Infield: Jimmie Foxx (1925-45) is sort of Lou Gehrig Lite, the second-best first baseman of all time (though Albert Pujols is increasingly nudging his way into that discussion). Foxx is not nearly as famous as Gehrig, for a variety of reasons. First off, they were exact contemporaries, which means that Foxx was overshadowed by Gehrig even in his own time, and while Foxx played on some truly great teams, Gehrig was teammates with Ruth and DiMaggio in the hallowed pinstripes. Then, of course, there was the whole “tragic story arc”/”fatal disease named after him”/”Today I consider myself the luckiest man” factor. Gary Cooper never played Jimmie Foxx in a movie (though Tom Hanks played a fictionalized version of him in “A League of Their Own”). So let’s put aside the comps to Gehrig and just say that Foxx was arguably the greatest hitter in the history of the right-handed batter’s box. He batted .325 for his career, walked 100 times a year, mashed 534 home runs and came up just short of 2,000 RBI. For good measure, toss in three MVPs and a .344/.424/.609 batting line in 18 World Series games. As Lefty Gomez said, he had muscles on his muscles. Oh, yeah, and in 1945, at age 37, he pitched in nine games (two starts, seven relief) and posted a 1.59 ERA. Julio Franco (1982-2007) played all over the infield, and while he wasn’t a very good defensive player, he was an awfully good hitter. He played more shortstop than anywhere else, but he’ll start at second base here. Franco played until he was 49 years old, and teammates who were half his age were jealous of his physique. He finished his career with a .298 average, 407 doubles and 173 home runs. The man was a wonder to behold. Shortstop Jim Fregosi (1961-78) played his prime seasons during a terrible era for hitters, but he still hit 151 home runs. That, combined with a decent average, a fair number of walks and good defense made him an awfully good shortstop. Third baseman Joe Foy (1966-71) was pretty good, too – double-digit home runs, 20-30 steals, a good number of walks, solid defense. It must be pointed out that Mets fans of a certain age will cringe at the sight of the left side of this infield, because in December 1969 the Mets gave up a young center fielder named Amos Otis in order to get Foy from Kansas City, and two years later, they gave up a young pitcher named Nolan Ryan in order to get Fregosi from California. In both cases, the Mets tossed in other players to sweeten the deals. Amos Otis, Nolan Ryan and a few other players in exchange for Joe Foy and Jim Fregosi. Foy played one season for the Mets, Fregosi about a season and a half. Ouch.
Outfield: Center fielder Jim Fogarty (1884-90) is no relation to that guy from Creedence Clearwater Revivial who later immortalized the position in song (“Put me in, Coach!”). He was a 19th-century speedster who stole 102 bases one year and 99 two years later, though it must be pointed out that stolen bases were much easier to come by in the 1880s. He died of tuberculosis at age 27. Right fielder Junior Felix (1989-94) had a little bit of power, a little bit of speed. He had obvious talent, and since he became a regular with the Blue Jays at age 21, it was thought that the sky was the limit. But he had nagging injuries, a reputation for uninspired play, and before too long, persistent rumors that he had lied about his age by almost a decade. The issue of his actual age was never formally resolved, but he hit very well for Detroit in 1994 and then disappeared from the majors altogether, playing out the string in the minors, in Korea and in Mexico. Left fielder Johnny Frederick (1929-34) was a .300 hitter who banged a ton of doubles for the Brooklyn Dodgers, but he spent most of his career in the Pacific Coast League, both before and after his six seasons in Brooklyn. He had 2,000 hits, including 400 doubles, in the PCL.
Catcher: Joe Ferguson (1970-83) was a man ahead of his time, a sabermetrician’s dream. He drew a ton of walks and hit his share of home runs, which made him very valuable, but in the 1970s people tended to focus on his .240-.250 batting average. He was a good hitter, and if he had come along 20 years later, when baseball people had a better grasp of statistics, he might have had a much more substantial career. As it is, he hit 122 home runs.
Rotation: Jack Fisher (1959-69) was affectionately (or not so affectionately) known as Fat Jack. His career record of 86-139 reflects the four years he spent with the hapless early Mets teams, for whom he went 38-73. (Finally a good Mets trade involving a JF: They traded Fisher to the White Sox as part of a package that brought Tommie Agee, a key player on the ’69 Miracle team.) John Farrell (1987-96) went 14-10 for the Indians in 1988 but never won more than nine games in the rest of his career. Jeff Francis (2004- ) is a lefty who battled the fates of Coors Field and, for a while, came out on top. He began to struggle a bit, and he is currently taking his lumps in Kansas City. Jesse Flores (1942-50) was a good pitcher on some bad Philadelphia A’s teams. Josh Fogg (2001-09) was your basic .500 pitcher who plugged along for several years while folks kept predicting a breakout season. The breakout never came, but he always pitched just well enough for people to think it was still possible.
Outfield: Center fielder Jim Fogarty (1884-90) is no relation to that guy from Creedence Clearwater Revivial who later immortalized the position in song (“Put me in, Coach!”). He was a 19th-century speedster who stole 102 bases one year and 99 two years later, though it must be pointed out that stolen bases were much easier to come by in the 1880s. He died of tuberculosis at age 27. Right fielder Junior Felix (1989-94) had a little bit of power, a little bit of speed. He had obvious talent, and since he became a regular with the Blue Jays at age 21, it was thought that the sky was the limit. But he had nagging injuries, a reputation for uninspired play, and before too long, persistent rumors that he had lied about his age by almost a decade. The issue of his actual age was never formally resolved, but he hit very well for Detroit in 1994 and then disappeared from the majors altogether, playing out the string in the minors, in Korea and in Mexico. Left fielder Johnny Frederick (1929-34) was a .300 hitter who banged a ton of doubles for the Brooklyn Dodgers, but he spent most of his career in the Pacific Coast League, both before and after his six seasons in Brooklyn. He had 2,000 hits, including 400 doubles, in the PCL.
Catcher: Joe Ferguson (1970-83) was a man ahead of his time, a sabermetrician’s dream. He drew a ton of walks and hit his share of home runs, which made him very valuable, but in the 1970s people tended to focus on his .240-.250 batting average. He was a good hitter, and if he had come along 20 years later, when baseball people had a better grasp of statistics, he might have had a much more substantial career. As it is, he hit 122 home runs.
Rotation: Jack Fisher (1959-69) was affectionately (or not so affectionately) known as Fat Jack. His career record of 86-139 reflects the four years he spent with the hapless early Mets teams, for whom he went 38-73. (Finally a good Mets trade involving a JF: They traded Fisher to the White Sox as part of a package that brought Tommie Agee, a key player on the ’69 Miracle team.) John Farrell (1987-96) went 14-10 for the Indians in 1988 but never won more than nine games in the rest of his career. Jeff Francis (2004- ) is a lefty who battled the fates of Coors Field and, for a while, came out on top. He began to struggle a bit, and he is currently taking his lumps in Kansas City. Jesse Flores (1942-50) was a good pitcher on some bad Philadelphia A’s teams. Josh Fogg (2001-09) was your basic .500 pitcher who plugged along for several years while folks kept predicting a breakout season. The breakout never came, but he always pitched just well enough for people to think it was still possible.
Bullpen: John Franco (1984-2006) has more saves than any lefty in baseball history – 424 saves. He should hold that distinction for a while, unless (a.) Billy Wagner makes another comeback, or (b.) Eddie Guardado develops a new pitch and sticks around until he’s about 55. Franco came up as one of Cincinnati’s “Nasty Boys” and then pitched for the pennant-winning Mets. John Frascatore (1994-2001) had some good seasons as a set-up man before his arm gave out. Jeff Fassero (1991-2006) was a pretty fair lefty starter – he’ll get his share of starts as a swingman on this team – who then hung around as a reliever until his mid-40s. A better pitcher than Fogg, certainly, but he might be more needed in the bullpen at this point. John Fulgham (1979-80) had a fine rookie year for St. Louis, going 10-6 with a 2.53 ERA, but arm problems ended his career before he turned 25. Jack Fifield (1897-99) and Jeremy Fikac (2001-04) had fun last names. Jason Frasor (2004-09) is a solid reliever for the Blue Jays, in mid-career.
Bench: Jack Fournier (1912-27) was an outstanding first baseman in the generation before Gehrig and Foxx. He certainly isn’t remembered now, and it appears he wasn’t terribly respected in his own time, as he bounced around five times, but the guy was good – a .300 hitter who drew a lot of walks and, after the lively ball came into play, emerged as a good power hitter. Infielder Jeff Frye (1992-2001) was a .290 hitter who ran reasonably well. Outfielder Jeff Francouer (2005- ) drove in 103 runs at age 22 and then 105 the next year, but his career sort of went off the rails after that. If he gets his act together he could easily supplant Junior Felix in the starting lineup. Jocko Fields (1887-92) was an outfielder from Cork, Ireland, who could also catch as needed, and he appeared to have some wheels on him. John Flaherty (1992-2005) beats out Jorge Fabregas for the back-up catching job, though Jocko might get the first crack when Joe Ferguson needs a day off.
Manager: Jim Frey and Jim Fanning both have .530 career winning percentages. We’re not going to figure them to the .000x digit to make a decision. They’re co-managers, with Fregosi adding his input.
Bench: Jack Fournier (1912-27) was an outstanding first baseman in the generation before Gehrig and Foxx. He certainly isn’t remembered now, and it appears he wasn’t terribly respected in his own time, as he bounced around five times, but the guy was good – a .300 hitter who drew a lot of walks and, after the lively ball came into play, emerged as a good power hitter. Infielder Jeff Frye (1992-2001) was a .290 hitter who ran reasonably well. Outfielder Jeff Francouer (2005- ) drove in 103 runs at age 22 and then 105 the next year, but his career sort of went off the rails after that. If he gets his act together he could easily supplant Junior Felix in the starting lineup. Jocko Fields (1887-92) was an outfielder from Cork, Ireland, who could also catch as needed, and he appeared to have some wheels on him. John Flaherty (1992-2005) beats out Jorge Fabregas for the back-up catching job, though Jocko might get the first crack when Joe Ferguson needs a day off.
Manager: Jim Frey and Jim Fanning both have .530 career winning percentages. We’re not going to figure them to the .000x digit to make a decision. They’re co-managers, with Fregosi adding his input.
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