Age-old questions about peak vs. career performance.  If I'm getting Doc Gooden, circa 84-86, he would be tough to beat.  If we're speaking about career performance, sign me up for Bert Blyleven on the mound. 

My outfield would include Dwight Evans in righfield, Reggie Smith in center, Ron Santo (edging Darrell Evans) at third, and Lou Whitaker (edging Joe Gordon) at second.  I've got to think a little more about the shortstop, the first baseman and the catcher.  If we have a DH, I'll ponder the question of whether Dick Allen's bat is worth the trouble.

I don't get it, Mike! You've already selected Whitaker and you're still thinking about who his DP partner should be? I mean, who could it possibly be?

Were it not for cocaine, Dave Parker would probably be in the Hall - I can take him in right field. Were it not for his airplane crash, Thurman Munson might have made it as well, and I wouldn't mind having him catch for my team. Ted Simmons was a better hitter, and Bill Freehan a better defender, but Munson made stuff happen.

If you want to claim Whitaker and Santo (and I'm thrusting Trammell upon you!) - I can easily make do with Gordon, Evans, and Jim Fregosi. I like Keith Hernandez at first base ahead of Mattingly. I leave you your Reggie Smith in centre, because I think I can get by with the Toy Cannon, Jimmy Wynn. Tim Raines leads off and plays left field.

Raines, lf
Evans, 3b
Wynn, cf
Parker, rf
Gordon, 2b
Hernandez, 1b
Munson, c
Fregosi, ss

We'll be OK.

Luis Tiant, Bert Blyleven, Tommy John, Jim Kaat, Dan Quisenbery... we can pitch a little, too.

Oddly, though, then starts an unlikely run of four straight days, June 7-10, on the calendar on which NO Hall of Famer has ever been born. (Someone want to calculate the odds of that?)

225 players are in the Hall of Fame, so there's about a 0.616 probability (61.6%) that any given day has a HOF player with that birthday, or 0.384 for no Hall of Famer. 0.384^4 (for the four days) gives you ~0.0216. I guess that makes it 2.2%? Yeah, I'm going with that.

And put Tom Henke in the bullpen.

Of course, Trammell makes sense.  Tim Raines has his 1st year of eligibility this year, and I thought that it wouldn't really be right to put him on this team until the voters have spoken.  I am going to be making the case that he's an easy Hall of Famer, but one never knows, do one?

McGriff would be a fine choice at first base, but again I'd like to let the voters have a crack at him first.  I hadn't realized how well Will Clark stands up among the near Hall of Famers; I'll take him instead of Mattingly. Jose Cruz Sr. will be my leftfielder.

So, Cruz Sr., Smith and Dewey Evans in the outfield, Santo, Trammell, Whitaker and Will the Thrill in the infield. Bill Freehan will do the catching.  Blyleven pitches.  I like my club defensively and the lineup would go

Whitaker
Cruz Sr./Trammell
Evans
Smith
Santo
Clark
Freehan
Trammell/Cruz Sr.
Blyleven

The opposing pitcher had better throw strikes, or we won't swing. Anyone up for a Diamond Mine sim?

MY bad, I thought Raines had already been passed over. Hmmm... Minnie Minoso or Larry Doby? I can't even remember if Doby is the Hall or not. And he's a centre fielder anyway. Minoso in left.

I see your Freehan/Munson and raise you a Joe Torre to catch my team.

Doby is in the Hall.  Minoso and Torre are excellent choices, although Torre's likely to be in the Hall for his accomplishments as a player and manager approximately 7 years from now.

I'm passing on the merits of defensive prowess and good behaviour to put up the a hard hitting lineup.  I debated between the guys with the 8 to 12 years of dominance (but little else) versus the guys with the longer careers of lesser quality.  In my opinion it's harder to be great for a short period of time than good for a long time.

C- Joe Torre; I think he is as worthy as Gary Carter for a spot in the Hall and is one of the few not in it that I would vote for every time (had I the chance).

1B- I'll stick Frank Howard at first over Will the Thrill. 

2B- Lou Whitaker.  Who else?

3B- Well, Dick Allen was a headache and, judging from his fielding %, a below average defensive third sacker...but he sure could hit.

SS- Vern Stephens

LF- Alberte Belle.  Bad person, great hitter.

CF- Dale Murphy (121 OPS+)

RF- Al Oliver; nearly made it to 3000 hits and had a 121 OPS+.  Better HoF candidate than Murphy?

Rotation: Bert Blyleven, Dave Stieb, David Cone, Mel Harder, Billy Pierce

Bullpen: Quisenberry, Gossage, and Henke

Nolan, if you're going to not worry about defensive prowess and bad behaviour, may I suggest Pete Browning as your centerfielder.  A clubhouse with Dick Allen, Albert Belle, Pete Browning and Frank Howard would be very interesting indeed. 

If I miss someone who's been nominated, just holler ... lots of these guys (Torre, Gordon, Evans, Allen, Oliver, for instance) played other positions than those listed as well. I added Rice, and who else goes on the list of candidates?

C Thurmon Munson, Ted Simmons, Bill Freehan, Joe Torre
1B Keith Hernandez, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Will Clark, Frank Howard
2B Lou Whitaker, Joe Gordon
SS Maury Wills, Dave Concepcion, Alan Trammell, Jim Fregosi, Vern Stephens
3B Ron Santo, Darrell Evans, Dick Allen
LF [Tim Raines], Jose Cruz Sr., Minnie Minoso, Albert Belle, Jim Rice
CF Andre Dawson, Reggie Smith, Jimmy Wynn, Dale Murphy, Pete Browning
RF Dave Parker, Dwight Evans, Al Oliver

SP Dwight Gooden, Jim Kaat, Dave Stieb, Tommy John, Ron Guidry, Bert Blyleven, Luis Tiant, David Cone, Mel Harder, Billy Pierce

RP Dan Quisenbery, Tom Henke, Rich Gossage

Interesting, and showing a possible Batter's Box bias to later players, my rough count is 45 players on the list above and a whopping 39 of them played at least some in the 1970s and/or 1980s. I think only Minoso (one stunt AB not counting), Pierce, Harder, Browning, Stephens and Gordon are exceptions to the rule.

Interesting, and showing a possible Batter's Box bias to later players, my rough count is 45 players on the list above and a whopping 39 of them played at least some in the 1970s and/or 1980s.

Yeah, I looked through all those pre-1900 players, but just couldn't bring myself to include them.  I mean, I found a bunch of pitchers with 200+ wins who did it in like 8 years and still barely had a winning record.  Also, are Negro league players allowed?  Federation league players, like Benny Kraus (sp?)?

The Veterans' Committee enshrined many "very good", and some merely good, players of the 20s and 30s sometimes 50 years later.  The VC's process has been improved recently, but still some of the names thrown around here (Santo, Torre, perhaps Whitaker) may eventually make it.

A few more names, some oldtimers and  some not so old.

Tony Oliva OF

Johnny Pesky SS

Jack Fournier 1B

Max Bishop 2B

Ed Delahanty OF

Lefty O'Doul OF

Wally Schang C

Stan Hack 3B

Jerry Koosman LHP

Vida Blue LHP

Lew Burdette RHP

Jeff Reardon RHP

Sparky Lyle LHP

 

Where do you guys put Matt Williams at 3B on the depth chart?

Matt Williams is still ineligible for the Hall of Fame, thus ineligible for this team

Bill Dahlen should be your shortstop.  There is really noone close.

I have to make the case for my favourite obscure ball player, the fantastically named Silver King (born Charles Frederick Koenig)

He broke into baseball with the NL Kansas City Cowboys in 1886 at the age of 19.  He only started 5 games for them.

In 1887, he was obtained by the St. Louis Browns of the American Association.  Pitching for his hometown team, he had four ridiculous years.

1887: 44 starts, 43 complete games, 390 innings, he went 32 - 12, with a save, and an ERA of 3.78 (ERA+ 120)

In 1888, he got better.  65 starts, 64 complete games, 585.7 innings, for a record of 45-21.  He also had 1 relief appearance, ERA of 1.64 (ERA+ 199)

In 1889, he slowed down a bit.  56 starts, 46 complete games, 458 innings, 34-17, one save, ERA of 3.14 (ERA+ of 134)

In 1890, he was with the Chicago Pirates of the Players League, and he started 56 games, completed 48, had a record of 30-22 in 461 innings, with an ERA of 2.69 (ERA+ of 162)

He cooled down after that and only won 61 more games in his career, and was out of baseball by the time he was 30.

His final line is 202-154 (6 saves), 370 starts, 328 complete games, 3190 innings, ERA of 3.18 (ERA+ of 123).  He scores 34 on the Hall of Fame standards metric (50 is an average HOFer), and 120.5 on the Hall of Fame Monitor (100+ likely to be in the hall)

I know his numbers are primarily caused by the era (and leagues) that he played in, but I needed to mention him.

My other choice is Indian Bob Johnson. He only had two votes in hall of fame elections.  He played for some horrid teams (mainly the Philadelphia A's), and starred during the watered-down competition of the WW2 years  but he appears to have been a great player.   He was an eight time all-star, has a career OPS+ of 138, a 46 on the HOF standards test, and a 91.5 on the HOF monitor.  He's a good "what might've been" case because his career numbers are hurt by the fact that he was a rookie at the age of 27.  

C Joe Torre
1B Don Mattingly
2B Laughing Larry Doyle
3B Dick Allen
SS Dave Concepcion
LF Dale Murphy
CF Andre Dawson
RF Dave Parker
DH Lefty O'Doul

SP Dave Stieb