MLB – Best Player by Team

I think about this a lot (you know, like if I’m trying to fall asleep), but never actually committed it to paper.

Coupla notes:

• This is going to be mostly based on WAR, though with a few exceptions here and there (marked with a *). 
• In general, when it comes to teams who have changed their cities, I’ll go for continuity if they keep the team name. Otherwise, it’s based on the city. 
• Finally, I’m ordering them from most to least obvious.

Yankees – Babe Ruth

Well, no surprise here. Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, et al. are all great, but it’s really hard to beat the Babe.

Ah, what might have been

Detroit – Ty Cobb

Not a very nice person, but there really isn’t anybody else even close in the Motor City.

Braves – Hank Aaron

I’m including Milwaukee and Boston here, but it’s still no contest. Interestingly, Aaron’s nearest rivals are pitchers – Warren Spahn and Kid Nichols.

He actually played most of his career in Milwaukee

Red Sox – Ted Williams

Another run-away. Hats off to Yaz, Clemens, etc., but the Splendid Splinter has always ruled Fenway.

Uncle Sam did get his best years though

Washington – Walter Johnson

The Big Train doesn’t get the recognition he deserves because he played for lowly DC. That said, he’s probably the best pitcher ever to play the game.

A lot of people don’t realize he managed with Cleveland (in addition to Washington)

Philadelphia – Mike Schmidt

Schmidt gets a little competition from pitchers – Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, Grover Cleveland Alexander – but really not that much at all.

Hey, where’s the ‘stache?

Giants – Willie Mays

It’s a franchise with a long and storied tradition, but the Say Hey Kid reigns supreme. Bonds, Ott, and Matthewson are his nearest rivals.

Of his 23 years, only 8 were in NY

Kansas City – George Brett 

This is pretty much a one-man show. The closest competitors – the rather obscure Amos Otis and Kevin Appier – have half the lifetime WAR that Brett has. 

With singer Lourde

San Diego – Tony Gwynn

Once again, not a lot of competition here. Dave Winfield comes in at half of Gwynn. Of course, if he’d spent his whole career in San Diego, it would have been close (though Gwynn would’ve still won out).

Too bad they made you wear that terrible uniform

Angels – Mike Trout

Trout’s our first active player on this list. That said, he really is head and shoulders above the rest of the Angels, even though they’ve been around for not quite 65 years now. I’m sure Nolan Ryan would reign supreme here (and in Texas and Houston too) if he’d only stayed in one place.

I wish they could have given you (or kept) some better teammates

Baltimore – Cal Ripken Jr.

There sure have been some bright stars shining in Baltimore over the years – Jim Palmer, Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Eddie Murray – but it’s hard to compete with someone who shone practically every day for 21 years.

It was a family tradition

Mets – Tom Seaver

Though Tom Terrific did play elsewhere (CIN, BOS, CWS), his great successes were all with the Mets. Plus, nobody else – Strawberry, Gooden, David Wright – really came close.

I always loved that knee-on-the-ground motion

Pittsburgh – Honus Wagner

As a diehard Roberto Clemente fan, this one was pretty hard for me. Though he played a long time ago, Wagner is undoubtedly the Bucs’ best player (and probably the best shortstop of all time anywhere).

Brewers – Robin Yount

Though he wasn’t a particularly flashy player, Yount is way on top when it comes to the numbers. Playing 20 years for the same team certainly helped. Interestingly, Paul Molitor would’ve been on top here except for those years with Minnesota and Toronto.

Seattle – Ken Griffey Jr.

Surprisingly close, this one. Would you believe Griffey and Edgar Martinez are only two points apart? Griffey’s the leader, though, and also has a much higher profile (even though he did play elsewhere). Surprisingly, Ichiro was more than 10 points behind Martinez. Now, if he hadn’t been 27 as an MLB rookie …

Another great father/son duo

Cincinnati – Pete Rose

This one was super close, with Rose, Johnny Bench, and Barry Larkin all scoring in the 70s in lifetime WAR. I was leaning toward Bench, but Rose’s recent reinstatement made me go with Charlie Hustle (who also had the highest WAR among the three and was pretty unbeatable career-wise).

Most people remember the Phillies, but not the Expos

St. Louis – Stan Musial

I thought this one would be a lot closer. Personally, I was leaning toward Rogers Hornsby, but also knew Bob Gibson would be up there too. Stan the Man, however, with his 22 years with the club, ran away with it pretty easily.

Cubs – Ernie Banks *

There have been some stars on the northside over the years – Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg, Fergie Jenkins – but only one player is Mr. Cub. That said, Banks is actually behind Santo, Sandberg, and Cap Anson in lifetime WAR. I’m still going with him though.

From one great Chicagoan to another

Dodgers – Sandy Koufax *

I knew Koufax’s shortened career would hurt him, but I didn’t realize he’d place behind Clayton Kershaw, Don Drysdale, and Don Sutton. Even so, four straight Cy Young Awards right before he retired (at age 30) tell me he was one of the best pitchers even to play the game.

Hard to believe it all started in Brooklyn

Colorado – Todd Helton

Well, I was guessing it was going to be either Helton or Larry Walker. Now, if Walker had played his whole career at Coors, it would have been a little different. Because of his many years in Montreal, though, Walker’s way behind compared to career-Rockie Helton.

I’m sure his heart belongs in Knoxville though

Houston – Jeff Bagwell

I was guessing Bagwell here, but was wondering if Craig Biggio would make it a contest. Looks like it’s pretty much all Bags.

Another what-coulda-been

Minnesota – Harmon Killebrew *

The Twins have had a lot of stars over the years – Joe Mauer, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Kirby Puckett, Bert Blyleven, Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield, Killebrew – but none have ever reached super-star status. Though Carew actually rates a couple of points above Killebrew, Carew also was also a big-time star with the Angels. So, given that, I’m going to go with Killer.

Yup, the Twins are actually just the old Senators

White Sox – Luke Appling

If you know anything about baseball history, you know the White Sox are really bad, with very few stars. You might also know that Luke Appling played a super-steady shortstop for them for 20 years. And, sure enough, he’s the one who came out on top. Frank Thomas, Eddie Collins, and several pitchers (Ted Lyons, Ed Walsh, and Red Faber) did give him a run, but Old Aches and Pains (what a nickname!) is going to have take the crown.

Though the White Sox were his only team as a player, he coached with 5 others

Cleveland – Nap Lajoie

I was thinking for sure this would be Bob Feller. I forgot, though, that the Indians go all the way back to 1901, as well as that Nap Lajoie was a huge star way back then. Another old-timer, Tris Speaker, comes closest to him.

Athletics – Rickie Henderson *

It’s a storied franchise, but most of that story has been in the past. I’m talking about some recent history (Reggie Jackson, Mark McGwire, Catfish Hunter), but also some ancient history (Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, Eddie Collins, Lefty Grove) as well. Rickey Henderson, though he played for a number of other teams (eight, to be exact), is also one of the best players to ever play the game. That said, would you believe Eddie Plank actually has a point or two on him?

Texas – Ivan Rodriguez

I can think of a couple possibilities here (Rafael Palmeiro, Adrian Beltre, Juan Gonzalez), but my mind keeps going back to Pudge. Interestingly, not quite half of his overall WAR comes from defense. 

Hard to believe he played for 5 other clubs

Tampa Bay – Evan Longoria

Now we’re getting into the toughies. These teams (and Texas too, for that matter) are just too new to really have anyone with historically great numbers. For the Rays, though, Longoria is pretty much a run-away winner. Of course, he’s also one of the few Rays who actually stayed with the team for awhile as well.

He retired just recently

Miami – Giancarlo Stanton

Same deal. In fact, these guys seem to be even quicker at giving away their stars. That said, Stanton is the best of the bunch, even with all his years in NY. Now, if they had somehow been able to hold on to Miggie Cabrera …

One of the original players to be named later

Toronto – Dave Stieb

This one was a real surprise for me. I thought for sure it would be a batter – Carlos Delgado, Tony Fernandez, Jose Bautista … Stieb, though, has almost 20 points on everyone else. Pitching for them for 15 years certainly helped. Did you realize, though, that he led the league in pitching WAR for three years running?

Arizona – Randy Johnson

Well, I think we all know Johnson was an incredible pitcher. Like Nolan Ryan, though, Johnson sure did jump around a lot. In fact, over 22 years in the bigs, he played for no less than six teams. And he also notched two more years with Seattle than he did with Arizona. That said, his eight years with the D-Backs were some of his best, with him leading the league in pitching WAR for half of those years.

Not actually Randy, but arguably one of the greatest Halloween costumes of all time