Which Relievers Should Be in the Baseball Hall of Fame?

We don't yet have a clear idea of what gets a reliever into the Hall of Fame. So I'm going to run a comparison, between those who are in, and those who some people say should be in.

First, let's take Hoyt Wilhelm and Dennis Eckersley out of the equation, because they both spent significant time as starters. And John Smoltz, while pretty good as a reliever, was a starter for the vast majority of his career.

That means that there are only 6 relievers in the Hall of Fame. In order of election, they are: Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Rich "Goose" Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith.

Let's look at a few other relievers of note: Dan Quisenberry, star reliever of the 1980s; Jeff Reardon, another 1980s reliever, and the all-time leader between Fingers and Smith; John Franco, the all-time save leader among lefthanded pitchers; Billy Wagner, right behind Franco in that regard, and who, a few days ago, fell 5 votes short of election; and Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez, who has the most saves of any pitcher not in the Hall, eligible or otherwise, and holds the single-season record.

And if you think I missed any relievers worth considering, let me know. Just don't suggest any that are not yet eligible.

Saves: Rivera 652, Hoffman 601, Smith 478, Rodriguez 437, Franco 424, Wagner 422, Reardon 367, Fingers 341, Gossage 310, Sutter 300, Quisenberry 244.

Earned Run Average (ERA): Rivera 2.21, Wagner 2.31, Quisenberry 2.76, Sutter 2.83, Rodriguez 2.86, Hoffman 2.87, Franco 2.89, Fingers 2.90, Gossage 3.01, Smith 3.03, Reardon 3.16.

ERA compared to the league average (ERA+), with 100 being exactly average: Rivera 205 (making him the all-time leader, among all pitchers), Wagner 187, Rodriguez 148, Quisenberry 146, Hoffman 141, Franco 138, Sutter 136, Smith 132, Gossage 126, Reardon 122, Fingers 120.

Walks and Hits (BB + H), Divided by Innings Pitched (WHIP): Wagner 0.998, Rivera 1.000, Hoffman 1.058, Sutter 1.140, Rodriguez 1.155, Fingers 1.156, Quisenberry 1.175, Reardon 1.199, Gossage 1.232, Smith 1.256, Franco 1.333.

Why do I not count Wins + Saves? Because it's not that hard to blow a lead, then still be your team's pitcher of record when they retake the lead. For a reliever, Wins is a misleading statistic.

Why do I not count Strikeouts (K's), or K/Innings Pitched, or K/BB? Because, while strikeouts help, outs in general matter more than how you get them.

The main case for Wagner is his career save total: He's 2nd all-time among lefthanded pitchers, right behind Franco. But most people supporting the election of Wagner do not support that of Franco. Also, until he was surpassed by Hoffman, and both were surpassed by Rivera, the all-time leader in saves was Smith. And yet, it took the Veterans Committee (or whatever that's called now) to get him in. The writers did not consider his all-time leadership in a major pitching category to be enough to elect him. Given where he ranked in the other categories, they had a point.

Based on Saves, ERA, ERA+ and WHIP, a case can be made for both Wagner and Rodriguez.

Based on Saves, ERA and ERA+, a case can be made for Franco. However, his WHIP is noticeably higher than the next-lowest reliever mentioned.

Based on ERA, ERA+ and WHIP, a case can be made for Quisenberry. But the cumulative one, saves, is one on which he trails by a lot.

Based on Saves and WHIP, a case can be made for Reardon. But ERA and ERA+ don't help him.

Then again, based on the preceding judgments I've made, Fingers, Sutter and Gossage might not have enough saves. And Gossage and Fingers might not have a high enough ERA+. Gossage and Smith each have a WHIP that seems a bit high. Each of those assessments could be explained by things being different in their era, which would then help their contemporaries, Quisenberry and Reardon.

Clearly, Hall voters took the pitchers' effects on their teams into account. So let's look:

Rollie Fingers, In: Reached the postseason with the Oakland Athletics in 1971, '72, '73, '74 and '75; and the Milwaukee Brewers in 1981 and '82. Won Pennants in 1972, '73, '74 and '82. Won the World Series in 1972, '73 and '74. Was key to all of that.

Bruce Sutter, In: Made the postseason only once, but he was critical to it, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win the 1982 World Series -- over Fingers and the Brewers.

Goose Gossage, In: Made the postseason with the New York Yankees in 1978, '80 and '81; the San Diego Padres in 1984. Won Pennants in 1978, '81 and '84. Won the World Series in 1978. Was key to all of that.

Dan Quisenberry, Out: Made the postseason with the Kansas City Royals in 1980, '81, '84 and '85. Won the Pennant in 1980, beating Gossage and the Yankees; and '85. Won the World Series in 1985, beating the Cardinals after they foolishly traded Sutter. Was key to all of that.

Jeff Reardon, Out: Made the postseason with the Montreal Expos in 1981, the Minnesota Twins in 1987, the Boston Red Sox in 1990, and the Atlanta Braves in 1992. Won the Pennant in 1987 and '92. Won the World Series in 1987. Was key to all of that, although results varied: He had a 0.00 ERA in 4 games for the '87 Twins, but a 13.50 ERA in 2 games that may have helped cost the Braves the '92 Series.

Lee Smith, In but had to wait for the Vets Committee: Made the postseason with the Chicago Cubs in 1984, and the Red Sox in 1988. Didn't win the Pennant either time. Clearly, this didn't help his bid for election.

Trevor Hoffman, In: Made the postseason with the Padres in 1996, '98, 2005 and '06. Won the Pennant in 1998. Was key to all of that.

Mariano Rivera, In: Made the postseason with the Yankees in 1995, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07, '09, '10 and '11. Won the Pennant in 1996, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '03 and '09. Won the World Series in 1996, '98, '99, 2000 and '09. May well have been the biggest key to all of that, including 1998 over Hoffman and the Padres.

Billy Wagner, Out: Made the postseason with the Houston Astros in 1997, '98, '99 and 2001; the New York Mets in 2006; the Red Sox in 2009; and the Braves in 2010. This is where the case for Wagner takes a huge hit: He may have been the worst pitcher in postseason history, going 1-1 with a 10.03 ERA and a 1.971 WHIP. In addition, he was with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2005, when they missed the National League Wild Card berth by one game. If ever a pitcher could not be counted on when you needed him most, it was Billy Wagner.

John Franco, Out: Made the postseason with the Mets in 1999 and 2000, winning the Pennant in 2000, although he was no longer the closer by that point. Nevertheless, he did save Game 3, their only win in the 2000 Series. He helped the Cincinnati Reds reach 2nd place 4 straight seasons, 1985-88, and it certainly wasn't his fault that they didn't reach the Playoffs; but they traded him to the Mets before he could be a part of their 1990 title team. That doesn't help much.

Francisco Rodriguez, Out: Made the postseason with the team now known as the Los Angeles Angels in 2002, '04, '05, '07, '08; and the Brewers in 2011. The fact that he helped those teams, among the least successful in the post-expansion era, reach the postseason is remarkable. The fact that he was key to the Angels' only Pennant and only World Series win in 2002, his rookie season, speaks volumes. In between the Angels and the Brewers, he pitched poorly for the Mets, which may, thus far, have made a difference in keeping him out, but I'm not sure it should.

CONCLUSION: Among these names, Wagner and K-Rod are the closest to being Hallworthy. Quis, Reardon and Franco are certainly worthy of consideration. I can't definitively say that any of them should get in. But I don't think much of a fuss should be made if and when any of them get in.

There will be, though. There are plenty of people who will say the Hall has been "watered down" with the election of guys who should have remained in "The Hall of Very Good."

But some of those people were fine with the election of steroids cheats like David Ortiz, so to Hell with them.

What Does It Take to Elect a Reliever to the Baseball Hall of Fame?

What does it take to get a relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame?

With the election this week of Trevor Hoffman, there are currently 6 pitchers who were elected to the Hall based mainly on what they did as relievers:

* Hoyt Wilhelm, who pitched from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, and was both a starer and a reliever until the early 1960s. He was the master of the knuckleball, and the 1st pitcher to appear in as many as 1,000 regular-season games (breaking Cy Young's long-standing record of 906).

* Rollie Fingers, at his peak in the 1970s and early 1980s. He was known for his handlebar mustache, reminiscent of silent-film villains, and very villainous to hitters, though not known to hit batters on purpose, and, by all accounts, a nice guy off the mound.

* Bruce Sutter, who had a relatively short peak, from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. He was the 1st pitcher to make a name for himself with the split-fingered fastball, though Elroy Face used its predecessor, the forkball, with much relief success a generation earlier.

* Rich "Goose" Gossage, a relief star from the mid-1970s all the way to the mid-1990s. One of the fastest pitchers who ever lived, like Fingers, he eventually developed his own iconic mustache.

* Dennis Eckersley, a fine starter in the late 1970s and early 1980s (pitched a no-hitter in 1977 and won 20 in 1978), who was converted to a reliever in the mid-1980s and was one of the best ever into the mid-1990s. The Eck was the original Ninth Inning Man, also with an iconic look, his long hair and thin mustache earning him the nickname "the King of Spades." And...

* Trevor Hoffman, at his peak in the late 1990s and all through the 2000s. The 1st man to 500 saves, the 1st man to 600 saves, and still the National League's all-time record holder with 601.

As a note that may not mean anything here, Sutter and Hoffman are currently the only pitchers ever elected to the Hall who never started a game, either regular-season or postseason. Presuming that hasn't changed once Mariano Rivera gets in, it still won't due to his election: He arrived in the major leagues as a starter in 1995.

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What does the election of these 5 pitchers tell us about what gets a reliever in?

Keep in mind: In Wilhelm's time, there weren't big save totals like we would see in the era of Fingers and Gossage; and the totals in their time would be frequently surpassed by the time Eck became a closer. As Wikipedia's entry on Fingers says:

When Fingers reached the major leagues, the role of relief pitchers was limited, as starting pitchers rarely left games while holding a lead; but as team offense increased following the 1968 season, and especially with the American League's introduction of the designated hitter in 1973, managers became more willing to replace starters in the late innings with a lead in order to forestall any late rallies by opponents.

Through the 1960s, both leagues' annual saves leaders tended toward totals of 20–25 saves; few pitchers remained in the role more than two or three years, with significant exceptions such as Roy Face and knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm. But in the 1970s, in an era allowing for greater opportunities for closers than had previously been available, Fingers' excellence in relief allowed him to gradually increase his annual saves totals past 30. In 1980 he broke Wilhelm's record of 227 saves, and eventually finished with 341, a record that stood until Jeff Reardon passed it in 1992.

Case in point: The Yankees won 5 straight American League Pennants in the early 1960s, but had a different main reliever each year: Art Ditmar in 1960, Luis Arroyo in 1961, Marshall Bridges in 1962, Hal Reniff in 1963 and Pete Mikkelsen in 1964.

Also, until Oakland Athletics manager Tony LaRussa made Eck essentially a 9th-inning-only guy, presaging the way Yankee manager Joe Torre would use Mariano Rivera, which pretty much made every manager (including Torre's successor, Joe Girardi) want a setup reliever, an 8th-inning-only guy, and a 9th-inning-only guy, relievers were expected to pitch more than 1 inning -- sometimes several more.

In the 1978 Playoff for the AL Division title against the Boston Red Sox, Yankee manager Bob Lemon brought Gossage in to relieve Ron Guidry in the 7th inning. The year before, in the AL Championship Series against the Kansas City Royals, Lemon's predecessor, Billy Martin, brought Sparky Lyle in to pitch in the 6th in Game 3 and the 4th in Game 4, going the rest of the way both times. And then to pitch the 8th and 9th in the deciding Game 5. (There was no Most Valuable Player award for the LCS at that time; if there was, he would have been an easy choice.) That was Lyle's Cy Young Award season, and he's not in the Hall of Fame.

And in 1974, with the A's in trouble in Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, manager Alvin Dark brought Fingers in for the 5th, and let him go until relieving him with a starter, Catfish Hunter, in the 9th. The A's won, and won the Series in 5. (Fingers would be named MVP of that Series.)

So saves, and various related stats, might not be that reliable.

Also, coming in earlier in the old days meant that some relievers had a better chance to get wins than pitchers in the 1980s or later. ERA (earned run average), ERA+ (ERA relative to the League, with park effect somehow factored in), and WHIP (Walks + hits, per innings pitched) should also be considered.

Strikeouts, and related stats like K/9 IP and K/BB ratio, should not: While strikeouts are spectacular, they don't count for any more than a groundout or an out in the air. It's not like for starters, where 3,000 strikeouts over a career really is impressive. And, of course, winning is important: Did the pitcher's performance help his team win?

For the sake of argument, let us suppose that Mariano Rivera, eligible next season, gets in. Because even hardcore Red Sox fans won't suggest that he doesn't belong. So, here we go:

Saves: Rivera has a record 652 saves, Hoffman 601, Eckersley 390, Fingers 341, Gossage 310, Sutter 300, Wilhelm 227.

Wins Plus Saves: Mo a record 734, Hoffman 662, Eck 587, Fingers 455, Goose 434, Wilhelm 370, Sutter 368.

ERA: Mo 2.21 (lowest of any pitcher, starter or reliever, in the post-1920 Lively Ball Era), Wilhelm 2.52, Sutter 2.83, Hoffman 2.87, Fingers 2.90, Goose 3.01, Eck 3.50 (that high because he was a starter for 12 years, literally half his career).

ERA+: Mo a record 205, Wilhelm 147, Hoffman 141, Sutter 136, Goose 126, Fingers 120, Eck 116.

WHIP: Mo 1.000 (actually, 1.00026), Hoffman 1.058, Wilhelm 1.125, Sutter 1.140, Fingers 1.156, Eck 1.161, Goose 1.232.

Postseason appearances: Mo 16, Eck 8 (counting the 1978 Red Sox -- they did, after all, play a 163rd game that season), Fingers 7 (counting the 1981 Milwaukee Brewers in the strike-forced split-season Playoff format), Goose 5, Wilhelm 2 (as a rookie with the 1954 New York Giants and a veteran with the 1969 Atlanta Braves, although he did not appear in the NLCS against the Mets), Sutter only 1 (but was cheated out of another when the split-season format denied the St. Louis Cardinals the 1981 NL East title even though they had the best overall record in the Division, and another, possibly another ring, when the Cards traded him after the 1984 season despite tying Dan Quisenberry's record of 45 saves in a season).

World Series wins: Mo has 5 (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009 Yankees), Fingers 3 (1972, 1973 and 1974 Oakland Athletics), Wilhelm 1 (as a rookie with the 1954 New York Giants), Sutter 1 (1982 St. Louis Cardinals), Eckersley 1 (1989 A's), Hoffman none (1 Pennant, with the 1998 San Diego Padres).

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So what does this tell us? It means that 300 saves is a minimum consideration; that Wilhelm doesn't have 300 saves, but his other stats show him to be in, at the least, the same class as the other 4; that the Eck, because of his starting for half his career, is the only one with an ERA over 3.01 and an ERA+ under 120; and that, while Hoffman proves that postseason success isn't required to get in, a pitcher should have at least 1 ring. It also tells us that having a career losing record wasn't enough to keep either Fingers, Sutter or Hoffman out (although Sutter had to wait a lot longer to get in).

So let's use the following as our minimums: 300 saves, which all but Wilhelm had; with that established, 368 wins + saves; an ERA of 3.00 or lower, with the Goose slightly over and the Eck well over because he wasn't always a reliever; an ERA+ of 120 or higher, with the Eck an outlier; and a WHIP of 1.240 or lower, with the Goose being the highest. Once those are established, we should look at postseason berths and titles.

There are currently 28 pitchers with at least 300 career saves. Minus Rivera, Hoffman, Eckersley, Fingers, Gossage and Sutter, that leaves 22:

Lee Smith, 478; Francisco Rodriguez, a.k.a. K-Rod, 437 and counting; John Franco, 424; Billy Wagner, 422; Joe Nathan, 377; Jonathan Papelbon, 368; Jeff Reardon, 367; Troy Percival, 358; Randy Myers, 347; John Wetteland, 330; Francisco Cordero, 329; Roberto Hernandez, 326; Huston Street, 324 and counting; Jose Mesa, 321; Todd Jones, 319; Rick Aguilera, 318; Robb Nen, 314; Tom Henke, 311; Jeff Montgomery, 304; Doug Jones, 303; Fernando Rodney, 300 and counting; and Jason Isringhausen, 300.

Let's not kid ourselves: We can eliminate both Doug and Todd Jones, Isringhausen, Rodney, Montgomery, Henke, Nen, Aguilera, Mesa, Hernandez and Cordero.

That leaves Smith, Franco, Wagner, Nathan, Papelbon, Reardon, Percival, Myers, Wetteland, and the still-active K-Rod and Street. Keep in mind, this is not about whether they'll get in through the Writers: Some have already dropped off, and can only get in later through the Veterans Committee. This is about, based on who's already in, who else belongs.

We've been over 300 saves. This raises it to 330. But we've also established 368 wins + saves. So, of these 11, that leaves Smith with 549, Franco 514, K-Rod 489, Wagner 469, Nathan 441, Reardon 440, Papelbon 409, Percival 393, Myers 391, Wetteland 378 -- Street 366, but he's still active, and only needs 2 more to meet the threshold.

Also with an ERA of 3.00 or lower? Wagner 2.31, Papelbon 2.44, K-Rod 2.86, Nathan 2.87, Franco 2.89, Wetteland 2.93, Street 2.95 -- Smith 3.03, Reardon 3.16, Percival 3.17, Myers 3.19.

Also with an ERA+ of 120 or higher? Wagner 187, Papelbon 177, Nathan 151, Wetteland 148, K-Rod 148, Percival 146, Street 141, Franco 138, Smith 132, Myers 123, Reardon 122.

Also with a WHIP of 1.240 or lower? Wagner 0.998, Street 1.066, Percival 1.108, Papelbon 1.043, Nathan 1.120, Wetteland 1.135, K-Rod 1.155, Reardon 1.199 -- Smith 1.256, Myers 1.304, Franco 1.333.

Meeting all 4: Wagner, Nathan, Papelbon, Wetteland, and, for all intents and purposes, Street.

Meeting 3 of the 4: Franco, K-Rod, Reardon, Percival.

Meeting only 2: Smith, Myers. So we can eliminate those 2.

But here's another way to look at it: The old IYGA argument: "If you gotta ask... " In other words, if you hear his name, and you don't automatically say, "He should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame," then he shouldn't be.

K-Rod may be the all-time leader in saves by a lefthander. Franco, the recordholder before him. And Wetteland, he's a hero of the 1996 Yankees. But can you really say any of those get in?

I can't.ce those are established, we should look at postseason berths and titles.

Cleveland's All-Time Baseball Team

It's now clear that I won't get all 30 teams done for this project before Opening Day, which is this coming Monday afternoon. Of course, if I were doing this for football, with all the various positions available, it would take a lot longer.

But an All-Northern Ohio football team would be better than one for baseball. It would also be one of the best regional teams anywhere, because, while Ohio loves its baseball (both the Cleveland and the Cincinnati sides), it is nuts about football.

Nevertheless, I move on:

13. Cleveland’s All-Time Baseball Team

This team consists of players from the northern half of Ohio -- including the northwest corner, the Toledo metropolitan area, which is closer to Detroit than it is to Cleveland, and in fact the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens have been a Tiger farm team for as long as I can remember.

Still, if you ask a Toledo-area athlete if he would rather accept a scholarship to The... Ohio State University or to the University of Michigan, he would be less likely to say "M Go Blue" and more likely to say, "Go Bucks, Michigan Sucks."

The dividing line is pretty much the northern edge of Interstate 270, the "beltway" around the State capital of Columbus. The State House is 107 miles from Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark, and 142 miles from Jacobs Field, or whatever the Indians are calling it now.

When Jim Tressel, now working for the University of Akron but best known as the head coach at Ohio State, was the head coach at Youngstown State University, about halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, he called the stretch of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania between them "The State of Youngstown." It helped with recruiting.

It also seems to have inspired former Rutgers University and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano to call the region that includes the entire States of New Jersey and Delaware, plus the rest of the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, "The State of Rutgers."

This might be a better team than an all-time Indians' squad, and does have a few Indians on it. It certainly has one hell of a pitching staff. But it's also worth noting that not one member of this team played in a major league game after 1987.

1B George Sisler of Akron. Because he starred in the late 1910s and the 1920s, well before the TV era, he has been virtually forgotten. Even in 2004, when Ichiro Suzuki broke his 84-year-old single-season record of 257 hits, it barely got any notice.

Gorgeous George batted .340 -- for a career. He won 2 American League batting titles, batting over .400 both times. He stole 375 bases, 4 times leading the AL. In 1922, he nearly led the St. Louis Browns to the Pennant, and was named AL Most Valuable Player. He was also regarded as the best-fielding 1st baseman of his time. He was, without question, the best player in Browns history.

He played before uniform numbers were worn, so there's no retired number for him. And the Browns moved after the 1953 season to become the Baltimore Orioles, who make no reference at Camden Yards to their St. Louis heritage, so there's no team to remember him. But he was one of the first inductees into the Hall of Fame, in 1939. In 1999, The Sporting News remembered him: On their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, he came in at Number 33.

Honorable Mention to Joe Kuhel of Cleveland Heights. Playing in the AL in the 1930s and ‘40s, he was not going to break through onto the All-Star team with Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx and Hank Greenberg in the way. But the Washington Senator was 3 times a .300 hitter, twice a 100-RBI man, and collected 2,212 hits.

Honorable Mention to Bill White of Warren, who won Gold Gloves and hit well for the St. Louis Cardinals, helping them win the 1964 World Series, before becoming a Yankee broadcaster from 1971 to 1988 and President of the National League from 1989 to 1993. He could have been the 1st black Commissioner... but that would have required the baseball team owners to think forward, and they usually don't do that. He should be in the Hall of Fame for all his contributions.

Honorable Mention also to Fred Merkle, whose baserunning blunder (a.k.a. Merkle's Boner) seemed to cost the New York Giants the 1908 Pennant. Actually, his blown popup in the 12th inning of the deciding Game 8 (yes, Game 8) of the 1912 World Series was much more his own fault, and perhaps more damaging. He had a career OPS+ of 109, and won Pennants with the Giants (1911, '12 and '13), Brooklyn Dodges (1916), and, ironically considering they benefited from his Boner 10 years earlier, the Chicago Cubs (1918). He was a very good player.

2B Bill Mazeroski of Tiltonville. Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, closer to the team he ended up playing for, the Pittsburgh Pirates, although Ohio is Ohio, so he's in the Indians' sphere of influence. He hit the only home run ever to win a Game 7 of a World Series, in 1960. He also won a Series with the Pirates in 1971 -- the only Pirate besides Roberto Clemente to have played on both of those World champions.

He was a member of 7 All-Star teams, won 8 Gold Gloves, and is often considered the greatest-fielding second baseman ever. Hall of Fame, Number 9 retired.

Honorable Mention to Bill Wambsganss of Cleveland. A hometown hero for the Indians, he was a member of their 1920 World Champions, and, of course, pulled off the only triple play in the history of postseason baseball thus far -- an unassisted triple play. He wasn't much of a batter, but in 1920 he stroked 11 triples, and in 1921 and '22, he led the AL in sacrifice hits.

Honorable Mention to Solomon "Sol" White of Bellaire. He played on all-black teams in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, and in 1907 he wrote what is believed to be the first published history of black baseball, Sol White's History of Colored Baseball. He later became an organizer of black leagues and teams. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in its making-up-for-lost-time election of 2006.

SS Roger Peckinpaugh of Cleveland. He debuted in the majors in 1910 with the Indians, at age 19. In 1914, he was traded to the Yankees, and at the end of the 1915 season, he was named the interim manager for the last 15 games -- at age 23, even younger than Lou Boudreau was when he took over the Indians a generation later.

He went on to help the Senators win their 1st 2 Pennants, winning the World Series in 1924, but he's probably best known now for the 8 errors he made in the '25 Series, including 2 in Game 7, bracketing an RBI, going from goat to hero to goat real fast. He was named Most Valuable Player in the AL in 1925, although this is a predecessor award to the official one recognized by MLB that began in 1931. He would manage the Indians in 2 later terms, but never won another Pennant.

3B Sal Bando of Cleveland. The Captain of the Oakland Athletics dynasty of the early 1970s was a 4-time All-Star, hit 242 homers despite playing most of his home games at the Oakland Coliseum and Milwaukee County Stadium, and twice drove in 100 or more runs. In 1973 he led the AL in doubles and total bases. He later served as general manager of the Indians, while his brother Chris was their catcher.

LF Ed Delahanty of Cleveland. The best of a set of 5 brothers to reach the majors, a record, the others being Frank, Jim, Joe and Tom. He had a lifetime batting average .346, 3 times batted .400, 7 times had 100 RBIs in the Dead Ball Era, hit 522 doubles, had an OPS+ of 152, and collected 2,597 hits. Clearly, he was one of the greatest hitters who ever lived. But he was an alcoholic, and died under mysterious circumstances in 1903. He was only 35. He's in the Hall of Fame, and the Phillies inducted him into the Philadelphia Baseball Hall of Fame.

Honorable Mention to Gene Woodling of Akron. He batted .300 4 times, led the AL in on-base percentage in 1953, and won 5 straight World Series with the Yankees, 1949 to 1953. The Yankees traded him to the Baltimore Orioles after the 1954 season, the trade that brought pitchers Bob Turley and Don Larsen. Unfortunately, he was one of several ex-New York baseball stars brought in to the early Mets, but he was 39 and done. Still, he was a Yankee star and should be remembered.

CF William Ellsworth Hoy of Houcktown. Some called him Billy, because they didn't want to use the usual nickname that deaf people got at the time, which was then used to describe those unable to speak but was becoming a slur meaning stupid. But after learning to speak, he told people, "Call me Dummy."

He first reached the majors in 1886 with the NL version of the Washington Senators, and led the league in stolen bases. He had his best seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, and had a lifetime batting average of .288, and 2,048 hits in just 14 seasons. At the time of his retirement, he held the career record for games played and putouts by a center fielder.

In 1961, at the age of 99, he was invited to throw out the first ball at a World Series game between the Yankees and Reds at Crosley Field, which was built on the site of a previous Reds ballpark in which he played. He got a standing ovation that he could see, if not hear. He died shortly thereafter, and was then believed to be the oldest living former player ever.

He is in the Reds' Hall of Fame, and count me in with the people who believe he should be in Cooperstown, even if the story that he was the originator of baseball umpires’ left hand for balls, right hand for strikes calls is probably untrue.

RF Elmer Flick of Bedford. He started with the Philadelphia Phillies, and led the NL in RBIs in 1900, before becoming one of the NL players raided by the AL. He led the AL in batting, slugging, on-base percentage and triples in 1905; and in runs, triples and stolen bases in 1906. He also led it in stolen bases in 1904 and triples in 1907.

There were no MVP awards or all-star teams in his era, but his lifetime batting average was .313, and his OPS+ a mighty 149. He never appeared in postseason play, so he can't be remembered that way, and there were no uniform numbers to retire in his time, so there's no number of his on the wall at Progressive Field. But he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and he is honored in the Indians' Hall of Fame in the stadium's Heritage Park, so he won't be completely forgotten.

Honorable Mention to Tommy Henrich of Massillon. He was such a great clutch hitter that Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen nicknamed him Old Reliable. He's probably best known for a strikeout: In Game 4 of the 1941 World Series, he swung and missed for what seemed to be the last out, but Brooklyn Dodger catcher Mickey Owen couldn't hang on to the third strike, and Henrich reached first, starting a Yankee rally that ended with a Series win in the next day’s Game 5.

He led the AL in triples in 1947 and '48. In Game 1 of the 1949 Series, also against the Dodgers, Henrich hit a home run to break up a scoreless duel between Allie Reynolds and Don Newcombe, the first-ever walkoff homer (as we would now call it) in postseason history.

He reached 5 All-Star teams, played on 8 Pennant winners and 7 World Champions from 1937 to 1950. His career OPS+ was 132. He hit 183 home runs despite only playing 11 major-league seasons -- he didn't reach the majors until he was 24 and missed 3 years in the Coast Guard in World War II.

When he died in 2010 at age 96, he was the oldest living ex-Yankee. It's a shame that the Yankees have never given him a Monument Park Plaque.

C Thurman Munson of Canton. The AL Rookie of the Year in 1970, and its MVP in 1976, he is still the only Yankee ever to win both awards. He was the 1st Yankee to be awarded the team captaincy since Lou Gehrig. He won 3 Pennants and 2 World Championships, and was named to 7 All-Star Games.

Let me tell you why I love Thurman: In Game 3 of the 1978 ALCS, when the Yankees most needed a home run from him, he hit the longest home run of his career, appropriately enough into Monument Park. Sadly, he would be the next Yankee to be honored there. His Number 15 is retired.

Utility: Roger Bresnahan of Toledo. He played every position, including pitcher, but is best known as a catcher for the New York Giants. A member of their 1905 World Championship teams, he would have made at least 9 All-Star Games had they been played in his time. He had a lifetime OPS+ of 126. Hall of Fame.

Special Mentions to Moses Fleetwood "Fleet" Walker and his brother Welday Walker of Steubenville, briefly the 1st black players in Major League Baseball before the blacklist came down in 1884; and to Elmer Gedeon of Cleveland, who played 5 games in the outfield for the 1939 Senators, before being killed in World War II.

SP Denton True Young of Newcomerstown. In his 1st professional tryout, he threw a ball so hard it smashed through a fence. His manager said it looked like it had been wrecked by a cyclone. So Dent Young became Cyclone Young, later shortened to Cy Young.

We've all heard the words "Cy Young Award" so many times that the man for whom the most valuable pitcher award is named gets lost in the shuffle. So here's the facts: He pitched for the NL Cleveland Spiders, the Boston Red Sox (winning the 1st World Series in 1903), and the AL Indians. He holds these records, which will be unbreakable until the rules are significantly changed to again favor pitchers and reduce wear and tear on their arms: Most career wins, 511; losses, 313; games started, 815; complete games, 749; innings pitched, 7,355; and batters faced, 29,565. Think about that: Nearly 30,000 times, he faced a big-league batter.

Career winning percentage, .618; ERA, 2.63; ERA+, 138; WHIP, 1.130; no-hitters, 3, including the first perfect game under the 60-feet-6-inches pitching distance in 1904; and strikeouts, 2,803, most ever until Walter Johnson surpassed him.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in its second class in 1937, and to the MLB All-Century Team in 1999, even though nearly half his career was in the 19th Century. That same year, when The Sporting News announced its 100 Greatest Baseball Players, he came in at Number 14 -- 88 years after his last game, they knew he was more than just the name on an award.

In Boston, on the campus of Northeastern University, roughly on the site of the pitcher’s mound of the Huntington Avenue Grounds, the Red Sox' home before Fenway Park, there is a statue of Young. And his former home in Newcomerstown is a museum in his honor. He pitched before uniform numbers, but I've seen film of him in an old-timers' game wearing Number 29.

SP Richard "Rube" Marquard of Cleveland. When the New York Giants signed him, his bonus was $11,000, a record at the time. The lefty's first few games were poor, and he was mocked as The $11,000 Lemon. Then he found his control, and he became The $11,000 Beauty. He was nicknamed Rube after another superstar lefty pitcher, Rube Waddell.

He won 201 games, and is one of the few pitchers to pitch in the World Series for both the Giants (1911, '12 and '13) and the Dodgers (1916 and '20). He is in the Hall of Fame, but played before uniform numbers.

SP Hubert "Dutch" Leonard of Birmingham. That's Ohio, not Alabama, or Michigan. A master of the knuckleball, well before the Ohio-born Niekro brothers, in 1914 he set a major-league record for lowest ERA in a season, 0.96. His ERA+ that season? A touched-by-God 279. He helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series in 1915, '16 and '18. He finished with a 139-118 record and an ERA+ of 115.

He should not be confused with a later pitcher, Emil "Dutch" Leonard of Illinois, also a knuckleballer.

SP Urban Shocker of Cleveland. The Yankees traded him to the St. Louis Browns in 1918, and that proved to be a bit of a mistake: They won the Pennant in 1921, '22 and '23, but not in '20 and '24, and Shocker's pitching nearly got the Browns past the Yanks in '22. He won 27 games in '21, and the Yanks undid one of their worst trades with one of their best, getting him back in '25. He then helped them to win the '26 Pennant and the '27 World Series.

He compiled a record of 187-117 with an ERA+ of 124. He was 18-6 in his last full season, 1927, before a heart defect killed him at age 37. He's not in the Hall of Fame, but he should be. And what a great name: Although this man of French-Canadian descent was born Urbain Jacques Schockor, his nom de horsehide makes him sound like a hardcore rapper: "Urban Shocker."

SP Phil Niekro of Blaine. The master of the knuckleball, the last remaining active player for the Milwaukee Braves, and the 1st great pitcher for the Atlanta edition. He was a member of the 300 Win and 3,000 Strikeout Clubs. With his brother Joe (who doesn't quite make this team), he formed the winningest brother combination ever. Hall of Fame, Number 35 retired, and he got a statue outside Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, which was moved to Turner Field (and will, presumably, be moved to the Braves' new Cobb County ballpark).

The rotation for this Cleveland area team is so strong it has no room for Joe Niekro (who won 221 games), George Uhle of Cleveland (who won an even 200 games, mostly for his hometown Indians), Denny Galehouse of Doylestown and Ned Garver of Ney (both pitching for the only St. Louis Browns Pennant ever in 1944), 2 great pitchers named Sam Jones (Sad Sam of Woodsfield and the 1920s Yankee dynasty, and Toothpick Sam of Stewartsville who in 1955 became the 1st black pitcher who threw a no-hitter in the majors), Dean Chance of Wayne (1964 Cy Young winner -- both Leagues), Steve Stone of Lyndhurst (1980 AL Cy Young winner) and Dave Dravecky of Youngstown (a former All-Star whose comeback story first inspired, then saddened).

Also, while Jim Bagby Jr. was born in Cleveland while his father Jim Sr. pitched for them, and pitched pretty well for the Indians himself, both grew up in Georgia, and would have qualified for the Atlanta team rather than for this one.

Honorable Mention to Ray Brown of Alger, who pitched for the Homestead Grays of the Negro Leagues, and was elected to the Hall of Fame for his contributions. We may not be able to trust the stats we have available, but in 1938, the Pittsburgh Courier, a black paper, suggested 5 Negro League players to the Pirates in a telegram: Brown, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Cool Papa Bell and Satchel Paige. That was pretty good company that Brown was in. The telegram was never answered. Brown was already 39 when Jackie Robinson debuted, and never made it to the majors.

RP Rollie Fingers of Steubenville. He was the fireman -- as was said at the time, not the "closer" -- of the 1970s Oakland Athletics dynasty, before becoming the 1st big-money reliever with the San Diego Padres and then the Milwaukee Brewers, winning the AL MVP in 1981 (28 saves and an ERA of 1.04!). He was on the mound to close out the World Series for the A's in 1972, '73 and '74, and also pitched for the Brewers in the '82 Series.

When he retired, his 341 saves were the most all-time. Both the A's and the Brewers retired his Number 34. He is the only pitcher with a losing record in the Hall of Fame, but who cares about that? When The Sporting News announced its 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999, he came in at Number 96. Oh yeah, he had that handlebar mustache. The bullpen could also include Dick Drago of Toledo and Brett Tomko of Cleveland.

MGR Walter Alston of Darrtown. He had just one at-bat as a major league player, a strikeout with the 1936 St. Louis Cardinals. But with the Dodgers, in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, 4 World Series (1955, '59, '63 and '65) and 3 other Pennants (add '56, '66 and '74, plus a lost Playoff in '62).

Cleveland's All-Time Baseball Team

The Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians last night, 3-2 at Jacobs Field -- okay, okay, Progressive Field -- but lost to them 4-1 tonight.

Cleveland’s All-Time Baseball Team

This team consists of players from the northern half of Ohio -- including the northwest corner, the Toledo metropolitan area, which is closer to Detroit than it is to Cleveland, and in fact the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens have been a Tiger farm team for as long as I can remember. Still, if you ask a Toledo-area athlete if he would rather accept a scholarship to The... Ohio State University or to the University of Michigan, he would be less likely to say "M Go Blue" and more likely to say, "Go Bucks, Michigan Sucks."

The dividing line is pretty much the northern edge of Interstate 270, the "beltway" around the State capital of Columbus. The State House is 107 miles from Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark, and 142 miles from Progressive Field.

When Jim Tressel, now the head coach at Ohio State, was the head coach at Youngstown State University, about halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, he called the stretch of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania between them "The State of Youngstown." It helped with recruiting. It also seems to have inspired Greg Schiano to call the region that includes the entire States of New Jersey and Delaware, plus the rest of the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, "The State of Rutgers."

This might be a better team than an all-time Indians' squad, and does have a few Indians on it. It certainly has one hell of a pitching staff.

1B Joe Kuhel of Cleveland Heights. Playing in the American League in the 1930s and '40s, he was not going to break through onto the All-Star team with Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx and Hank Greenberg in the way. But the Washington Senator was 3 times a .300 hitter, twice a 100-RBI man, and collected 2,212 hits.

Honorable Mention to Bill White of Warren, who won Gold Gloves and hit well for the St. Louis Cardinals, helping them win the 1964 World Series, before becoming a Yankee broadcaster from 1971 to 1988 and President of the National League from 1989 to 1993. He could have been the 1st black Commissioner... but that would have required the baseball team owners to think forward, and they usually don't do that. He should be in the Hall of Fame for all his contributions.

Honorable Mention also to Fred Merkle, whose baserunning blunder (a.k.a. Merkle's Boner) seemed to cost the New York Giants the 1908 NL Pennant. Actually, his blown popup in the 12th inning of the deciding Game 8 (yes, Game 8) of the 1912 World Series was much more his own fault, and perhaps more damaging. He had a career OPS+ of 109, and won Pennants with the Giants (1911, '12 and '13), Brooklyn Dodges (1916), and, ironically considering they benefited from his Boner 10 years earlier, the Chicago Cubs (1918). He was a very good player.

2B Bill Mazeroski of Tiltonville. Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, closer to the team he ended up playing for, the Pittsburgh Pirates, although Ohio is Ohio, so he's in the Indians' sphere of influence. He hit the only home run ever to win a Game 7 of a World Series, in 1960. He also won a Series with the Pirates in 1971.  He was a member of 7 All-Star teams, 8 Gold Gloves, and is often considered the greatest-fielding 2nd baseman ever.

Hall of Fame, Number 9 retired. This October 13 will be the 50th Anniversary of the day Maz gave Pittsburgh its greatest sports moment, greater than any Steeler Super Bowl, greater than any Penguin Stanley Cup, greater even than the Immaculate Reception. Hopefully, Maz, who seems to be in good health at age 73, will be alive to enjoy it.

Honorable Mention to Bill Wambsganss of Cleveland. A hometown hero for the Indians, he was a member of their 1920 World Champions, and, of course, pulled off the only triple play in the history of postseason baseball thus far -- an unassisted triple play. He wasn’t much of a batter, but in 1920 he stroked 11 triples, and in 1921 and ’22, he led the AL in sacrifice hits.

Honorable Mention to Solomon "Sol" White of Bellaire. He played on all-black teams in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, and in 1907 wrote what is believed to be the 1st published history of black baseball, Sol White's History of Colored Baseball. He later became an organizer of black leagues and teams. He was elected to the Hall of Fame.

SS Roger Peckinpaugh of Cleveland. He debuted in the majors in 1910 with the Indians, at age 19. In 1914, he was traded to the Yankees, and at the end of the 1915 season, he was named the interim manager for the last 15 games -- at age 23, even younger than Lou Boudreau was when he took over the Indians a generation later.

He went on to help the Senators win their 1st 2 Pennants, winning the World Series in 1924, but he's probably best known now for the 8 errors he made in the '25 Series, including 2 in Game 7, bracketing an RBI, going from goat to hero to goat real fast. He was named Most Valuable Player in the AL in 1925, although this is a predecessor award to the official one recognized by MLB that began in 1931. He would manage the Indians in 2 later terms, but never won another Pennant.

3B Sal Bando of Cleveland. The Captain of the Oakland Athletics' dynasty of the early 1970s, he was a 4-time All-Star, hit 242 homers despite playing most of his home games at the Oakland Coliseum and Milwaukee County Stadium, and twice drove in 100 or more runs. In 1973 he led the AL in doubles and total bases. He later served as general manager of the Indians, while his brother Chris was their catcher.

LF Ed Delahanty of Cleveland. The best of 5 brothers to reach the majors, a record, the others being Frank, Jim, Joe and Tom. Lifetime batting average .346, 3 times batted .400, 7 times had 100 RBIs in the Dead Ball Era, 522 doubles, OPS+ of 152, 2,597 hits. But he was an alcoholic, and died under mysterious circumstances in 1903. He was only 35. He's in the Hall of Fame, and the Phillies inducted him into the Philadelphia Baseball Hall of Fame.

Honorable Mention to Gene Woodling of Akron. He batted .300 4 times, led the AL in on-base percentage in 1953, and won 5 straight World Series with the Yankees, 1949 to 1953. The Yankees traded him to the Baltimore Orioles after the 1954 season, the trade that brought pitchers Bob Turley and Don Larsen. Unfortunately, he was one of several ex-New York baseball stars brought in to the early Mets, but he was 39 and done. Still, he was a Yankee star and should be remembered.

CF William Ellsworth Hoy of Houcktown. Some called him Billy, because they didn't want to use the usual nickname that deaf people got at the time, which was then used to describe those unable to speak but was becoming a slur meaning stupid. But after learning to speak, he told people, "Call me Dummy."

He first reached the majors in 1886 with the NL version of the Washington Senators, and led the league in stolen bases. He had his best seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, and had a lifetime batting average of .288 and 2,048 hits in just 14 seasons. At the time of his retirement, he held the career records for games played and putouts by a center fielder.

In 1961, at the age of 99, he was invited to throw out the first ball at a World Series game between the Yankees and Reds at Crosley Field, which was built on the site of a previous Reds ballpark in which he played. He got a standing ovation that he could see, if not hear. He died shortly thereafter, then believed to be the oldest living former player ever. He is in the Reds' Hall of Fame, and count me in with the people who believe he should be in Cooperstown, even if the story that he was the originator of baseball umpires' left hand for balls, right hand for strikes calls is probably untrue.

RF Elmer Flick of Bedford. He started with the Philadelphia Phillies, and led the NL in RBIs in 1900 before becoming one of the NL players raided by the AL. He led the AL in batting, slugging, on-base percentage and triples in 1905; and in runs, triples and stolen bases in 1906. He also led it in stolen bases in 1904 and triples in 1907. There were no MVP awards or all-star teams in his era, but his lifetime batting average was .313, and his OPS+ a mighty 149.

He never appeared in postseason play, so he can't be remembered that way, and there were no uniform numbers to retire in his time, so there's no number of his on the wall at Progressive Field. But he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and he is honored in the Indians' Hall of Fame in their Heritage Park, so he isn't be completely forgotten.

Honorable Mention to Tommy Henrich of Massillon. He was such a great clutch hitter that Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen nicknamed him Old Reliable. He's probably best known for a strikeout: In Game 4 of the 1941 World Series, he swung and missed for what seemed to be the last out, but Brooklyn Dodger catcher Mickey Owen couldn't hang on to the 3rd strike, and Henrich reached 1st base, starting a Yankee rally that ended with a Series win in the next day's Game 5.

He led the AL in triples in 1947 and '48. In Game 1 of the 1949 Series, also against the Dodgers, Henrich hit a home run to break up a scoreless duel between Allie Reynolds and Don Newcombe, the 1st-ever walkoff homer (as we would now call it) in postseason history. He reached 5 All-Star teams, played on 8 Pennant winners and 7 World Champions from 1937 to 1950. His career OPS+ was 132. He hit 183 home runs despite only playing 11 major-league seasons -- he didn't reach the majors until he was 24 and missed 3 years in the Coast Guard in World War II.

When he died a few months ago at age 96, he was the oldest living ex-Yankee. It's a shame that the Yankees have never given him a Monument Park Plaque.

C Thurman Munson of Canton. AL Rookie of the Year in 1970, MVP in 1976, still the only Yankee ever to win both awards. The 1st Yankee to be awarded the team captaincy since Lou Gehrig. 3 Pennants, 2 World Championships, 7 All-Star Games.

Let me tell you why I love Thurman: In Game 3 of the 1978 ALCS, when the Yankees most needed a home run from him, he hit the longest home run of his career, appropriately enough into Monument Park. Sadly, he would be the next Yankee to be honored there. Number 15 retired.

Utility: Roger Bresnahan of Toledo. Played every position, including pitcher, but best known as a catcher for the New York Giants. A member of their 1905 World Championship teams, he would have made at least 9 All-Star Games had they been played in his time. Lifetime OPS+ of 126. Hall of Fame.

Special Mentions to Moses Fleetwood "Fleet" Walker and his brother Welday Walker of Steubenville, briefly the 1st black players in Major League Baseball before the blacklist came down in 1884; and to Elmer Gedeon of Cleveland, who played 5 games in the outfield for the 1939 Senators, before being killed in World War II.

SP Denton True Young of Newcomerstown. In his first professional tryout, he threw a ball so hard that it smashed through a fence. His manager said it looked like it had been wrecked by a cyclone. So Dent Young became Cyclone Young, later shortened to Cy Young.

We've all heard the words "Cy Young Award" so many times that the man for whom the most valuable pitcher award is named gets lost in the shuffle. So here's the facts: Most career wins, 511; losses, 313; games started, 815; complete games, 749; innings pitched, 7,355; and batters faced, 29,565. Think about that: Nearly 30,000 times, he faced a big-league batter.

Career winning percentage, .618; ERA, 2.63; ERA+, 138; WHIP, 1.130; no-hitters, 3, including the 1st perfect game under the 60-feet-6-inches pitching distance in 1904; and strikeouts, 2,803, most ever until Walter Johnson surpassed him.

He pitched for the NL Cleveland Spiders, the Boston Red Sox (winning the 1st World Series in 1903), and the AL Cleveland Naps (named for Nap Lajoie, and became the Indians in 1915). He was elected to the Hall of Fame in its 2nd class in 1937, and to the MLB All-Century Team in 1999, even though nearly half his career was in the 19th Century.

In Boston, on the campus of Northeastern University, roughly on the site of the pitcher's mound of the Huntington Avenue Grounds, the Red Sox' home before Fenway Park, there is a statue of Young. And his former home in Newcomerstown is a museum in his honor. He pitched before uniform numbers, but I've seen film of him in an old-timers' game wearing Number 29.

SP Richard "Rube" Marquard of Cleveland. When the New York Giants signed him, his bonus was $11,000, a record at the time. The lefty's first few games were poor, and he was called The $11,000 Lemon. Then he found his control, and he became The $11,000 Beauty. He was nicknamed Rube after another superstar lefty pitcher, Rube Waddell. He won 201 games, and is one of the few pitchers to pitch in the World Series for both the Giants (1911, '12 and '13) and the Dodgers (1916 and '20). Hall of Fame, although he played before uniform numbers.

SP Hubert "Dutch" Leonard of Birmingham. That's Ohio, not Alabama, or Michigan. A master of the knuckleball, well before the Ohio-born Niekro brothers, in 1914 he set a major-league record for lowest ERA in a season, 0.96. His ERA+ that season? A touched-by-God 279. He helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series in 1915, '16 and '18. Finished with a 139-118 record and an ERA+ of 115. Not to be confused with a later pitcher, Emil "Dutch" Leonard of Illinois, also a knuckleballer.

SP Urban Shocker of Cleveland. The Yankees traded him to the St. Louis Browns in 1918, and that proved to be a bit of a mistake: They won the Pennant in 1921, '22 and '23, but not in '20 and '24, and Shocker's pitching nearly got the Browns past the Yanks in '22. He won 27 games in '21, and the Yanks undid one of their worst trades with one of their best, getting him back in '25, helping them to win the '26 Pennant and the '27 World Series.

He compiled a record of 187-117 win an ERA+ of 124. He was 18-6 in his last full season, 1927, before a heart defect killed him at age 37. He's not in the Hall of Fame, but he should be. And what a great name.

SP Phil Niekro of Blaine. He was the master of the knuckleball, the last remaining active player for the Milwaukee Braves, and the 1st great pitcher for the Atlanta edition. He is a member of the 300 Win and 3,000 Strikeout Clubs. With his brother Joe (who doesn't quite make this team), he formed the winningest brother combination ever. Hall of Fame, Number 35 retired, statue outside Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium moved to Turner Field.

The rotation for this Cleveland area team is so strong, it has no room for George Uhle (won 200 games, mostly for his home-State Indians), Jim Bagby Jr. (born in Cleveland while Jim Sr. pitched for them, and pitched pretty well for them himself), Denny Galehouse and Ned Garver (both pitching for the only St. Louis Browns Pennant ever in 1944), 2 great pitchers named Sam Jones (Sad Sam of the 1920s Yankee dynasty and the Sam who in 1959 became the 1st black pitcher who threw a no-hitter in the majors), Dean Chance, Steve Stone, Bob Knepper and Dave Dravecky.

Honorable Mention to Ray Brown of Alger, who pitched for the Homestead Grays of the Negro Leagues, and was elected to the Hall of Fame for his contributions. We may not be able to trust the stats we have available, but in 1938, the Pittsburgh Courier, a black paper, suggested 5 Negro League players to the Pirates in a telegram: Brown, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Cool Papa Bell and Satchel Paige. That was pretty good company that Brown was in. The telegram was never answered. Brown was already 39 when Jackie Robinson debuted, and he never made it to the majors.

RP Rollie Fingers of Steubenville. He was the fireman -- not the "closer" -- of the 1970s Oakland Athletics dynasty, before becoming the 1st big-money reliever, with the San Diego Padres and then the Milwaukee Brewers, winning the AL MVP in 1981 (28 saves and an ERA of 1.04!).

He was on the mound to close out the World Series for the A's in 1972, '73 and '74, and also pitched for the Brewers in the '82 Series. When he retired, his 341 saves were the most all-time. Both the A's and the Brewers retired his Number 34. He is the only pitcher with a losing record in the Hall of Fame, but who cares about that? Oh yeah, he also had that great handlebar mustache.

The bullpen could also include Dick Drago of Toledo and Brett Tomko of Cleveland.

MGR Walter Alston of Darrtown. One at-bat as a major league player, a strikeout with the 1936 St. Louis Cardinals. But with the Dodgers, in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, 4 World Series (1955, '59, '63 and '65) and 3 other Pennants (add '56, '66 and '74, plus a lost Playoff in '62).