Infield: Shortstop Chris Speier (1971-89) looked like a budding star in his early 20s. He was a good defensive shortstop with a cannon arm ad enough power to hit 10-15 home runs a year. Back problems set in, and he never developed much as a hitter, but he was still a good glove man, and he played until he was almost 40. Speier played in three all-star games before his 25th birthday but never played in another one. Still, a good defensive shortstop who finishes his career with 112 home runs, 720 RBI and 770 runs is a guy who has some value. Third baseman Chris Sabo (1988-96) was hard-nosed guy with a crew cut and a pair of “Rec Specs” perscription goggles. He arrived in Cincinnati as a 26-year-old rookie filling in for an injured Buddy Bell, and he responded by hitting .271 with 40 doubles and 46 stolen bases, winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award. In 1990, he batted .563 with two home runs in the Reds’ sweep of Oakland in the World Series, and the following year he batted .301 with 26 home runs and 88 RBI, all career highs. Various injuries set in after that and he began to struggle. As a role player in 1996, he was caught using a corked bat and took that as a sign that it was time to retire (though he did the perfunctory job of claiming that he had no idea whatsoever how that cork got inside of his bat). First baseman Chris Shelton (2004-10) was a consistent .300 hitter in the minors but could never stick in the majors. He generally played well enough in the majors – in 299 games, he hit .273 with 37 homers, 124 RBI and 132 runs – but he wasn’t able to hold onto a job. One quarter of his career home runs were hit during the first two weeks of the 2006 season, a power surge he was unable to sustain or recapture. Second baseman Cub Stricker (1882-93) was 5-foot-3 and had a mustache like a walrus. He was a very weak hitter but had good speed, and he played in the early versioin of the majors for 11 years.
Outfield: Right fielder Cy Seymour (1896-1913) had a big year for the Reds in 1905, missed the NL triple crown by one home run – leading the league in batting (.377), slugging (.559), hits (219), doubles (40), triples, (21), runs batted in (121) and total bases (325). Not a bad season for a converted pitcher – he won 61 games in his mound career, including a 25-19 record for the 1898 Giants. The 1905 season was his best by far. In fact, it was the only time he ever lead the league in any offensive categories. But he was a good player for a long time – a .303 career average with 799 RBI. Left fielder Chick Stahl (1896-1906) played at the same time as Seymour and had a .305 career average. He was a fine player, one of the stars of the Boston Red Sox team that won the inaugural World Series in 1903. The team began struggling in the next few years, and Stahl was promoted to player-manager near the end of the 1906 season. The Red Sox didn’t do well, and it weighed heavily on him. He resigned as manager during the offseason, but the team ownership begged him to reconsider. In March 1907, as the team was in Florida preparing for the upcoming season, the 34-year-old Stahl committed suicide by drinking carbolic acid that had been prescribed to him for external use on a foot injury. Center fielder Chris Singleton (1999-2005) had a good rookie year with the White Sox - .300 with 31 doubles, 17 home runs and 20 steals while playing solid defense in center. He was never that good again, though he was generally a decent hitter and an above-average glove.
Catcher: Carl Sawatski (1948-63) was primarily a backup catcher with some pretty good teams, including the World Series champion 1957 Braves. He was a tremendous slugger in the minors – more than 200 career home runs, including 45 in one season – but his single-season high in the majors was 15, and that was at age 34.
Rotation: Curt Schilling (1988-2007) might have had the most interesting career of his era. A prospect for the Red Sox, he was traded to the Orioles (along with a young Brady Anderson) in exchange for an aging Mike Boddicker. Now that the Orioles had Anderson to play center, they decided that they no longer needed the young Steve Finley, so they packaged up Finley, Schilling and Pete Harnisch and shipped them to the Astros for an injured Glenn Davis. The Astros thought Schilling could be their closer but he struggled a bit, so they traded Schilling to the Phillies in exchange for Jason Grimsley, a mediocre pitcher who later became one of the central figures in the steroid scandals that plagued the sport. At that point, Schilling was just 25 years old but had already been involved in three trades that would come to look ludicrous with the benefit of hindsight; in Philadelphia he joined the rotation and hit his stride. He won 14 games with a 2.35 ERA in 1992, and then went 16-7 the following season. A couple of seasons marked by injuries followed, but in his 30s he was one of the best pitchers in baseball. He won 20 games three times, struck out 300 batters three times and ended his career with 216 wins and 3,116 strikeouts. He was also one of the dominant postseason pitchers of all time, with an 11-2 record and a 2.23 ERA and two of the most legendary performances in recent World Series history. In 2001, he made three dominant starts against the Yankees, sharing Series MVP honors with Randy Johnson. In 2004, he helped the Red Sox win their first championship in 86 years – during Boston’s dramatic ALCS victory over the Yankees, he pitched with blood seeping through his sock from an injured ankle that had been surgically repaired using tendons from a cadaver in a procedure that had never been attempted before. The bloody sock is now on display in Cooperstown. CC Sabathia is a 6-foot-7, 290-pound workhorse who is still in mid-career and at his peak pitching for the Yankees. Having led the AL in victories in 2009 and 2010, he certainly has a shot to top Schilling in victories, and maybe in strikeouts, too. We shall see. His performance with the Brewers, while brief, remains incredible. Acquired from Cleveland at mid-season in 2008, he went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and led the National League in complete games (7) and shutouts (3) despite making just 17 starts for Milwaukee, hitting a couple of home runs for good measure. Schilling and Sabathia look to be the big hosses atop the rotation. Curt Simmons (1947-67) was no slouch either, winning 193 games, primarily for the Phillies and the Cardinals. He never won 20, but he was between 14-17 wins seven times – including a 17-8 record for the Whiz Kid Phillies of 1950 and 18-9 for the 1964 World Series champion Cardinals. Lefty Chris Short (1959-73) and the Phillies came out on the wrong end of that 1964 pennant race, famously collapsing down the stretch while the Cardinals surged past them. Short went 17-9 that year with a 2.20 ERA, and he finished his career with 135 victories. With Schilling and Sabathia atop the rotation, followed by Simmons and Short, the team has a solid, durable foursome that will most likely log some extra starts, leaving the fifth spot open to a variety of spot starters, perfect for manager Casey Stengel who always loved mixing things up. The primary guy in the five hole will be lefty Chuck Stobbs (1947-61), who won 107 games in his career but also lost 130, including an 8-20 season for the Senators in 1957.
Bullpen: Not nearly as strong as the rotation. Closer Calvin Schiraldi (1984-91) had 21 career saves and a 4.28 ERA, and he is perhaps best known as one of the key figures in the Red Sox’s famous implosion in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series (a.k.a. The Bill Buckner Game). Schiraldi did have a 1.41 ERA for Boston that season, but that was the only year when he was anything like a top-notch reliever. Carl Scheib (1943-54), a bonus baby who joined the Philadelphia A’s at age 16 and won 45 games in his career, will pitch in long relief and spot starts. Chuck Seelbach (1971-74) only had one full season in the majors – 61 of his 75 career games came for Detroit in 1972, and he pitched pretty well. But a shoulder injury ended his career in his mid-20s, so he retired and became a teacher at his old high school. Chris Sampson (2006- ) is a contemporary reliever for the Astros who has done nothing noteworthy. Lefty Clyde “Hardrock” Shoun (1935-49) will get some spot starts as well. Though he was primarily a reliever, he did have three seasons with 13-14 victories on his way to a career record of 73-59. Craig Swan (1973-84) won 59 games for the Mets and in 1978 was the NL ERA leader at 2.43. Carlos Silva (2002- ) is a big Venezuelan righty who has a 70-70 record but spent 2011 in the minors and may be done. It didn't bode well when the Cubs released him during spring training 2011 and a team executive said that Silva's production was "way below major-league standards," and that he "seems to have the continual problem of blaming everyone but himself."
Outfield: Right fielder Cy Seymour (1896-1913) had a big year for the Reds in 1905, missed the NL triple crown by one home run – leading the league in batting (.377), slugging (.559), hits (219), doubles (40), triples, (21), runs batted in (121) and total bases (325). Not a bad season for a converted pitcher – he won 61 games in his mound career, including a 25-19 record for the 1898 Giants. The 1905 season was his best by far. In fact, it was the only time he ever lead the league in any offensive categories. But he was a good player for a long time – a .303 career average with 799 RBI. Left fielder Chick Stahl (1896-1906) played at the same time as Seymour and had a .305 career average. He was a fine player, one of the stars of the Boston Red Sox team that won the inaugural World Series in 1903. The team began struggling in the next few years, and Stahl was promoted to player-manager near the end of the 1906 season. The Red Sox didn’t do well, and it weighed heavily on him. He resigned as manager during the offseason, but the team ownership begged him to reconsider. In March 1907, as the team was in Florida preparing for the upcoming season, the 34-year-old Stahl committed suicide by drinking carbolic acid that had been prescribed to him for external use on a foot injury. Center fielder Chris Singleton (1999-2005) had a good rookie year with the White Sox - .300 with 31 doubles, 17 home runs and 20 steals while playing solid defense in center. He was never that good again, though he was generally a decent hitter and an above-average glove.
Catcher: Carl Sawatski (1948-63) was primarily a backup catcher with some pretty good teams, including the World Series champion 1957 Braves. He was a tremendous slugger in the minors – more than 200 career home runs, including 45 in one season – but his single-season high in the majors was 15, and that was at age 34.
Rotation: Curt Schilling (1988-2007) might have had the most interesting career of his era. A prospect for the Red Sox, he was traded to the Orioles (along with a young Brady Anderson) in exchange for an aging Mike Boddicker. Now that the Orioles had Anderson to play center, they decided that they no longer needed the young Steve Finley, so they packaged up Finley, Schilling and Pete Harnisch and shipped them to the Astros for an injured Glenn Davis. The Astros thought Schilling could be their closer but he struggled a bit, so they traded Schilling to the Phillies in exchange for Jason Grimsley, a mediocre pitcher who later became one of the central figures in the steroid scandals that plagued the sport. At that point, Schilling was just 25 years old but had already been involved in three trades that would come to look ludicrous with the benefit of hindsight; in Philadelphia he joined the rotation and hit his stride. He won 14 games with a 2.35 ERA in 1992, and then went 16-7 the following season. A couple of seasons marked by injuries followed, but in his 30s he was one of the best pitchers in baseball. He won 20 games three times, struck out 300 batters three times and ended his career with 216 wins and 3,116 strikeouts. He was also one of the dominant postseason pitchers of all time, with an 11-2 record and a 2.23 ERA and two of the most legendary performances in recent World Series history. In 2001, he made three dominant starts against the Yankees, sharing Series MVP honors with Randy Johnson. In 2004, he helped the Red Sox win their first championship in 86 years – during Boston’s dramatic ALCS victory over the Yankees, he pitched with blood seeping through his sock from an injured ankle that had been surgically repaired using tendons from a cadaver in a procedure that had never been attempted before. The bloody sock is now on display in Cooperstown. CC Sabathia is a 6-foot-7, 290-pound workhorse who is still in mid-career and at his peak pitching for the Yankees. Having led the AL in victories in 2009 and 2010, he certainly has a shot to top Schilling in victories, and maybe in strikeouts, too. We shall see. His performance with the Brewers, while brief, remains incredible. Acquired from Cleveland at mid-season in 2008, he went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and led the National League in complete games (7) and shutouts (3) despite making just 17 starts for Milwaukee, hitting a couple of home runs for good measure. Schilling and Sabathia look to be the big hosses atop the rotation. Curt Simmons (1947-67) was no slouch either, winning 193 games, primarily for the Phillies and the Cardinals. He never won 20, but he was between 14-17 wins seven times – including a 17-8 record for the Whiz Kid Phillies of 1950 and 18-9 for the 1964 World Series champion Cardinals. Lefty Chris Short (1959-73) and the Phillies came out on the wrong end of that 1964 pennant race, famously collapsing down the stretch while the Cardinals surged past them. Short went 17-9 that year with a 2.20 ERA, and he finished his career with 135 victories. With Schilling and Sabathia atop the rotation, followed by Simmons and Short, the team has a solid, durable foursome that will most likely log some extra starts, leaving the fifth spot open to a variety of spot starters, perfect for manager Casey Stengel who always loved mixing things up. The primary guy in the five hole will be lefty Chuck Stobbs (1947-61), who won 107 games in his career but also lost 130, including an 8-20 season for the Senators in 1957.
Bullpen: Not nearly as strong as the rotation. Closer Calvin Schiraldi (1984-91) had 21 career saves and a 4.28 ERA, and he is perhaps best known as one of the key figures in the Red Sox’s famous implosion in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series (a.k.a. The Bill Buckner Game). Schiraldi did have a 1.41 ERA for Boston that season, but that was the only year when he was anything like a top-notch reliever. Carl Scheib (1943-54), a bonus baby who joined the Philadelphia A’s at age 16 and won 45 games in his career, will pitch in long relief and spot starts. Chuck Seelbach (1971-74) only had one full season in the majors – 61 of his 75 career games came for Detroit in 1972, and he pitched pretty well. But a shoulder injury ended his career in his mid-20s, so he retired and became a teacher at his old high school. Chris Sampson (2006- ) is a contemporary reliever for the Astros who has done nothing noteworthy. Lefty Clyde “Hardrock” Shoun (1935-49) will get some spot starts as well. Though he was primarily a reliever, he did have three seasons with 13-14 victories on his way to a career record of 73-59. Craig Swan (1973-84) won 59 games for the Mets and in 1978 was the NL ERA leader at 2.43. Carlos Silva (2002- ) is a big Venezuelan righty who has a 70-70 record but spent 2011 in the minors and may be done. It didn't bode well when the Cubs released him during spring training 2011 and a team executive said that Silva's production was "way below major-league standards," and that he "seems to have the continual problem of blaming everyone but himself."
Bench: Cory Snyder (1986-94) was a utility guy who could play all over the field, and he had plenty of power. Unfortunately, he had no concept of the strike zone, and as a result he averaged 150 strikeouts per 162 games with just 34 walks. This combination of skills made him an undeniable value on the roster, but very limited usefulness as an everyday player. Backup catcher Clyde Sukeforth (1926-45) is best known for his tenure as a coach with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was technically Jackie Robinson’s first major-league manager, since he was Brooklyn’s interim manager for the first two games of the 1947 season – after Leo Durocher got suspended and before Burt Shotton got hired. Utility infielders Craig Shipley (1986-98) and Chris Stynes (1995-2002) were role players who hit in the .270s. Champ Summers (1974-84) beats out Chick Shorten for the last spot on the bench, in part because Summers thrived as a pinch-hitter and in part because it’s gotta be good karma to have a guy named Champ.
Manager: Casey Stengel. What more do you need to say? He was a colorful character with some bad teams in Brooklyn and Boston before he went on to win 10 pennants and seven World Series titles with the Yankees. Then he finished as the grandfatherly boss of the notorious expansion Mets, of whom he famously asked, “Can’t anybody here play this game?” Along the way, he became legendary for his offbeat way of speaking, often getting lost in mid-thought and ending up taking a circuitous route to the end of the sentence. He was famous for changing his lineup from one day to the next, playing whims and hunches, but it worked.
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