, he was pretty functional. Infielder Marty Barrett (1982-91) batted .433 in the 1986 World Series, but it wasn't enough for the Red Sox. Outfielder Mickey Brantley (1986-89) had a little bit of power and a little bit of speed but never put it all together. He's a fine fourth outfielder here. Mike Blowers (1989-99) was a third baseman who hit some home runs. Outfielder Milt "Skippy" Byrnes (1943-45) played well for the Browns during WWII. He's a lefty stick off the bench.
Manager: Moe Berg could not make this team as a backup catcher, and he never managed in the majors, but he did do some coaching. He was a Princeton graduate who spoke several languages and read 10 newspapers per day. He later worked as a U.S. spy during World War II, including some covert ops while he was touring overseas with major-league all-star teams. But when someone once suggested to him that he had wasted his intellect by spending 15 years as a backup catcher, he replied that he would rather be a backup catcher than a Supreme Court justice.
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