FB: The Foster Brookses

Infield: Frank “Home Run” Baker (1908-22) goes on the short list of the greatest third basemen of all time. He hit 96 home runs, not a lot by today’s standards but quite a few for his time; in fact, he led the American League in homers for four straight seasons, also leading in RBI twice and triples once. He actually earned the nickname for hitting critical home runs in the 1911 World Series off of future Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson and Rube Marquard. He was at the peak of his game in 1914, one of the stars of Connie Mack’s early Philadelphia A’s juggernaut, when he sat out the 1915 season in a contract dispute. Mack eventually sold Baker’s contract to the Yankees, and when he returned in 1916 Baker was still a good player but nowhere near as dominant as he had been in Philadelphia. Second baseman Frank Bolling (1954-66) was a slick fielder with a little bit of pop (106 career home runs). He split his career between the Tigers and the Braves, and upon retiring he headed home to Mobile, Ala., where he started the first-ever “challenger baseball league” for children with mental and physical handicaps. First baseman Fred Beck (1909-15) led the National League in home runs in 1910. That was pretty much the highlight of his career. He was a decent enough player who jumped to the upstart Federal League and never made it back. Shortstop Freddie Benavides (1991-94) had no power, no speed and didn’t hit much. He had a brief career and now works in coaching and player development. 

Outfield: Left fielder Frenchy Bordagaray (1934-45) was a good player with a little bit of speed who was mostly known for being a “colorful character.” He was once fined by manager Casey Stengel for failing to slide into third base on a close play, so the next day when he hit a home run he theatrically slid into all four bases. That earned him another fine. (Asked why he hadn’t slid the day before, Bordagaray said he didn’t want to crush the cigar he had been keeping in his back pocket.) Late in his career, he spit tobacco juice on an umpire and when he was suspended 60 days he remarked that the punishment was “more than I expectorated.” Center fielder Fred Brickell (1926-33) was a backup outfielder for most of his career, which was split between the Pirates and the Phillies. His career average was .281, which would sound a lot better if it wasn’t compiled during a time of tremendous offensive output. (His son Fritz played for a few years as a utility infielder but did not make this roster. In his baseballreference photograph, he looks like a 12-year-old boy chewing a wad of tobacco the size of a golf ball.) Right fielder Frankie Baumholtz (1947-57) was a star athlete at Ohio University and was the first guy ever to play major-league baseball and professional basketball (in a league that predated the NBA). He was a decent player who finished with 1,000 hits and a .290 batting average. In 1952, playing for the Cubs, Baumholtz batted .325 and finished second in the NL batting race to Stan Musial (.336). In a stunt that must have made sense to someone at the time, Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky secretly planned on the last day of the season to bring Musial in to pitch against Baumholtz. When he saw this, Baumholtz – a lefty, like Musial – decided that he would bat right-handed. He slapped at the first pitch and reached base on an infield error.

Catcher: Frank Bowerman (1895-1909) was a .250 hitter who played a long time. He always claimed that he was the one who recommended to the Giants that they acquire a struggling pitcher named Christy Mathewson. Whether or not that’s true, Bowerman did catch a Mathewson no-hitter.

Rotation: Floyd Bannister (1977-92) was a lefty with a live arm. The Astros took him with the first overall pick in the 1976 draft. Because he was the first overall pick, there were always people who thought of Bannister as a disappointment, but he actually had a pretty good career. He won 134 games (OK, so he lost 143, but he wasn’t on great teams). His 4.08 ERA was a little better than league average. He once led the American League in strikeouts. Fred Beebe (1906-16) also led the league in strikeouts – National League, 1906, split between Cubs and Cardinals. His career record was 62-83, and his career ERA of 2.86 was far less impressive in his time than Bannister’s 4.08 was in the 1980s. Francisco Barrios (1974-81) had a rather star-crossed career. He was a talented Mexican righty, combined with Blue Moon Odom on a no-hitter, won 14 games for the White Sox in 1977. But he had drug and alcohol problems that completely derailed his career, and he died of a heart attack – probably cocaine-induced – at age 28. Fred Blanding (1910-14) went 46-46 for Cleveland. He had 278 strikeouts and 277 walks, which is almost as identical as his won-lost record. Frank Baumann (1955-65) led the American League in ERA; one year later, he led the league in earned runs allowed. That was the nature of an up-and-down career that ended up with a 45-38 record and a 4.11 ERA. Spent most of his career with the Sox, both Red and White.

Bullpen: Freddy Beene (1968-75) was a diminutive righty whose best season came in 1973, when he pitched for the Yankees as a long reliever and spot starter, going 6-0 with a 1.68 ERA in 91 innings. He had eight career saves. Fred Breining (1980-84) had two good years as a reliever and a decent season as a starter for the Giants. He was traded to the Expos as part of a package for Al Oliver, but early in the 1985 season he ripped up his shoulder throwing to first on a bunt, and he never pitched again. Lefty Frank Bertaina (1964-70) bounced around the majors for several years. In 1968, he led the AL in wild pitches with 17 despite pitching fewer than 130 innings. That total accounted for half of the wild pitches he threw in his entire career. Frank Barrett (1939-50) really pitched for three years, from 1944-46. That career was sandwiched by one appearance in 1939 and five in 1950, making it look at a glance like he pitched for a decade. On the whole, he was a decent pitcher. His real career was in the minors, where he won 141 games. Frank Biscan (1942-48) was a lefty who was nicknamed “Porky.” He was listed at 5-11 and 190 pounds, so either he lied about his weight, his poundage was distributed disproportionately, or he just had cruel teammates. He made 74 appearances with the St. Louis Browns, struggling with his control and finishing with a 5.28 ERA. Francis Beltran (2002-08) was an enormous lefty (6-6, 255) who pitched for the Cubs, Expos and Tigers. He had a live arm but tended to feed the gopher a little too much. Fred Baczewski (1953-55) was a lefty who had a stretch when he pitched pretty well for the Reds in 1953, but he spent most of his career getting knocked around.

Bench: Infielder Floyd Baker (1943-55) had no power and no speed, but in a good year he could hit .260 and draw some walks. Frank Brower (1920-24) was a first baseman and corner outfielder who was a fine minor-league slugger, and a pretty fair hitter for the Senators and Indians for a few years. His nickname was “Tucky,” but his Southern accent made teammates hear that as “Turkey,” and for unknown reasons they expanded that to “Turkeyfoot.” Frank Bonner (1894-1903) was a middle infielder who had an unspectacular career and who died in his mid 30s as a result of a bad tonsillectomy. Not known to be any relation to the guy who played Herb Tarlek on “WKRP.” German-born Fritz Buelow (1899-1907) was reputed to be a fine defensive catcher. Freddie Bynum (2005-08) was a utility player who could run a little bit.

Manager: Frank Bancroft managed the Providence Grays to an 84-28 record in 1884 by ridin’ the Hoss – Old  Hoss Radbourn, that is, who went 59-12 with a 1.38 ERA. Bancroft managed seven different teams for all or parts of nine seasons. His career record was 375-333.