Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises (ACTA Sports, 2019) provides 30-man rosters for each franchise, so that means a total of 900 players are included. With so many selections, each new major league season will inevitably lead to a few changes needed — players who were very close to making it (some would argue already were deserving), and with one more good (or great!) season are now definitely deserving.
Right before we went to print in the fall of 2018, I did a quick review of the 2018 regular season and made some tweaks to the rosters in the book. Notably, Jacob deGrom deserved to be on the Mets dream team at that point, and there were a few other additions/subtractions. (In my rush to get the book updated I missed a few other player changes I should have made, so I’ll include those below).
What about the 2019 season? Which players are now deserving of a spot on their team’s All-Time Dream Team roster, and which players should be knocked off? Not easy decisions in some cases, but below are my thoughts (in order by the chapters in the book). By the way, I plan to publish a second edition of the book after the 2020 season, when I’ll have two additional seasons, plus a few other changes, to make to the first edition.
Yankees: No changes here. CC Sabathia is retiring just short of cracking this team’s all-time pitching staff. His 134-88 record, 3.81 ERA, 112 ERA+, and more are good numbers, but to include him I’d have to drop someone like Mike Mussina, Lefty Gomez, or Mel Stottlemyre. Like many this year, veteran Brett Gardner increased his HR output to a career high 28 and his career WAR is similar to that of Yankees LF Charlie Keller and Roy White. But Keller’s WAR per game played is far higher, and his 152 OPS+ dwarfs Gardner’s 101 (and even White had a 121 OPS+). Gardner plays some CF too, but there he is up against Earle Combs and Bernie Williams, not to mention Mantle and DiMaggio. Gary Sanchez has a long way to go to be in the conversation at catcher, where the Yankees’ Dream Team is loaded with options (Berra, Dickey, Munson, Posada, and others). And same for Aroldis Chapman, who continues to pitch well but will need several more seasons to be considered with Lyle, Gossage, and Righetti (who all follow Rivera of course).
Giants: No changes here. Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner were already on the Giants 30-man Dream Team roster. No one else is even close. Brandon Belt played his 9th season, but his output is not anywhere near the many great Giants 1B like McCovey, Terry, Connor, Clark, and Cepeda. Brandon Crawford similarly played his 9th season, but only hit .228 with 11 HR, so is still far behind the likes of George Davis and Travis Jackson.
Dodgers: No changes. I controversially chose Clayton Kershaw as the number one all-time pitcher for the Dodgers, in a close call over Sandy Koufax (and then followed by Dazzy Vance, Don Drysdale, and Don Sutton). If you weren’t convinced by my reasoning, Kershaw’s solid but not spectacular 2019 campaign likely wouldn’t change your mind — and I admit his continuing difficulties in the postseason are perhaps the biggest reason to slot him behind Koufax. Far less controversially, I listed Kenley Jansen as the Dodgers top all-time reliever, and while he posted his highest career ERA (3.71) in 2019, he also added 33 saves to bring his career total to 301.
Cody Bellinger had a great season of course, and he is only 24 and not eligible to be a free-agent until 2024. His position versatility is interesting in the context of an All-Time Dream Team, but given their long history of success, it will take at least one or two more really good seasons for him to crack the Dodgers roster. Interestingly, his top three seasons’ WAR is stronger than that of Carl Furillo, Dixie Walker, and Babe Herman, but behind that of Duke Snider, Willie Davis, Zack Wheat, and Pedro Guerrero. Justin Turner is much older (34) than Bellinger, but still had a strong season with 27 HR and a .290/.372/.509 slash. At this point he is clearly third in line for the Dodgers at 3B, behind Ron Cey and Jim Gilliam, though if Turner has a couple more good years you could make a case for him over Gilliam.
Cardinals: Now we come to my first mea culpa. After some discussion with Cardinals fans and further consideration, I really should have already listed Yadier Molina over Ted Simmons as the Cardinals top all-time catcher. A case can be made for both, and it is one of comparing superior defense vs. stronger hitting. While some have argued Simmons was underrated defensively, it is more clear that Yadi is no slouch with the bat. At age 37 his numbers declined a bit in 2019, batting .270 with only 10 HR (compared to the 18 and 20 he had the previous two seasons). While WAR still slightly favors Simmons, I’m now convinced that Yadi’s 16 seasons for the Cardinals have earned him the top Catcher spot.
Beyond that, I see no other changes needed from the 2019 season. Adam Wainwright is already included third (behind Bob Gibson and Dizzy Dean) amongst Cardinals starting pitchers. Matt Carpenter didn’t help his case by batting only.226 with 15 HR, and guys like Paul Goldschmidt, Paul DeJong, Marcell Ozuna, Jack Flaherty, and others just haven’t been with the team long enough to be considered.
Red Sox: Another chapter, another mistake. As noted above, right before we went to print, I rushed a bit to update the text to include the 2018 season. This involved making several roster changes, but one that I clearly missed was not including Mookie Betts on the Red Sox All-Time Dream Team, in place of old-timer Harry Hooper as the backup RF behind Dwight Evans. Bett’s 2018 season eventually earned him MVP honors, and while his 2019 season wasn’t nearly as good, he still batted .295 with 29 HR and 16 SB. He actually managed to surpass his runs total from 2018 (135 vs. 129) while once again pacing the AL.
I already included Dustin Pedroia on the Red Sox All-Time Team roster, as the starter at 2B in a very close call over Bobby Doerr. As a 26-year old, SS Xander Bogaerts had his best season yet in 2019, batting .309, with 33 HR, 117 RBI, and 52 doubles. Signed through 2025, he seems well on his way to making this dream team, but I wouldn’t include him quite yet as his six seasons isn’t quite enough to surpass Nomar Garciaparra, Johnny Pesky, Rick Petrocelli, or arguably John Valentin or Joe Cronin either. And like Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and JD Martinez had good numbers in 2019, but they have an even longer way to go here.
Cubs: It is a close call, but at this point I think Anthony Rizzo has done enough to be the backup at 1B on the Cubs All-Time Team roster. Old-Timer Cap Anson is clearly the starter, but you can make a good case to prefer Rizzo’s 8 seasons over Frank Chance’s 15. Rizzo hit poorly in April and June this year, but did well the other months, and ended up with pretty typical numbers: 27 HR, 94 RBI, and career highs with a .293 average and .405 OBP (bolstered by once again leading the league with 27 HBPs). Chance stole 402 bases and actually has a slightly higher OPS+ (136 to 132), but he only played 100+ games in 6 of his 15 seasons. While he was a good fielder and important to the team as a player / manager for many years, I think at this point Rizzo deserves the backup 1B spot.
I checked in on three other core Cubs players, but none have played as long as Rizzo. 3B Kris Bryant hit 31 HR with 77 RBI and 108 runs scored, but still has a way to go to supplant Stan Hack as the backup to Ron Santo at 3B. At SS, Javier Baez played 22 fewer games in 2019 than in 2018, but still managed to hit 29 HR with 38 doubles. Baez will need several more good seasons to catch Joe Tinker or Bill Dahlen as the backups to Ernie Banks at SS. And catcher Willson Contreras had a career high 24 HR in only 105 games in 2019, but old-timer King Kelly was very productive in his seven seasons for this franchise, so still deserves the backup spot here (behind Gabby Hartnett).
Indians: Carlos Santana didn’t disappoint in his return to Cleveland after one year in Philadelphia. His first season selected as an All-Star, he matched his career high with 34 HR, and set career highs with 93 RBI, 110 runs, and a .281/.397/.515 slash line. I already had Santana included on the Indians All-Time Dream Team, but as one of two catchers where he started his career. At this point he has played far more games at 1B (830) than C (330), so that really feels like cheating. At 1B, Jim Thome clearly deserves the top spot, and for now I’d still give the backup spot to Hal Trosky — though one or two more good seasons and Santana will get the nod. So for now, I’d keep Santana on the roster by dropping extra outfielder Elmer Flick, and then adding either Steve O’Neill or Sandy Alomar Jr. as a catcher (along with Victor Martinez).
The other current Indians player already on the Indians Dream Team roster is of course SP Corey Kluber (who missed most of the 2019 season). A few others are getting close, starting with SS Francisco Lindor who had another fine year with 32 HR, 22 SB, and 101 runs. But his five seasons aren’t enough yet to supplant Joe Sewell for the backup spot to Lou Boudreau (not to mention Omar Vizquel, whose time in Cleveland many fans think was enough to earn him a spot too). At 3B, Jose Ramirez started very slowly in 2019 and after heating up he suffered an injury. If he can come back strong and have two more good years, then he might deserve to take Ken Keltner’s spot as the backup to Al Rosen. And lastly, at 2B, Kipnis hit only .245 with 17 HR, so that doesn’t really help his case much.
Tigers: No changes. Nothing to say here really, as Miguel Cabrera of course is already on the roster, and the lack of current stars on the Tigers means no one else is even close.
Reds: No changes. Joey Votto had a second consecutive un-Votto-like season, but he earned a spot on the Reds All-Time Team roster many years ago. Eugenio Suarez could one day make the discussion of 3B more interesting, as he has increased his HR total in each of five seasons with the Reds including an eye-popping 49 in 2019 (though he also struck out more this year too, a league-leading 189 times). Currently I have Tony Perez listed as the starter, because there are much stronger candidates to consider at 1B than 3B. For the backup I’d still argue Heinie Groh’s nine seasons deserve the nod, as his WAR of 40.6 is far higher than Suarez’ 14.7, and even his OPS+ of 130 is higher than Suarez’s 117. But at age 28, Suarez is signed through 2024, so this gap could close soon.
Pirates: No changes. After a surprisingly good start to the season, the Pirates had an awful second half. Josh Bell’s season tracked with the overall team results, as he was an early MVP candidate in the NL, but then did very little after the All-Star break, ending the year with a solid 37 HR, 37 doubles, and 116 RBI. Other than the second half of Willie Stargell’s career, the Pirates are historically not very strong at 1B, so it would only take a couple more years like 2019 for Bell to deserve the backup 1B spot on this roster. Starling Marte is the only other player worth mentioning here, as he continues to provide good OF defense, hit .295 and posted career highs with 23 HR, 97 runs, and 82 RBI, while stealing 25 bases (his seventh straight with 20 or more). It will take more for him to crack the Pirates All-Time Dream Team, as I’d still rate him only 4th in LF, behind Barry Bonds, Ralph Kiner, and Fred Clarke (and not counting Stargell), and at best 3rd in CF, behind Andrew McCutchen and Max Carey (and you could make a case for Andy Van Slyke and Al Oliver over Marte still as well).
White Sox: After 2019, I would make one change to the White Sox All-Time Dream Team roster. 1B Jose Abreu had another typical Abreu-type season, hitting 33 HR and setting a new career high with 123 RBI. Frank Thomas is clearly the starter at 1B, and I’d still slot Konerko and his 432 HR in 16 seasons as the backup. But I chose three catchers for this roster: Carlton Fisk, Sherm Lollar, and Ray Schalk. While Schalk is in the Hall of Fame, he is one of weakest and most questionable members. He was very good defensively and like many of his era could steal some bases. But he had a low 83 OPS+, hit only 11 career HR, and posted a total WAR of only 28.6 in 17 seasons for the White Sox. With 22-36 HR in each of six seasons, and 100+ RBI in five of them, I think Abreu has now done enough to earn a spot here. Beyond that, the future is clearly bright on the south side of Chicago, though young stars Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez, Lucas Giolito and others clearly haven’t done enough to be in the All-Time Dream Team discussion.
Braves: No changes. Freddie Freeman had already done enough to earn the top spot at 1B for the Braves All-Time Dream Team, and his 2019 season of 38 HR, 121 RBI, and 113 runs only further cements that selection. If you were choosing a roster based only on talent, then Ronald Acuna would clearly be included. But the Braves have a long history, so two seasons isn’t enough. More important for this roster will be the continued development of 2B Ozzie Albies, because it won’t take much for him to take Marcus Giles’ backup 2B spot. Albies’ counting numbers were remarkably similar in 2019 to 2018: 24 HR in each year, 15 vs. 14 SB, 43 vs. 40 doubles, and 102 vs. 105 runs. But his slash line improved nicely, going from .261/.305/.452 in 2018 to .295/.352/.500 in 2019. Lastly, it was nice to see Brian McCann return to Atlanta, but playing in only 85 games didn’t help his resume much. You can make a case for him at catcher, but for now I’d still go with Joe Torre as the clear starter, and Del Crandall and his four Gold Gloves and eight All-Star selections over McCann’s six All-Star selections (or Javy Lopez’s three).
Athletics: No changes. The A’s have some great young players, notably Matt Olson at 1B and Matt Chapman at 3B, and now Marcus Semien has emerged as a legit star at SS as well. But none of them have accomplished enough yet to deserve a spot on this franchise’s All-Time Dream Team roster. And if Khris Davis was going to continue to hit 40+ HR, 100+ RBI, and precisely a .247 average every season, then he would have eventually complicated the OF discussion for this roster. But in 2019 he only hit 23 HR and his slash line dropped to an ugly .220/.293/.387.
Twins: No changes. The Twins certainly surprised everyone by hitting as many homeruns, and winning as many games, as they did in 2019. But their best players are either young or otherwise new to the team, so none are deserving of strong consideration for an All-Time Dream Team roster that spans both their Senators and Twins years.
Orioles: No changes. The Orioles had another bad year in 2019, and their few bright spots like Trey Mancini, Jonathan Villar, Hanser Alberto, John Means, and Renato Nunez haven’t been with the team long enough to warrant consideration for spots on an All-Time Dream Team roster that spans both their Browns and Orioles years.
Phillies: No changes. The Phillies have a lot of talent on their roster, but none have been on the team long enough to be considered here, especially given the very long history of the team.
Angels: No changes. Mike Trout is not only already on the Angels All-Time Dream Team, I consider him their overall all-time Franchise player. His 2019 season, even though ended early by injury, saw him set a new career record with 45 HR. You could make a case for Albert Pujols, but unless he can find the fountain of youth, adding more 23 HR / .244 average seasons doesn’t compel me to replace either Wally Joyner or Rod Carew at 1B on their dream team roster. Kole Calhoun set a career high with 33 HR, but batting .232 won’t help him in his uphill battle to earn a spot in a crowded All-Time Angels outfield. Based on his outstanding defense, you could make a case for Andrelton Simmons over Erick Aybar as the backup to Jim Fregosi at SS. But he played in only 103 games and saw his offensive production slip in 2019, so I’ll wait for one or two more better seasons to make that change.
Blue Jays: No changes. The Blue Jays have a lot of interesting young players, but none have done enough yet to be considered for their All-Time Dream Team.
Astros: Lots of changes here! Through 2018 I already had Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa on their All-Time Dream Team roster. The player most deserving to join them is clearly RF George Springer, who I arguably should have already included based on his superior peak performance over the longer career of Terry Puhl. His 2019 season removed all doubt, as he hit 39 HR with 96 RBI in only 122 games. In discussing the Astros’ roster with fans after the 2018 season, they liked my choice of Doug Rader as the starter at 3B, but disagreed with my choice of Morgan Ensberg over Ken Caminiti as the backup. Well, that debate won’t continue, as Alex Bregman clearly deserves a spot at this point. He keeps getting better, having career highs in 2019 with 41 HR, 112 RBI, 122 runs, and a .296/.423/.592 slash line, and in my view taking the top spot at 3B, relegating Rader to be the backup. I’d also say that Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole deserve to take the spots of Roger Clemens and Mike Hampton, the last two SP I chose through 2018. In 2019 they became only the second duo ever to each have 300+ strikeouts (Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling did for the Diamondbacks in 2002). That is all for now, but there will be others to consider in the years to come, like Yordan Alvarez, Roberto Osuna, Yuli Gurriel, and others.
Nationals: Covering this franchise’s entire history in Montreal and Washington, their All-Time Dream Team through 2018 already included Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon, Max Scherzer, and Stephen Strasburg. You could have made the case that Trea Turner already deserved to be included as well, so after hitting .298 with 19 HR, 96 runs, and 35 SB I’d agree to have him take Hubie Brooks’ backup SS roster spot. At age 20, Juan Soto has plenty of time to join them, but for now his two good seasons aren’t quite enough. On the pitching side, the only changes from 2019 would be how I’d rank the top starting pitchers. Through 2018 I had the top four as Steve Rogers, Max Scherzer, Dennis Martinez, and Stephen Strasburg. Adding a fifth straight season with 240+ strikeouts and a sub-3.00 ERA is enough for me to give Scherzer the top spot over Steve Rogers much longer 13-year tenure with the club. Similarly, at age 31 Strasburg posted his best season going 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA, 1.038 WHIP, and a career high 251 strikeouts. That is enough for me to rank him at least third ahead of Martinez, and arguably head of Rogers too.
Royals: One new addition. The only current Royals players on their All-Time Dream Team roster are LF Alex Gordon and catcher Salvador Perez (who missed the entire 2019 season due to injury). After not playing much in his first two seasons in KC, OF/DH Jorge Soler had an impressive age-27 season, breaking the team’s all-time HR record with a league-leading 48 dingers. On its own that isn’t enough to warrant a roster spot here, but clearly he is on a good path. The player who does now deserve a spot is 2B Whit Merrifield, who batted .302 and lead the AL in hits for the second consecutive season. While his SB declined dramatically from 45 to 20, he increased his runs scored from 88 to 105, triples from 3 to 10, and HR from 12 to 16. Cookie Rojas provided good defense, but was a liability offensively, so at this point I’d take Merrifield’s solid three and a half seasons and make him Frank White’s backup at 2B on this dream team.
Mets: No new additions. Jacob deGrom is already on this roster, and although he started out slow with a 4.85 ERA in his first five starts, he soon reverted back to his 2018 form and then some, posting a 1.44 ERA over his last 14 starts. As a result, I’d move him up the SP rankings for the All-Time Mets, past at least Sid Fernandez, Al Leiter, and Jon Matlack, into fourth place. Seaver and Gooden remain in the top two spots, so the debate would be whether Jerry Koosman and his 12 seasons should stay in the third spot, or deGrom’s stronger peak performance already deserves that ranking.
Fellow starter Noah Syndergaard pitched more innings in 2019 than in any past season, but he also had his highest ERA at 4.28, so that didn’t really help his resume for the Mets All-Time Dream Team. Michael Conforto continued to increase his HR production, hitting 33 in 2019 after seasons of 27 and 28. I’d now rate him as next in line to join the dream team outfield, which currently includes Daryl Strawberry, Carlos Beltran, Cleon Jones, Mookie Wilson, Lenny Dykstra, Tommie Agee, and Kevin McReynolds. Lastly, if you were creating a dream team roster based on best or most exciting single seasons, then you could make a case for 1B Pete Alonso’s record-breaking 53-HR rookie season. But it will take a couple more good seasons to consider having him replace John Olerud as Keith Hernandez’ backup here.
Rangers: No changes. Joey Gallo was on his way to a third 40+ HR season, and with a significantly improved batting average too, before injury ended his season. He is only 25, so if he can come back strong he could one day crack this franchise’s All-Time Dream Team roster.
Brewers: The Brewers had another good season, and for most of it Christian Yelich was again leading the way. He was a good player with lots of potential while in Miami, and that potential has been actualized since joining Milwaukee. RF happens to be a weak spot historically for the Brewers, so through the 2018 season I only included Sixto Lezcano (beating out Corey Hart, Jeromy Burnitz, and Rob Deer) on their dream team roster. (Other outfielders who I selected also played some RF, including Ben Oglivie, Geoff Jenkins, and Gorman Thomas). While Lezcano did play for the Brewers for six full seasons, that isn’t so long that a strong “longevity” argument can be made. Yelich’s 2018-19 seasons are enough at this point, and presumably he’ll keep producing at a high level for the Brewers for at least another three years when his current contract runs out.
Mariners: No changes. Through the 2018 season, both Felix Hernandez and Kyle Seager were already included on my Mariners All-Time Dream Team roster. The team had a bad 2019, and no one else has really been on the team long enough to join them.
Padres: No changes. The Padres have an exciting future, but none of their recently acquired veterans or their young stars have done enough for the team yet to merit inclusion on their All-Time Dream Team roster.
Diamondbacks: Two changes here. Through the 2018 season, I already had David Peralta (backup LF) and Jake Lamb (backup 3B) on the Diamondbacks All-Time Dream Team roster. With five seasons under his belt, I think starting pitcher Robbie Ray deserves to take the spot of Miguel Batista as the 8th SP on the team. In 2019 he went 12-8 in 33 starts and struck out a career high 235 in only 174.1 innings. The other switch I’d make is to include Ketel Marte, who at age 25 blossomed into a star, splitting time between 2B and CF and hitting 32 HR with 97 runs, 92 RBI, and a .329/.389/.592 slash line. Making this roster at CF is hard since he’d be up against Steve Finley and AJ Pollock. But at 2B the competition is Orlando Hudson and Jay Bell. I had ranked Hudson and his defense ahead of Bell and his one big offensive season in 1999, so at this point I guess I’d be adding Marte in place of Bell.
Marlins: No changes. Even with less than 30 years of history to compare against, no current Marlins are on their All-Time Dream Team and I assume it will take at least another couple years before any deserve consideration.
Rockies: One change, but only because it was a mistake from last year. First off, obviously Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, and Trevor Story are already on the Rockies All-Time Dream Team roster, and Chris Iannetta is too. The one mistake I made when I updated the book to include the 2018 season was not including starting pitcher Kyle Freeland. Even with only two seasons under his belt, his 2018 campaign was arguably the best pitching season ever for this franchise, so that should have been enough to take Tyler Chatwood’s spot as the 8th starting pitcher on the roster. Admittedly, Freeland did not pitch well this year, and was even demoted to the minors for a while. But I still think he is deserving of a spot here. Fellow pitcher Jon Gray and German Marquez didn’t have great campaigns in 2019, but if not already worthy they are both likely just one more season away from being included too, in place of say Jason Jennings and Jhoulys Chacin.
Rays: Similar to the Rockies, there is one change here but only because it was a mistake from last year. Kevin Kiermaier was the only current Rays player I had included through the 2018 season on the Rays All-Time Dream Team roster. But in my rush to update the book before we went to print, I missed including pitcher Blake Snell. His 2018 season was this franchise’s best ever for a pitcher, and although his other three seasons haven’t been anywhere near as good (including 2019), he definitely deserves a spot here. Given the short history for this franchise, others will soon join him and Kiermaier, as the Rays have pulled together some nice talent in guys like Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow, Tommy Pham, Brandon Lowe, Charlie Morton, and others.
So that is it for now… will be interesting to see what the 2020 season brings!