Infield: Shortstop Honus Wagner (1897-1917) is on the short list of the greatest players of all time, maybe second only to Babe Ruth. A brilliant hitter, baserunner, fielder and team leader, he was part of the inaugural class inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame (along with Ruth, Cobb, Mathewson and Walter Johnson). He was a big, strong man with enormous hands, and at his peak with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he utterly dominated the National League. Unfortunately, he is little remembered today by casual fans – compared to Ruth or Cobb or Gehrig, for example – and many know him primarily as the guy who refused to have his baseball card inserted in packets of tobacco. The card was discontinued, and because of its rarity the few cards that remain in good condition are worth millions of dollars at auction. Second baseman Heine Wagner (1902-18) was a fine defensive shortstop who will move to second in order to accommodate The Flying Dutchman at short. Heinie Wagner was your basic .250-.260 hitter and spent most of his career with the Red Sox around the time Babe Ruth was arriving on the scene. Fightin’ Harry Wolverton (1898-1912) was a third baseman who bounced around the National League for a decade. First baseman Harry Williams (1913-14) had a short and undistinguished career.
Outfield: Left fielder Harry “The Hat” Walker (1940-55) was a slap hitter who out of nowhere batted .363 to lead the NL in 1947. A year earlier, though he only batted .236 during the regular season, he earned a spot in baseball history by getting the winning hit in Game 7 of the World Series (though the play is mostly remembered for Enos Slaughter’s mad dash from first to home). After he was done playing, he had a decent run as a manager and as a hitting coach. Center fielder Hack Wilson (1923-34) had a five-year run, from 1926-30 with the Cubs, in which he batted .331 with 177 home runs and 708 RBI. He ended that run by going .356-56-191 in 1930. He was a short, barrel-chested man who batted cleanup behind a bunch of little quick guys who got on base, and for a few years he was devastating. He drank heavily and died young, but until someone drives in 192 runs his place in baseball history will be secure. Right fielder Harry Wolter (1907-17) was a star in the Pacific Coast League and also a pretty decent player for the Red Sox and Yankees in the majors. He coached Stanford for two decades after his retirement.
Catcher: Hal Wagner was a .248 hitter who had enough going for him that he played in two all-star games. He came up with the Philadelphia A’s after the franchise had bottomed out, and he later played for the 1946 Red Sox team that lost to the Cardinals on Harry Walker’s hit in 1946.
Rotation: Hooks Wiltse (1904-15) was a deadball lefty who threw a no-hitter, won 20 games twice, and finished with a career record of 139-90 and a 2.47 ERA. He was nicknamed “Hooks” in honor of his big-breaking curveball. He had a brother named “Snake” who also played in the majors (and we’re not going to ask what “Snake’s” nickname refers to), but he was apparently no relation to Hal “Whitey” Wiltse (1926-31), a lefty who came along a generation later. Hal Wiltse was nowhere near as good – in fact, he won 20 games in his entire career – but it’s enough to land him on the back end of t his rotation. Hank Wyse (1942-51) was also nicknamed “Hooks,” and probably for the same reason. He was a righty who spent most of his career with the Cubs, winning 22 games in 1945 and finishing with a career record of 79-70. Herm Wehmeier (1945-58) was a Cincinnati native who turned down football scholarships in order to sign with his hometown Reds and who later, as a scout, encouraged the team to sign a kid who went to his old high school – a kid named Pete Rose. In between Wehmeier won 92 games but never mastered his control, leading the NL three times in walks and twice in wild pitches but never striking out very many batters. Highball Wilson (1899-1904), whose real name was Howard so he qualifies for this team via both his nickname and his given name, was a decent pitcher but the only time he had a regular spot in a rotation it was with an awful Washington Senators team so he went 7-18. From his nickname, we’re guessing he was a drinker, so we’ll try to keep him away from Hack Wilson and steer him toward Harry the Hat, who was something of a teetotaler.
Bullpen: Knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm (1952-72) was the first relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame. He won 100 games in the minors before finally making it to the majors, and as a 29-year-old rookie he pitched in 71 games for the Giants, going 15-3 and leading the league with a 2.43 ERA. (The Orioles decided to make him a starter at age 36, and he responded by leading the league in ERA again before returning to the bullpen.) Despite the late start on his career, he became the first pitcher ever to appear in 1,000 games – in large part because he remained effective into his late 40s and was put out to pasture just two weeks before his 50th birthday. In his career he won 143 games, saved 227 and had a 2.52 ERA. He was an absolutely dreadful hitter (.088 lifetime) but did managed to hit a home run in his first at-bat. It was the only home run of his career, and one of just five extra-base hits he managed in 493 plate appearances. Hal Woodeshick (1956-67) will work as a lefty set-up man to Wilhelm. Woodeshick pitched for six different teams, having some very good seasons and leading the NL in saves in 1964. Hal White (1941-54), the righty setup man, spent most of his career with Detroit and was generally a good pitcher. Hank Webb (1972-77) was a tall, skinny guy who spent most of his career in the minors but frequently got called up to the bigs for short stretches. He pitched for the pennant-winning ’73 Mets and ’77 Dodgers but did not make the postseason roster either time. Huyler Westervelt (1894) had a 5.04 ERA for the Giants in his only season, but that was better than the league average ERA, and besides that, he has a great name. Hank Winston (1933-36) never did get many hitters out, and he walked twice as many as he struck out. Hi West (1905-11) won 139 games in the minors but had a brief, undistinguished career in the majors – he pitched six games in 1905 and 13 games in 1911, but none in between.
Bench: Outfielder Herm Winningham (1984-93) was good enough if he was cast as a fourth or fifth outfielder, but he never really hit enough to justify starting for any period of time. Hub Walker (1931-45), a reserve center fielder like Winningham, hung around for a few years and occasionally played alongside his brother Gee. Backup catcher Howard Wakefield (1905-07) wasn’t very good, but his son Dick Wakefield was a very promising outfielder before World War II altered the path of his career. Herbert Welch (1925) was a diminutive shortstop who batted .318 in the minors but only played 13 games in the bigs. Likewise, Harry Welchonce (1911) was an outfielder who batted .321 in the minors but only got the briefest of shots in the majors. Sadly, there is no room on the roster for Herb Washington, the novelty player who was employed by Charles O. Finely's Athletics as a full-time pinch-runner.
Manager: Harry Wright was one of the originators of what we now call Major League Baseball, the man who organized the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings and therefore “invented” professional baseball. He was an outfielder and also a decent enough pitcher that he might decide to give himself a few innings out of the bullpen here. But mostly, he will manage. He won 1,225 games in his caeer with a .581 winning percentage and six league titles.
Outfield: Left fielder Harry “The Hat” Walker (1940-55) was a slap hitter who out of nowhere batted .363 to lead the NL in 1947. A year earlier, though he only batted .236 during the regular season, he earned a spot in baseball history by getting the winning hit in Game 7 of the World Series (though the play is mostly remembered for Enos Slaughter’s mad dash from first to home). After he was done playing, he had a decent run as a manager and as a hitting coach. Center fielder Hack Wilson (1923-34) had a five-year run, from 1926-30 with the Cubs, in which he batted .331 with 177 home runs and 708 RBI. He ended that run by going .356-56-191 in 1930. He was a short, barrel-chested man who batted cleanup behind a bunch of little quick guys who got on base, and for a few years he was devastating. He drank heavily and died young, but until someone drives in 192 runs his place in baseball history will be secure. Right fielder Harry Wolter (1907-17) was a star in the Pacific Coast League and also a pretty decent player for the Red Sox and Yankees in the majors. He coached Stanford for two decades after his retirement.
Catcher: Hal Wagner was a .248 hitter who had enough going for him that he played in two all-star games. He came up with the Philadelphia A’s after the franchise had bottomed out, and he later played for the 1946 Red Sox team that lost to the Cardinals on Harry Walker’s hit in 1946.
Rotation: Hooks Wiltse (1904-15) was a deadball lefty who threw a no-hitter, won 20 games twice, and finished with a career record of 139-90 and a 2.47 ERA. He was nicknamed “Hooks” in honor of his big-breaking curveball. He had a brother named “Snake” who also played in the majors (and we’re not going to ask what “Snake’s” nickname refers to), but he was apparently no relation to Hal “Whitey” Wiltse (1926-31), a lefty who came along a generation later. Hal Wiltse was nowhere near as good – in fact, he won 20 games in his entire career – but it’s enough to land him on the back end of t his rotation. Hank Wyse (1942-51) was also nicknamed “Hooks,” and probably for the same reason. He was a righty who spent most of his career with the Cubs, winning 22 games in 1945 and finishing with a career record of 79-70. Herm Wehmeier (1945-58) was a Cincinnati native who turned down football scholarships in order to sign with his hometown Reds and who later, as a scout, encouraged the team to sign a kid who went to his old high school – a kid named Pete Rose. In between Wehmeier won 92 games but never mastered his control, leading the NL three times in walks and twice in wild pitches but never striking out very many batters. Highball Wilson (1899-1904), whose real name was Howard so he qualifies for this team via both his nickname and his given name, was a decent pitcher but the only time he had a regular spot in a rotation it was with an awful Washington Senators team so he went 7-18. From his nickname, we’re guessing he was a drinker, so we’ll try to keep him away from Hack Wilson and steer him toward Harry the Hat, who was something of a teetotaler.
Bullpen: Knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm (1952-72) was the first relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame. He won 100 games in the minors before finally making it to the majors, and as a 29-year-old rookie he pitched in 71 games for the Giants, going 15-3 and leading the league with a 2.43 ERA. (The Orioles decided to make him a starter at age 36, and he responded by leading the league in ERA again before returning to the bullpen.) Despite the late start on his career, he became the first pitcher ever to appear in 1,000 games – in large part because he remained effective into his late 40s and was put out to pasture just two weeks before his 50th birthday. In his career he won 143 games, saved 227 and had a 2.52 ERA. He was an absolutely dreadful hitter (.088 lifetime) but did managed to hit a home run in his first at-bat. It was the only home run of his career, and one of just five extra-base hits he managed in 493 plate appearances. Hal Woodeshick (1956-67) will work as a lefty set-up man to Wilhelm. Woodeshick pitched for six different teams, having some very good seasons and leading the NL in saves in 1964. Hal White (1941-54), the righty setup man, spent most of his career with Detroit and was generally a good pitcher. Hank Webb (1972-77) was a tall, skinny guy who spent most of his career in the minors but frequently got called up to the bigs for short stretches. He pitched for the pennant-winning ’73 Mets and ’77 Dodgers but did not make the postseason roster either time. Huyler Westervelt (1894) had a 5.04 ERA for the Giants in his only season, but that was better than the league average ERA, and besides that, he has a great name. Hank Winston (1933-36) never did get many hitters out, and he walked twice as many as he struck out. Hi West (1905-11) won 139 games in the minors but had a brief, undistinguished career in the majors – he pitched six games in 1905 and 13 games in 1911, but none in between.
Bench: Outfielder Herm Winningham (1984-93) was good enough if he was cast as a fourth or fifth outfielder, but he never really hit enough to justify starting for any period of time. Hub Walker (1931-45), a reserve center fielder like Winningham, hung around for a few years and occasionally played alongside his brother Gee. Backup catcher Howard Wakefield (1905-07) wasn’t very good, but his son Dick Wakefield was a very promising outfielder before World War II altered the path of his career. Herbert Welch (1925) was a diminutive shortstop who batted .318 in the minors but only played 13 games in the bigs. Likewise, Harry Welchonce (1911) was an outfielder who batted .321 in the minors but only got the briefest of shots in the majors. Sadly, there is no room on the roster for Herb Washington, the novelty player who was employed by Charles O. Finely's Athletics as a full-time pinch-runner.
Manager: Harry Wright was one of the originators of what we now call Major League Baseball, the man who organized the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings and therefore “invented” professional baseball. He was an outfielder and also a decent enough pitcher that he might decide to give himself a few innings out of the bullpen here. But mostly, he will manage. He won 1,225 games in his caeer with a .581 winning percentage and six league titles.
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