DA: The District Attorneys

Infield: Dick Allen, by far the most exciting and talented D.A. ever to play the game, spent most of his career at first base and third base, but he will move to the outfield on this team because (a.) we need him more there, and (b.) he was an absolutely brutal defensive player anywhere he went so we might as well shore up the infield defense. First baseman Dale “Moose” Alexander (1929-33) led the AL in hits as a rookie with 215, and he drove in 272 runs in his first two seasons. In 1932, he led the league in batting with a .367 average (just 454 plate appearances, but it qualified at the time). The following season, he injured his knee sliding into home plate, and his leg was inadvertently burned during his subsequent therapy. Gangrene set in, and he almost lost the leg. He never played in the majors again, finishing with a .331 career average. He went back to the minors for several years and ended up with more than 2,100 hits in the minors. Second baseman Dustin Ackley (2011- ), the second player picked in the 2009 draft, is young and he's just getting started, but in his rookie season he has already established himself as the best middle infielder in history with these initials. Too soon to guess what kind of career he'll have, but he hits for a good average, has an excellent command of the strike zone, runs well and has some pop. Keep an eye on this one. Shortstop Dave Anderson (1983-92) was a nondescript utility infielder who spent most of his career with the Dodgers, hitting .240-.250 and holding his own in the field. Third baseman Dave Altizer (1906-11) was a slap hitter who led the NL in being hit by a pitch in 1910.

Outfield: Dick Allen (1963-77) will play left field. He’s not really a left fielder, but then, he wasn’t really a third baseman or a first baseman. One suspects he could have been – he was a spectacular athlete, powerful and fast – but he was always a “professional hitter” who just kind of took up space on defense. But, holy cow, the man could hit. As a 22-year-old rookie, arriving in the middle of a pitcher's era, he batted .318, hit 29 home runs, and led the NL with 13 triples and 125 runs. He batted .300 the next three years, with power and a good number of walks. He would ultimately led the league twice in on-base, three times in slugging, twice in home runs, and once each in runs, RBI, walks and total bases. He was Rookie of the Year in 1964 and MVP in 1972. But his career was plagued, and often overshadowed, by fights with teammates and managers, as well as problems in the clubhouse and off the field. He frequently moved from team to team in the second half of his career, even after big seasons, and barely a year after he won the AL MVP award with the White Sox, another team’s general manager said – on the record – that he wouldn’t take Dick Allen on his roster for free, or even if the team was being paid a bonus to take him. While playing first base, he would use the toe of his shoe to write messages to the fans in the dirt (sometimes they were even printable, like "Boo.") He became so controversial that fans used to throw things at him, prompting him to start wearing a helmet even while in the field, which just made them throw more stuff. He also had a tremendously charming side, which complicated matters further, because he often ended up dividing clubhouses into teammates who loved him and teammates who hated him, to the extent that the 1976 Phillies, upon winning the NL East, reportedly held two separate victory celebrations in the clubhouse – the pro-Allen faction and the anti-Allen faction. His career numbers are outstanding - .292/.378/.534 with 351 home runs, 1119 RBI and 1009 runs in a relatively short career when offense was not inflated at all – but he is remembered as much for the controversy that followed him as he is for his prodigious hitting. Right fielder Dell Alston (1977-80) was a decent prospect who made the mistake of batting .325 in 22 games for the Yankees in 1977, getting people all excited for a while. He wasn’t that good, and he didn’t last long. He ended up batting .238 in 332 at-bats for his career. Center fielder Dave Augustine (1973-74) appeared in 29 games, totaling 29 plate appearances and 29 at-bats (no walks, no hit by pitch, no sacrifices). He batted .207. He had a little bit of speed and he was used occasionally as a pinch-runner, but he was thrown out in his only stolen base attempt.

Catcher: Doug Allison (1871-83) was not a race-car driver, but a gentleman who played catcher for several years after fighting in the Civil War as a teen. He was a decent ballplayer and, by reputation, a sure-handed catcher, although it’s hard to know what to make of the newspaper accounts from the 1870s.

Rotation: Doyle Alexander (1971-89) was a prickly character but also a talented pitcher, for which reason he won 194 games for eight different teams. He was a headstrong guy who preferred to call his own pitches, so he liked to work out a system with his catchers that allowed him to signal what pitch he was throwing without tipping it off to hitters. In one of those “veteran for prospect” trades that teams frequently make in the heat of the pennant race, the Tigers in 1987 traded a young pitcher to Atlanta in exchange for Alexander, who went 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA down the stretch to carry the Tigers to the AL East title. On the down side, that young prospect turned out to be John Smoltz, who had a pretty good career last time we checked. Doc Ayers (1913-21) won 64 games in his career, with a 2.84 ERA (a pretty good ERA, even for the deadball era). Don “Dude Stuff” August (1988-91) went 13-7 with a 3.09 ERA as a rookie, but it was all downhill after that. He got pounded for a few years in the majors and drifted away, but then spent almost a decade playing wherever he could find a mound, including Canada, Mexico, Italy and Taiwan. Dave Anderson (1889-90) went 3-13 while pitching for teams in his native Pennsylvania. Dan Adams (1914-15) went 4-11 for two seasons in the Federal League. His middle name was Leslie and his nickname was Rube.

Bullpen: The battle for the closer job is between the first two pitchers in an alphabetical history of baseball – David Aardsma (2004- ) and Don Aase (1977-90). Aardsma is a journeyman who became the Mariners’ closer in 2009 and saved 69 games before missing the entire 2011 season with Tommy John surgery. He’s a fireballer who strikes out a batter per inning, while Aase was more of a junkballer. Aase was a converted starter who saved 82 games in his career, including 34 for the Orioles in 1986. If Aardsma gets a firm grasp on the closer role, Aase might be used to shore up the rotation, which is thin on its back end. Until that point, they'll share the closer and set-up roles. Darrell Akerfelds (1986-91) changed teams pretty much every year. The one time he was given regular work – 71 games, 93 innings for Philadelphia in 1990 – he pitched well, with a 3.77 ERA, though he walked more than he struck out. The Phillies took that as a sign to bring him back the following year, and he got rocked. Dewey Adkins (1942-49) won 115 games in the minors and two in the majors. Lefty Doc Amole (1897-98), whose name rhymes with guacamole, pitched well at age 18, got clobbered at age 19 and didn’t stick around to pitch in the 20th century (though he worked steadily in the minors for several more years). Dale Alderson (1943-44) pitched for the Cubs during World War II and didn’t get many people out. Dennis Aust (1965-66) was 0-1 with a 5.82 ERA for the Cardinals.

Bench: Doug Ault (1976-80) was a first baseman and corner outfielder who played for the expansion Blue Jays. His career amounted to 713 at-bats, a little more than one full season, and he batted .236 with 17 home runs. Dick Attreau (1926-27), a lefty first baseman, was a .300 hitter in the minors but a .215 hitter in the majors. Outfielder Drew Anderson (2006) was 1-for-9 with the Brewers, but he did score three runs. Utility infielder Dwain Anderson (1971-74) never hit much. He was traded four times in two years, and none of the deals included anyone you've ever heard of. Backup catcher Danny Ardoin (2000-08) batted .206 in 165 major-league games.

Manager: Doug Allison will serve as player-manager. He went 2-21 as manager/captain of the Elizabeth Resolutes in 1873.

DB: The D.B. Sweeneys

Infield: First baseman Dan Brouthers (1879-1904) was one of the dominant hitters of the 19th century. He played for 10 different teams, not because he was a “journeyman” per se, but more because the National League was more loosely affiliated at the time. He was a Jeff Bagwell-type hitter, with a high average, lots of walks, good power and decent speed. Brouthers (pronounced Broothers) led the league in batting and on-base five times each, and in slugging seven times. He scored and drove in a ton of runs, though his career totals are held down by the shorter schedules of his era – per 162 games, Brouthers averaged 147 runs and 125 RBI. Dick Bartell (1927-46) and Dave Bancroft (1915-30) were both fine shortstops, similar type players who both had long careers. Bancroft will stay at short on this team, and Bartell will move to third base, where he played almost 200 games. Bancroft, who had three seasons in which he scored more than 100 runs, was elected to the Hall of Fame. While he was a fine player, his selection has come to be seen as an act of favoritism by a Veterans Committee that was loaded with his old teammates. He was a very good defensive player, the first shortstop to ever turn 100 double plays in a season, and a respected team leader. He was probably a comparable player to Rick Burleson in the 1970s, or possibly Omar Vizquel in the 1990s. Bartell, a firebrand who was known in his day as Rowdy Dick (retroactively sanitized to Rowdy Richard), had very similar career stats to Bancroft. Bartell hit more than twice as many home runs, which is partly attributable to their different eras, but their per-game averages of hits, runs and RBI are very close. Second baseman David Bell (1995-2006) was the son of Buddy and the grandson of Gus (all three actually had the first name David). Bell was generally good for 10-20 home runs – he hit double-digits eight times and had 123 for his career.

Outfield: Don Buford (1963-73) will bat leadoff and score a ton of runs on this team. He never scored 100 runs in the majors, though he did manage to score exactly 99 runs for three straight seasons with the Orioles, which is a pretty good trick. He was a .264 hitter during a career plopped squarely in the pitching-dominated 1960s, but he drew a lot of walks, especially after he moved from the White Sox to Earl Weaver’s Orioles. Buford played mostly left field in the majors but will shift to right on this team. Center fielder Dusty Baker (1968-86) was a consistent run producer for the Braves and the Dodgers, hitting 242 home runs, driving in 1,013 and scoring 964. Baker played alongside Hank Aaron in Atlanta and later won three pennants and one World Series title with the Dodgers. Right fielder Don Baylor (1970-88) hit 338 home runs in his career, scoring and driving in more than 1,200. He was hit by pitches 267 times in his career, the most of any player in the 20th century, which helped push his .260 batting average to a .342 on-base percentage. He had no throwing arm to speak of, and in 822 games in the outfield, he had zero double plays – the only outfielder in history to play more than 500 games not double a single runner off base. He shifted to designated hitter in mid-career, which suited him well. A respected team leader, and the AL’s MVP in 1979, when he scored 120 runs and drove in 139 for the Angels.

Catcher: Dick Brown (19557-65), not to be confused with the cartoonist who did “Hagar the Horrible,” had some pop in his bat. He hit 16 home runs in 308 at-bats in 1961, and a year later, the only season when he played in 100 games, he hit a dozen home runs. Brown was a backup and a role player for most of his career.

Rotation: Dave Boswell (1964-71) won 20 games for the Twins in 1969 despite being sidelined for more than two weeks after manager Billy Martin beat him unconscious during a brawl in an alley behind a Detroit bar in August. Boswell was just 24 years old and seemed to have a bright future, but in Game 1 of the 1969 ALCS, he pitched into the 11th inning and at some point injured his arm. After going 20-12 in 1969, he won three games in 1970 and one game in ’71 before retiring at age 26. The same year that Boswell won 20, Dick Bosman (1966-76) led the AL with a 2.19 ERA (though neither one was mentioned on a single Cy Young Award ballot that year). Bosman won 82 games in his career. His 1971 Topps baseball card, on which he appears to be striking a “Karate Kid” pose in his Texas Rangers uniform, seemed to turn up in every other pack of cards sold in St. Louis that year. Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd (1982-91) was an immensely talented but emotionally troubled young right-hander who won 43 games for the Red Sox in 1984-86. A 6-foot-1, 155-pound stringbean, he was prone to wild mood swings – alternately charming and combustible. In 1986, he won a career-high 16 games despite being briefly committed to a psychiatric institution after flying into an uncontrollable rage when he was passed over for the all-star game. Various injuries set in, and his career ended in his early 30s because of blood clots in his arm. That is to say, his major-league career ended. Boyd insisted he was fine, even going so far as to sue the Red Sox in 1992 when they refused to sign him and invite him to spring training. He never pitched in the majors again, but he pitched off-and-on until age 45 in Mexico and in various independent leagues. As recently as 2009, he was talking about plans for a comeback in his 50s. (The nickname “Oil Can,” by the way, apparently derives from a regional slang term for a beer can.) Dave Burba (190-2004) was the opposite of Boyd and Boswell – a journeyman righty who never drew much attention to himself but managed to put up a career record of 115-87. His best years came in Cleveland, where he won 46 games between 1998-2000. Lefty Dennis Bennett (1962-68) won 43 games in his major-league career. (His brother Dave did not make the DB roster – he was a good pitcher in the minors for a decade, but his major-league career consisted of one inning at the age of 18 (career ERA: 9.00).

Bullpen: Closer Doug Bair (1976-90) was a dependable reliever for several teams over the course of his career, but had only one year when he was truly top-notch – 1978, when he had 28 saves and a 1.97 ERA in 100 innings for the Reds. He pitched in the majors until he was 40, and was almost always pretty good. Bair had 81 career saves. Doug Bird (1973-83) was a tall, thin righty who moved back and forth between the rotation and the pen, finishing his career with 73 wins and 60 saves. Danys Baez (2001- ) is a Cuban defector who pitched well for a few years but now seems to be running out of steam in his early 30s. Dave Baldwin (1966-76) was a pretty good reliever for a few years. After he retired he got a PhD in genetics and a Master’s in systems engineering. He worked as a geneticist for several years, published a book of poetry, and authored several research papers on the physics and psychology of the confrontation between batter and pitcher. He never made the Hall of Fame as a player, but one of his paintings does hang there. Daniel Bard (2009- ) has been an outstanding set-up reliever for the Red Sox. Almost 200 games (and 200 innings) into his career, he's got a 2.88 ERA and he has more strikeouts (213) than baserunners allowed (132 hits, 76 walks). He's still in his mid-20s and could end up as the closer on this team at some point. Dave Beard (1980-89) was a 6-foot-5 flamethrower for the A’s during the period when Billy Martin was trying to wring complete games out of his starters every day. As such, Beard was a September call-up at age 21, worked in eight games, and ended up tying for the team lead in saves with 3. In 1982, during his first full season in the majors, he pitched well in relief but got hammered in two starts. After that, he pretty much got hammered each time he took the mound. Who knows? If he had come up under different circumstances, he might have had a good career. (Beard will room with Dave Boswell so they can share Billy Martin stories.) Don Bessent (1955-58), affectionately known as The Weasel, overcame a spinal condition and bone-graft surgery to have a solid, if short, major-league career in which he went 14-7 with a 3.33 ERA for the Dodgers. He was part of two pennant winners, including the 1955 World Series championship team, and he pitched very well in five World Series appearances.

Bench: Outfielder Dante Bichette (1988-2001) will get plenty of playing time and might even work his way past Buford into the starting lineup. Bichette’s career stats - .299, 274 home runs, 1141 RBI – are tremendously inflated by the fact that he played his prime years in the thin air of Colorado, where in 1995 he batted .340 with 40 home runs. His career splits were .328-177-696 at home, .269-97-445 on the road. A fine player, but not as good as his basic stats would suggest. Infielder Donie Bush (1908-23) was the leadoff man on Ty Cobb’s Tigers, a sparkplug type who drew a ton of walk (leading the league five times). He scored 100 runs four times and was over 95 in three other seasons, all during the dead ball era. He was a sure-handed second baseman but not good on the double play, and like Bichette, he could end up working his way into the starting lineup ahead of David Bell. Backup catcher Damon “Blue” Berryhill (1987-97) spent a decade in the majors, mostly as a backup and a role player. Darren Bragg (1994-2004) was a very functional reserve outfielder – a 5-foot-9 lefty who stole some bases, drew a lot of walks, had a little bit of pop, and played good defense at all three outfield positions. Infielder Don Buddin (19556-62) was a very consistent player for a few years with the Red Sox, batting around .240 with a good number of walks.

Manager: Dave Bristol won 657 games for four teams but never finished higher than third place. He will get plenty of help here from players on his roster who also managed – Don Baylor, Donie Bush and Dusty Baker.

DC: The "Denny Cranes"

Infield: Shortstop Dave Concepcion (1970-88) was a second-tier star on the Big Red Machine – a tall, skinny Venezuelan who was a decent hitter and a very good fielder. He won five Gold Gloves, played in nine all-star games and was arguably the best shortstop in baseball between Aparicio and Yount. (Key word: arguably. There really wasn't a dominant shortstop in that period.) First baseman Dolph Camilli (1933-45) was a very, very good ballplayer who is almost entirely unknown to modern fans. He would consistently hit in the .280s, with power, and regularly led the league in walks. As a result, he scored 100 runs four times and drove in 100 runs four times, winning the National League MVP Award in 1941 when he led the NL with 34 home runs and 120 RBI for Brooklyn. Second baseman Dave Cash (1969-80) was very durable, batted leadoff for a good team and took an average number of walks, so for a few years he held the major-league record for at-bats in a season (699 for Philadelphia in 1975 – Willie Wilson broke the 700 barrier five years later). Cash was a consistent .280 contact hitter who had some gap power, and he was a good defensive player with a reputation for intelligence on the field. Third baseman Darnell Coles (1983-97) probably should have had a better career than he did. A high first-round draft pick by Seattle, he was traded to Detroit and, in his first year as a starter, batted .273 with 30 doubles, 20 home runs and 86 RBI at age 24. But he struggled for a couple of years after that and gradually drifted into a utility role, bouncing around both leagues and playing several different positions. He wasn’t necessarily destined to be a star, but in his mid-20s he sure looked like he would have better career numbers than .245 and 75 home runs.

Outfield: Center fielder Doc Cramer (1929-48) was a very good defensive outfielder and a .296 hitter, but he had no power or speed and he didn’t walk a lot. Right fielder Duff Cooley (1893-1905) was a similar type of hitter to Cramer – a .300 hitter with little or now power. Cooley was faster and was probably a slightly better hitter, but in a shorter career than Cramer (who had over 2,700 hits, while Cooley had 1,579). Cooley was also a fine defensive outfielder. Left fielder Dave Collins (1975-90) stole 79 bases in 1980, and four years later he stole 60 and led the American League with 15 triples. Other than that, he never did a lot that drew attention. In fact, he was a similar hitter to Cramer and Cooley -- .272 career average, no power, average number of walks – but in his good seasons, when he would push .300, he was fairly valuable. He played for eight teams and had the repuation as a hard-working, popular player. He rounds out a very fine defensive outfield.

Catcher: Del Crandall (1949-66) was an outstanding defensive catcher and would hit 15-25 home runs per year. He arrived in the majors at ag 19 and spent 13 years as a key contributor to the Braves teams that were built on the triumvirate of Aaron, Spahn and Mathews. He finished with 179 home runs.

Rotation: David Cone (1986-2003) had a productive and eventful career spread out over five teams.He won 20 games twice – a decade apart. He won a Cy Young Award, threw a perfect game, struck out 19 batters in a game and won five World Series championships (with a 2.12 ERA in five World Series starts and one relief appearance). He finished with 194 victories (at a .606 winning percentage), a solid 3.46 ERA and 2,668 strikeouts – but he got barely a sniff from Hall of Fame voters. Dean Chance (1961-71) spent his peak years during the pitching-dominated mid-1960s, and he put up some great numbers. He won the AL Cy Young Award in 1964 when he led the league with 20 wins, a 1.65 ERA and 11 shutouts. He pitched a league-leading 278 innings and gave up just 194 hits and 7 home runs, striking out 207. That was by far his best season, but he had several other good ones for the Angels. He finished his career with 128 wins and a 2.92 ERA, and after his playing career was done he had a long and successful career as a boxing promoter. Don Cardwell (1957-70) pitched a no-hitter for the Cubs in 1960 and was part of the pitching rotation of the 1969 Amazin’ Mets (though he was moved to the bullpen for the postseason). He won 102 games for four teams. Lefty Dan Casey (1884-90) won 96 games in his career and led the National League in ERA in 1887. When he grew older, he used to claim that he was the inspiration for the epic poem “Casey at the Bat,” but no one believed him. Danny Cox (1983-95) was a big, tall swingman who won 18 games for the pennant-winning 1985 Cardinals.

Bullpen: Closer Doug Corbett (1980-87) was an undrafted free agent who pitched very well in the Cincinnati Reds organization but never made it to the majors until the Twins plucked him from the Reds in the Rule V draft. As a 27-year-old rookie, he worked 136 innings, had a 1.98 ERA and saved 23 games. In the strike-shortened 1981 season, he led the AL with 54 appearances, saving 17 with a 2.57 ERA. He began to break down in 1982, perhaps because of the heavy workload, and he mostly struggled after that. Lefty Danny Coombs (1963-71) won 19 games in his career, spent with the fledgling Houston Colt .45s/Astros and the fledgling San Diego Padres. Don Carrithers (1970-77) won 28 games for the Giants and the Expos. Contemporary reliever D.J. “King” Carrasco (2003- ) has been a solid, if anonymous, middle reliever for four teams and is still pitching well as he hits his mid-30s. Lefty Doug Capilla (1976-81) won a dozen games for the Cubs, Reds and Cardinals. Doc Crandall (1908-18) went 102-62 and had a career ERA of 2.92, and he was sort of a closer before the role was invented, as he led the NL in games finished for four straight seasons with the Giants. The last spot on the pitching staff will go to either Dad Clarke (1888-98), who won 44 games, or Dad Clarkson (1891-96), who won 29 but with a better ERA. Clarkson had a brother (John) who made the Hall of Fame, but Clarke grew up in Oswego, N.Y., just up the road from Cooperstown. Actually, we might try to keep both of them in the bullpen and hope the similar names confuse opponents into thinking they’re the same guy.

Bench: Donn Clendenon (1961-72) was a big, slugging first baseman who hit 159 home runs and was the MVP of the 1969 World Series with the Amazin’ Mets. (He and Don Cardwell will be showing off their rings.) Backup catcher Doug Camilli (1960-69), the son of Dolph, didn’t inherit his father’s hitting genes – Doug batted .199 for his career. Danny Cater (1964-75) was a functional corner infielder and outfielder who batted .276 for six teams. Dennis Casey (1884-85) was a center fielder who played well in a short career. He was the brother of pitcher Dan Casey, and when people refused to believe Dan’s contention that he was the inspiration for “Casey at the Bat,” he then tried to claim that Dennis was. No one believed that, either. Utility infielder Deivi Cruz (1997-2005) had enough power to hit double-digit home runs if he was playing full time. He certainly knew how to impress people: In 1997 he batted .241 with a .263 on-base percentage, 2 home runs and three steals in nine attempts – and he finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting and somehow even turned up on one voter’s MVP ballot.

Manager: Del Crandall will be player-manager. His record in the majors was 364-469, but keep in mind that he managed two teams – the Brewers from 1972-75 and the Mariners from 1983-84 – that were still getting their post-expansion legs under them.

DD: The Dana Delaneys

Infield: Third baseman Doug DeCinces (1973-87) had the unenviable task of replacing the beloved Brooks Robinson at the hot corner in Baltimore. Truth is, DeCinces was the same basic model as Robinson – a slow right-handed hitter with mid-range power and a terrific glove. He never became the legend that Brooks was, and he never made the Hall of Fame, but DeCinces was an awfully good player. He never won a Gold Glove,but he could have won several, and he finished with 237 home runs and 879 RBI. He moved to the Angels in mid-career and finished third in the MVP voting in 1982 when he batted .301 with 30 home runs. First baseman Dan Driessen (1973-87) came up the same year as DeCinces, retired the same year as DeCinces (as teammates with the Cardinals), and also replaced a popular Hall of Famer – in this case, Tony Perez at first base for the Big Red Machine. Driessen was a .267 career hitter who drew a lot of walks, ran reasonably well and hit 153 career home runs. Second baseman Denny Doyle (1970-77) was a light-hitting glove man who had his best season when he batted .310 for the pennant-winning 1975 Red Sox. (The Doyle boys do well in the limelight – his brother Brian, who couldn’t bat his way out of a wet paper sack, batted .438 for the Yankees in the 1978 World Series.) Shortstop David Doster (1996-99) was a utility infielder who had a good career in the minors, with 352 doubles and 129 home runs, but never got a foothold in the majors. He was primarily a second baseman but will be stretched to fill shortstop here.

Outfield: Center fielder Dominic DiMaggio (1940-53) was a terrific ballplayer who was always destined to be remembered as Joe’s Little Brother. A small, bespectacled man, he batted leadoff for the Red Sox in the heart of the Ted Williams Era, and he scored 100 runs six times. He was a .300 hitter who drew lots of walks, hit plenty of doubles and ran reasonably well, and he also played a very fine center field. He played in seven all-star games and was highly respected during his career but was overshadowed by his brother, who won three MVPs, nine World Series championships and a place in Paul Simon’s song lyrics. Left fielder David DeJesus (2003- ) is still in mid-career but he's struggling through a rough 2011 season in Oakland. Still young enough to bounce back. Right fielder Don Demeter (1956-67) hit 163 home runs in a career that covered five teams. He was another good defender, completing a Double-D outfield that will run down a lot of fly balls.

Catcher: Darren Daulton (1983-97) was a really good ballplayer – a .245 hitter who drew lots of walks, hit with power and ran well for a catcher – until knee injuries took their toll. He, Lenny Dykstra and John Kruk were the leaders of the hard-partying faction of the 1992 pennant-winning Phillies teams, and he finished his career by batting .389 in the 1997 World Series for the Marlins. Daulton is also an outspoken believer in a variety of conspiracies and numerological theories and claims to have traveled through time. He told Sports Illustrated that his first “out-of-body experience” came at age 35 when he hit a double against the Cubs and realized, as he ran the bases, that “it wasn’t me who swung that bat.” These beliefs appear to be sincere and not a by-product of his drinking. (He has been involved in several bad accidents that resulted in DUI charges, including one in 2001 when he claimed that he crashed not because he was intoxicated, but because he had been run off the road by a mysterious vehicle as some sort of retribution for “a business deal pertaining to the FBI and the White House.”) Anyways, the man could hit.

Rotation: Dizzy Dean (1930-47) is one of the most colorful characters in baseball history, an Arkansas hick with the gift of gab, and we think it would be a royal hoot to hear him explain Darren Daulton’s theories of the universe. One of the leaders of the Cardinals’ famous Gas House Gang, Dean won 30 games in 1934 (last NL pitcher to win 30) and then 28 in 1935. He was still in his mid-20s when he took a line drive off his foot in the 1937 All-Star Game, breaking his toe. Confident as always, he tried to come back too soon, altered his motion to compensate for the pain in his foot, and ended up injuring his arm. He finished with a career record of 150-83, compiled almost entirely before his 28th birthday. He later became a broadcaster, engaging some listeners and enraging others with his down-home butcherin’ of the language. (When one critic asked him, “Don’t you know the king’s English?” Dean famously replied, “Sure I know it – so’s the queen!”) In 1947, he came out of the broadcast booth to pitch one last game for the St. Louis Browns, working four shutout innings. Don Drysdale (1956-69) was sort of the opposite of Dizzy Dean – a ruggedly handsome and articulate California man who teamed with Koufax to anchor the rotations of the great Dodgers teams of the 1960s. He won 209 games, led the league in strikeouts three times and scared the hell out of batters with his reputed fondness for headhunting. He had a reputation as a great “big game pitcher,” but that was largely shot to hell when research by Bill James showed that in his entire career, Drysdale never once beat a key opponent in the stretch drive of a pennant race. A tough, intimidating competitor who once pitched 58 straight shutout innings and had 49 career shutouts, and as an added bonus he had 29 career home runs. Between Diz and Drysdale, two workhorses, the front end of the rotation is rock solid. Doug Drabek (1986-98) was nowhere near as colorful as Dean or as intimidating as Drysdale, but he did manage to win 155 games and a Cy Young Award, and he was another durable pitcher who basically never missed a start. Dick Donovan (1950-65) led the AL in winning percentage for the White Sox in 1957, led the AL in ERA for the Senators in 1961 and won 20 for the Indians in 1962. He won 122 games in his career. Swingman Danny Darwin (1978-98) led the NL in ERA in 1990, and he won 171 games in his career. Never a star, but always solid.

Bullpen: Dick Drago (1969-81) came up as a starter, finished as a reliever, and will serve as the Double-D closer (though he and Darwin could swap roles just as easily). He won 108 games and saved 58, spending most of his career in Kansas City and Boston. During one start in 1971, he achieved an odd accomplishment by facing just 13 batters and getting credited with a complete game. (If you do the math and use some logic, you can figure out how that happened, and how that is the absolute lowest number of batters a pitcher could face and still be credited with a complete game.) Dauntless Dave Danforth (1911-25), a lefty swingman, won 71 games in his career, and when saves were retroactively figured, he led the AL with 9 saves in 1917. Dave Dravecky (1982-89) was a pretty good lefty swingman who won 64 games for the Padres and Giants, but he is best remembered for (a.) being a member of the John Birch Society faction of the Padres’ pitching staff, (b.) coming back after having a cancerous tumor removed from his throwing arm, and (c.) snapping his arm in half in mid-pitch in the second start of his comeback in 1987. He rebroke the arm later that year during the Giants’ celebration when they won the NL West title. The arm was eventually amputated. Dixie Davis (1912-26) is yet another swingman, so clearly the pitching staff will not hurt for innings. Davis won 75 games for the St. Louis Browns. Darren Dreifort (1994-2004) was an all-world prospect who had a very mediocre career with the Dodgers. In 1999, he went 13-13 with a 4.79 ERA – raising his career record to 27-36 – and the Dodgers responded by giving him a five-year, $57 million contract that they quickly regretted. Finished his career at 48-60. Dave Davenport (1914-19) was a 6-foot-6, 200-pound righty who won 22 games in the Federal League in 1915. Lefty swingman Doug Davis (1999- ) made a good run at 100 victories but appears to have run aground at 92. He's in his mid-30s and has gotten hammered the past two years, so he might be done.

Bench: Backup catcher Dick Dietz (1966-73) was a righty slugger who will give Darren Daulton a day off against tough left-handers or when he suspects the FBI is in the house. Dietz was only a regular for two years with the Giants, but in one of them he went .300-22-107, with 109 walks. (During Don Drysdale’s record-breaking scoreless inning streak, he once drilled Dietz with the bases loaded, but the umpire rule that Dietz had made no effort to get out of the way – Drysdale then retired Dietz and continued the shutout streak.) Outfielders David Dellucci (1997-2009) and Doug Dascenzo (1988-96) spent most of their careers as role players. Dim Dom Dallesandro (1937-47) was a diminutive outfielder for the Cubs who will jockey with Dellucci and Dascenzo for playing time. Utility infielder Daniel Descalso (2010- ) was a key role player during the St. Louis Cardinals' run to the 2011 World Series championship. It remains to be seen if he will move into a starting role at any point, but he will get plenty of work on this team after the middle infielders come out of the game for pinch-hitters.

Manager: Dave Duncan, Tony LaRussa’s longtime pitching coach in Oakland and St. Louis, will move into the big office on this team. One of the few pitching coaches who was not a pitcher himself, Duncan got squeezed out in the battle for the backup catcher job on this roster. Famous for his work with reclamation projects, he will enjoy the challenge of trying to get something out of Darren Dreifort.

DE: The Dwight Eisenhowers

Infield: First baseman Darrell Evans (1969-89) batted .248 for his career, but don’t be fooled. Bill James called him the most underrated player in baseball history. Because he drew 100 walks a year and hit 414 career home runs, Evans was constantly either scoring runs (1,344 career runs) or driving them in (1,354 career RBI). He was a solid defensive player at third base or first, and a soft-spoken guy who never made headlines in a career divided among phases in Atlanta, San Francisco and Detroit. Shortstop David Eckstein (2001- ) has never blown anyone away with any facet of his game, but he has always managed to contribute – he hits for an OK average, draws a few walks, hits 20 doubles, runs alright and isn’t a terrible defensive infielder. He’s listed at 5-7 and 175 pounds but looks smaller, and he always hustles. He was MVP of the 2006 World Series for the Cardinals. Second baseman Damion Easley (1992-2008) played for six teams but had his best seasons with Detroit. Given full-time play he would generally give you 30 doubles, 20 home runs and decent defense. He hit 163 career home runs. Third baseman Dude Esterbrook (1880-91) abides. He was an eccentric fellow who wore a bushy handlebar mustache that made Rollie Fingers look like an eighth-grader getting his first whiskers. A native of Staten Island, he spent most of his career playing in or near his home in New York. Esterbrook was a .260 hitter with decent speed. He died at age 43 when he leaped from a train that was transporting him to a mental institution, though it is lost from the history books why he was being committed and whether it was a suicide or an attempt to flee.

Outfield: Right fielder Dwight Evans (19792-91) rivals Darrell Evans (no relation) for the Most Underrated title. Dwight Evans batted .272 for his career, and like Darrell, he spiked that with walks and home runs – he drew 100 walks regularly and led the league three times, and he hit 385 career home runs (probably would have hit 400 if not for the strike in 1981). He scored 1,470 runs and drove in 1,381, and as an added bonus, he won eight Gold Gloves and had a cannon for an arm. His spectacular catch of Joe Morgan’s fly ball in the right field corner – turning a potential two-run homer into an inning-ending double play – is one of the highlights of the legendary sixth game of the 1975 World Series. Center fielder Darin Erstad (1996-2009) was the punter on Nebraska’s 1994 national championship football team (averaging 42 yards per punt, among the best in the nation). He was a .280 hitter with decent speed and Gold Glove defense in center field – except for the year 2000, when he turned into a superstar. That year he banged out 240 hits en route to a .355 average, with 25 home runs, 100 RBI and 121 runs scored. It was the only time in his career that he batted .300, the only time he scored or drove in 100 runs, and it was his career high in hits by a margin of 63. He was a solid player – and he batted .339 in 29 postseason games – but for one year he captured lightning in a bottle. Left fielder Del Ennis (1946-59) averaged 108 RBI over the space of a decade for the Phillies.His career triple crown stats are .284, with 288 home runs and 1,284 RBI. For reasons known only to them, Phillies fans hated Ennis and booed him mercilessly throughout his career.

Catcher: Dave Engle (1981-89) only had two years as a starter, but he did pretty well in one of them (.305 in 120 games in 1983). A career .262 hitter.

Rotation: Dock Ellis (1968-79) might have been the most colorful player of the 1970s, and that’s saying something. Intensely smart and highly troubled, he once pitched a no-hitter while on an LSD trip (he dropped acid before he realized he was scheduled to pitch that day, and he had to ask his catcher to wear reflective tape on his fingers so Ellis could see the pitch signals through his hallucinatory daze). In another famous episode, he decided at the start of the game to drill everyone in the Cincinnati Reds lineup. He hit Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Dan Driessen to load the bases. Tony Perez ducked four times to draw an RBI walk. After Ellis threw two pitches at Johnny Bench, manager Danny Murtaugh came out to remove him. He eventually cleaned up and spent several years after his playing career working as a drug counselor. His career record was 138-119 with a 3.46 ERA. Lefty Dick Ellsworth (1958-71) won 22 games for the Cubs in 1963, en route to a career record of 115-137. Lefty Duke Esper (1890-98) will challenge Dude Esterbrook in the team’s mustache contest. He went 101-100 for his career, losing 28 games for the Washington Senators in 1893. Dick Errickson (1938-42), who quite naturally was nicknamed Lief, was a swingman who won 36 games in his short major-league career. Contemporary lefty Dana Eveland (2005- ) has shown no signs of being an especially good pitcher, and if he’s going to do anything noteworthy in his career, he should start real soon.

Bullpen: Closer Dennis Eckersley (1975-98) had a very distinctive and eventful career on his way to the Hall of Fame. He was a fine starting pitcher – no-hitter for Cleveland at age 22, and 20 wins for the Red Sox at age 23 – but his career imploded in the mid-1980s due to arm trouble and alcoholism. He stopped drinking and, scrambling to find work, agreed to pitch out of the Oakland bullpen. The results were historic: In the five-year stretch from 1988-92, he had 220 saves, a 1.90 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of almost 15-to-1. He finished his career with 197 wins and 390 saves. He is credited with introducing the phrase “walk-off” into the language of baseball – in describing Kirk Gibson’s famous home run in the 1988 World Series, Eckersley told ESPN it was a “walk-off home run,” and when the interviewer asked what that meant, Eckersley shrugged and said: “He ran around the bases, and all I could do was walk off.” Don Elston (1953-64) was a Chicago Cubs workhorse who won 49 games and saved 63 in his career. Don Eddy (1970-71) – apparently no relation to the guitar god who will accompany Dave Edmunds on the wicked pre-game National Anthem – had a 2.36 ERA in 29 relief appearances for the White Sox but was out of the majors by age 24 and done completely by 26. One assumes injuries, since teams can generally find work for healthy lefties who get batters out. He doubled in his only major-league at-bat. Derrin Ebert (1999), another lefty, got hit hard in a few games for Atlanta at age 22 and then went back to the minors for another six or seven years before hanging it up. Donnie Elliott (1994-95) went 0-1 for the Padres. Dave Eiland (1988-2000) was a hot prospect with the Yankees but never became a decent major-league pitcher – career ERA of 5.74, and his only season below 5.00 was a year when he worked 30 innings. Dave Elder (2002-03) went 1-3 for the Indians.

Bench: Shortstop Danny Espinosa (2010- ) batted .236 and struck out 166 times as a Washington Nationals rookie in 2011, but on the other hand, he he hit 21 homers, stole 17 bases and led the league with 19 times being hit by pitches. Given his skill set, his career could go in either direction, but he is certainly promising. Infielder Dick Egan (1908-16) was a slap hitter who stole some bases. Backup catcher Doc Edwards (1962-70) got his nickname serving in the U.S. Marines medical corps. He was a .238 hitter. Outfielder Dave Edwards (1978-82) had the same career batting average as Doc Edwards. Center fielder Dave Eggler (1871-85) was a solid player for several years. He will get some playing time in the outfield, with Erstad shifting to first base and Darrell Evans to third base.

Manager: Doc Edwards, who managed the Indians for a few years in the 1980s, will serve as player-manager.

DF: The Dennis Farinas

Infield: Shortstop Davy Force (1871-86), known as Wee Davy for his 5-foot-4 frame, was a slap-hitting dandy with a handlebar mustache. It’s hard to decipher fielding statistics from the 1870s, but while he was active Force had a reputation as a fine fielder. Nothing is remarkable about his statistics, but he was highly thought of when he was playing. Duke Farrell (1888-1905) was primarily a catcher but will move to his secondary position, third base, on this team. The rare 19th-century player who tipped the scales past 200 pounds, he was a big, strapping guy who led the American Association in home runs and RBI in 1891. He had a long, reasonably productive career – 1,500 hits, almost 1,000 RBI – and he hung around long enough to be a role player on the Boston Americans team that won the first World Series in 1903. First baseman Dee Fondy (1951-58) played for the Cubs for several years and was a decent hitter. He had no power to speak of but above-average speed. He has the distinction of being the last player to bat in Ebbets Field. Second baseman Doug Flynn (1975-85) was a fine glove and a good bunter, but he couldn’t hit his way out of a taco shell. He batted .238, had no power, no speed and wouldn’t take a walk. He was a backup for The Big Red Machine and won two World Series rings, but he did not appear in a World Series game.


Outfield: Center fielder Dexter Fowler (2008- ) hits a ton of triples. He’s a fast outfielder for the Colorado Rockies who is just now hitting his prime. He has yet to break through with a truly great season, but he’s awfully exciting to watch. Right fielder Disco Dan Ford (1975-85) was good for a dozen home runs per year, and he ran well enough. He hit 121 home runs for the Orioles, Angels and Twins. He was known as Disco Dan, in accordance with the fashions of the time, because he apparently enjoyed the night life and was a snappy dresser. Left fielder Doug Frobel (1982-87) just couldn’t hit. He looked like a pretty fair player in the minors, but at the big-league level he struggled mightily to hit his weight. When Willie Stargell played his last game, it was Doug Frobel who was sent in to pinch-run so that Pops could get one last ovation. The truth is, while Frobel is nominally listed as the starting left fielder, look for Dave Foutz to get a lot of action in left when he’s not pitching. (More on him later.)

Catcher: Darrin Fletcher (1989-2002) hit 124 career home runs. He spent most of his career north of the border, playing six years in Montreal and five in Toronto. He was known as one of the slowest baserunners of his time. He never scored 50 runs in a season, and he stole two bases during his career and was thrown out six times, though why any team would attempt to steal, or even hit-and-run, with Darrin Fletcher on base is beyond us. He will be known as Fletcher the Catcher.

Rotation: Dave Foutz (1884-96) won 147 games as a pitcher and also played regularly in the outfield and at first base. He had good speed and decent power, scoring 100 runs twice and driving in 100 runs twice as well. He was a tall, skinny guy – nicknamed “Scissors” because that’s what he looked like – and he played his whole career while suffering from asthma. It didn’t seem to affect him. His career winning percentage (147-66, .690) is among the top five of all time. Dick Fowler (1941-52) was born in Oneonta, New York, and lived there his whole life, just a stone’s throw from Cooperstown, but that’s as close as he would ever get to the Hall of Fame. He did have some pretty good years for the Philadelphia A’s, but his career record was a not-exactly-Foutzian 66-79. David “Boo” Ferriss (1945-50) served in World War II and then came back and went 21-10 and 25-6 for the Red Sox in his first two seasons in the majors. He appeared to be on the verge of a great career, but arm injuries set in and he was done before he turned 30. (Like Foutz, he had asthma, and his career winning percentage was .684, so if you know an asthmatic kid with the initials D.F., buy him an inhaler and teach him to throw.) Ferriss went on to a legendary coaching career at Delta State University, winning more than 600 games. Doug Fister (2009- ) came up with the Mariners but currently pitches for Detroit. He has excellent control, keeps the ball in the park and generally doesn’t hurt himself. Daniel Sebastian Friend (1895-98) won 32 games for the Chicago Colts/Orphans late in the 19th century.

Bullpen: Closer Danny Frisella (1967-76) was a pretty fair reliever who started out with the Mets and then became a journeyman. He had 57 saves and was in the prime of his career when he died in a dune buggy accident on New Year’s Day 1977. Don Ferrarese (1955-62) was a journeyman lefty swingman who won 19 games. Dave Freisleben (1974-79) went 34-60, mostly for the San Diego Padres. Dave Ford (19778-81) was a role player out of Earl Weaver’s Baltimore bullpen for a few years. Dave Fleming (1991-95) was a tall lefty who won 17 games for the Mariners in 1992 but flamed out pretty quickly. Those 17 wins represented almost half of his career wins. He’ll be a long reliever and spot starter here. Dave Frost (1977-82) was a 6-foot-6 righty who spent most of his career with the Angels. His 16 wins in 1979 represent almost half of his career total, so he and Fleming are like bookends. Lefty Don Florence (1995) pitched a handful of games for the Mets. He did not pitch particulary well – 17 hits in 12 innings, with five strikeouts and six walks – but his career record was 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA.

Bench: David Freese (2010- ) is pressing hard for the third base job, which would turn Duke Farrell into a super-utility player. He is a remarkably consistent .295-.300 hitter with mid-range power, and his heroics in the 2012 postseason have already made him a St. Louis legend. Freese batted .545 with three home runs in the NLCS, and then batted .348 in the World Series and hit the walk-off home run that capped the incredible theatrics of Game 6. In 18 postseason games he batted .397 with 21 RBI. If Freese takes over the starting job at third, that would make Farrell the primary backup catcher. That would mean even less playing time for catcher Dan Firova (1981-88), who went 0-for-7 in his big-league career. Utility infielder Doc Farrell (1926-35), a 5-foot-8 man who worked as a dentist in the offseason, is the only guy who ever played for the New York Yankees, New York Giants, Boston Braves and Boston Red Sox. Dickie Flowers (1871-72) was an infielder who played regularly at age 21 and then disappeared from baseball after a few games the next season. Darren Ford (2010- ) is a speed-burning outfielder in the Giants organization who has yet to gain a foothold in the majors. He has stolen more than 300 bases in the minors.

Manager: Dave Foutz will serve as player-manager, since we figure he’s not already busy enough as the ace of the rotation and the starting left fielder. He had a winning record in four seasons as player-manager of the Brooklyn Grooms. He will receive considerable assistance from Dave Ferriss.

DG: The Darrell Greens

Infield: Second baseman Damaso Garcia (1978-89) hit .283 in his career and batted .300 a couple of times. He stole as many as 54 bases in a season and could hit the occasional double. That said, he wouldn’t take a walk (career on-base, .309) and he was no great shakes in the field. Shortstop Dick Groat (1952-67) was a sensational athlete – a college basketball All-American at Duke – who signed with his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates and became a starter without ever playing in the minors. He batted .286 for his career, with no real power or speed, and was a solid fielder. He won the MVP award in 1960 when he won the NL batting title for the World Series champion Pirates, and he was runner-up for the award in 1963 after he was traded to the Cardinals. Third baseman Debs Garms (1932-45) led the NL with a .355 batting average in 1940. It was kind of a phony title, though – a player had to appear in 100 games to qualify, and Garms appeared in 103 (including several as a pinch-hitter as the Pirates worked to get him over the limit), so he had just 385 plate appearances.They changed the rule after his batting title. He also has the distinction of breaking Johnny Vander Meer’s streak of 21 innings without allowing a hit. And, yes, his real name was Debs. His parents named him after the socialist politician Eugene V. Debs. First baseman Doc Gessler (1903-11) was a first baseman and corner outfielder who led the AL in on-base percentage in 1908.

Outfield: Left fielder Dan Gladden (1983-93) was a starter on Minnesota’s championship teams in 1987 and 1991. He was a hustling player who batted .270 and stole 20-30 bases per year, and he had the odd distinction of setting a career high in home runs (13) in his final season. Center fielder Doug Glanville (1996-2004) was another .270 hitter who stole bases. He didn’t walk as much as Gladden, but other than that they were similar offensive players, and Glanville was a fine defensive center fielder. Right fielder Danny Green (1898-1905) had several fine years with the Cubs and the White Sox, a .300 hitter with good speed. He was back in the minors before he turned 30, and his career ended with a serious injury when he was stuck in the head by a pitch in 1910. He died four years later at age 38, apparently from problems stemming from the beaning incident.

Catcher: Dan Graham (1979-81) hit alright for the Orioles in 1980, but the next year he batted .176 and went back to the minors for good. He was out of baseball before he turned 30.

Rotation: Dwight Gooden (1984-2000), like his teammate Darryl Strawberry, had a very fine career that was completely overshadowed by the fact that it should have been much, much better. Gooden won 17 games and led the NL in strikeouts at age 19, winning the Rookie of the Year award. He followed that up by going 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and again leading the league in strikeouts, winning the Cy Young Award at age 20. He was a handsome, genial young star in New York, and at that point, his future seemed limitless. But it didn’t happen. He never won 20 again. He never led the league in anything again. He never won any more awards. He pitched poorly in the 1986 postseason and the missed the Mets championship victory parade while on a cocaine binge. The rest of his career was marked by drug addiction and arm troubles. He had 100 wins before he turned 25, but by the end of his career he was bouncing from team to team trying to catch on with anyone who would have him. His last hurrah was a 1996 no-hitter with the Yankees, but his ERA that year was 5.01. His career record – 194-112, 3.51 ERA and 2,293 strikeouts – is impressive on the surface but disappointing to anyone who saw him in his first few seasons. His life after baseball has been marked by more arrests for drunken driving, drug possession and domestic violence. Lefty Don Gullett (1970-78) was another guy who was a major-league star by age 20 en route to a disappointing career. Unlike Gooden, he never had substance abuse problems, but Gullett had chronic shoulder problems that ended his career at age 27. He was almost always a very fine pitcher when he was healthy enough to pitch – at age 20 he went 16-6 with a 2.65 ERA for the Reds. When the Big Red Machine won back-to-back World Series titles in 1975-76, Gullett went a combined 26-7 but missed considerable time in both seasons. After the 1976 season he signed with the Yankees and went 14-4. He won World Series championships with New York in 1977-78, giving him four in a row, but his career was over following the 1978 season. His career record of 109-50 gave him one of the top 10 winning percentages in baseball history, fourth-best in the 20th century. Dave Goltz (1972-83) led the American League with 20 wins in 1977. He was a good pitcher, but the 20 wins were primarily due to the fact that he made 39 starts and worked 303 innings. Other than that season, his win totals from 1974-79 were 14, 14, 15 and 14. After that he signed a big free agent deal with the Dodgers, hurt his arm and never pitched well again. He holds two strange “records” in major-league baeball – he had three consecutive seasons with a .500 record in more than 20 decisions (10-10, 14-14, 14-14), and he once earned a save while allowing eight runs. Denny Galehouse (1934-49) won 109 games in a long career split among the Browns, Indians and Red Sox, giving this team three starting pitchers between 100-110 career victories (Gullett, Goltz, Galehouse). The team will try to arrange for David Gates to make a novelty recording called “In the Galehouse Now,” which will be played on the P.A. whenever Galehouse takes the mount. Unfortunately, Galehouse is probably most remembered as the surprise
starting (and losing) pitcher for the Red Sox in the one-game playoff between Boston and Cleveland for the 1948 American League pennant. Dan Griner (1912-18) did not win 100 games. He had a career record of 28-55 and led the NL with 22 losses in 1913. He did, however, win 99 in the minors.

Bullpen: Closer Danny Graves (1996-2006), the only player in major-league history who was born in Vietnam, saved 182 games for the Reds, but only had one year when he was truly a top-notch closer (2000, when he had 10 wins, 30 saves and a 2.56 ERA. He saved career-best 41 games and made the all-star game in 2004, but he actually had a 1-6 record and a 3.95 ERA. Dave Giusti (1962-77) won 100 games and saved 145, putting him on the short list (fewer than 20) of pitchers with 100 wins and 100 saves. Giusti was a run-of-the-mill starter for Houston but made a successful conversion to the pen once he arrived in Pittsburgh in 1970. He made three scorless relief appearances in the 1971 World Series. Lefty Don Gross (1955-60) had a 1.95 ERA in 1956. Other than that, his career was pretty routine. Lefty Dave Geisel (1978-85), no relation to Seuss, was a bit player for the Cubs, Blue Jays and Mariners. Lefty Dolly Gray (1909-11) was a starter for the moribund Washington Senators who had a palindromic career record of 15-51. Dallas Green (1960-67) had an undistinguished career as a reliever and is better known for his managing days. Dave Gumpert (1982-87) won three games in five seasons. He showed some promise but was done in by elbow trouble.

Bench: Backup catcher Doug Gwosdz (1981-84) – it’s pronounced Goosh – was a terrible hitter and no great shakes defensively, but he was briefly a subject of fascination in the early days of sabermetrics when someone noticed that in 1981-82, the Padres were 9-1 in games that he started (and 113-149 in games he didn’t start). So statisticians kept an eye on him in 1983 and, lo and behold, the Padres went 10-3 when Gwosdz started (71-78 when he didn’t start). No one was fooled into thinking he was actually a good player, but folks were pretty fascinated by a light-hitting catcher with a 19-4 record in games that he started for a bad team. The Padres were less than fascinated. He started one game in 1984 (a loss) and was out of the majors with a .144 career average. We’re hoping he’ll continue to be a gwosdz-luck charm on this roster.Infielder Dick Green (1963-74) was a light-hitting glove man on the Oakland teams that won three straight World Series titles, and one of the pieces in Charlie Finley’s bizarre “rotating second baseman” ploy in 1972 (in which manager Dick Williams was given several light-hitting second basemen and told to pinch-hit for them every time they came up). Outfielder Dave Gallagher (1987-95) batted .303 as a 27-year-old rookie for the Indians, but he wasn’t really a .300 hitter, which he spent the next several years proving. He wasn’t a bad player, though, and he forged a decent career as a journeyman role player. First baseman Dick Gernert (1952-62) was a .250 hitter with mid-range power for the Boston Red Sox. Don Gutteridge (1936-48) was a utility infielder who spent most of his career in St. Louis with the Cardinals and the Browns.

Manager: Dallas Green will be player-manager. A cantankerous man who described himself as “a screamer, a yeller and a cusser,” he won the 1980 World Series with a Philadelphia team that had three major stars (Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Tug McGraw) and little else. That was his only really good season in a career that also included terms with the Yankees and Mets, but he had a largely successful run in the Chicago Cubs front office. He was a key player in the movement to add lights to Wrigley Field (you can decide for yourself if that was good or bad).