AA: The Aaron Altmans

Infield: Alex Arias (1992-2002) played mostly shortstop in his big-league career but he’ll start at third base on this team. He played very well for the Cubs in a short trial at the end of the 1993 season and then got traded to the Marlins, with whom he won a World Series title in 1997. In the NLDS that year, Arias went 1-for-1. In the NLCS, he went 1-for-1. Then, in the World Series, he spoiled his 1.000 postseason average by going 0-for-1. He was a slap hitter who rarely struck out. Second baseman Alexi Amarista (2011- ) is a Venezuelan utility player who had a fine career in the minors but hasn't hit in the majors. He did steal 12 bases in 13 attempts for the Padres in 2014. Shortstop Alf Anderson (1941-46) played 126 games for the Pirates, mostly during World War II when there was a shortage of quality players. He was a minor-league batting champ but never hit anything in the bigs. He eventually got drafted and was a teammate of Ted Williams on a Navy team. Alex Avila (2009- ) is really a catcher, but he has logged more than 100 innings at first base, and that's where he will start on this team. (The only other A.A.s to play first base were Andy Abad, who batted .095, and Andy Allison, who batted .163.) Avila made the All-Star Game and got some AL MVP votes in 2011, but he has struggled ever since. Still, he's got a little power and he draws some walks, and he's not Andy Abad.

Outfield: Center fielder Alfredo Amezaga (2002-11) was a journeyman utility guy who ran reasonably well, made good contact and played solid defense. In mid-career, the Marlins gave him a starting job for three seasons, in which his batting averages were .260, .263 and .264, so we’ll give him credit for consistency. Right fielder Abraham Almonte (2013- ) is a 5-foot-9, 205-pound bulldog who hasn't been able to earn a starting position. He's got some pop in his bat, but he strikes out too much.  Left fielder Art Allison (1871-76), whose middle name was Algernon, batted .254 while playing for several different teams in the prehistoric National Association. Allison later worked for a government printing office in Washington and was killed in 1916 when he was hit by a truck while crossing a D.C. street in a blizzard.

Catcher: Alan Ashby (1973-89) came up with Cleveland, was the primary catcher for the expansion Blue Jays, and spent a decade with the Houston Astros. He wasn’t a great hitter, but he was consistent and he plugged along to more than 1,000 hits. Ashby caught three no-hitters with the Astros (Ken Forsch, Nolan Ryan and Mike Scott). While with the Blue Jays, he was given the nickname “Buns” because the ladies in the office thought he had a nice butt; he apparently tried to leave that nickname behind (no pun intended) when he left Toronto, but his teammates in Houston learned of it and decided to keep it alive as a private joke.

Rotation: Andy Ashby (1991-2004), no relation to his catcher, had a career record of 98-110, mostly for San Diego. If you take away three miserable years with Philadelphia – two at the start of his career, and one in mid-career – his record improves to 92-95, and his ERA drops from 4.12 to 3.90. He was a pretty good pitcher, with good control, and he appeared in two All-Star Games. Not bad for a guy who was signed as an undrafted free agent. Lefty Allan Anderson (1986-91) led the American League in earned-run average in 1988. He went 16-9 with a 2.45 ERA that season at age 24, but you had to wonder what to make of that record, since he struck out only 83 batters in 202 innings. He was the epitome of a pitch-to-contact guy: He walked very few batters, but he gave up a lot of hits. His ERA went up to 3.80 the following year, and then to 4.53 and then to 4.96, and then he was finished at age 27. Al Atkinson (1884-87) went 51-51 for three different teams in a couple of very early leagues. This was in the period when pitchers worked very heavy loads. He had a record of 20-26 as a rookie, and he went 25-7 in his next-to-last season. Lefty Al Aber (1950-57) won 24 games for the Indians and the Tigers, splitting time between the rotation and the pen. Andrew Albers (2013- ) is a Canadian lefty who came up with Minnesota in 2013. In his first two starts, he worked 17 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and no runs. That didn't last, and he ended the season 2-5 with a 4.05 ERA. He has mostly been in the minors since, along with a year in Korea and some time in independent ball. But, wow, those first two starts were good.

Bullpen: Here lies the strength of this roster. Ace Adams (1941-46) will work as the team’s closer, in part because of his name. And, no, that’s a nickname. His parents named him “Ace.” Pitching before the advent of the modern-day closer, he nonetheless led the NL in games finished for four straight seasons and had 49 career saves (figured retroactively). He spent his entire career with the New York Giants, coming to the majors at age 31 and emerging as a relief workhorse during World War II when strong arms were hard to come by. When the real players came back from the war, Adams jumped to the Mexican League and was blacklisted from returning to the majors. If Adams falters, we will turn to Antonio Alfonseca (1997-2007), who had 129 career saves, including a league-leading 45 for the Marlins in 2000. Truth is, his ERAs were never all that good for a closer, and he put too many runners on base. He was a subject of some fascination because he had six fingers on each hand (see photo), although the sixth finger was just a little stub on the other side of the pinkie and he was never able to use it to put any kind of unique spin on the ball. He reportedly also had six toes on each foot, but since he didn’t pitch barefoot, we can’t confirm that detail. Al Alburquerque (2011- ) is a flame-throwing set-up man who averaged 13 strikeouts per nine innings over his first three seasons for the Detroit Tigers. That rate has slowed quite a bit since then, but he is still a pretty solid pitcher. His name is so long that it almost forms a complete circle on the back of his uniform. Alfredo Aceves (2008-14) pitched mainly as a set-up man. In his one season as a closer, he saved 25 games for the Red Sox in 2012 but also posted an ERA of 5.36. He had a career record of 31-16 with a 3.83 ERA. Lefty Armando Almanza (1999-2005) went 14-13, mostly with the Marlins. He was on Florida’s championship team in 2003, though he had a 6.08 ERA and did not appear in the World Series. A.J. Achter (2014- ) has been up and down with the Twins and Angels and has pitched alright, with a 3.92 career ERA. Austin Adams (2014- ) showed some promise in the minors but has yet to establish himself with any degree of effectiveness in the majors. (The arrival of Achter and Adams takes a roster spot away from the immortal Al Autry (1976), who made one appearance in the majors, starting a game for the miserable 1976 Braves when they had to play three straight doubleheaders. He pitched five innings, gave up three runs and got the victory. The attendance in Atlanta that day was 970. Much to his surprise, he never pitched again in the majors, which he attributes to the fact - we are not making this up - that he angered manager Dave Bristol with a sarcastic comment about a teammate’s wild pickoff throw.)

Bench: Infielder Angel Aragon (1914-17) was a Cuban immigrant who batted .118 in 32 games for the Yankees. Outfielders Aaron Altherr (2014- ) and Arismendy Alcantra (2014- ) both have a little pop and run OK. Neither one has earned a starting spot in the majors, but either one of them could still press for some starting time in the A.A. team's subpar outfield. Catcher Andy Allanson (1986-95) will allow Alex Avila to stay at first base pretty much full time. Allanson was a lousy hitter (.240 with no walks, no power and no speed). But we like the idea of confusing the other teams by occasionally starting the battery of Allan Anderson and Andy Allanson. Andy Allison (1872) batted .163, but he gets the last roster spot here so he can room with his brother Art.

Manager: No A.A. has ever managed in the majors, but Alan Ashby managed in the minors for three years and spent a year as the bullpen coach for the Houston Astros. That experience will make him the de facto player-manager on this roster.