What is your ultimate baseball lineup of all time?

1B- Albert Pujols
2B- Rod Carew
SS- Derek Jeter
3B-Mike Schmidt
DH- David Ortiz
RF - Reggie Jackson
LF - Ricky Henderson
CF - Ty Cobb
SP- Roger Clemens
CP- Dennis Eckersly

1B- Albert Pujols
2B- Rod Carew
SS- Derek Jeter
3B-Mike Schmidt
DH- David Ortiz
RF - Reggie Jackson
LF - Ricky Henderson
CF - Ty Cobb
SP- Roger Clemens
CP- Dennis Eckersly

LOL. No Babe Ruth or Willie Mays? Derek Jeter over Ernie Banks? Your team doesn't have a Catcher but does have a DH? What is this, amateur hour?

1b- Lou Gehrig
2b- Rogers Hornsby
3b- Pie Traynor
SS- Honus Wagner
OF- Babe Ruth
OF- Ty Cobb
OF- Willie Mays
C- Johnny Bench
RHP- Walter Johnson
LHP- Sandy Koufax
Closer- Dennis Eckersley

I'm partial to the old timers and I hate the DH.

Here's my team:

C Yogi Berra
1B Lou Gehrig
2B Rogers Hornsby
SS Ernie Banks
3B Mike Schmidt
LF Ty Cobb
CF Willie Mays
RF Babe Ruth
DH Ted Williams

SP Roger Clemens
RP Mariano Rivera

LOL. No Babe Ruth or Willie Mays? Derek Jeter over Ernie Banks? Your team doesn't have a Catcher but does have a DH? What is this, amateur hour?

Well, I didn't sit there looking up stats. I put together the team off the cuff. I don't know anything about Ernie Banks except I've heard of him. He was way before my time. If we just put together a team based on stats, it wouldn't be very interesting and I think that by the time Jeter retires, he'll be right up there, with the best and I'm a Sox fan so that's not easy for me to say.


Oh, and the catcher is you!

Well, I didn't sit there looking up stats. I put together the team off the cuff. I don't know anything about Ernie Banks except I've heard of him. He was way before my time. If we just put together a team based on stats, it wouldn't be very interesting and I think that by the time Jeter retires, he'll be right up there, with the best and I'm a Sox fan so that's not easy for me to say.


Oh, and the catcher is you!

I'm only 25, bud. Almost everyone on my list is before my time, too. But since I like baseball, I try to follow history so I don't say Pujols is better than Lou Gehrig or Rickey Henderson is better than Willie Mays or Babe Ruth like a typical mongoloid.

The Catcher is the most important defensive player in baseball. Johnny Bench, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra. You've never heard of these guys?

I've played 2b/3b for about 20 years, though. I'm not fucking up my knees.

Here is my Second Team, btw:

C Johnny Bench
1B Stan Musial
1B Jimmie Foxx
2B Pete Rose
2B Joe Morgan
SS Honus Wagner
3B Wade Boggs
OF Hank Aaron
OF Mickey Mantle
OF Joe Dimaggio
OF Tris Speaker

SP Walter Johnson
SP Cy Young
CP Dennis Eckersley

Yes, of course I've heard of them all. Again, I made the team off the cuff and it consists of players I am old enough to remember playing with the exception of Ty Cobb but I read his biography and liked the way he revolutionized the game. No matter what team you come up with someone's always going to argue that someone's better. Yeah, I probably could have sat down and thought about it for a while and made a better team on paper but I just typed it out as fast as you read it. At least my DH actually is a DH.

And you're still my favorite catcher.

Yes, of course I've heard of them all. Again, I made the team off the cuff and it consists of players I am old enough to remember playing with the exception of Ty Cobb but I read his biography and liked the way he revolutionized the game. No matter what team you come up with someone's always going to argue that someone's better. Yeah, I probably could have sat down and thought about it for a while and made a better team on paper but I just typed it out as fast as you read it. At least my DH actually is a DH.

And you're still my favorite catcher.

Yeah, it's pretty arbitrary to say Babe Ruth and Willie Mays should be on the teams. :rolleyes:

Anyone can play DH, dude. I'll take Ted Williams or any one of my 2nd teamers over Small Mami. I wonder how many more dongs Musial would've hit if he could've worn body armor at the plate.

And you still forgot the most important position in baseball...

I told you, you're the catcher.

I'm only 25, bud. Almost everyone on my list is before my time, too. But since I like baseball, I try to follow history so I don't say Pujols is better than Lou Gehrig or Rickey Henderson is better than Willie Mays or Babe Ruth like a typical mongoloid.

The Catcher is the most important defensive player in baseball. Johnny Bench, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra. You've never heard of these guys?

I've played 2b/3b for about 20 years, though. I'm not fucking up my knees.

Here is my Second Team, btw:

C Johnny Bench
1B Stan Musial
1B Jimmie Foxx
2B Pete Rose
2B Joe Morgan
SS Honus Wagner
3B Wade Boggs
OF Hank Aaron
OF Mickey Mantle
OF Joe Dimaggio
OF Tris Speaker

SP Walter Johnson
SP Cy Young
CP Dennis Eckersley

Hey baseball expert, you have two 2B dumbass and 4OF. Make a real list, and stop criticizing everyone elses.

Hey baseball expert, you have two 2B dumbass and 4OF. Make a real list, and stop criticizing everyone elses.

Hey troll, read above when I posted my "real list" and/or the very post you quoted where I called it my "2nd Team." It's pretty obvious the extra OF/2B/etc are close-call bench players on my superfluous team.

And since you're being so observant, where's your list, hypocrite?

1b- Lou Gehrig
2b- Rogers Hornsby
3b- Pie Traynor
SS- Honus Wagner
OF- Babe Ruth
OF- Ty Cobb
OF- Willie Mays
C- Johnny Bench
RHP- Walter Johnson
LHP- Sandy Koufax
Closer- Dennis Eckersley

I'm partial to the old timers and I hate the DH.


Hey Buddy,


You have the best list by far. You can split hairs over a few choices (i.e. maybe Josh Gibson at catcher, Hank Aaron in the outfield), but by and large any baseball historian would say this is the list. The only one I would seriously argue is LHP. Koufax was great but I think you have to go with Warren Spahn. Most consider him the greatest lefty of all time (he has the most wins of any lefty), or even Steve Carlton over Koufax.

Just my opinion, but all in all, you made great choices. Props.... :cool:

Pie Traynor is not the best 3B. I thought I might be missing something so I did a little research and the numbers don't support him as the best. I kept digging and I found this site which compiled historians and other baseball experts' opinions on the matter and Pie doesn't make their cut either.

Overall (http://www.stevetheump.com/top_players.htm)

by position (http://www.stevetheump.com/top_players_b.htm)

Edit: This was done 5 years ago so a few modern players may be higher by now, e.g. Clemens, but it should still be fairly relevant.

I also think you need to look at stats relative to eras.

Banks and Schmidt got bonus points with me because they killed the ball in Pitchers' eras.

As far as Clemens goes...count the Cy Youngs. You can't really even compare him with those guys who got 300 wins by throwing underhand and getting 70 K's per season. It was a different game. Walter Johnson is the only one who comes that close.

Sandy Koufax may be the most overrated player in sports history. I would put Unit over him any day of the week, as well as Spahn in terms of LHP. He had 3-4 dominant years, and 5-6 horrid years. And in terms of longevity, he has nothing on Clemens, Johnson, Young, Cleveland, Unit, Mathewson, Spahn and (soon enough) Maddux.

Also, another issue which I didn't feel like debating was the inclusion of a CP in consideration. It seems somewhat odd to give weight to a role that's only been around for about 30 years max. But either way, I'm not sure how Rivera loses out to Eck. His career ERA is almost a full run lower, and he's only 11 saves behind him for his career. Granted Eck had 5-6 pretty good years as an SP and a no-no, but again, he also pitched in an era where 3 guys in the league hit over .300 some years---and Mariano's post-season absurdity has to count for something.

Another issue is, what do we want out of our teams? Are we just looking to maximize statistical value, or making a functional baseball team? Because again, if this is real baseball, I don't really think anyone better personofies a leadoff hitter than Rickey Henderson, and I may find a way to squeek him in. But if I'm just looking at his stats vs. a Cobb or Ted Williams on paper, he's a distant third.

Pie Traynor is not the best 3B. I thought I might be missing something so I did a little research and the numbers don't support him as the best. I kept digging and I found this site which compiled historians and other baseball experts' opinions on the matter and Pie doesn't make their cut either.

Overall (http://www.stevetheump.com/top_players.htm)

by position (http://www.stevetheump.com/top_players_b.htm)

Edit: This was done 5 years ago so a few modern players may be higher by now, e.g. Clemens, but it should still be fairly relevant.


Great Post. The website you included was way cool. Funny there was no mention of Brooks Robinson at 3rd. Must be his offensive numbers. I thought Pie Traynor was more highly rated....Learn something new everyday.

Pie Traynor is not the best 3B. I thought I might be missing something so I did a little research and the numbers don't support him as the best. I kept digging and I found this site which compiled historians and other baseball experts' opinions on the matter and Pie doesn't make their cut either.

Overall (http://www.stevetheump.com/top_players.htm)

by position (http://www.stevetheump.com/top_players_b.htm)

Edit: This was done 5 years ago so a few modern players may be higher by now, e.g. Clemens, but it should still be fairly relevant.
great post indeed :)