S21 - S40 All Time CF nominees

We'll get right to it:

Centerfielder's

1.   Chad Bard:  Bard is still active, starting his career in S27.  He's slashed .288/.346/.416 for an OPS of .762.  While having some pop, power is not Bard's game.  Speed is.  He's got > 700 steals to go with his 1600+ runs, nearly 2700 hits, > 400 2B's, and a bit over 200 HR's.  He's got a legit shot at joining the 3000 hit club.  Bard has played 2B & CF, but he's logged more time in center, having played almost 12000 innings there.  Five time All-Star and 3 time SS Award winner in CF.

2.  Chris Burke:  Played 18 seasons from S21-S39.  A member of the 3000 hit club, he slashed .280/.342/.482 for an OPS of .824.  Burke scored nearly 1600 runs, amassed almost 600 2B's, smashed > 500 HR's and managed to steal over 200 bases.  Burke played in > 2000 games in CF.  A 4 time All-Star, 3 time SS winner in CF, and once at 3B, he also won a GG at 1B.

3.  Ollie Greenwood:  Played from S17-37 for a nice 15 year career.  Slashed .308/.380/.496 for an OPS of .876.  Those be by the best average and OBP for the CF's.  Ollie scored > 1200 runs, topped 2500 hits, legged out > 400 2B's, and hit 348 HR's in 8150 AB's.  He could field it as well, putting up 63 + plays in just about 1400 games in CF.  Ollie was a 7 time All-Star, 6 time SS winner in CF, and won a GG while playing RF.

4.   Phillip Mayer:  Played a nice 13 year career from S27-S40.  May be the best defensive CF we've had, coming down with 213 + plays in 1851 games in CF.  Far from a one trick pony, Mayer could hit too, slashing .269/.329/.464 for an OPS of .793.  He topped 1100 runs, almost 2000 hits, and > 300 HR's.  Mayer made 7 All-Star teams, 2 SS awards, 6 Gold Glove awards, and one WS ring.

5.  Jamie Miyakazi:  If Mayer wasn't the best defensive CF we've seen, than this guy is.  Playing from S17-S31, he amazed with 215 + plays in 1697 games in CF.  Not a huge threat with the bat, but he he hit enough.  Slashed .254/.318/.419 for an OPS of .737.  Topped 1100 runs, 2000 hits, with 445 2B's and 269 HR's.  He was a ROY winner, 5 time All-Star, won 5 GG's in CF and 3 at 2B, plus got a WS ring.

6.  Andy Shannon :  A late addition as I had Shannon at 1B.  Andy played from S22-S35, a modest 14 seasons.  During that time he slashed .273/.357/.540 for an OPS of .897.  Shannon brought significant power to CF, hitting 514 HR's and driving in nearly 1500.  He topped 2000 hits and 1300 runs in those 14 seasons.  He was a good defensive CF, good for 68 + plays & a .991 F% in over 15000 innings in center.  He's got lots of hardware too:  ROY, a 10 time All-Star, 5 time SS winner, a WS ring, and a MVP in S24. 

There's they are. Let me know if we've overlooked anyone, thanks! 

S21 - 40, All Time 2B & CF's

I'll discuss the 2B first, followed by the CF's.  As always, let me know if I missed anyone and we'll vote on the top two for each position once everything is posted.

Second Basemen:

1.  Shawn Barfield :  Playing from S24 - 41, Barfield qualifies as a good all around player.  He did a bit of everything.  Slashed .295/.375/.469 for an OPS of .844.  Scored nearly 1700 runs, nearly 2700 hits, > 500 doubles and almost 300 HR's.  Could run as well stealing 731 bases.  He was an OK defensive 2B in his 1500+ games there, but did go on to win a GG at 1B.  He was a six time All-Star and a two time Silver Slugger winner at 2B.

2.  Juan Chavez: Chavez is still an active player, having begun his career in S28.  He came right in as a rookie and raked.  He's kept doing that his whole career, slashing .306/.365/.552 for an OPS of .917.  He brings serious power to 2B having hit 456 HR's, with a shot at 500 since he's still only 36.  He's scored >1300 runs and has driven in nearly 1500.  He's also closing in on 400 2B's.  He's also a very good defender having piled up 112 + plays at 2B in > 1700 games there.  He's a five time All-Star, 3 time SS winner, GG winner, and a multi time WS winner.

3.  Dick Heilman :  Career ranged from S16-S36.  Slashed .291/.358/.488.  > 3000 hits, > 500 HR's, > 1800 runs, close to 500 2B's, and > 1700 RBI.  Plus he was a competent defender at 2B in his >12000 innings there.  He's a really good all around player.  I'm not sure any of the 2B have put up the all-around #'s he has.  A 7 time All-Star and a four time SS winner at 2B.

4.  Zip Madson:  Despite his name, and he could steal a base, Zip's game revolved around the long ball.  Playing from S22-S37, he smashed > 600 HR's on his way to slashing .290/.359/.545, with an OPS of .904.  1700+ runs, 2700+ hits, and 1800 RBI's on the dot to go with his 405 steals.  Zip played in over 1600 games at 2B, proving to be a solid defender.  A 6 time All-Star, 4 time SS winner, and winner of 2 Gold Gloves while playing RF.  Zip also won 2 MVP's!

5.  Emmanuel Soto:  He played from S13-30.  Soto was an all around type of player, doing a bit of everything.  He slashed .278/.334/.497 for an OPS of .831.  Soto put up > 1500 runs, almost 2400 hits, > 400 2B's, > 400 HR's, and stole 650 bases while getting caught just 57 times.  Soto was an outstanding defender.  He had 115 + plays in > 1500 games at 2B.  Soto was a 7 time All-Star and winner of 2 SS at 2B and one SS at 3B.

6.  Alex Suarez:  His career spanned S23-S37 & was a bit shorter than some.  He slashed .287/.352/.504 for an OPS of .856 during that time.  Alex scored > 1300 runs in just over 1900 games, had > 2000 hits, almost 500 2B's, and nearly 300 HR's while stealing > 400 bases.  He played a bit of everywhere, but 2B is where he logged the most time.  He's a 3 time All-Star and winner of 2 SS awards, one each at 2B and 3B.  Also owns a WS ring.

7.  Artie Ward:  Another who's still active, having begun his career in S30.  Ward has slashed .284/.356/.478 for an OPS of .834.  In just about 7000 career AB's, he has scored >1200 runs, put up nearly 2000 hits, almost 400 2B's and close to 300 HR's.  He's another who's played several places, but with over 900 games at 2B, we'll call that one home.  He's somehow never made an All-Star game despite winning four SS Awards at 2B.  A 2cd half player?

That's our nominated 2B.  Once again, if you feel like I missed someone, please let me know!  Thanks, and stay tuned now for the CF's...

S21-40 All-Time Wrigleville Team, Catchers

Catchers:

First a quick note - the listed players are ones who were sent to me and ones that I picked by looking through various league histories.  If there's a player you feel was missed, let me know ASAP via TC and I will get that player added to the list.  Thanks!

1.  Edgardo Benitez :  One of our younger nominees at just 30.  He's played mainly from S35 to current.  He's won three WS titles and has been an All-Star.  He's a masher, having already hit 240 HR's while posting a career .566 slugging % to go along with his .911 career OPS.  He calls a good game too, posting a C's ERA of 3.73.

2.  Ren Chang :  He enjoyed a really good 15 year career, from S20-S34.  Chang enjoyed a career slash line of .300/.413/..500 - giving him a career OPS of .913.  He topped 2000 hits, 1000 runs, 1000 RBI, and 300 HR's.  I should probably list him as a DH, as he played over 1300 games there to just over 500 as a C.  He's a ROY winner, 5 time All-Star, 4 time Silver Slugger winner (3 at DH, 1 at C), and he once hit for the cycle. 

3.  Ryan Monroe :   He played from S16-32.  He slashed .286/.351/.489 over his career, good for an OPS of .840.  Monroe had > 400 HR's, 400 2B's, 1100 runs, 1300 RBI, and 2300 hits.  He played just over 2000 games at C.  He was mediocre at best on defense.  Through it all he won one Silver Slugger and appeared in one All-Star game. 

4.  Joakim Quinilla :  He played from S16-S33.  Career slash line of .278/.350/.520 for a career OPS of .870.  He appears like he was THE catcher.  Mashed >600 HR's , scored nearly 1400 runs, > 1600 RBI, >2500 hits.  While not a strong defensive player, he did actually appear in > 2000 games at C.  If I counted right, he played in 7 All-Star games, was a two time HR Derby winner, and won six Silver Slugger awards. 

Well, that's what I've got for catchers.  Please check this out and if I missed someone deserving of a nomination, I'll get them added.  We will then vote!  Voting will take place as follows:  simply send a TC to me with your top two picks.  The highest vote tally becomes your 1st team player while the 2cd place finisher is the 2cd team guy.  This will be the format for every position group.  Pitchers will be similar. 

S21 - 41 Wrigleyville Anniversary Team

If you take a look down the right side of the blog, you'll see a listing of the 20th Anniversary all-time Wrigleyville 1st & 2cd teams.  There's some really good fake ballplayers listed there.

That team was developed in a league wide vote.  If I recall correctly, we had a nomination period where each owner could submit something like three players per position.  The five highest nominees were then voted upon, with the top guys getting the 1st team selection and the next guy in line the 2ced team designation.

We've played about another 20 seasons since that time and I thought what a better time to bring something like this back?  Throughout S42 we will go through this process again, to come up up with a 2cd generation All-Time Wrigleyville team.   Details will follow, but one quick thought is to ban all the guys who made the team the first time around.  This would be for those players who primarily played after S20, but I don't want to overlook someone who played from say S16-S31.  As long as that guy wasn't on one of the two teams, he'd be eligible. 

Those of you around during that time, I'd appreciate some thoughts as to how best do this.  I've got some initial thoughts on how to go about this, but I'll wait a bit before posting.

At the moment, go ahead and check out the history of your franchise.  Sometimes guys get overlooked. 

S39 Durocher Award Winner is...

Pat007ohmss!!!

The majority of owners recognized the great work that went into turning the Sturgeon around that was done by Pat.  S39 saw them over take the Toyota's & Tigger's, who had pretty much owned the division since S32 and Pat had to make some shrewd moves to build a team capable of holding off the competition.

Finishing two votes behind was Donmossi, whose Monks continue to baffle us all with their incredible play and just behind him was Pbsilver11 - who according to longtime owner Rugby1 (since S4) deserves some kind of lifetime achievement award for being such a good longtime owner.

I'm speaking for all the league here, but it's owner's like you guys that make me really appreciate Wrigleyville.  Well done to all of you!! 

Post All-Star Musings:  AL West

1.  Salmonbellies
Here we have the other true AL power, the Salmonbellies.  Despite their current .704 winning %, they're only on pace for their fourth straight winning season, & they didn't even make the playoffs last year!  Keep that in mind everyone!  So, how'd they go from an 83 win team to one that's already sitting at 76?  Well, offensively they average > 6 runs/game despite have 0 regulars with an OPS > .900.  25 year old Todd Pritchett   is close, sporting an OPS of .897.   Pitching is really good.  Staff WHIP of 1.26 & an ERA < 4 goes a long way towards success.  Rookie Harold Bristow 
is pitching like it's Fernando Mania all over again & closer Clint Wojciechowski  , who is just 24, is about as automatic as it gets.  There's a lot of young talent here, so I don't see them going away any time soon.

2.  Wildcats
 The long dominate Wildcats are still playing well and have a great shot at the playoffs, currently sitting as the #1 WC team, but they have taken a step back this season.  Now that was a drop from .679 ball to .578, so they're still pretty dang good, but the 8 time defending division champs have some work to do to make it 9 in a row.  They're scoring just over 5 runs/game & can thank Tripp Rasmus
& Jim Hartley for that.  Their pitching is still outstanding.  A sub 4 ERA & a team WHIP of just 1.24 shows that the Wildcats will be a force to be reckoned with, no matter how they get into the playoffs.  Vet Cesar Limon  & Ned Coleman form a nasty 1 2 punch.

3.  Lazerbeams
The Lazerbeams aren't out of the WC race yet, but if they're to make a run, it better happen soon. They don't score a whole lot of runs, placing lots of pressure onto their pitchers.   While solid, their pitchers do struggle with keeping runs off the board.  All this leads to their current sub .500 record.  Jeimer Cruz  is only 23 years old has been terrific, piling up 141 innings and sub 4 ERA.  24 year old Jiovanni Stokes  is that rare DITR that has been an excellent find.  Those two could be a couple of solid pitchers to build on for the Lazerbeams.

4.  Sun Dogs
Mikeyboy785 took on a tough task of rebuilding the franchise.  They had a great run in the not too distant past, but have struggled to find any traction since.  They're solid offensively and are being led by a trio of players.  In addition to vet Dock Timmons , younger bats Quilvio Johnson  & Everth Crespo   give the Sun Dogs some players to build around.   Their pitching is what's really holding them back.  Benji "I wear my sunglasses at night games" Torres  has been his usual stellar self on the mound , but he's about the only one giving them any shot at a win on a consistent basis. 

Now onto the NL...
 

Post All-Star Musing, Part III

AL South:

1.  Monks


Donmossi has turned this franchise into a bunch of world beaters.  S32 saw them win 65 games...the 4th consecutive < 70 win season.  Since then?  95 wins is the worst they've done.  This season they're actually on pace to pull off 117 wins.  So how do they do it?  Well, they can hit.  A team OPS of .869 is nothing to sneeze at.  Didi Franco   leads the attack with 38 HR's & 102 RBI already.   Pitching?  Yep, they can do that too.  Team WHIP of 1.21 & ERA of 3.65.  The freakish Javier Villa
leads the way with a 16-2 record, a WHIP of .99, & an ERA of 2.93.  Did I mention he's only 26?

2.  Jack
They're playing pretty good ball, just a bit under .500.  Right now they're just 5 out of the 2cd wildcard, so they've got a big decision coming up.  Go for the playoffs or maybe bring some new talent in for next season.  They can hit, with a team BA of .288 & a team OPS just under .800.  They rely on balance for the offense as they remind me a bit of a collection of Mark Grace types with the bat.  The exception would be C Francis Jordan, who can mash, but due to his low durability rating, can only play part time.  Despite that, Jordan is having a career year.  Pitching is what's holding them back as their staff is middling at best at the moment. 

3.  Stunners
Austin is also hanging around with 49 wins right now.  The Stunners struggle a bit on offense, but power threat Angel Nunez  is having an outstanding season.  The catcher is closing in on 30 HR's & 100 RBI, while sporting an OPS of just under 1.000 so  far.  I think they've pitched better than the #'s indicate, but if their staff has one key issue it's this:  they give up a lot of HR's.  142 in 921.2 IP so far.  They're on pace to give up 221 as a team while hitting 137.  Despite that, they do boast some really nice pitchers, especially Louie Gandarilla and  young Wayne Wallace.  Wallace is really a great arm to build around. 

4.  Sometimes
Well, it's shaping up like another tough season for the Sometimes, but they do continue to pile up talent.  They've got 10 players 25 or younger on their active roster, if I counted right.  They're kind of an average offense, just doing a bit of everything well, but nothing great.  Pitching is really struggling, with an ERA > 5 and a WHIP topping 1.5.  They also give up a lot of HR's.  Closer Pat Chong  really illustrates that.  He's got a WHIP of 1.22 and 20 saves, but he's given up 7 HR's in 24.2 IP to lead to a 6.20 ERA.  He's an All-Star closer when he keeps the ball in the yard. 

Coming soon...the AL West, then onto the NL.