Infield: Second baseman Bobby Avila (1949-59) batted .341 in 1954, the first Latin American player ever to win a batting title. He never came close to that level again, but he generally batted around .300 with a good number of walks. Avila, a good bunter and contact hitter, was a key player on the outstanding Cleveland teams of the 1950s. Shortstop Bill Almon (1974-88) was drafted by the San Diego Padres out of Brown University with the first pick in the 1974 draft. The Padres promoted him to the majors despite the fact that he batted .195 in 39 minor-league games; he didn’t actually stick in the majors for good until 1977, and he never did hit all that well - .250-.260 with no walks or power or speed. He wasn’t a great fielder either, and unless you watched Ivy League baseball in the early 1970s, or unless you came from Rhode Island (where he was a high school star), you never understood why anyone would ever take him with the top pick in the draft. Third baseman Bob Aspromonte (1956-71) appeared in one game for the Brooklyn Dodgers at age 18, striking out as a pinch-hitter. He went back down to the minors for a few years, then returned to the majors and played a decade as a nondescript infielder. When he retired in 1971, that strikeout at age 18 gave him the distinction of being the last remaining member of the Brooklyn Dodgers to be on an active roster. First baseman Big Bill Abstein (1906-10) had a long career in the minors but played just one full season and parts of two others in the majors – though he he did win a World Series with the 1909 Pirates.
Outfield: Right fielder Bobby Abreu (1996- ) is one of the most underappreciated players of his generation. He’s a .300 hitter who drew 100 walks a year in his prime, with power and speed and tons of doubles. He has driven in 100 runs eight times and scored 100 runs eight times (plus threee more times between 95-99). He’s been a fine defensive outfielder with a good arm. And for all that, he has played in exactly two all-star games. Left fielder Bob Allison (1958-70) hit 256 home runs while playing his prime seasons during a severe pitcher’s era in the mid-1960s. He also drew 80-100 walks a year, pushing his rather modest batting average to a .358 career on-base percentage. Allison came up with the Senators, winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 1959, moved with the team to Minnesota in 1961 and spent his entire career with the franchise. Center fielder Brady Anderson (1988-2002) had a rather remarkable career for the Orioles. He stole as many as 53 bases in a season and was successful almost 80 percent of the time. He drew 85 walks a year and led the league three times in getting hit by pitches, so he was on base a lot. He almost never grounded into double plays. He scored 100 runs four times, and he played a good center field. But pretty much all anyone remembers him for is hitting 50 home runs in 1996, more than twice as many as he hit in any other season and almost a quarter of his entire career total. Many assume he took steroids that year. Anderson has always insisted that he didn’t, and it would make no sense for him to use steroids for a year, go .297-50-110, and then decide to stop using them and drop back to 18 home runs the next season. Whatever the truth is, Anderson was a fine ballplayer throughout his career, and an outstanding ballplayer in 1996.
Catcher: Brad Ausmus (1993-2010) was a durable catcher who caught 100-150 games for 14 consecutive seasons. He was a pretty ordinary hitter - .251 career average, about 50 walks per year, 80 career home runs – but he also won three Gold Gloves and stole 100 bases in his career. A team could do worse.
Rotation: Babe Adams (1906-26) won 194 games in his career with a 2.76 ERA, and among 20th-century pitchers, only his teammate Deacon Phillipe walked fewer batters per nine innings than Adams (430 walks in 2995 innings). He had arm trouble in mid-career, possibly the after-effects of a 21-inning complete game he pitched in 1914, and he appeared to be done in 1916. But his arm improved, he put up two big years in the minors and then returned to Pittsburgh and returned to his past dominance. He pitched into his mid-40s. He was an outstanding pitcher, but his legacy rests on his performance in the 1909 World Series. He was 27 years old but still considered a rookie, and he hadn’t even taken a regular turn in the Pittsburgh rotation that year. But for the Game 1 against Detroit, manager Fred Clarke decided to start Adams over Vic Willis, Howie Camnitz and Lefty Leifield, who had won 66 games among them that year. Adams beat the Tigers 4-1, and then went on to win Games 5 and 7, all complete games, with a 1.33 ERA. Bronson Arroyo (2000- ) has been a consistent, durable pitcher who makes his starts, works his 210-240 innings per year, and has won 100 games and counting so far. Brian Anderson (1993-2005) was a talented but erratic lefty who won 82 games. In addition to the usual arm troubles that pitchers deal with, Anderson once burned the side of his face while testing to see if an iron was hot (yes, it was) and also once injured his pitching elbow by resting his arm on the back of his seat in a taxi for 20 minutes. Brett Anderson (2009- ) is a tremendously talented lefty who is just starting his career with the Oakland A’s. He’s just 23, so we’ll have to wait and see how he develops and if he can stay healthy, but his future is certainly bright. Bert Abbey (1892-96) went 22-40 in a career that was shortened by arm trouble.
Bullpen: Bobby Ayala (1992-99) was a part-time closer for the Mariners for a couple of seasons, finishing wi th 59 saves in his career. He had a live arm, but he gave up too many hits and too many home runs to stay effective in the closer role. His career ERA was 4.78, but he’ll still get the first shot at the closer job here. Bob Apodaca (1973-77) was a very promising reliever with the Mets whose career ended at age 27 because of arm injuries. His career ERA was 2.86. Brad Arnsberg (1986-92) had a fine year for the Rangers at age 26 and then hurt his arm and disappeared. Bob Allen (1961-67) was a decent lefty for the Indians who put up a 2.98 ERA in 1967 and somehow earned a permanent ticket back to the minors. (He was 0-5 that season despite the good ERA, but still, you don’t see a lot of healthy lefties get exiled from the majors at age 29 when they’re still getting people out.) Bob Anderson (1957-63) won 36 games as a swingman, mostly for the Cubs. Bill Atkinson (1976-79) was a diminutive righty who had an 11-4 record with a 3.42 ERA but went back to the minors at age 24 and never came back. Bob Ayrault (1992-93) was a big guy who pitched briefly for the Phillies and the Mariners.
Bench: Outfielder Benny Agbayani (1998-2002) was a big, jovial Hawaiian guy who worked hard and was pretty solid as a fourth outfielder. In the minors, when his Norfolk Tides team was hosting the 1998 Triple-A All-Star Game, he got married at home plate. Infielder Bernie Allen (1962-73) hit a dozen home runs as a rookie with the Twins at age 23 but never developed significantly from that point. Infielder Bobby Adams (1946-59) was a useful player who spent most of his career with the Reds. Buster Adams (1939-47) was a wartime center fielder who got on base, had a bit of power and played decent defense. Backup catcher Bill Atwood (1936-40) had a decent career in the minors and showed some promise with the Phillies, but when given more playing time he didn’t hit.
Manager: Bill Adair won 1,500 games managing in the minors, and he coached for a few teams in the majors. In 1970, he was interim manager of the White Sox for 10 games between Don Gutteridge and Chuck Tanner.
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