The interesting conundrum in this case (hence \"debate\") is that of the 124 players in major league history who bore the name \"scott,\" a full 25 of them had that appellation as their surname (family name) rather than their given or first name, including a few key All-Stars. So which will be better? The last name \"great scotts\" or the first name, um, \"scott Land Yards\"?
Let's see.
** indicates Hall of Famer (oh, never mind ... it's never happened)
The great scotts
We can just barely fill out a roster with the scott surname -- nine position players who, when spaced carefully, can historically cover the diamond; and a right-leaning heavy four-man rotation and five-man bullpen with the team's only southpaws. There are some other guys who got cups of coffee, but they would just be roster filler for the most part. Well, at least every four days you can hope that Boomer will go deep a couple of times and Mike will toss a shutout.
LINEUP
C Donnie scott (173 games, 1983-85, 1991)
1B Milt scott (342 games, 1882-1886, all before age 20 season)
2B Rodney scott (.236, 205 SB)
SS Everett scott (pre-Ripken Iron Man)
3B Gary scott (.160 for 1991-1992 CHC)
LF John scott (hit .240 in 79 games for '77 Blue Jays)
CF Tony scott (.249, 125 SB)
RF Le Grant scott (.280 in only season with '39 PHI)
DH George C. scott* (\"Boomer\" - 271 career homers)
BENCH
Uh, nope.
ROTATION
RHSP Mike scott* (no-hitter to clinch Astros '86 flag)
RHSP Jack scott (103-109 in 12 years, 1916-1929)
RHSP Jim scott (107-113 in 9 years, 1909-1917 CHW)
RHSP Ed scott (17-20 for 1900 CIN, 23-26 career)
BULLPEN
RHRP Tim scott (24-13, 5 saves)
RHRP George W. scott (0-0 for 1920 STL)
LHRP Mickey scott (8-7, 4 saves, 1972-1977)
LHRP Dick L. scott (two saves for '63 LAD)
The scott Land Yards
A majority of the All-scott All-Stars land in the land of the first/given name, but really ... don't you have to think hard to picture Cooper, Garrelts, McGregor and Sanderson at the midsummer classic? Like their surname counterparts, this team has a terrific candidate to hit cleanup, but unlike the above squad, no clear-cut pitching ace. There is a little more offense on, er, at the plate, though -- and this team gets a bench, not to mention a full 12-man pitching staff, selected from 22 viable candidates.
LINEUP
C scott Bradley (604 games in nine years mostly with SEA)
1B scott Cooper* (primarily a 3B, though no Jeff Bagwell)
2B scott Spiezio (A stalwart on the father/son Hall of Names team)
SS scott Leius (nine years in AL, 1990-1999)
3B scott Rolen* (Best player on the team. Any questions?)
LF scott Pose (first Marlin batter in franchise history)
CF scott Podsednik (2nd in '03 Andujar voting)
RF scott Lusader (1987-1991, DET/NYY)
DH scott Hatteberg (Moneyball poster boy)
BENCH
C scott Servais (as opposed to \"Service\")
UTIL scott Sheldon (played all nine positions in one game)
2B/OF scott Hairston (D-backs prospect)
IF scott Brosius* (141 career homers - who knew?)
OF scott Bullett (.233, regular def. replacement for 1995-96 CHC)
ROTATION
RHSP scott Bankhead (57-48)
LHSP scott McGregor* (138-108)
RHSP scott Sanderson* (163-143)
LHSP scott Kazmir (D-Rays prospect)
RHSP scott Kamienicki (138 starts, 250 games)
BULLPEN
CL scott Williamson* (12 wins, 19 saves for '99 CIN)
RH SET scott Garrelts* (69-53; four 10+ save seasons for SFG)
LH SET scott Radinsky (42-25, 52 saves)
RH MID scott Strickland (12-21, 20 saves)
LH MID scott Bailes (39-44, 13 saves)
RH LONG scott Sullivan (40-28, 9 saves)
LH LONG scott Schoeneweis (36-41 heading into TOR career)
AGENT
scott Boras
BAUXITE
scott Lucas
Interesting Historical Oddity: A disproportionate number of scotts seem to have been third basemen -- including the best one, Rolen, as well as Brosius, Leius, Spiezio, Cooper (hey, those last four could be a whole starting infield!), Coolbaugh, Livingstone, Madison (okay, he's \"scotti\") -- and that's just to name a few! So, what's the deal? Best explanation for the preponderence of guys at the \"Hot scott Corner\" wins a No-Prize.
Now, who wins the matchup? Who's missing from these teams? Can you combine them to make one great team?
