Kansas City's All-Time Baseball Team

While the Kansas City Royals haven't reached the postseason in 29 years, their all-time regional team is one of the best. Certainly, if "Pitching is 75 percent of baseball," then this Great Plains team could be the greatest of them all.

It's also pretty strong at 1st base, and in the outfield. Especially in center field, although the man I picked probably wouldn't want to be identified with Kansas City.

21. Kansas City's All-Time Baseball Team

Kansas City's "market" includes the western half of Missouri, the eastern 2/3rds of Kansas, the eastern 2/3 of Nebraska, the southwest quadrant of Iowa, the northeast quadrant of Oklahoma, and the northwest quadrant of Arkansas.

With 6 States to sift through, this made KC one of the hardest markets for which to make out a team. However, the first time I made this list, having all of those States in my database made it easier to go through the other big-league markets that overlap into those States (St. Louis, Colorado, Dallas, and the Cub half of Chicago -- Minnesota already having been done by that point).

1B Albert Pujols of Independence, Missouri. He was born in the Dominican Republic, but grew up in President Harry Truman's home town, before crossing the State to star for the St. Louis Cardinals. In his 1st 10 seasons, he made 10 All-Star teams. He drove in at least 99 runs in each of his 1st 12 seasons. He won 3 National League Most Valuable Player awards, and finished 2nd 4 other times. He even won 2 Gold Gloves. He helped the Cardinals reach 7 postseasons, including winning the 2006 and 2011 World Series.

The narrative on him now is that he went to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with a gigantic contract, beginning in the 2012 season, and fell apart. But that's not true: In 2012, he batted .285, hit 30 home runs, and had 105 RBIs. In 2013, he batted .258, but he still hit 17 home runs and drove in 64 runs -- and, remember, Angel Stadium (formerly named Anaheim Stadium) is a pitcher's park.

His lifetime batting average is .321. His career OPS+ is 165, a sicko stat that is only topped by 9 players -- ever. Only 1 of them is, like Phat Albert, a righthanded hitter: Rogers Hornsby. He has 2,347 hits, including 524 doubles and 492 home runs, and 1,498 RBIs -- and, as far as we know, it's all clean.

And he just turned 34. He'll probably end up with over 600 home runs, and he has a serious shot at both 3,000 hits and 2,000 RBIs. Barring a mistake as stupid as Pete Rose's, he'll be elected to the Hall of Fame in the latter half of the 2020s, and you'll be able to see his Number 5 retired and a statue dedicated in his honor at Busch Stadium. He could well be considered to be right up there with his fellow Cardinal Hornsby and Hank Aaron as 1 of the 3 greatest righthanded hitters who ever lived.

Honorable Mention to Dale Long of Springfield, Missouri. In 1956, the Pittsburgh Pirate homered in 8 straight games, a record that has since been matched, but not beaten. In 1958, with the Chicago Cubs, he played 2 games behind the plate, making him a rare left-handed catcher. (The only one since has also been in Chicago, Mike Squires with the 1980 and ’81 White Sox.) He went to the Yankees and played on their 1962 World Championship team. He had a career OPS+ of 115.

2B Jerry Lumpe of Lincoln, Missouri. They can't all be present or future members of the Hall of Fame. As Casey Stengel, who managed him on the Yankees, once said, "He looks like the greatest player in the world, until you play him." But he's the best of a weak bunch, the only weak position on this team. (In contrast, when searching Missouri, I found several good 2nd basemen.)

He wasn't a bad ballplayer at all, but he was only ever going to be a reserve on a Yankee team that had Bobby Richardson at 2nd base and Tony Kubek at shortstop coming up at the same time. Still, he helped the Yankees win the American League Pennant in 1957 and '58, winning the World Series in the latter year. In 1959, the Yankees traded him to his "hometown" team, the Kansas City Athletics, and he became a regular. batting .301 with 10 homers and 83 RBIs in 1962. In 1964, with the Detroit Tigers, he was named to the All-Star Team.

SS Joe Tinker of Herington, Kansas.  If the Hall of Fame ever had to drop 10 members, Tinker might be one of them. True, he was the shortstop of the Chicago Cubs' 1906, '07, '08 and ’'0 Pennant winners, winning the 1907 and 1908 World Series. And had there been an All-Star Game at the time, he would have been in it a few times. But, let's be honest, the only reason he's in the Hall is because of Franklin P. Adams' poem "Baseball's Sad Lexicon," with its refrain: "Tinker to Evers to Chance."

3B Ken Boyer of Alba, Missouri. He was 1 of 14 children, and his brother Clete was himself an All-Star 3rd baseman with the Yankees, and brother Cloyd was a big-league pitcher. He succeeded Stan Musial as the superstar and Captain of the Cardinals, and led them to an amazing run to the Pennant, which earned him the NL MVP. In the 1964 World Series, Ken and Clete became the 1st brothers to oppose each other in a World Series, and the 1st brothers to both homer in a World Series. Ken's homer, a grand slam in Game 4, turned the Series around, and the Cards won.

His career OPS+ was 116, and his 282 home runs are a very good total for a third baseman in that era. He wasn’t quite at Hall of Fame levels, but the Cardinals retired his Number 14. He also briefly managed them.

LF Zack Wheat of Hamilton, Missouri. For all the jokes about how the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s couldn't find a left fielder, Wheat was a great one for them in the 1910s and 1920s, including playing for the Dodgers in the 1916 and '20 World Series (though they lost both). He won the NL batting title in 1918, had a lifetime batting average of .317, an OPS+ of 129, and 2,884 hits -- awfully close to the magic 3,000, which would probably have gotten him better remembered today.

Honorable Mention to Fred Clarke of Winterset, Iowa. He starred for the Louisville Colonels in the 1890s and, like his teammate Honus Wagner, went to the Pittsburgh Pirates when the Colonels were folded into the Pirate organization.  He had a lifetime batting average of .312, an OPS+ of 132, and 2,678 career hits. He also managed the Pirates to Pennants in 1901, '02 and '03, and to the 1909 World Series, all while still playing.

Honorable Mention to Matt Holliday of Stillwater, Oklahoma. He just turned 34, and has already made 6 All-Star teams, hit 375 doubles and 251 homers, and notched 5 100-RBI seasons. His career OPS+ is 138. He's reached the last 3 postseasons with the Cardinals, including the 2011 World Championship

But he'll be best remembered for scoring the controversial game-winning run in the 2007 NL Wild Card play-in game for the Colorado Rockies against the San Diego Padres. Let the record show that, while a reasonable person could doubt that Holliday ever touched the plate, he certainly didn't break any rule in his attempt to score.

CF Mickey Mantle of Commerce, Oklahoma. Though his short stay with the minor-league Kansas City Blues in the summer of 1951 was a hard part of his life, geographically, he belongs in the Royals' area. All-Century Team, Hall of Fame, Monument Park, Number 7 retired, 500 Home Run Club. When The Sporting News announced its 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999, he came in at Number 17.

So much has been spoken and written about the Mick, so let me sum up by quoting his own summing-up, from what he said in his speech on Mickey Mantle Day, June 8, 1969: "Baseball has been really good to me, and playing 18 years in Yankee Stadium for you folks was the greatest thing that could ever happen to a ballplayer."

Yeah, I know: That picture shows him on an Old-Timers' Day, older and overweight. Well, this picture has 2 advantages to me: A, It's in color; and 2, this is how I knew him. (Not that I actually met him, but this is how I saw him when we were in the same building together, the building being the old, although post-renovation, Yankee Stadium.)

Very Honorable Mention to Richie Ashburn of Tilden, Nebraska. That Ashburn is second to anyone is "Hard to believe, Harry,", but that anyone is Mickey Mantle, so "Bet your house on it, Harry." Still, Rich (or "Whitey," nicknamed like Mickey's pal Edward Charles Ford for his very light hair) was, rightfully, the most beloved sports figure in Philadelphia history for his long career as a player and a broadcaster.

He lived long enough to be elected to the Hall of Fame, and his Number 1 was retired by the Phils. The center field concourse at Citizens Bank Park is named Ashburn Alley, and a statue of him stands in the middle of it. And a Happy Birthday to the Celebre's Twins, Plain and Pepperoni.

RF Sam Crawford of Wahoo, Nebraska. "Wahoo Sam" is baseball's all-time leader with 309 triples. He batted .309, had an OPS+ of 144, collected 2,961 hits (another one just short of 3,000), and with Ty Cobb and Davy Jones (not the sailor or the Monkee) formed one of the greatest outfields of the Dead Ball Era, winning 3 straight AL Pennants, 1907, '08 and '09 -- but losing all 3 World Series.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame, but played long before uniform numbers were worn. When The Sporting News announced its 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999, he came in at Number 84.

C Walker Cooper of Independence, Missouri. He and his brother Mort were a major part of the St. Louis Cardinals' 1942, '43, '44 and '46 Pennant winners, winning the World Series in all of those except '43. An 8-time All-Star, he had a career OPS+ of 116 and 173 homers, an extraordinary total for a catcher in that era (although somewhat inflated by a few years with the New York Giants with the cozy confines of the Polo Grounds).

Honorable Mention to Darren Daulton of Arkansas City, Kansas. Okay, let'’s put aside his occult beliefs, and note that he was the heart and soul of the 1993 NL Champion Phillies, and while injuries cut his career short, he did get a ring as Charles Johnson's backup on the 1997 World Champion Florida Marlins.

And now for what has to be the most extraordinary pitching staff for any of these teams.

SP Walter Johnson of Humboldt, Kansas. This could be considered a slight bending of the rules: His family moved to Olinda, California, and he went to Fullerton Union High School, which should place him on the Anaheim team. But they moved when he was 14, so he "became a ballplayer" in the Kansas City "market."

His 110 shutouts are the most all-time. His 3,508 strikeouts were the most all-time -- he held the career record from 1921 (surpassing Cy Young) until 1983 (surpassed by Nolan Ryan). His 417 wins are the most in AL history. And "the Big Train" did this for the Washington Senators, a ballclub which hardly ever got into a Pennant race. They finally won Pennants in 1924 and '25, and after losing 2 games in the '24 Series, he came on in relief in Game 7, and ended up as the winning pitcher.

Neat piece of trivia: His final career appearance was not as a pitcher, but as a pinch-hitter -- he had a career OPS of .616, pretty good for a pitcher -- on September 30, 1927, the same game in which Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run of that season. He then became manager of the Newark Bears, living in nearby Millburn, New Jersey. He went on to manage the Senators and the Cleveland Indians, without much success. One of the most decent men ever involved with the game, he sadly died of a brain tumor in 1946, only 59 years old.

Outside his former home park, Griffith Stadium, there was a monument to his memory, which was moved to Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland, the D.C. suburb where Johnson lived during and after his career. Today, a statue of him is outside Nationals Park.

He was one of the 1st inductees into the Hall of Fame in 1936, and in 1999 was named Number 4 on The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Players (the highest of any pitcher) and elected to the MLB All-Century Team, despite having been dead for 53 years and having thrown his last pitch 72 years earlier. He retired before uniform numbers were worn, but he wore 28 and 25 as Senators manager and 10 as Indians manager.

SP Grover Cleveland Alexander of St. Paul, Nebraska. This is how great Johnson was: Alexander won 373 games, tied with Christy Mathewson for most in NL history, and yet he's only the 2nd starter on this team. (Cy Young's 511 were split over both Leagues.)

Check out these numbers: 28, 19, 22, 27, 31, 33, 30. Those were Alexander’s win totals for the 1st 7 seasons of his career. He also led the NL in strikeouts 7 times, and in ERA 4 times. His career ERA+ was 135; his WHIP, 1.121. He helped the Phillies to their 1st Pennant in 1915, and in 1916 -- as a right-handed pitcher at Baker Bowl, where lefty hitters had a 280-foot right-field fence -- he threw 16 shutouts. Considering even aces now work hard just to get 16 wins, most of them not complete games, this record of Alex's looks safe for the foreseeable future. His 90 shutouts were 2nd only to Johnson.

Sadly, serving in World War I shellshocked him, triggered epilepsy, and exacerbated his alcoholism. He went on to the Cubs, and the Cardinals picked him up in 1926 and won the World Series. After winning Game 6, the 39-year-old "Pete" (no one seems to be sure why he got that nickname) celebrated hard, and was hungover when he was called into to pitch the 7th inning of Game 7 with the bases loaded. He struck out the Yankees' Tony Lazzeri, perhaps the most famous strikeout in baseball history (unless you count the Mighty Casey of Mudville). He then pitched 2 more scoreless innings to finish the Yankees off.

Sadly, both Alexander and Lazzeri were epileptics who died young. Alexander's drinking damaged his health, and he died in 1950, drinking doing him in at just 63 -- just like Mantle. He still outlived Lazzeri, who in 1946 suffered a seizure and fell down his stairs, breaking his neck, dying at only 42.

In 1952, 2 years after Alexander's death, Ronald Reagan played him in the film The Winning Team. He did live long enough to be elected to the Hall of Fame, and while he played before uniform numbers were worn, the Phils put a "P" notation on the outfield wall, first at Veterans Stadium and now at Citizens Bank Park.

SP Carl Hubbell of Meeker, Oklahoma. The 1st NL player to have his number retired, the Giants retired his Number 11. He was known as King Carl and the Meal Ticket, and in the 1930s, along with Dizzy Dean and Satchel Paige, he was one of the 3 best pitchers on the planet. He won 253 games, and had a lifetime ERA+ of 130 and a WHIP of 1.166.

He started the 1st 2 All-Star Games, and in the 1934 Game, at his home park of the Polo Grounds, he struck out 6 batters in 2 innings -- including, in succession, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin, fellow Hall-of-Famers all. In 1933, he won 23 games and led the Giants to the World Championship. The Giants won Pennants again in 1936 and ’37, and over those 2 seasons, Hubbell won 24 straight games. More than anyone, even Whitey Ford, this is the greatest lefthanded pitcher in New York baseball history.

SP Bob Feller of Van Meter, Iowa. "Anybody who says sports is war has never been in a war," Chief Petty Officer Robert William Andrew Feller, U.S. Navy, World War II, has taught us. But his 266 wins, 2,581 strikeouts and 3 no-hitters were amazing when you consider he lost 4 seasons -- at ages 23, 24, 25 and 26 -- to the fight against Nazi fascism and Japanese imperialism. In 1936, he struck out a then-record-tying 17 batters in a game -- fanned 17 at age 17. In 1938, at 19, he fanned a new record of 18. (It would be 31 more years before a pitcher got 19 in a 9-inning game.)

He was the greatest pitcher of his generation, but, like Johnson, his team wasn't up to his level. The Indians nearly won a Pennant in 1940, won the Series in 1948, and added a Pennant in 1954, but while Feller did get a ring in '48, he never won a Series game, unlike Johnson. Hall of Fame, Number 19 retired, statue outside Progressive Field in Cleveland (formerly Jacobs Field), museum in his honor in Van Meter.

SP Bob Gibson of Omaha, Nebraska. Do you want to tell Bob Gibson he's a 5th starter? Neither do I. But, on this team, he might be, and not just chronologically.

The Cardinal ace was the MVP of the 1964 and '67 World Series, winning Game 7 both times. In Game 1 in '68, he struck out 17 Tigers, still a Series record, but he ended up losing Game 7. That season, 1968, he went 22-9, with a record-low ERA for the post-1920 Lively Ball Era, 1.12. (So how did he lose 9? The Cards didn't hit much for a Pennant-winner.) His ERA+ that year? 258. It doesn't seem possible. So he wasn't just taking advantage of "the Year of the Pitcher": Even by the standards of 1968, he was beyond great.

He was considered the most intimidating pitcher of his generation. He won 251 games, had a 128 career ERA+, a 1.188 WHIP, and he was the 1st NL pitcher, the 2nd overall, to strike out over 3,000 batters. (With Johnson dead, this meant that, from 1972 to 1978, Gibson had struck out more batters than any living person.) He even presaged Charles Barkley by a generation, by telling a reporter, "Why do I have to be a role model for your kid? You be a role model for your kid."

He was named to the Hall of Fame and the All-Century Team. The Cardinals retired his Number 45, and dedicated a statue in his honor outside Busch Stadium. He recently co-wrote Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher and a Hall of Fame Hitter Talk About How the Game Is Played, with Reggie Jackson.

That's 5 Hall of Fame starters, who were ranked 4th (Johnson), 12th (Alexander), 31st (Gibson), 36th (Feller) and 45th (Hubbell) on The Sporting News' 1999 list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players -- respectively, ranked 1st, 3rd, 10th, 12th and 15th among pitchers on that list. If "Good pitching beats good hitting," this team may be damn near unbeatable.

Honorable Mention to a 6th HOFer, Charles "Dazzy" Vance of Hardy, Nebraska. He struggled, not becoming a big-league regular until 1922, when he was 31. But he really made up for lost time, winning 86 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers over his 1st 4 seasons.

He might have been the fastest pitcher of the 1920s, dazzling NL hitters (and thus the nickname). He won 197 games, and struck out 2,045 batters. Imagine if he'd found his control at age 22. His ERA+ was 125. Although the Dodgers did not retire his number (or any numbers until well after they moved to Los Angeles), he is in the Hall of Fame.

Here's how good this rotation is: Al Orth (204 wins), George Pipgras (102), Mel Harder (223, and the Indians retired his Number 18), Walker's brother Mort Cooper (128), Rudy May (152) and Rick Sutcliffe (171)? All of those men are geographically qualified for this team, and none of them make it.

RP Tom Henke of Kansas City, Missouri. (Gotta say it that way, although there were no viable candidates for this entire team from Kansas City, Kansas.) Hard to imagine a rotation of the Big Train, Alex, King Carl, Rapid Robert and Hoot, with Dazzy ready to step in if necessary, needing relief. But "the Exterminator" saved 311 games, and the Toronto Blue Jays have never reached the postseason without him. With him, they did so 5 times, including their 1992 and '93 World Championships. Career ERA+ of 157, WHIP of 1.092.

Honorable Mention to Joel Hanrahan of Norwalk, Iowa. He's only 32, and missed most of last year due to injury, pitching just 9 games for the Red Sox, thus missing out on his best chance yet to appear in postseason play. But he's got 100 career saves, and was a 2-time All-Star for the Pirates.

MGR Casey Stengel of Kansas City, Missouri. Charles Dillon Stengel got his nickname from his hometown, "Kay Cee," which became "Casey." In 1942, with the Boston Braves, he had an unrealized talent named Warren Spahn on his pitching staff. In 1965, with the Mets, he had Spahn, wrapping up his career. Spahnnie said, "I'm the only guy who played for Casey both before and after he was a genius." In between, with the Yankees, he managed 12 seasons, won 10 Pennants and 7 World Championships.

His runner-up could be his Yankee successor, Ralph Houk. The aforementioned Fred Clarke, Billy Southworth and Bobby Cox could also qualify. That's 4 Hall of Fame managers (including the newly-elected Cox), and a 5th who should be (Houk).

Spahn was from Buffalo, so he doesn't qualify for this team. But he married a woman from Oklahoma, and lived there most of his adult life.

Top 10 Greatest Brooklyn Dodgers

I had hoped to get this all-time teams for all the New York Tri-State Area major league teams project done before February ends. Looks like that's not going to happen.

*

The Dodgers played in Brooklyn from 1883 to 1957 -- in 1883 in the Eastern League, 1884 to 1889 in the American Association, and from 1890 onward in the National League.

As the team of the City that, in an 1898 referendum to create "Greater New York", became a Borough (and was easily the closest vote of the 5 Boroughs), and didn't always like it, the Dodgers became the living embodiment of Brooklynites' contradictory desires of wanting to belong to the big City but also their anger at it. They became something romantic, whether good (1916-24, 1939-57) or bad (in between those eras).

Brooklyn, to this day, considers itself both part of New York City and separate from it. My grandmother, born in Brooklyn and growing up in Queens as a Dodger fan, confirmed something I once read in a book: That people going from Brooklyn to Manhattan on the Subway considered it "a major border crossing." (Could have been due to the heavy immigrant population in the Borough, who may have crossed European borders in those days before the Eurozone.)

So the Dodgers became something special, and the Dodger-Giant and Dodger-Yankee (in the World Series) rivalries became the American equivalent of English soccer "derbies." This is why the 1951 loss in the NL Playoff to the Giants is still the most painful defeat in the history of New York sports -- although that distinction should go to the Mets' loss to the Yankees in the 2000 World Series.

That's the most painful defeat. The most painful loss was the move of the Dodgers to Los Angeles by owner Walter O'Malley, who can be retroactively nicknamed Lord Waltemort. The details have been discussed in previous posts on this blog, and will be again.

Although, as a Yankee Fan, back then I probably would not have liked the Dodgers, this time, I come to praise them, not to bury them.

If we were to include the Dodgers' honors with the Mets, it would read as follows:

National League Champions 1890 1899 1900 1916 1920 1941 1947 1949 1952 1953 1955 1956 1969 1973 1986 2000. 16 Pennants.

World Champions 1890 1899 1900 1955 1969 1986. 6 Titles.

Still well behind the Yankees, but more than most teams have done.

Top 10 Greatest Brooklyn Dodgers

Honorable Mention to Dodger Hall-of-Famers who didn't make this list: Willie Keeler, Joe Kelley and Billy Herman; managers Wilbert Robinson, Leo Durocher and Walter Alston; team presidents Larry MacPhail and Branch Rickey; and broadcasters Walter "Red" Barber and Vin Scully.

And, while he's not in the Hall of Fame, team owner and ballpark builder Charlie Ebbets. (Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale debuted with the team while it was in Brooklyn, but didn't become Hall of Fame quality until after the move.)

The toughest call was Keeler, who played 4 seasons with the team in its Superba days (1899-1902) and 1 before that when they were the Bridegrooms (1893). Although he was still a pretty good hitter with the Highlanders (forerunner of the Yankees) up until 1908, thus sort of bridging the gap between the 19th Century and 20th Century rules, he just wasn't a Brooklyn player for long enough. Too bad, because he was a Brooklyn native. If I were doing the top 100 New York baseball players, I'd have to combine what he did for the teams later known as the Dodgers and the Yankees, and he'd probably be in the top 30.

Also Honorable Mention to Floyd "Babe" Herman, who wasn't with the Dodgers for as long as people seemed to think, but, in spite of his fielding difficulties -- he once angrily denied having ever been hit on the head by a fly ball, but when asked about being hit on the shoulder said, "That doesn't count" -- was a great hitter. Phil Rizzuto, born in Brooklyn and grew up a Dodger fan in Queens, said that Herman belongs in the Hall of Fame. He had a case.

Also, Honorable Mention to the players profiled in The Boys of Summer, the 1972 book written by Roger Kahn, the Brooklyn native who'd been the Dodgers beat writer for the New York Herald Tribune in 1952 and '53. In addition to those in the Top 10, there were Elwin "Preacher" Roe, Billy Cox, Joe Black, Clem Labine, Andy Pafko and George "Shotgun" Shuba.

Also, Honorable Mention to the 2 men without whom the one and only Brooklyn World Series win would not have happened: Pitcher Johnny Podres and left fielder Edmundo "Sandy" Amoros.

And let me note that the Dodgers retired no numbers until June 4, 1972, when, in a ceremony at Dodger Stadium, they retired Jackie Robinson's 42, Roy Campanella's 39, and Sandy Koufax' 32.

10. Carl Furillo, Number 6, right field, 1946-57. (Actually 1946-60, but I'm not going to include these players' Los Angeles service in their qualifications for this list.) The Reading Rifle not only had one of the best outfield arms of all time, but was so good with the glove that he never allowed a single ball to hit the "HIT SIGN WIN SUIT - ABE STARK, BROOKLYN'S LEADING CLOTHIER" sign at the base of the right-field scoreboard at Ebbets Field.

Told that Furillo had saved him a lot of money, someone told Stark to give Furillo a free suit. He did. Stark's sign made him so famous that he was elected President of the City Council in the Fifties and Borough President in the Sixties.

Furillo was also a really good hitter, batting .344 to win the 1953 NL batting title, 7 times driving in at least 88 runs, and posting a career OPS+ of 112.

9. Burleigh Grimes, Number 37, pitcher, 1918-26. (He wore the number as Dodger manager, 1937-38.) The last legal spitballer (with the Yankees in 1934), he won 270 games in the major leagues, 158 for the Dodgers, including 4 20-win seasons. He helped the Dodgers win the 1916 and 1920 Pennants. He's in the Hall of Fame.

8. Don Newcombe, Number 36, pitcher, 1949-57. (Actually 1949-51 and 1954-59, as he missed 2 seasons due to military service and remained after the L.A. move.) Born in Jefferson Township, Morris County, New Jersey, and growing up in Elizabeth, Union County, he played with Monte Irvin and Larry Doby on the 1946 Negro League Champion Newark Eagles.

He was the 1st black pitcher to be a regular starter in the majors, and the 1st to start a World Series game. He was a World Champion with the Dodgers in 1955, going 20-5 and hitting 7 home runs. he was the NL MVP and the 1st-ever Cy Young Award winner in 1956, going 27-7 -- only 3 pitchers since have matched those 27 wins (Denny McLain's 31 in 1968, Steve Carlton's 27 in 1972 and Bob Welch's 27 in 1990).

Missing nearly 3 years due to the Korean War, and heavy drinking, cost him his chance at the Hall of Fame: He had his last good season at age 33 and was out of the majors a year later -- but he did win 149 games against just 90 losses for a fine .623 winning percentage. He had a career ERA 3.56, but an ERA+ of 114. His career WHIP was a nice 1.203.

He later quit drinking and became a substance-abuse counselor. Now 85 years old and living in the Colonia section of Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey, he, along with Carl Erskine, is one of the last 2 men to turn to for doing interviews about the Brooklyn "Boys of Summer." His son Donald Jr. briefly played in the Dodger organization in 1984.

7. Harold "Pee Wee" Reese, Number 1, shortstop, 1940-57. (Actually 1940-42 and 1946-58.) The only man to bridge all the Pennants the Dodgers won from 1921 until the 1957 move: 1941, '47, '49, '52, '53, '55 and '56. He was the Captain from '49 onward, and arguably the most beloved Dodger.

Jackie Robinson never would have made it if this Southerner (Louisville, Kentucky) hadn't stood by him in his darkest hour. Pee Wee is well deserving of his place in the Hall of Fame, of the retirement of his number, and of getting to field the last out (a ground ball hit by Elston Howard) on October 4, 1955, to get Dem Bums the out that clinched a World Series win for the one and only time.

And let me dispel a legend: Yes, it's true, Pee Wee was in the Boston Red Sox' minor-league system (his hometown Louisville Colonels were their top farm team in 1939); and, yes, it's true, Red Sox manager Joe Cronin had him traded while he, Cronin, was still the starting shortstop. But if Cronin saw Reese as a threat to his own (playing) position, why did he not trade away Johnny Pesky, who turned out to be an All-Star? Whatever you want to say about Cronin (and he was no angel), getting rid of Pee Wee Reese was not one of his mistakes, because Pesky was a very good player.

6. Gil Hodges, Number 14, 1st base, 1943-57. (Actually 1943 & 1946-61.) They don't let guys into the Hall of Fame by combining their achievements as player and as manager; if they did, it would be insane to keep out an 8-time All-Star who also managed the New York Mets to a World Series win.

He hit 370 home runs at a time when very few players had hit more than that. He won Gold Gloves in the 1st 3 seasons in which they were awarded, meaning he probably should have won 7 or 8 more. To put Hodges into modern terms, he was Keith Hernandez without the ego.

5. Jackie Robinson, Number 42, 2nd base, 1947-56. If we put aside the pioneers of the game, the 2 most important players in the history of baseball were Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth -- without whose contributions baseball might not have become a grand enough stage on which to attempt Branch Rickey's "great experiment." Once on that stage, Jackie became a symbol of determination, courage, and brotherhood.

The story of Jackie Robinson the trailblazer is familiar, but what about Jackie Robinson the player? He was damn good: A .311 lifetime batting average, a 131 OPS+, and his 1,518 career hits in 10 seasons (and only enough games to add up to 9 full) means that, had he been allowed a full career (assuming that, had American work life already been fully integrated, he would still have wanted to play baseball, which is by no means a given), he would have had a good shot at 3,000 hits.

He stole 197 bases in those 10 seasons, and what might not be possible to calculate with any accuracy is how many added bases and runs he led to by threatening to steal, thus making pitchers nervous and causing walks and balks. Jackie is often said to have brought the Negro League style of play into the majors, so he changed how the game was played, not just by whom.

And he helped the Dodgers win 6 Pennants (and very nearly 2 others) and the 1955 World Series. (Not now, Yogi.) Putting him at Number 5 on this list seems a little low, but then, this is based on on-field performance rather than cultural significance. He did play "only" 10 seasons, there is significant competition. To wit...

4. Arthur "Dazzy" Vance, Number 15, pitcher, 1922-32, with a brief comeback in 1935. Like Koufax, it took him a while until he found his control, but, when he did, wow.

Before his 31st birthday, his major league won-lost record was 0-8. (This included 0-3 with the 1915 and '18 Yankees.) After he turned 31, he was 197-132. Pretty strong. He might have been the fastest pitcher of the Roaring Twenties, his fastball "dazzling" hitters and giving him his nickname.

His career ERA+ was 125. In 7 straight years, 1922-28, he led the NL in strikeouts, in 5 leading the entire majors, eventually fanning 2,045 batters in a career that essentially lasted 15 full seasons. Had there been decent pitching coaches back then, he could've been the 1st NLer to top 3,000. (It would take until 1974 for that to happen, with Bob Gibson.)

And he did this for a Brooklyn team that only twice in his 11 seasons with them finished higher than 4th (2nd in '24 and 3rd in '32). Imagine if he'd had the Yankee, or even the Giant, bats behind him. As it was, he lived long enough to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

3. Roy Campanella, Number 39, catcher, 1948-57. He won 3 NL Most Valuable Player awards, made 8 All-Star Games, and hit 242 home runs in a career shortened to 10 years by the color barrier at the front (though he excelled for the Negro Leagues' Baltimore Elite Giants, even at age 16) and a paralyzing car crash at the back (though he was already starting to fade and the starting catcher position was beginning to be given to John Roseboro).

After Jackie Robinson, he was the 2nd black player elected to the Hall of Fame. "Baseball is a man's game," he supposedly said, "but you have to have a lot of little boy in you, too."

2. Zack Wheat, pre-number era, left field, 1909-26. He collected 2,884 hits, 2,804 of them with Brooklyn, which still a Dodger record (even if the team was known as the Robins, for manager Wilbert Robinson, for most of Wheat's time in the Borough). He batted .317 lifetime, with an OPS+ of 129.

He was not really a Lively Ball Era player, hitting only 132 home runs, but 476 doubles and 172 triples. He played 19 MLB seasons, in 18 of them batted at least .284, in 16 at least .290, in 11 at least .312, in 8 at least .320, and in 1923 and '24 batted .375 each time. (He only won 1 batting title, with .335 in 1918, but part of that was due to Honus Wagner early on and Rogers Hornsby late.)

Apparently, he was a great fielder, too: In 1917, Baseball Magazine had this to say: "What (Napoleon) Lajoie was to infielders, Zach Wheat is to outfielders, the finest mechanical craftsman of them all... Wheat is the easiest, most graceful of outfielders with no close rivals."

It's kind of funny that, in their Forties and Fifties glory days, the Dodgers were mocked for never finding a permanent left fielder, yet the man who might have been their greatest ever player -- as well as the man who finally cinched the Series for them, Sandy Amoros -- was a left fielder.

But Wheat might not have been their greatest player. I think this man was:

1. Edwin "Duke" Snider, Number 4, center field, 1947-57. (Actually 1947-62.) One of the great ironies of North American sports history is that, while the greatest of all Los Angeles Dodgers, Sandy Koufax, was from Brooklyn but didn't find his control until after the move, the 2 men often cited as the greatest Brooklyn Dodgers, Robinson and Snider, were both from Los Angeles. (Well, Jackie was born in Georgia and grew up in Pasadena, while the Duke was, I swear I'm not making this up, straight outta Compton.)

Snider hit 407 home runs. Today, there's some real donkeys with more than that, but, when he retired in 1964, the only ones with more were Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Mel Ott, Willie Mays, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Eddie Mathews and Mickey Mantle. His 389 homers in a Dodger uniform is still a franchise record, regardless of coast. (Eric Karros is the L.A. leader, with a mere 289.)  Duke's lifetime batting average was .292, and 8 times he hit at least .300. His career OPS+ was a whopping 140. He wasn't as good in center field as Mays, but he was roughly as good as Mantle.

And that brings up the inevitable question of the 3 New York center fielders: Willie, Mickey, and the Duke. Who was better? Looking at their career stats, it seems silly to put the Duke into the equation; it's got to be either the Say Hey Kid or the Mick, not the Duke.

And yet...

Mickey and Willie entered the majors in 1951. Duke was in his 5th full season. Makes sense, he was 5 years older:

* Edwin Donald Snider, born September 19, 1926 in Los Angeles.
* Willie Howard Mays Jr., born May 6, 1931 in Westfield, Alabama.
* Mickey Charles Mantle, born October 20, 1931 in Spavinaw, Oklahoma.

If you look at what they did while all 3 were together, the case for the Duke gets a lot better:

* In 1951, Willie had a sensational rookie season, while the Duke a pretty good season, and Mickey struggled and got sent down to the minors before regaining his stroke and keeping it for a generation. Willie 1st, Duke 2nd, Mickey 3rd.

* In 1952, Willie was drafted into the Army early on, and missed most of the season. The Duke's stats went down a little. Mickey, still only 20 until right after the World Series, had a little bit better year. Mickey 1st, Duke 2nd, Willie 3rd (not that it was his fault).

* In 1953, Willie was still in the Korean War, but the Duke bounced back with a season in which he led both leagues in slugging percentage and OPS+ (not that the former was then mentioned much or the latter, well, at all). Mickey's season was more bark than bite, as some of his 21 homers were of the variety that came to be called "tape measure" due to their distance, hitting shots that were contenders for the title of longest ever hit in Washington, Philadelphia and St. Louis. But he didn't have as good a season as the Duke. Duke 1st, Mickey 2nd, Willie 3rd (again, through no fault of his own).

* In 1954, Willie returned with his best season, a batting title and a World Championship. The Duke had a sensational season, but not quite as sensational as Willie's. In spite of the Yankees not winning the Pennant for the first time since he arrived, Mickey had his best season yet, but not as good as the other two. Willie 1st, Duke 2nd, Mickey 3rd.

* In 1955, the Duke had his best season, and not just because the Dodgers finally went all the way. I don't want to say Campy didn't deserve the MVP, but the Duke led both leagues in RBIs and he, as much as Podres, was deserving of being named MVP of the '55 Series. Willie had another great year, and Mickey finally began to not just hit the tar out of the ball, but do so with consistency. Great year, but not as good as the other two. Duke 1st, Willie 2nd, Mickey 3rd.

* In 1956, Mickey came into his own, winning the Triple Crown -- in fact, becoming the last player to date to lead both leagues in all 3 categories. The Duke had another great year, leading the NL with a career-high 43 homers. By almost anybody else's standards, Willie had a great year, but not as good as the other two. Mickey 1st, Duke 2nd, Willie 3rd.

* In 1957, the last season of all 3 teams in New York, Mickey won another MVP had batted .365, a figure neither Willie nor the Duke ever approached (in fact, no New York-based player has since). The Duke was still quite productive; his tailoff in 1958 can be attributed to going from the cozy confines of Ebbets Field to the misshapen field at the L.A. Coliseum, but he still had 88 RBIs in leading what was now his hometown team to the 1959 World Championship and a .296 average in 1961.

It was only with the move to Dodger Stadium in 1962 that he really began to slow down, at age 35/36, and he was gone 2 years later, playing, ironically, at the Polo Grounds for the Mets and then closing with the Giants. Willie had another really good year, but not quite up to the standard that was being set by New York center fielders; he didn't really have a subpar year until 1969 and was still pretty productive until 1971 when he was 40. So, in '57, Mickey 1st, Duke 2nd, Willie 3rd.

Willie: 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd; average, 2.29.
Mickey: 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 1st, 1st; average, 2.00.
Duke: 2nd, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 2nd; average, 1.72.

Surprise! Granted, this takes into account Willie's 2 missing seasons, but even if you count only '51, '54, '55, '56 and '57, the Duke still holds his own, no worse than 2nd each time.

If this Duke wasn't quite a king, he was certainly no bum.

Kansas City's All-Time Baseball Team

I'll get to the Yanks' game with the Royals tonight, tomorrow. And wrap up the Angels series as well.

Kansas City's "market" includes the western half of Missouri, the eastern 2/3rds of Kansas, the eastern 2/3rds of Nebraska, the southwest quadrant of Iowa, the northeast quadrant of Oklahoma, and the northwest quadrant of Arkansas.

With 6 States to sift through, this made KC the hardest market thus far to check. However, having all of these States in my database now, it makes it easier to go through the other big-league markets that overlap into those States (St. Louis, Colorado, Dallas, and the Cub half of Chicago -- Minnesota already having been done).

Kansas City's All-Time Baseball Team

1B Albert Pujols of Independence, Missouri. Born in the Dominican Republic, but grew up in President Harry Truman's hometown before crossing the State to star for the St. Louis Cardinals. In 10 seasons, he's made 10 All-Star teams. He has also driven in at least 100 runs every season. Lifetime batting average .331 -- same as Stan Musial, which is why he gets compared to Stan the Man, even getting the same nickname, "El Hombre."

His career OPS is 1.049, a sicko stat. Already has over 400 doubles, closing in on 400 home runs. He has already won 3 National League Most Valuable Player awards and come in 2nd twice. And he's only 30! By the time he's through, he could be the greatest offensive force the game has seen since Babe Ruth himself. Already, he's built up the kind of stats that have led to 4 of his 10 most similar batters according to Baseball-Reference.com -- Hank Greenberg, Johnny Mize, Ralph Kiner and Chuck Klein -- being in the Hall of Fame. And, by all accounts, he's a good guy, too. By the year 2027, expect to see him in the Hall and to see his Number 5 retired at Busch Stadium.

Honorable Mention to Dale Long of Springfield, Missouri. In 1956, the Pittsburgh Pirate homered in 8 straight games, a record that has since been matched, but not beaten. In 1958, with the Chicago Cubs, he played 2 games behind the plate, making him a rare left-handed catcher. (The only one since has been Mike Squires with the 1980 and ’81 White Sox.) He went to the Yankees and played on their 1962 World Championship team. Had a career OPS+ of 115.

Before I realized that Pujols qualified, I thought 1st base was a weak spot for K.C. Actually, the name John Mayberry came up, but it's John Jr., born in Kansas City when John Sr. was playing for the Royals. John Sr. doesn't qualify for this team, because he's from Detroit.

2B Ivan "Ivy" Olson of Kansas City, Missouri. (Gotta say it that way, although there were no viable candidates for this team specifically from Kansas City, Kansas.) He played more shortstop, but this was the best I could do, as he did start on the Brooklyn Dodgers' 1916 and '20 National League Champions.

SS Dave Bancroft of Sioux City, Iowa. If the Hall of Fame ever had to drop 10 members, "Beauty" Bancroft might be one of them. But he was the best shortstop in the National League in the late 1910s and the 1920s, playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Giants and Boston Braves. He appeared in the World Series with the '15 Phils and the '21, '22 and '23 Giants.

Or maybe the Hall would have to drop Joe Tinker of Herington, Kansas. True, he was the shortstop of the Chicago Cubs' 1906, '07, '08 and '10 Pennant winners, winning the 1907 and 1908 World Series. And had there been an All-Star Game at the time, he would have been in it a few times. But, let's be honest: The only reason he's in the Hall is because of Franklin P. Adams' poem "Baseball's Sad Lexicon" (a.k.a. "Tinker to Evers to Chance").

3B Ken Boyer of Alba, Missouri. One of 14 children, and his brother Clete was himself an All-Star 3rd baseman with the Yankees, and their brother Cloyd was a big-league pitcher. He succeeded Stan Musial as the superstar and captain of the St. Louis Cardinals, and led them to an amazing run to the Pennant. In the 1964 World Series, Ken and Clete became the 1st brothers to oppose each other, and to homer, in a World Series. Ken's homer, a grand slam in Game 4, turned the Series around, and the Cards won.

His career OPS+ was 116, and his 282 home runs are a very good total for a 3rd baseman in that era. He wasn't quite at Hall of Fame levels, but the Cardinals retired his Number 14.

LF Zack Wheat of Hamilton, Missouri. For all the jokes about how the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s couldn't find a left fielder, Wheat was a great one for them in the 1910s and 1920s, including playing for the Dodgers in the 1916 and '20 World Series (though they lost both). He won the NL batting title in 1918, had a lifetime batting average of .317, an OPS+ of 129, and 2,884 hits -- awfully close to the magic 3,000, which would probably have gotten him better remembered today.

Honorable Mention to Fred Clarke of Winterset, Iowa. He starred for the Louisville Colonels in the 1890s and, like his teammate Honus Wagner, went to the Pittsburgh Pirates when the Colonels were folded into the Pirate organization. Lifetime batting average of .312, OPS+ of 132, 2,678 career hits. He also managed the Pirates to Pennants in 1901, '02 and '03, and the 1909 World Series, all while still playing.

CF Mickey Mantle of Commerce, Oklahoma. Though his short stay with the minor-league Kansas City Blues was a hard part of his life, geographically, he belongs in the Royals' area. All-Century Team, Hall of Fame, Monument Park, Number 7 retired, 500 Home Run Club. "Baseball has been really good to me," he told the fans on Mickey Mantle Day in 1969, "and playing 18 years in Yankee Stadium for you folks was the greatest thing that could ever happen to a ballplayer."

Very Honorable Mention to Richie Ashburn of Tilden, Nebraska. That Ashburn is second to anyone is "Hard to believe, Harry," but it's Mickey Mantle. Still, Rich (or "Whitey," nicknamed like Mickey's pal Edward Charles Ford for his very light hair) was, rightfully, the most beloved sports figure in Philadelphia history for his long career as a player and a broadcaster, elected to the Hall of Fame and his Number 1 retired by the Phils. "And a Happy Birthday to the Celebre's Twins, Plain and Pepperoni!"

RF Sam Crawford of Wahoo, Nebraska. "Wahoo Sam" is baseball's all-time leader with 309 triples. He batted .309, had a career OPS+ of 144, collected 2,961 hits (another one just short of 3,000), and, with Ty Cobb and Davy Jones (not the sailor or the Monkee), he formed one of the greatest outfields of the Dead Ball Era, winning 3 straight AL Pennants, 1907, '08 and '09 -- but losing all 3 World Series. Hall of Fame, but he played long before uniform numbers were worn.

C Walker Cooper of Independence, Missouri. He and his brother Mort were a major part of the St. Louis Cardinals’ 1942, '43, '44 and '46 Pennant winners, winning the World Series in all of those except ’43. An 8-time All-Star, he had a career OPS+ of 116 and 173 homers, an extraordinary total for a catcher in that era (although somewhat inflated by a few years with the New York Giants with the cozy confines of the Polo Grounds).

Honorable Mention to Darren Daulton of Arkansas City, Kansas. Okay, let's put aside his occult beliefs, and note that he was the heart and soul of the 1993 NL Champion Phillies. While injuries cut his career short, he did get a ring as Charles Johnson’s backup on the 1997 World Champion Florida Marlins.

And now for what has to be the most extraordinary pitching staff for any of these teams.

SP Walter Johnson of Humboldt, Kansas. I'm cheating slightly: His family moved to Fullerton, California, and he went to Fullerton High, which should place him on the Anaheim team. But they moved when he was 14, so he "became a ballplayer" in the Kansas City "market."

His 110 shutouts are the most all-time. His 3,508 strikeouts were the most all-time -- he held the career record from 1921 (surpassing Cy Young) until 1983 (surpassed by Nolan Ryan). His 417 wins are the most in AL history. And "the Big Train" did this for the Washington Senators, which hardly ever got into a Pennant race. They finally won Pennants in 1924 and '25, and after losing 2 games in the '24 Series, he came in in relief in Game 7, and ended up the winning pitcher. Neat piece of trivia: His final career appearance was not as a pitcher, but as a pinch-hitter -- he had a career OPS of .616, pretty good for a pitcher -- on September 30, 1927, the same game in which Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run of that season.

He then became manager of the Newark Bears, living in nearby Millburn, New Jersey. He went on to manage the Senators and the Cleveland Indians, without much success. One of the most decent men ever involved with the game, he sadly died of a brain tumor in 1946, only 59 years old.

Outside his former home park, Griffith Stadium, there was a monument to his memory, which was moved to Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland, where Johnson lived. Today, a statue of him is outside Nationals Park. He was one of the first inductees into the Hall of Fame in 1936, and in 1999 was named Number 4 on The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Players (the highest of any pitcher) and elected to the MLB All-Century Team. He retired before uniform numbers were worn, but he wore 28 and 25 as Senators manager and 10 as Indians manager.

SP Grover Cleveland Alexander of St. Paul, Nebraska. This is how great Johnson was: Alexander won 373 games, tied with Christy Mathewson for most in NL history, and yet he's only 2nd on this team. (Cy Young's 511 were split over both Leagues.)

Check out these numbers: 28, 19, 22, 27, 31, 33, 30. Those were Alexander's win totals for the 1st 7 seasons of his career. He also led the NL in strikeouts 7 times, and in ERA 4 times. His career ERA+ was 135; his WHIP, 1.121. He helped the Phillies to their 1st Pennant in 1915, and in 1916 -- as a right-handed pitcher at Baker Bowl where lefty hitters had a 280-foot right-field fence, he threw 16 shutouts, a record. His 90 shutouts were second only to Johnson.

Sadly, serving in World War I shellshocked him, triggered epilepsy, and exacerbated his alcoholism. He went on to the Chicago Cubs, and the St. Louis Cardinals picked him up in 1926 and won the World Series. After winning Game 6, the 39-year-old "Pete" (not sure why that was his nickname) celebrated hard, and was hungover when he was called into to pitch the 7th inning of Game 7 with the bases loaded. He struck out the Yankees' Tony Lazzeri, perhaps the most famous strikeout in baseball history (unless you count the Mighty Casey of Mudville).

Sadly, both men were epileptics who died young. Alexander's drinking damaged his health, and he died in 1950, drinking doing him in at just 63 -- just like Mantle.

In 1952, Ronald Reagan played him in the film The Winning Team. Alexander did live long enough to be elected to the Hall of Fame, and while he played before uniform numbers were worn, the Phils put a "P" notation on the outfield wall, first at Veterans Stadium and now at Citizens Bank Park.

SP Carl Hubbell of Meeker, Oklahoma. The 1st NL Player to have his number retired, the Giants retired his Number 11. He was known as King Carl and the Meal Ticket, and in the 1930s, along with Dizzy Dean and Satchel Paige, he was one of the 3 best pitchers on the planet.

He won 253 games, and had a lifetime ERA+ of 130 and a WHIP of 1.166. He started the 1st 2 All-Star Games, and, in the 1934 Game, at his home park of the Polo Grounds, he struck out 6 batters in 2 innings -- including, in succession, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin, fellow Hall-of-Famers all. In 1933, he won 23 games and led the Giants to the World Championship. The Giants won Pennants again in 1936 and '37, and over those 2 seasons Hubbell won 24 straight games. More than anyone, even Whitey Ford, this is the greatest lefthanded pitcher in New York baseball history.

SP Bob Feller of Van Meter, Iowa. "Anybody who says sports is war has never been in a war," Lieutenant Robert William Andrew Feller, U.S. Navy, World War II, has taught us. But his 266 wins, 2,581 strikeouts and 3 no-hitters were amazing when you consider he lost 4 seasons -- at ages 23, 24, 25 and 26 -- to the fight against Nazi fascism and Japanese imperialism.

In 1936, he struck out a then-record-tying 17 batters in a game -- and he was 17 years old. In 1938, at 19, he fanned a new record of 18. (It would be 31 more years before a pitcher got 19 in a 9-inning game.)

He was the greatest pitcher of his generation, but, like Johnson, his team wasn't up to his level. The Indians nearly won a Pennant in 1940, won the Series in 1948, and a Pennant in 1954, but while Feller did get a ring in '48, he never won a Series game, unlike Johnson. Hall of Fame, Number 19 retired, museum in his honor in Van Meter.

SP Bob Gibson of Omaha, Nebraska. You wanna tell Bob Gibson he's the 5th starter? He might understand, but he wouldn't appreciate being told.

The ace of the St. Louis Cardinals was the MVP of the 1964 and '67 World Series, winning Game 7 both times. In Game 1 in '68, struck out 17 Detroit Tigers, although he ended up losing Game 7. That season, 1968, he went 22-9, with a record low ERA for the post-1920 Lively Ball Era, 1.12. (So how did he lose 9? The Cards didn't hit much for a Pennant-winner.) His ERA+ that year? 258. It doesn't seem possible. So he wasn't just taking advantage of "the Year of the Pitcher": Even by the standards of 1968, he was beyond great.

He is considered the most intimidating pitcher of his generation. He won 251 games, 128 ERA+, 1.188 WHIP, and was the 1st NL pitcher, the 2nd overall, to strike out over 3,000 batters. (With Johnson dead, this meant that, from 1972 to 1978, Gibson had struck out more batters than any living person.) He even presaged Charles Barkley by a generation, by telling a reporter, "Why do I have to be a role model for your kid? You be a role model for your kid."

Hall of Fame, All-Century Team, Number 45 retired, statue in his honor outside the new Busch Stadium. Recently co-wrote Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher and a Hall of Fame Hitter Talk About How the Game Is Played, with Reggie Jackson.

That's 5 Hall of Fame starters, who were ranked 4th (Johnson), 12th (Alexander), 31st (Gibson), 36th (Feller) and 45th (Hubbell) on The Sporting News' 1999 list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players -- respectively, ranked 1st, 3rd, 10th, 12th and 15th among pitchers on that list. If "Good pitching beats good hitting," this team may be damn near unbeatable.

Honorable Mention to a 6th HOFer, Charles "Dazzy" Vance of Hardy, Nebraska. He struggled, not becoming a big-league regular until 1922 when he was 31. But he really made up for lost time, winning 86 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers over his 1st 4 seasons. He might have been the fastest pitcher of the 1920s, dazzling NL hitters (and thus the nickname).

He won 197 games, and struck out 2,045 batters. Imagine if he'd found his control at age 22. His ERA+ was 125. Although the Dodgers did not retire his number (or any numbers until well after they moved to Los Angeles), he is in the Hall of Fame.

Here's how good this rotation is: Al Orth, Smokey Joe Wood, George Pipgras, Mel Harder (the Indians retired his Number 18), Walker's brother Mort Cooper, Rudy May, Rick Sutcliffe and Cliff Lee. All of those guys geographically qualified for this team, and none of them come close to making it.

RP Tom Henke of Kansas City, Missouri. Hard to imagine a rotation of the Big Train, Alex, King Carl, Rapid Robert and Hoot, with Dazzy ready to step in if necessary, needing relief. But "the Exterminator" saved 311 games, and the Toronto Blue Jays have never reached the postseason without him. With him, they did so 5 times, including their 1992 and ’93 World Championships. Career ERA+ of 157, WHIP of 1.092.

MGR Casey Stengel of Kansas City, Missouri. Charles Dillon Stengel got his nickname from his hometown, "Kay Cee," which became "Casey." His runner-up could be his Yankee successor, the late Ralph Houk of Lawrence, Kansas. The aforementioned Fred Clarke; Billy Southworth of Harvard, Nebraska; and Bobby Cox of Tulsa, Oklahoma could also qualify. That's 3 managers in the Hall of Fame (Stengel, Clarke and Southworth), a 4th who will be (Cox), and a 5th who should be (Houk).