AC: The Archibald Coxes

Infield: Third baseman Andy Carey (1952-62) won four pennants and two World Series championships with the Mantle-Berra Yankees. He was a dependable player – a decent defender at the hot corner and a batter who would hit .260 or so, make good contact and supply a bit of pop. Playing for Casey Stengel, who platooned a lot and who liked to change his lineup around, Carey had only one season in which he had 500 at-bats (1955, when he played 135 games and came to the plate 570 time). He led the AL in triples that year with 11. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (2007- ) is is a fine players who contributes across the board. He'll hit .270 or so, with 15-20 home runs and passable defense. He has played in a couple of all-star games and might make one or two more before he's done. Second baseman Alberto Callaspo (2006-15) was a good contact hitter who could rip some doubles. He had a good batting eye and stuck around for 10 years, never a star but generally providing value. First baseman Allen Craig (2010- ) batted .300 with mid-range power for three straight years with the Cardinals, and had a knack for clutch hits. He made history, of a sort, in 2013 when he became the first player to score a walk-off run in a World Series game on an obstruction call. Actually, it was more of a hobble-off, or crawl-off run. Craig, playing on a badly injured foot, was on second base in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game. On a sharp ground ball, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia grabbed the carom and threw out Yadier Molina trying to score from third. Craig lumbered toward third and was in danger of being thrown out for a 4-2-5 double play. But the catcher's throw was wild, and as Boston third baseman Will Middlebrooks tried to catch it, he tripped Craig near the bag. Craig, already limping, fell on his face, then got up and staggered toward the plate. The throw had him beat, and his attempt at a slide was more of a topple, but the umpires ruled that Middlebrooks had obstructed Craig's ability to run the bases, so the run counted to end Game 3. Craig batted .375 in that World Series, in a losing cause, but has been injured and ineffective since. Time is running out on  his attempts to recapture his stroke.

Outfield: Right fielder Al Cowens (1974-86) was a multi-talented player who had some very good seasons but struggled with inconsistency. He could hit 20 home runs in a good year, and he stole some bases but got thrown out too much. He made good contact and hit some good line drives, and he was a fine defensive player. At his peak he was a very good ballplayer – such as in 1977, when he went .312-23-112 for the Royals and won a Gold Glove. In 1979, Texas relief pitcher Ed Farmer broke Cowens’ jaw with a fastball and also broke Frank White’s wrist with a pitch. Cowens held a grudge, and the next time he faced Farmer – in 1980, when Cowens was with Detroit and Farmer with the White Sox – Cowens charged the mound during a groundout and jumped Farmer from behind. It made for some interesting TV highlights. Center fielder Alex Cole (1990-96) could fly. As a 24-year-old rookie for Cleveland, he batted .300 and stole 40 bases (in 49 attempts) in less than half a season. He wasn’t really a .300 hitter, he never stole 40 bases again, and his success rate dropped. And, oh yeah, he wasn’t a great fielder. But he did hit for a decent average, and he did draw a few walks, and of course, he ran well, so he was an exciting and fairly functional player. Left fielder Adam Comorosky (1926-35) had a big year for Pittsburgh in 1930 – he batted .313 with 47 doubles, a league-high 23 triples, 12 home runs. He scored 112 runs and drove in 119, and for good measure, he led the league with 33 sac bunts. That was by far the best year of his career. He appears to have been a good defensive outfielder as well. He finished his career at .285, but with just 28 home runs.

Catcher: Amos Cross (1885-87) was the older brother of Lave Cross, who had 2,651 hits and who scored and drove in more than 2,700 runs. Amos had a good year at age 26 but he played just eight games the following year and was dead at age 28. It’s not clear how he died, but we’re open to suggestions.

Rotation: Andy Coakley (1902-11) won 58 games and had a 2.35 career ERA in the deadball era. He never led the league in anything, but he had two seasons with ERAs below 2.00 with well over 200 innings pitched. He went on to a long coaching career at Columbia University. Aaron Cook (2002-12) spent most of his career with the Colorado Rockies and won 76 games. Alex Cobb (2011- ) was shaping up as a very fine young starter with the Tampa Rays until elbow surgery cost him his 2015 season and most of 2016. But  he's got a career record of 36-25 with a 3.44 ERA, and if he comes back strong, he could ultimately become the ace of this staff. Andrew Cashner (2010- ) is a pretty fair pitcher when he is healthy. But he's not healthy very often. He came up with the Cubs, but went to the Padres in a trade for Anthony Rizzo (in retrospect, quite a steal for the Cubs). Cashner looked very promising for San Diego for a few years, but at this point he is bouncing around the majors trying to regain his command. Lefty Adam Conley (2015- ) has shown well for parts of two seasons in Miami's rotation.

 Bullpen: Cuban fireballer Aroldis Chapman (2010- ) is as overpowering as any closer we've ever seen. Seven years into his career he's got an ERA of 2.08, and he has struck out 636 batters in 377 innings (that would be 15.2 per nine innings if you do the math). He arrived with the Reds as a 22-year-old import with a fastball that lights up the radar gun at speeds approaching 105 mph. Nothing has slowed him down - not even getting hit in the head with one of his fastballs lined back up the middle. He won a World Series with the Cubs in 2016 and is now with the Yankees. If he stays healthy, his career numbers could be eye-popping. Alex Carrasquel (1939-49) was the first Venezuelan to play in the majors, and he struck out DiMaggio, Gehrig and Dickey in his debut. That was an anomaly – he was a good pitcher but not a great one, and he didn’t strike out a lot of batters. He effectively ended his major league career in 1945 when he jumped from the Senators to the outlaw Mexican League, though he came back for three games with the White Sox in 1949. Alex Colome (2013- ) was a fine set-up man for Tampa Bay in 2014, and he became the team's closer in 2015, saving 37 games and posting a 1.91 ERA. Al Corwin (1951-55) pitched for the Giants and did well enough to get by for several years. Alberto Castillo (2008-11) is a Cuban lefty who has had a long career in the minors and a few call-ups to the Orioles in his mid-30s. We'll always switch catchers when he comes in so our battery will be a coupla Alberto Castillos. Aaron Crow (2011- ) is a talented and dependable reliever with the Royals. He's a Topeka native and a former University of Missouri star who is a natural favorite in Kansas City. Al Cicotte (1957-62) was the great-nephew of disgraced Black Sox conspirator Eddie Cicotte. He was nowhere near as good as his great uncle Eddie – just a swingman who pitched for six teams in five seasons.

Bench: In a crowded middle infield picture, Alex Cintron (2001-09) and Andujar Cedeno (1990-96) emerge as the utility guys. Cintron, given a regular job by the Diamondbacks in 2003, batted .317 with some power. He spent the rest of his career proving he wasn’t really that good. Cedeno was fascinating to baseball fans because his arrival as a 20-year-old rookie hinted that the Astros were preparing to hand their shortstop job over to a guy whose name combined references to two of the team’s most talented and famous head cases (Joaquin Andujar and Cesar Cedeno). It didn’t really work out – Andujar Cedeno batted below .250, didn’t walk, was a poor defensive shortstop and had just mid-range power – but he hung around as a part-time infielder for several years. Outfielder Allie Clark (1947-53) was a journeyman role player who won World Series titles with the Yankees in 1947 and the Indians in 1948. Archi Cianfrocco (1992-98) was versatile enough to play all over the field, but he never fully developed as a hitter. He had a bit of pop, but he struck out too much, didn’t walk enough and struggled to push his batting average north of .250. Alberto “Bambino” Castillo (1995-2007) was a light-hitting backup catcher with solid defensive skills for more than a decade.

Manager: Andy Cohen was the manager of the Phillies for 24 hours in 1960. Eddie Sawyer was the team’s manager but he stepped down early in the season, and Cohen had the job on an interim basis until Gene Mauch was hired one day later. Cohen’s career record as a big-league manager was 1-0. We’ll see if he can keep on winning with the A.C. team. He’ll be assisted by longtime Dodgers executive Al Campanis.

AD: The Abner Doubledays

Infield: First baseman Alvin Davis (1984-92) was sort of Fred McGriff Lite. He wasn’t as good as McGriff, and he didn’t play nearly as long, but he was a similar model – a .280-.290 hitter who drew lots of walks and hit for power. He spent almost his entire career with the Mariners, winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 1984 (.284-27-116) and going on to hit 160 career home runs. He will be sharing the infield with Alvin Dark (1946-60), Art Devlin (1904-13) and Aledmys Diaz (2016- ), though the exact configuration is a bit tricky. Diaz and Dark are both shortstops. Devlin is a third baseman who also played sparingly at other infield spots. Nobody played more than a handful of innings at second base. For now, we'll allow Dark and Devlin to stay at their natural positions, and move Diaz to second base, where he played for two innings as a rookie. It's far from perfect, but it feels like the best use of resources for the A.D. roster. Dark was a good enough player that historian Bill James has suggested he may have made the Hall of Fame if the start of his playing career had not been delayed by World War II. He was a good contact hitter with a little bit of power (126 career home runs) and a decent glove. He won a Rookie of the Year Award, played in three all-star games and had a .323 batting average in 16 World Series games. Devlin was also a contact hitter, with more speed than Dark but less power. Diaz is a Cuban defector who had an outstanding rookie year for the Cardinals and is just getting started.

Outfield: Hall of Famer Andre “Hawk” Dawson (1976-96) came up with the Expos as a speed burning center fielder who also hit with power. Knee injuries, complicated by the artificial turf at Stade Olympique, eventually took away his speed and forced him to move to right field, where his powerful throwing arm remained an asset. Dawson hit 438 home runs and drove in almost 1,600 runs, but he had a terrible batting eye that limited his ability to get on base. He was tremendously respected as a team leader and a mentor to young players, which allowed him to stay in the game into his 40s. In 1987, when the owners colluded and secretly agreed not to sign any free agents, Dawson (looking to escape the artificial turf) famously handed the Cubs a blank contract with his signature on it and told them to fill in whatever salary they wanted. The Cubs signed him for $500,000 plus some incentives, and he responded with 49 home runs, 137 RBI and an NL MVP award. That season made him a Cubs legend, and he spent five more years there. Dawson will stay in center field on this team, while Adam Dunn (2001-14) will start in right. Dunn is a huge guy, listed at 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds, and a consistent slugger. How consistent? For four straight years, starting in 2005, he he exactly 40 home runs. He broke that streak by hitting 38 in back-to-back seasons. Dunn is a “three true outcomes” player – just under half of his career plate appearances resulted in either a home run, a strikeout or a walk. His 222 strikeouts in 2012 is the second-highest total of all time, but he also had seven seasons with more than 100 walks, and he hit 462 career home runs. (As a side note, the 2009 Washington Nationals frequently used an outfield of Dunn, Elijah Dukes and Austin Kearns, a trio that according to their officially listed weights that year checked in at a combined 778 pounds. If that ain’t a record, we want to see who beats it.) Left fielder Abner Dalrymple (1878-91) was a 19th-century leadoff batter who ran well and had some pop.

Catcher: Al DeVormer (1918-27) was never more than a backup in the majors, but he played for some very good teams and spent almost his entire major-league career playing for Hall of Fame managers (Miller Huggins, Frank Chance and John McGraw). He was a respected defensive catcher and a popualr teammate, and he stuck around in the minors until he was 40.

Rotation: Lefty Al Downing (1961-77) came up with the Yankees in the final years of the Mantle-Berra-Ford dynasty, a kid with an overpowering fastball but also with control problems (he led the AL in both strikeouts and walks in 1964). He eventually got it together enough to win 123 games, including a 20-9 season for the Dodgers in 1971. He was a good pitcher – very, very good at times – but he is probably best known for giving up Hank Aaron’s record-breaking 715th home run. Al Demaree (1912-19) won 80 games for four teams, and he had some good seasons along the way. After he retired, he went on to an even more prominent career, spending several decades drawing highly distinctive sports-themed narrative cartoons for The Sporting News. Art Ditmar (1954-62) was nothing special as a pitcher, but he had the good fortune to spend a few years with the Yankees – in the years right before Al Downing – and therefore he won three pennants and a World Series title. Ditmar split his career between the powerhouse Yankees and the laughingstock A’s – he was 47-32 with a 3.24 ERA with the Yankees, and 25-45 with a 4.97 ERA with the A’s. Atley Donald (1938-45) spent his whole career with the Yankees during the DiMaggio era, putting up a career record of 65-33. He won three World Series titles with the Yankees, though he didn’t appear in the 1939 or ’43 World Series and he pitched badly in the 1941 Series. Anthony Desclafani (2014- ) has got a live arm and decent command. He has won 20 games (and lost 20) in three years for Cincinnati.

Bullpen: Closer Adrian Devine (1973-80) had 11 wins and 15 saves for the Rangers in 1977, which was the highlight of his career. Probably the most interesting detail of his career is the trade history that shuttled him back and forth between Atlanta and Texas. He came up with the Braves and was traded in 1976 to Texas as part of a package for Jeff Burroughs, who was two years removed from his AL MVP award. A year later, he went back to the Braves in a massive deal that involved 11 players moving among four teams. Two years after that, the Rangers traded him back to Atlanta. It seemed like every December at the winter meetings, the Braves and Rangers would exchange Adrian Devine. Art Decatur (1922-27) won 23 games for the Brooklyn Robins and the Philadelphia Phillies. Art Delaney (1924-29) had a distinguished minor-league career but largely got hammered in the majors. He’s a set-up man in this rather thin bullpen. Andy Dunning (1889-91) pitched a total of three games in the majors, all before his 20th birthday, and he appears to have gotten clobbered in all three. Two of them were complete game starts. Arthur Doll (1936-38) pitched in a total of four games and seems to have had better luck than Andrew Dunning. Alec Distaso (1969) pitched in two games for the Cubs at age 20, and he was out of baseball due to arm injuries before he turned 22. He went on to a career with the L.A.P.D. Art Daney (1928) had a major-league career that consisted of one scoreless inning for the Philadelphia A’s. That means the last four guys in our bullpen pitched in a total of 10 major-league games – we’ll be looking for some complete games out of our rotation.

Bench: Argenis Diaz (2010) was an infielder who spent part of one year in the majors and didn't do much, though he could still get some starts on this thin roster. Backup catcher Alex Delgado (1996) spent 18 years in the minors and in Mexico but only got a brief shot in the majors with the Red Sox. Outfielder Alejandro de Aza (2007- ) is a lefty stick with a bit of speed who has bounced all around the majors. He isn't great at anything, but he is OK at everything. That makes him a useful reserve. Adam Duvall (2014- ) is a first baseman and corner outfielder who hit 33 home runs and drove in 103 runs for Cincinnati in 2016, his first full season. He also struck out 164 times. On powe ralone he's got a place on this bench. Outfielder Andy Dirks (2011-13 ) was a decent lefty hitter who never got enough of a foothold in the majors, but he'll be a fine sub and pinch-hitter here.

Manager: Alvin Dark will be player-manager. He won a pennant with the 1962 Giants (might have won the World Series if McCovey had hit the ball three feet to either side on the final play of Game 7), and then won a World Series title with the A’s in 1974 (replacing Dick Williams, who had won titles in Oakland the previous two years but then quit because he was tired of dealing with owner Charles Finley). His career record was 994-954. Early in his managerial career there was the perception that he had difficulties dealing with players of color. A magazine article quoted him saying that blacks and Latins lacked the “mental alertness” of white players; he claimed that he had been misquoted, and several players such as Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson spoke up for him. He later became a devout Christian, which led to a very funny column by Mike Royko about the day that Dark came into a blue-collar saloon in Chicago trying to preach the benefits of godliness and clean living. One of the assembled drunks observed that Babe Ruth was (a.) a drinker and a womanizer, and (b.) a better player than Alvin Dark. When Dark agreed with both assessments, the assembled drunks “drank a shot to the memory of Babe Ruth and dirty living.”

AG: The Attorneys General

Infield: First baseman Andres “The Big Cat” Galarraga (1985-2004) had his biggest years in the high air of Colorado. That’s where he won his batting title (.370 in 1993), his home run title (47 in 1996) and his two RBI titles (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997). Yes, those numbers were inflated by altitude, but they weren’t totally illusions. The Big Cat could hit. He finished with 399 home runs and 1425 RBI; his strikeout-walk ratios sucked, but he did get hit by a lot of pitches, which helped push his career on-base percentage to .347. He spent eight years in Montreal and five in Colorado, and for the rest of his two-decade career he was itinerant, moving from team to team and playing with lots of great ballplayers along the way. Third baseman Alex Gordon (2007- ) is really more at home in left field, but the way the AG lineup shakes out, he returns to his original position. He came up through the Royals’ system as a highly touted third baseman, earning comparisons to George Brett. He struggled for several years to live up to expectations, but then at age 27 he moved to the outfield and became the team’s leader and most dependable hitter. A lifelong Royal (so far), he was a key contributor to the 2015 world champs. At shortstop, there is some confusion, because there were two shortstops named Alex Gonzalez who played around the same time and had amazingly similar skill sets. How similar? The one who played mostly for the Blue Jays had a career average of .243, a career OPS+ of 79, and per 162 games he averaged 32 doubles, three triples and 16 home runs; the one who played mostly for the Marlins batted .245 with a career OPS+ of 79, and per 162 games averaged 33 doubles, three triples and 16 home runs. Neither one was a Gold Glove shortstop, and neither one was an utter klutz at the position. It would be great if they could platoon, but they’re both righties. So the starter will be Alex Gonzalez (1994-2006), the one who played with the Blue Jays. He drew a few more walks and pushed his on-base percentage higher. But both Alex Gonzalezes will see playing time at short, and we’re not sure anyone will be able to tell the difference anyway. No “A.G.” has ever had a significant career at second base, so we’ll be moving Alfredo Griffin (1976-93) there from his natural shortstop position. He did play 55 games (336 innings) at second base. For a guy who couldn’t hit, he had a rather interesting career. Griffin was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1979 (when he batted .287 for Toronto at age 21); he made the all-star team in 1984 despite batting .241 with just four walks and no power, and he won a Gold Glove in ’85 despite making 30 errors. What most people remember who actually watched Griffin play was his aggressiveness on the basepaths. He wasn’t a great base stealer, but he was quick and tremendously alert. If he saw the opportunity, he would score from second on an infield out, or tag up and take third on a pop-up to short. You can’t do those things often, but Griffin always seemed to spot the opportunities.

Outfield: OK, Adrian Gonzalez (2004- ) isn’t really an outfielder. He’s a first baseman, but he has started 21 games in right field, and we do need to find a way to get both him and Andres Galarraga into the middle of the batting order with their big sticks. So we’ll plant Gonzalez in right and hope for the best. He had a stretch in which he drove in 100 more runs seven times in eight seasons, and the one year he missed he drove in 99. Solid hitter all around; he’s passed the 300-homer mark for his career, but he might need a resurgence to reach 400. Left fielder Augie Galan (1934-49) was never all that famous, and he’s all but forgotten now, but he was a hell of a good player – a career .287 hitter who drew plenty of walks, hit some doubles, ran reasonably well. Spending most of his career with the Cubs and the Brooklyn Dodgers, he scored 100 runs four times. He’ll be batting leadoff on this team, and we’re looking for him to touch the plate often with guys like Gordon, Galarraga and Adrian Gonzalez coming up behind him. Center fielder Anthony Gose (2012- ) just isn’t much of a hitter. He runs well – stole almost 300 bases in the minors – but he doesn’t get on base much, doesn’t hit for power and strikes out way too much. His biggest contribution will be putting that speed to use in center, covering some of the ground that Adrian Gonzalez can’t.

Catcher: Alex Gaston (1920-29) was a backup for almost his entire career, and there’s nothing much exciting about him. A .218 career hitter with a decent throwing arm and not much else to sell. He occasionally was the catcher for his younger brother, Milt Gaston, and one afternoon in 1926 when they were on opposing teams, Alex broke up Milt’s no-hitter. Now, it was on the third inning, but … Milt only gave up one more hit the rest of the day, and it was noteworthy because Alex crossed his brother up by singling on the first pitch, when Milt knew very well that Alex pretty much always took the first pitch.

Rotation: Ad Gumbert (1888-96) won 123 games in his career and had a couple of 20-win seasons. But then, he played in an era where pitchers worked a lot of games, and completed them, so winning 22 or 23 games didn’t exactly get you a lot of attention at the time. When he went 23-12 in the Players League in 1890, it was a good season but there were three other guys who won 30 or more. He hit well enough that he occasionally played the outfield as well. Armando Galarraga (2007-12), no relation to the Big Cat, was a mediocre pitcher with a penchant for gopher balls, but he earned his spot in baseball lore on June 2, 2010, when he pitched a perfect game, kinda sorta but not really. Well, really he did, but he didn’t. It depends how you look at it. Officially, he didn’t throw a perfect game. Pitching against Cleveland, he got the first 26 batters out. The 27^th, Jason Donald, hit a sharp grounder to first, and Galarraga ran over to take the throw, beating Donald to the bag by a half-step. But umpire Jim Joyce inexplicably called him safe. It really wasn’t close (see the photo), but Joyce just choked. And, kids, this was before calls could get corrected on replay. So the game continued, Galarraga got the next guy out, and he finished with a 1-hitter that is colloquialy known as “the 28-out perfect game.” As a nice little coda, fans and media turned their fury on poor Mr. Joyce, but the next day Galarraga agreed to take the lineup card out to home plate before the game and  hand it to the emotionally overwhelmed umpire in a lovely show of sportsmanship. A.J. Griffin (2012- ) won 14 games for Oakland in 2013, with a 3.83 ERA and solid peripheral numbers (despite giving up a league-leading 36 home runs). It was a promising season for a 24-year-old, but then his elbow gave out; he missed all of 2014 and most of 2015 recovering from Tommy John Surgery, finally making a handful of starts in the minors at the end of ’15. He won seven games for the Rangers in 2016 but still had trouble with the long ball. Al Gerheauser (1943-48) was a lefty who pitched mostly during World War II, going 25-50 for three teams. Al Grabowski (1929-30), not to be confused with the Mad Hungarian, pitched in 39 games (14 starts) for the pre-Gashouse Cardinals. He didn’t do much of note but did have seven future Hall of Famers as teammates during his brief time in the majors.

Bullpen: There is no obvious closer on the roster, so for now that task falls to Al Gettel (1945-55), a well-traveled swing man who won 38 games in his career. Gettel logged 734 innings for five teams, and it’s never a good sign when a pitcher has a higher total of earned runs (349) than strikeouts (310). He won almost 200 games in the minors and had some outstanding seasons in the Pacific Coast League; while he was playing in Southern California, he got into acting and appeared in several TV westerns and serials, earning the nickname “Two-Gun” Gettel. Angel Guzman (2006-09) had a career record of 3-10 with the Cubs. Currently a pitching coach in his native Venezuela. Aubrey Gatewood (1963-70) won eight games and had a 2.78 career ERA. After three years with the Angels, he knocked around the minors for five years before having one last cup o’coffee with Atlanta in 1970. Al Gould (1916-17) was a diminutive righty who won nine games for the Indians during the Tris Speaker Era.  He had a long career in the Pacific Coast League, winning more than 100 games in the minors and once pitching complete games in both ends of a doubleheader.  Andrew Good (2003-05) was a very consistent pitcher for Arizona and Detroit – in three seasons his ERAs were 5.29, 5.31 and 5.40 (in five innings). Lefty Al “Stretch” Grunwald (1955-59) was a converted minor-league first baseman who pitched three games for Pittsburgh in 1955, went back to the minors, and then worked six games for the Kansas City A’s in 1959. In addition to his long career in the minors, he played in Mexico and Japan. Armando Gabino (2009-10) pitched in seven games for the Twins and Orioles, posting a career ERA of 15.12. His statistics, when extrapolated out to a 162-game season, are truly ghastly.

Bench: The other Alex Gonzalez (1988-2014) is here and will see his share of playing time at shortstop. We’re not even sure their families could tell them apart. Third baseman Al Gallagher (1970-73), known as Dirty Al, wasn’t a terrible hitter. His full name was Alan Mitchell Edward George Patrick Henry Gallagher, which is believed to be the longest name in baseball history, surpassing Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish. Adrian Garrett (1966-76) is the backup catcher.  He’s a lefty stick off the bench, albeit a lefty stick that batted .185 for  his career. He did hit 11 home runs in 276 at-bats, so there’s something. Utility infielder Alex Grammas (1954-63) was a career .247 hitter. He will start some at second base, but will mostly be kept busy managing this team. Outfielder Avisail Garcia (2012- ) is just hitting the prime of his career, but for now he is a .250 hitter with a lot of strikeouts and a little power. (If Garcia is not working out, Al Gionfriddo – who made one of the most famous defensive plays in World Series history – could take his place.)

Manager: Alex Grammas is best known as the third-base coach for Sparky Anderson’s Big Red Machine in Cincinnati. After the Reds won the World Series in 1975, the Milwaukee Brewers hired Grammas as their manager with very high expectations. They finished last in 1976, and avoided a second year in the cellar only because of an expansion in 1977 that established the Blue Jays as the AL’s doormat. As the ’77 Brewers circled the drain, Grammas’ players were criticizing his abilities and he was questioning their effort. He was fired after that season. After coaching one year under Bobby Cox in Atlanta, Grammas was reunited with Sparky in Detroit and coached third base there for more than a decade, including the great 1984 championship team.

AH: The Anne Hathaways

Infield: First baseman Aubrey Huff (2000-12) hit 242 home runs and had more than 900 RBI. He drove in 100 runs three times. Huff came up with Tampa and then wandered around a bit before winning a World Series title with the Giants in 2010. During that pennant drive, he took to wearing a red "rally thong." We think he was joking with that, but the fans took it seriously. When he slumped the following year they sent him dozens of thongs for good luck. Second baseman Aaron Hill (2005- ) has hit more than 150 home runs. His best season was 2009 when – coming back from a concussion the year before – he went .286-36-108 season for Toronto. Third baseman Art Howe (1974-85) was a very functional player whose best years were with the Astros. He was a .260 hitter who made good contact and could play decent defense all over the infield. Shortstop Adeiny Hecharvarria (2012- ) is a Cuban defector who has a solid glove and arm but doesn't contribute much to the offense.

Outfield: Left fielder Adam Hyzdu (2000-06) hit almost 300 home runs in the minors, but he never stuck in the majors. In 407 plate appearances, spread out over six seasons with four teams, he batted .229, struck out 98 times and hit 19 home runs. In 2000, playing for the Altoona Curve in the Eastern League, he went .290-31-106 and was named the league’s MVP. People got excited over that, not realizing that if a first-round draft pick is still in Double-A in his 11th season of pro ball, he probably ought to win the league MVP award. Right fielder Albert Hall (1981-89) sadly never played in Kansas City and therefore never became “the Royal Albert Hall.” (Rimshot) He spent almost his entire career with the Braves, a .250 hitter with a little bit of speed but not much else. Center fielder Aaron Hicks (2013- ) came up with the Twins and is now with the Yankees. He has been given every opportunity to play but has yet to show that he can hit.

Catcher: A.J. Hinch (1998-2004) batted .219 and had a terrible batting eye, but he had a little bit of power (32 home runs in 953 career at-bats) and he was a pretty fair defensive catcher.

Rotation: Andy Hawkins (1982-91) won 84 games, mostly for the Padres. Pitching for the Yankees in July 1990, he had a very eventful stretch of three starts. First, he threw a no-hitter but lost 4-0 because his teammates could neither hit nor field the ball. As the losing pitcher in a road game, he only pitched eight innings, and for that reason his performance was later ruled to not be an official no-hitter even though he pitched a complete game in a nine-inning game and allowed no hits. You decide for yourself. Putting linguistics aside, in his next start he pitched 11 shutout innings but lost 2-0 in the 12th. Then in his next next start, he lost 8-0 to the Chicago White Sox as Melido Perez pitched a rain-shortened six-inning no-hitter. So in the space of two weeks, Hawkins made three starts in which he got zero runs from his teammates, involving two complete-game no-hitters that were later declared not to be no-hitters when the statistic was re-defined, and in between those two he pitched shutout ball for 11 innings but lost. Atlee Hamaker (1981-95) was a talented lefty who could generally get people out when he was healthy but who was very rarely healthy for an entire season. In 1983 he was the best pitcher in the NL for the first half of the season, but he got clobbered in the All-Star Game (7 runs in 2/3 of an inning) and had a miserable second half, though he still led the league in ERA (2.25). The following year he had a 2.18 ERA in six starts before injuries ended his season. He struggled in 1985, missed the entire ’86 season, and then came back for a successful run as a swing man, finishing with 59 career victories. Aaron Harang (2002-15) had a career record of 128-143. He was the first A.H. pitcher with 100 wins, but he was not the first A.H. pitcher with 100 losses. That distinction belongs to Al “Boots” Hollingsworth (1935-46), who finished at 70-104 after a fairly decent career as a journeyman swing man. He had some good seasons along the way and later worked for years as a manager, coach and scout at the major- and minor-league levels. Art “Hard Luck” Houtteman (1945-57) went 87-91 for the Tigers and Indians. He was a solid pitcher whose career record was torpedoed by two bad seasons – he went 2-16 in 1949 and he went 8-20 in 1952, and for the rest of his career he was 77-55.

Bullpen: Closer Al Hrabosky (1970-82) fashioned himself as The Mad Hungarian. He had long, dark hair and a Fu Manchu mustache, and between hitters he would step behind the mound, turn his back to the plate and work himself into a frenzy before charging back up the mound with a glare in his eye. Hrabosky had a couple of very good seasons for the Cardinals (13-3, 1.66 with a league-high 22 saves in 1975), but when straight-laced manager Vern Rapp demanded that he shave and cut his hair, Hrabosky – like Samson – seemed to lose his mystique. He had a fine career – 64 wins, 97 saves and a 3.10 ERA – but his legacy remains the image of the angry man with the bushy mustache. Al Holland (1977-87), another compact lefty, was actually a very similar pitcher to Hrabosky, right down to the facial hair and the angry stare. Holland saved 78 games, mostly for the Phillies and the Giants. Andy “Swede” Hansen (1944-53) won 23 games in a career split between the Phillies and the Giants. Aaron Heilman (2003-11) was a Mets prospect who struggled as a starter but put together a respectable career as a middle reliever. Andy Hassler (1971-85) was a lefty swingman who pitched a long time for a lot of teams and generally had success by keeping the ball down and pitching to contact. Al Hargesheimer (1980-86) pitched a few games here and there for the Giants, Cubs and Royals but never got a strong foothold in the bigs. Art “Red” Herring (1929-47) was a swingman who pitched mostly for the Tigers and the Dodgers.

Bench: Infielder Andy High (1922-34) was primarily a third baseman but he moves to short, where he played occasionally, because that’s where he is most needed on this roster. He was a journeyman who never struck out, and his four seasons with the Cardinals (1928-31) included three pennants and a World Series title. He was 5-foot-6, and his nickname was “Knee” High. Utility man Al “Who Goes There?” Halt (1914-18) played mostly in the Federal League and didn’t make much of an impression. Outfielder Al Heist (1960-62) had a long, serviceable career in the minors before graduating to the Cubs in his early 30s. He stole just six bases in his career, which is disappointing since you would think that a guy named Heist would steal more. (Rimshot.) Arthur “Hoss” Hoelskoetter (1905-08) played all nine positions for the Cardinals in the early 20th century, and it didn’t appear to be a novelty. He played at least a dozen games at every position, including 49 behind the plate and 15 pitching. He couldn’t hit, but his versatility will come in handy. Backup catcher Austin Hedges (2015- ) hit .168 in his first shot at the majors, but he has some talent and he is still young. He could eventually push A.J. Hinch for the starting job.


Manager: Art Howe will be the player-manager. He has managed the Astros, A’s and Mets and has won 1,129 games and two division titles. Played by Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman in the movie “Moneyball.”

AM: The Alonzo Mourning Mornings

Infield: First baseman Alex McKinnon (1884-87) was a .300 hitter in the early years of the National League who slashed out a lot of doubles and triples. His career was cut short when he contracted typhoid fever and died at age 30. Second baseman Al Myers (1884-91) was a solid middle infielder who played for four teams in the 1880s. He was your basic .250 contact hitter with a decent glove. Third baseman Alex McCarthy (1910-17) was a light-hitting utility infielder from Notre Dame who backed up (and sometimes played alongside) Honus Wagner with the Pirates for a few seasons. Shortstop Al Moran (1963-64) played for the New York Mets during their hapless post-expansion years. He batted .195 with just eight extra-base hits in almost 400 times to the plate, and he stole just three bases in 10 attempts. He wasn’t very good in the field either.

Outfield: Center fielder Andrew McCutchen (2009- ) won the NL MVP award in 2013 and finished in the top five in the voting every year from 2012-15. He's a five-tool player, with power and speed and a good glove. His production fell way off in 2016, leading to speculation about nagging injuries. We're still waiting to see if he can get back on track in his 30s. Left fielder Austin McHenry (1918-22) was a fine player w ith the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1921, at age 25, he batted .350 with 37 doubles, 17 home runs and 102 RBI. Midway through the next season he was having another good year when he began to misjudge fly balls. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died at age 27. Right fielder Al Martin (1992-2003) was a solid player. He batted .276 for his career, with 132 home runs and 173 steals. He seemed to court controversy, however. He used to talk about his days playing football at Southern Cal, and he once compared an outfield collision to the sensation he had while tackling an All-American runner from Michigan State. Problem is, he never played football at USC. In fact, he never attended USC. He offered no explanation for why he thought he did. Later, he was accused of domestic violence and the police realized that he actually had two wives. He did have an explanation for that one - he said he didn't realize that the second ceremony was a real, legally binding wedding ceremony. That went over real well with the missus.

Catcher: Adam Melhuse (2000-08) batted .230 with a little bit of power but poor command of the strike zone. It was enough to keep him around as a backup and a part-time player for several seasons.

Rotation: Andy Messersmith (1968-79) was an outstanding pitcher – durable, a two-time 20-game winner, regularly among the league leaders in ERA – but he is best known as baseball’s first free agent. Pitching for the Dodgers in 1975, and still bound to the team in perpetuity under the guidelines of the reserve agreement in the basic contact, he tried to negotiate a no-trade clause and things got ugly. One thing led to another, and he filed a challenge to the reserve clause, and he succeeded where others had failed before. An arbiter ruled that players could “play out their option” and become free agents. Messersmith signed a three-year deal with Atlanta for a total of $1 million, plus a $400,000 signing bonus. (Ted Turner, the Braves’ maverick owner, wanted to replace Messersmith’s name on the back of his jersey with “CHANNEL 17” as an advertisement for his fledgling cable TV network WTBS, but MLB said no.) Moving from a good team to a bad one, trying to live up to the hype surrounding the contract, Messersmith struggled and then got hurt. He went 11-11 in his first year with the Braves and won just seven games after that. He finished with a career record of 130-99 with an ERA of 2.86. Al Mamaux (1913-24) had a couple of 21-win seasons with the Pirates in his early 20s but mostly struggled after that. His record through age 22 was 47-25; for the rest of his career it was 29-42. He also won 150 games in the minors, all in the International League. Art Mahaffey (1960-66) lost 19 for the Phillies in 1961 and then turned around and won 19 for them in 1962. He wasn’t an overpowering pitcher, but he once struck out 17 in a game. Happy Al Milnar (1936-46) was a lefty who won 57 games, all but two of them for the Indians. He earned his place in baseball history by giving up the final hit in Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. Lefty Angel Miranda (1993-97) went 17-21 as a swingman for the Brewers.

Bullpen: Closer Al McBean (1961-70) was, with all due respect to Horace Clarke, probably the best player ever born in the Virgin Islands. He won 67 games, saved 63 and had a career ERA of 3.13. He threw a hard sinker and came from a lot of different angles and arm slots to keep hitters off balance. Andrew Miller (2006- ) will get some saves but mostly will be used in the role that's been developed for him in his 30s - a hard-throwing ace who can come into the game at any time to rescue his team from a predicament. A 6-foot-7 lefty, he took a while to find himself at the big-league level, but when he did figure it out in his mid-20s, he began dominating hitters. In 2016 he had a 1.50 ERA with 123 strikeouts and nine walks; he was one of the key players who took Cleveland to the verge of a World Series title. Alan Mills (1990-2001) was an effective pitcher for a decade, mostly for the Orioles, winning 39 games in middle relief. Andy McGaffigan (1981-91) had a good run as a journeyman swingman, putting up a 3.38 career ERA. He was never a star, but he was always effective. Lefty Archie McKain (1937-43), nicknamed “Happy” just like Al Milnar, had a few good years for the Red Sox and the Tigers. Alvin Morman (1996-99) pitched for four teams in four years and was generally alright but never actually good. Aurelio Monteagudo (1963-73) had a long career in the minors, winning 100 games, but his major-league career was limited to a few relatively short callups that added up to 72 games.

Bench: Outfielder Andres Mora (1976-80) came to the Orioles as a highly touted prospect but he never really developed. The power was there, but he struck out too much, didn’t get on base and couldn’t crack Earl Weaver’s lineup. Gone before he turned 30. Infielder Aaron Miles (2003- ) is a good defensive player and a passable hitter who makes good contact. Outfielder Alex Metzler (1925-30) was a lefty hitter with a bit of speed and a good line drive stroke that produced a lot of doubles and triples. Infielder Amby McConnell (1908-11) – one of the few guys named Ambrose who would choose to shorten it to “Amby” – was a decent hitter with a bit of speed. He had the distinction of hitting into the first undisputed unassisted triple play in baseball history. Backup catcher Al Montgomery (1941) was a promsing young player – he batted just .192 for the Boston Braves, but he had a good track record in the minors – when he died at age 21 in a car crash heading north from spring training in 1942. He makes at least three members of this team who died tragically young.

Manager: No A.M. has ever managed in the majors, but Amby McConnell had a long career in the minors as a coach, manager and even a team owner. We’ll hand him the reins for now.

AP: The Arnold Palmers

Infield: Albert Pujols (2001- ) will likely rival Jimmie Foxx for the title of the second-best first baseman of all time, behind the Iron Horse. For most of his career in St. Louis he was  a .300-30-100 machine with 90-100 walks a year. Actually that sells him short - in his prime he was more like a .330-45-120 batter, with fine defense. Now a shell of the player he was in his prime, he is still a powerful slugger for the Angels. He probably won't reach 700 home runs, but he's a good bet to become the sixth player in history with 2,000 career RBI. In the first 11 years of his career, he scored 100 runs 10 times and drove in 100 runs 10 times. The only year he didn't score 100, he scored 99. The only year he didn't drive in 100, he drove in 99. He has won three MVP awards and finished second in the voting four times. As a bonus, he plays Gold Glove defense. On top of it all, he is a respected, soft-spoken man who has not had a hint of controversy in his career. Third baseman Art Phelan (1910-15) was a speedy third baseman who hit a lot of triples. He was a regular for one year with the Reds and one year with the Cubs, and a semi-regular in another season, but he never hit enough to nail down a full-time job. Second baseman Arquimedez Pozo (1995-97) had some spectacular seasons as a young minor-leaguer, establishing himself as a hot prospect. He never got things together in the majors, struggling in a few dozen games with the Red Sox, and he never made it back to the majors after age 23. By his mid-20s, he was playing in Japan and Mexico. Shortstop Al Pedrique (1987-89) batted .300 in a partial season with Pittsburgh but he struggled to hit .200 after that.

Outfield: Center fielder A.J. Pollock (2012- ) is right in the middle of his career with the Diamondbacks, and it's hard to say with any certainty how that career will turn out. He's got lots of talent, as evidenced by a 2015 season when he batted .315 with 20 home runs and 111 runs, stealing 39 bases and winning the Gold Glove. But he's battled injuries since then. If he gets back on track and stays healthy, he could be a second-line star in his 30s. Right fielder Angel Pagan (2006-16 ) was a speedster, a pretty fair hitter, and a good defensive center fielder. He's a very useful player and could even see some starting time on this roster. Left fielder Andy Pafko (1943-59) had a long career with the Cubs and the Braves, with a couple of years in Brooklyn in between (he was the left fielder who watched Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” sail over his head). Pafko was a good player, a .285 career hitter with 213 career home runs and 976 RBI.

Catcher: A.J. Pierzynski (1998-2016) wasn’t great, but he was consistent enough to play regularly into his late 30s, pushing past the 2,000-hit mark that, for catchers, is generally reserved for much greater players than he. He hit for a decent average and was good for double-digit home runs. He was a pepperpot type who gets under the skin of opposing players and fans, but he gets the job done. (In truth, "pepperpot" is probably a euphemism for the type of word we don't use in this family-friendly blog.) In perhaps the most famous play of his long career, he literally stole an ALCS game from the Angels in 2005. somehow convincing the confused umpiring crew - several seconds after he had struck out to end the ninth inning in a tie game - that the pitch had bounced in the dirt. He would score the winning run, a key moment in the White Sox's road to the World Series championship that year.

Rotation: Lefty Andy Pettitte (1995-2010) was the right guy with the right team in the right era. He was a durable, dependable pitcher who arrived with the Yankees at the same time as Jeter, Rivera, Bernie, Posada and Co. He never won an ERA title and was only in the top 10 three times, but he was always good, and he played for good teams. As a result, he won 240 games with a .635 winning percentage, and he played for eight pennant winners and five World Series champs. He won 19 postseason games and developed a reputation as a big-game pitcher. That reputation, as well as his image as a soft-spoken and well-liked ballplayer, made him one of the few players to remain popular even after admitting to steroid use. Arlie Pond (1895-98) – real name Erasmus Arlington Pond – went 16-8 for the Baltimore Orioles in 1896 and 18-9 in 1897. He had earned a medical degree from University of Vermont before signing with the Oriole, and he did his residency and studied surgery at Johns Hopkins while in Baltimore. He pitched a 5-hit shutout in his final game before leaving to become acting assistant surgeon of the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War. He eventually founded a hospital in the Phillippines to treat lepers and became a hero in that country. Ariel Prieto (1995-2001) was a Cuban star who defected to the U.S., signed with the Oakland A’s and was expected to be an instant sensation. It didn’t happen. He was never more than an average pitcher in the majors, and he finished with a 15-24 record and a 4.85 ERA for his career. Arnie Portocarrero (1954-60) went 15-11 for the 1958 Orioles; in the rest of his career his record was 23-46. Al Pratt (1871-72) had a career record of 12-26. His full name was Albert, and his nickname was Uncle Al, so we’ll play Paul McCartney while he warms up.

Bullpen: Closer Alejandro Pena (1981-96) was a terrific pitcher who won the N.L. ERA title at age 25 before a shoulder injury forced his move to the bullpen. He was outstanding there, working in mostly set-up relief but logging enough time as a closer to save 74 games in his career. His work as a fill-in closer was critical to the Atlanta Braves’ stretch drive in 1991. He won World Series titles in Los Angeles and Atlanta, and his career postseason ERA was 2.03. Aaron Poreda (2009-14) was a 6-foot-6 lefty taken in the first round of the 2007 draft by the White Sox. He bounced around a bit, had Tommy John Surgery, got hit hard in a few outings for the Rangers in 2014, and later spent a year pitching in Japan. Adam Peterson (1987-91) got several shots with the White Sox but generally got clobbered. Lefty Ambrose Puttman (1903-06) had a couple of 20-win seasons in the minors but never had much success in the majors; the best thing about him is that if you see his photograph at baseballreference.com, he actually looks like an Ambrose Puttman. Alfonso Pulido (1983-86) was a Mexican lefty who pitched a few games for the Pirates and the Yankees. Al Pierotti (1920-21) pitched well for the Boston Braves in 1920, with a 2.88 ERA in 25 innings at age 25. The following season he got hit hard in two outings and went back to the minors and won 22 games. And then he was out of pro baseball a year later. Abner Powell (1884-86) was not a good pitcher. His career ERA of 4.00 was pretty weak in the era when he pitched, and then there’s the little detail that he gave up almost as many unearned runs as earned, which helps to explain his career record of 8-18.

Bench: Outfielder Adolfo Phillips (1964-72) arrived in the majors as a hot power-speed prospect. When the Chicago Cubs acquired Phillips from the Astros, future Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins was a throw-in. Leo Durocher, who had developed a young Willie Mays with the Giants, thought he had hit the jackpot again with Phillips – but it wasn’t to be. He stole 30 bases a couple of times, he could reach 15-20 home runs and he played solid defense. But he didn’t like the expectations that were heaped upon him, and he preferred to bat at the bottom of the order. He faded fast and was done at age 30. Infielder Ace Parker (1937-38) batted .179 for the Philadelphia A's, but he is a legend here in Southeastern Virginia - a multi-sport star at Duke University (later baseball coach there for more than a decade), an NFL Hall of Famer and an outstanding golfer. Ace lived to be 101 years old, and in his late 90s was still hitting 'em straight down the fairway at the country club he founded. A truly fine man. Outfielder  Albie Pearson (1958-66) was a tiny little slap hitter who almost never struck out. He was listed at 5-foot-5 and 140 pounds, and he used that small frame to draw tons of walks. He played mostly center field but he’ll shift to right to accommodate Adolfo Phillips. Antonio Perez (2003-06) was a quick utility infielder who didn't hit much. Backup catcher Angel Pena (1998-2001) batted .209 for the Dodgers.

Manager: Hall of Famer Alex Pompez was never formally a manager, but his resume is sufficient for him to get the job here. A Cuban immigrant and an operator of illegal gambling operations, he was an influential owner and promoter in the Negro Leagues for many years. After the demise of the Negro Leagues, he worked as a scout for the New York (and later San Francisco) Giants, and he played a key role in bringing Caribbean and Latin American players to the majors. We think he’ll do a good job here, and we’re hoping he’ll get some more production out of Ariel Prieto.

AR: The Al Rokers / Andy Rooneys

Infield: Alex Rodriguez (1994-2016) was the second-greatest shortstop of all time (behind Wagner). This detail gets lost in the always impassioned discussions of A-Rod’s career, which have only grown more impassioned as his steroid use has come to light. People forget that he was a Gold Glove shortstop before he came to the Yankees and moved to third base so that Derek Jeter (much weaker defensively, but an institution with the team) could stay at short. His great successes are often placed within the context of his supposed postseason underachievement, though his postseason numbers are fine (.290 batting average, .396 on-base, .528 slugging) and he has produced as many runs and RBI per postseason at-bat as Jeter. There has been much resentment among fans and media of A-Rod’s legendary quarter-billion dollar contract with the Rangers, but (a.) his level of production in Texas was astronomical, and (b.) the effect of that contract on the Rangers’ payroll capabilities has been dreadfully overstated and misstated. Of course, there was also A-Rod’s admission that he used steroids after signing that contract, so fans can make of that what they will. Put all of that aside and just look at the ballplayer. He joins Aaron and Ruth (pretty fair company) as the only players in history with 2,000 runs and 2,000 RBI. He had 3,115 hits, 696 home runs and three MVP awards. You don't have to like him, but he is on the short list of the greatest players who ever lived. Al Rosen (1947-56) saw the start of his career delayed by World War II and the end of his career hastened by back injuries. The injuries forced him to move from third base to first, and that’s where he’ll play on this team because of roster requirements. In his prime, Rosen was a devastating player for the Indians – from 1950-54 he averaged .298-31-114, leading the AL twice in home runs, twice in total bases and twice in RBI, as well as once each in runs and slugging. The injuries ended his career at age 32. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez (1998-2015) was been a consistent slugger for the Pirates, Cubs and Brewers, good for 25-30 home runs per year like clockwork. He finished with 386 home runs and more than 1,400 RBI. Second baseman Alexei Ramirez (2008-16) was a star in his native Cuba before he came to the U.S. at age 26 to play for the White Sox. He had some nice pop and decent speed (114 home runs, 143 stolen bases) and provided decent defense at either middle infield position.

Outfield: Right fielder Alexis Rios (2004-15) would hit .290-.300 in a good year, with line drive power and decent speed. He hit 169 home runs and stole 253 bases. Center fielder Aaron Rowand (2001-11) played good defense and hit with line drive power. His strikeout-walk ratio wasn’t very good and his speed was just so-so, but he was a quality player for several years. Injuries were an issue, whether they occurred in motorcyle crashes, on-field collisions or face-first dashes into outfield fences. Left fielder Alec Radcliffe, brother of Negro League star Ted “Double-Duty” Radcliffe, was primarily a third baseman but also played some outfield. Radcliffe hit for average and power, but he had a bad temper that caused him to get into fights with players and umpires. He was suspended at least twice by his own brother when Double-Duty was managing the Chicago American Giants. Off the field, Alec was a more quiet man and never got as much attention as his brother.

Catcher: Aaron Robinson (1943-51) was a good lefty hitter who spent a long time in the minors, served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War Ii and didn’t get regular playing time in the majors until he was 30. He didn’t hit for a high average, but he drew plenty of walks and had some power.

Rotation: Amos Rusie (1889-1901) was one of the early fireballers of the era when pitching was starting to resemble the modern game (overhand, no running starts, 60 feet 6 inches). He won 248 games, and he led the league in strikeouts and walks five times apiece. He was taking a regular turn in the rotation with Indianapolis at age 18 and finished with Cincinnati by 30; in between he was a very fine pitcher for the New York Giants, and when he was done he worked as a night watchman at the Polo Grounds. Allie Reynolds (1942-54), a Native American Indian whose teammates called him “Superchief,” won 182 games for the Indians and the Yankees. In 1952, at age 35, he went 20-8 for the Yankees with a league-leading 2.06 ERA. He was a member of six championships teams in New York, and in those six World Series he went 7-2 with a 2.79 ERA. Lefty Art Reinhart (1919-28) won 111 games in the minors but only pitched for a few years in the majors, going 30-18 for the Cardinals and splitting his time evenly between the rotation and the bullpen. He made one appearance in the 1926 World Series, facing five batters, giving up one hit and four walks, with four of those runners scoring. Armando Reynoso (1991-2002) had several fine years pitching in the thin air of Colorado. He won 68 games in his career. Anthony Reyes (2005-09) was a hot pitching prospect for the Cardinals who liked to wear his hat with a perfectly flat brim, like a state trooper or a Canadian Mountie. His career was derailed by injuries and ineffectiveness, but he had some good stuff.

Bullpen:  Addison Reed (2011- ) saved 101 games for the White Sox between 2012-14. He has pitched mostly set-up since then, but has done some closing as needed. His ERAs have been up and down, but he strikes out 10 batters per nine innings. Arthur Rhodes (1991-2011 ) was in the Orioles’ bullpen at age 21, and he pitched well into his 40s – he had Tommy John surgery at age 37 and returned as an outstanding lefty specialist. Allen Russell (1915-25) had 42 saves. Of course, Russell’s were figured retroactively because saves were not a recognized statistic way back then, but it still shows that he finished a lot of games on a regular basis while working as a swingman for the Yankees and the Red Sox. A.J. Ramos (2011- ) became the Marlins closer in 2015, and he could eventually take over that role on this team. He went to Texas Tech, in his hometown of Lubbock, and like our current closer, he strikes out 10 batters per nine innings. Al Reyes (1995-2008) is no relation to Anthony Reyes, but they were teammates with the Cardinals at one point. He pitched for seven teams and was generally decent enough over the course of a 13-year career. Andy Rincon (1980-82) was a promising pitcher for the Cardinals whose career was ended by injury at age 23. Rincon pitched very well in four starts at the end of the 1980 season, and he got off to a good start in the rotation in 1981. In his fifth start that year, Rincon suffered a broken arm when he was struck by a line drive off the bat of Phil Garner. He missed the rest of the season, and when he came back the following season he found that he could no longer throw strikes. After a handful of games, he was done. Allen Ripley (1978-82) won 23 games for the Red Sox, Giants and Cubs.

Bench: Third baseman Anthony Rendon (2013- ) is a productive hitter, and we're not just talking about the day in 2017 when he went 6-for-6 with three home runs and 10 RBI (though that was pretty amazing). Surrounded by a solid Washington Nationals team, he scored 111 runs in his first full season and is always a threat. Like Rendon, First baseman Anthony Rizzo (2011- ) will soon be pushing for a starting job. Drafted by the Red Sox, he was part of a package of young players shipped to San Diego in exchange for Adrian Gonzalez. Then San Diego dealt him to the Cubs for Andrew Cashner. Then, at age 22 and with his third organization, Rizzo emerged as one of the top sluggers in the game. He is a 30-homer, 100-RBI guy in the prime of his career, and he helped the Cubs win that elusive World Series. At this point, he's a monstrous lefty stick off the bench. His Cubs teammate, second baseman Addison Russell (2015- ) stands next to him on the field and will sit next to him on this bench, at least for now. A young player with lots of skills, he is still putting his full game together but has the potential to be awfully good. Outfielder Art Rebel (1938-45) had 2,000 hits in the minors but only played briefly in the majors for a few games in 1938 with the Phillies and for 26 games with the Cardinals in 1945. When he comes to the plate, the PA will blare Billy Idols’ “Rebel Yell.” Reserve catcher Anthony Recker (2011- ) is struggling to bat .200, but he's got a little bit of power.

Manager: Al Reach had an undistinguished playing career and he managed a few games for Philadelphia in 1890. His biggest impact on the sport came through the sporting goods company he founded, which was a rival to Spalding and was eventually purchased by Spalding. In addition to manufacturing athletic equipment, the company published the Reach Guide, one of the most important and influential annual baseball publications of its time.

AS: The Alan Shores

Infield: Alfonso Soriano (1999-14) had obvious talents and obvious weaknesses. One of his weaknesses was that he was an absolutely brutal second baseman, necessitating a move to the outfield (against his wishes). But this team needs a second baseman more than it needs a left fielder, so he will stay in the infield and we'll cross our fingers. His strengths, in his prime, were power and speed. On a regular basis he would bang out 40-plus doubles and 30-40 home runs, and he would steal 40 bases at a high success rate. He also struck out a ton and didn’t walk enough, so he was never on base enough to bat at the top of the batting order. The full package adds up to an awfully good ballplayer – 412 career home runs and almost 300 steals. As long as we have an outfielder at second base, we might as well have one at third, too. Alfonso Soriano played more than 700 games at second, and Al Smith (1953-64) played almost 400 at third, though he was primarily an outfielder. Smith was a .270-.280 hitter with power. He didn’t have Soriano’s speed, but he had a better batting eye. He was a fine player, but he is perhaps best known for a funny photo from the 1959 World Series – Smith (playing for the White Sox) was watching a home run fly over the left field fence when a fan trying to catch the ball spilled his beer onto Smith’s head. At least when he plays third base for the Shores, he won’t get soaked with beer. First baseman Art Shamsky (1965-72) had his best year in 1969 for the Miracle Mets, batting .300 with 14 home runs in 303 at-bats. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons (2012- ) is your basic .250 contact hitter with no real power or speed. But in the field he is something special, probably the best defensive infielder of his generation. And he'll need that here as he plays between Soriano and Smith.

Outfield: Left fielder Al Simmons (1924-44), known as “Bucketfoot Al” for his non-traditional batting stroke, played for six teams but established his Hall of Fame legacy with the Philadelphia A’s from 1924-32. During those years he batted .358, averaging 200 hits, 128 RBI and 107 runs per 162 games. He was a key player on the powerhouse A’s teams that won three pennants and two World Series titles, batting .333 in the World Series from 1929-31. His RBI totals (he led the league with 157 in 1929) are partially attributable to the great lineup around him, but also have a lot to do with the fact that he was a line drive machine. He was also an outstanding defensive outfielder. Center fielder Amos Strunk (1908-24) was a teammate of Al Simmons on the 1924 A’s – Strunk’s last season and Simmons’ first. Strunk had made his name with Connie Mack’s previous Philadelphia A’s juggernaut, playing in four World Series (and winning three) between 1910-14. Strunk was a .285 hitter in the deadball era, with a good batting eye and excellent speed, and he had a reputation as a great defensive center fielder. Right fielder Al Spangler (1959-71) played for several teams, including the Aaron-Mathews Braves, the expansion Colt .45s and the Banks-Santo Cubs. He was a solid contact hitter but never had enough power or speed to establish himself as a fulltime player.

Catcher: Andy Seminick (1943-57) was a very valuable player over the course of 15 seasons. He didn’t hit for a high average, but he drew a good number of walks and could be counted on for 15-20 home runs given regular playing time.

Rotation: Al Spalding (1871-77) is one of the towering figures in 19th-century baseball. He was a dominant pitcher, leading the National Association in wins every year from 1871-76. He had a career record of 252-65 despite retiring as an active player in his mid-20s to focus on his work in the front office and on the Spalding sporting goods empire he was establishing with his brother. He became owner of the Chicago White Stockings and later played a central role in the development of the National League. He published the first official rulebook for the sport (stipulating, by the way, that only Spalding baseballs could be used), and he also established the Baseball Guide, the preeminent publication of its time in chronicling the sport. Lefty Al Smith (1934-45), no relation to the guy who got the beer spilled on his head, had some good seasons on his way to a career record of 99-101. Pitching for the Giants in 1936 he led the NL with four shutouts, and in 1943 he went 17-7 for the Indians. Aaron Sele (1993-2007) won 148 games in his career, highlighted by 19 and 18 for the Rangers in 1998-99. Anibal Sanchez (2006- ) has been around long enough, and had enough good years, that it's had to believe he hasn't reached 100 victories yet. But for every 2013 (when he went 14-8 with a 2.57 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 182 innings), he's got two more where he struggled. He  was a hot young prospect in his early 20s when the Red Sox traded him to Florida along with Hanley Ramirez in the blockbuster deal that brought Josh Beckett and Mike Lowelll to Boston. He was electrifying as a rookie in 2006, going 10-3 with a 2.83 ERA, but the next few years were marked by injuries and ineffectiveness. Now in his mid-30s. Will he get to 100 wins? We'll have to wait and see. Allen Sothoron (1914-26) had his best years for the generally weak St. Louis Browns, even winning 20 games for them in 1919. His career record was 91-99.

Bullpen: Al “Doc” Severinsen (1969-72) pitched reasonably well for a couple of years before injuries ended his career. OK, so he pitched just 111 innings in his career. But he showed promise, and that’s enough to make him the nominal closer here for the time being. Art Schallock (1951-55) was a diminutive lefty who came up with Casey Stengel’s Yankees but was rarely a key figure in the bullpen. Al Schacht (1919-21) was a mediocre pitcher for the Senators who developed an elaborate comedic persona and parlayed it into a long career as “The Clown Prince of Baseball.” He would do his routines while coaching bases for Washington, and he later took his act on the road and entertained crowds at 25 World Series. Allyn Stout (1931-43) won 20 games in a journeyman career. Aaron Sanchez (2014- ) is likely going to play a big role on this team before he's done. He came up with Toronto at age 21 and posted a 1.09 ERA in 24 relief appearances. He had a good season as a swingman ini 2015, and then in 2016 he went 15-2 as a starter with a league-leading 3.00 ERA. Assuming he remains a starter, he will break into the A.S. rotation soon and could one day end up its ace. Lefty Albert Sima (1950-54) was 11-21 pitching for weak teams in the American League. Andy Sonnanstine (2007-11) won 13 games for Tampa in 2008 and then struggled with injuries. he finished his career at 28-31.

Bench: Infielder Andy Stankiewicz (1992-98) didn’t hit much but drew some walks and hung around for several years as a spare part with four teams.  Infielder Andy Sheets (1996-2002) played for five teams but never hit enough to earn a fulltime job. Outfielder Al Scheer (1913-15) had a couple of good seasons in the Federal League. Outfielder Albert Shaw (1907-15) was an above-average hitter for a few years. Backup catcher Admiral Schlei (1904-11), apparently nicknamed after a Naval hero from the Spanish-American War, had a few decent years for the Reds and the Giants.

Manager: Al Spalding, who managed the White Stockings for a couple of years and was the architect of that great team from the front office, says he would like to manage this team. Who are we to tell him no? After all, he’s supplying the baseballs.

AT: The Alex Trebeks

Infield: Shortstop Alan Trammell (1977-96) was probably better than half of the shortstops in the Hall of Fame. He was a Gold Glove fielder who hit .285 for his career with a good batting eye, decent speed and some pop in his bat (412 doubles, 185 home runs). He drove in 1,000 runs and scored 1,200. Trammell batted .300 seven times, drove in or scored 100 runs four times, but oddly enough the only thing he ever lead the league in was sacrifice bunts (twice). He and Lou Whitaker became the Tigers’ double play combo in the final days of the 1977 season, when Trammell was 19 and Whitaker was 20, and they anchored the Tigers’ infield for the next two decades, winning a World Series title in 1984 (Trammell was MVP of the Series.) First baseman Andre Thornton (1973-87) was a .250-.260 hitter, but he drew a lot of walks (90-100 a year given regular playing time) and he hit home runs (253 in his career). He was slow, and he was just a so-so glove at first base, and combined with the perception of his low batting average, those shortcomings caused people to underestimate him for years. He was traded several times for players who weren’t as good as him, and he wasn’t given 500 at-bats in a season until his late 20s. The Indians made him their regular DH, and he thrived in that role for several years. Third baseman Andy Tracy (2000-09) hit almost 300 home runs in the minors and drove in more than 1,000 runs. A lefty slugger, he played well for Montreal as a rookie, batting .260 but drawing a good number of walks and popping 11 home runs in fewer than 200 at-bats. He struggled the following year, though, and only got a few cups o’coffee after that. His major-league career to date consisted of 314 plate appearances and 277 at-bats, roughly a half-season’s worth, and his totals included 13 home runs, 43 RBI, 35 runs, 30 walks and 99 strikeouts. Second baseman Alex Taveras (1976-83) was a minor-league speedster who couldn’t steal first base in the bigs. (He was apparently no kin to Frank Taveras, but had similar skills.)

Outfield: Center fielder Andres Torres (2002-13) was a minor-league speedster who was better (and luckier) than Alex Taveras. He knocked around for a decade or so, mostly in the minors, until he landed with the Giants in 2009 at age 31. Given playing time he hit well, and given a full-time job for the first time at age 32 he was one of the key players on the Giants championship team in 2010. That was the peak of his career, and he was gone a few years later. Andy Tomberlin (1993-98) was signed out of high school by the Braves as an undrafted pitcher, and then converted to an outfielder at age 20. He was a .300 hitter in the minors, touted as a hot prospect, but his major-league career never really took shape. He played for five teams, never came to the plate 100 times in a season, and batted .233 for his career. Left fielder Andrew Toles (2016- ) is a 5-foot-9 fireplug who is just getting started with the L.A. Dodgers, but he has already shown enough to earn a starting spot ahead of the rest of the A.T. outfield. Batted .314 in 105 at-bats as a rookie. It's a start.

Catcher: Al Todd (1932-43) batted .276 for his career and once had 10 triples in a season. He’s no great shakes, but hey, he had an actual career. On this roster, only Andre Thornton and Alan Trammell had more career at-bats.

Rotation: Adonis Terry (1884-97) won 197 games in his career, threw two no-hitters and struck out 230 batters at age 19. He was a good enough hitter that he also played regularly in the outfield for much of his career. His given name was William H. Terry, and he was 5-11 and 168 pounds, so it’s not clear where the nickname “Adonis” came from – most likely it is a reference to the fact that he was a clean liver who kept himself in good condition during an era when many ballplayers were drunks and carousers. Amaury Telemaco (1996-2005) who won 23 games for three times. He had a live arm and showed some promise, but he had trouble keeping the ball in the park. Lefty Al Tedrow (1914) was 22 years old when he was given three starts by the Indians in 1914. He put up a 1.21 ERA in 22 1/3 innings. That was it for his major-league career. You might wonder why he wouldn’t get a longer look, given his apparent success, and the answer might be that (a.) he gave up as many unearned runs as earned that season, and (b.) he had a losing record in a short minor-league career. Other than that, we don’t know. Andrew Triggs (2016- ) is just getting started with the A's. He didn't throw his first pitch in the majors until age 27, so there's only but so much upside on him. But he has gotten off to a decent start, and that's enough for a spot in this rotation.. Aloysius Travers (1912) had a unique major-league career. In May 1912, Ty Cobb leaped into the stands in New York to attack an obnoxious (and physically handicapped) fan who had been coming to games for several years just to taunt Cobb. The American League suspended Cobb indefinitely, and his Detroit teammates protested by refusing to play their next game. The team, desperate to field a team for a game in Philadelphia, hastily grabbed a handful of players from St. Joseph’s University, gave them Tigers uniforms, and threw them out on the field with a couple of coaches to face the Philadelphia A’s. Twenty-year-old Al Travers was the starting pitcher for the Tigers that day, and he worked a complete game. He gave up 26 hits and 24 runs (though only 14 of them were earned). He struck out one and walked seven. Unfortunately, no pitch count was recorded. Cobb appealed to his teammates to end their sitdown strike, the league shortened his suspension, and the major-league career of Aloysius Travers came to an end – until the Alex Trebeks take the field, that is.

Bullpen: Anthony Telford (1990-2002) will serve as the closer. For four years his early 30s, the Expos used him as a durable setup guy and he pitched consistently well. He was never actually a closer in the majors, or for that matter during his lengthy minor-league career, but he was a dependable reliever and on this roster, that’s enough. Alex Torres (2011- ) had a cup of coffee in 2011 and then had a very fine rookie season in 2013, putting up a 1.71 ERA for Tampa. Aaron Taylor (2002-04) was a 6-foot-7, 230-pound reliever from Valdosta, Ga., who was known as “Big Country.” Pitching a few games here and there for the Mariners, he struck out almost a batter per inning, but he gave up lots of hits, runs and home runs. He had a couple of good years as a minor-league closer and could get a shot at that role here. Lefty Angel Torres (1977) appeared in five games for the post-championship Big Red Machine. He was 24 years old, and he put up a 2.16 ERA, with eight strikeouts and eight walks in 8 1/3 innings. He had logged a lot of minor-league innings at a young age, and the injuries set in. He was out of baseball by the time he was 27. Al Tate (1946) made one start and one relief appearance for the Pirates, working nine innings, giving up five runs, and walking seven. Andrew Tomasic (1949) had a long minor-league career but got hit hard in two games for the New York Giants.  Lefty Aaron Thompson (2011-15) went 1-3 with a 4.94 ERA over the course of a short major-league career.

Bench: Alejandro Trevino (1978-90) had a long career as a backup catcher and was part of the cast of characters assigned to replace Johnny Bench in Cincinnati. He actually had more plate appearances than all but two starting position players on this roster. He was your basic .250 hitter with no power and no speed. Infielder Al “Tiny” Tesch (1915) appeared in eight games and batted seven times, hitting .286 for the Brooklyn Tip Tops. Outfielder Arlie Tarbert (1927-28) – full name Wilbert Arlington Tarbert, have fun with that one – batted .186 for the Red Sox. Outfielder Albert “For Pete’s” Thake (1872) batted .295 in 18 games for the Brooklyn Atlantic just a few years after the end of the Civil War. He died after that season, still just 22 years old and only the second major-league ballplayer to die. Thake drowned when he fell out of his fishing boat and became entangled in his own lines. Infielder Andres Thomas (1985-90) played in 577 games for the Braves, and given the starting shortstop job he hit 13 home runs in 1988 and then another 13 in 1989. He wasn’t doing anything else, though, and he was out of baseball before he turned 30.

Manager: Andrew Thompson managed the 1884 St. Paul White Caps to a 2-6 record in the Union Association. He will have to make do with limited resources (and he is thankful that the Tigers went on strike for one day in 1912), because the above roster represents almost every man who ever played in a major-league game with the initials A.T. (Two of the others, both backup catchers, were Art Twineham and a different guy named Andrew Thompson. They’ll warm up pitchers in the bullpen.)