It’s time for the third article in our series of the best fantasy teams decade by decade. Be sure to leave some comments below if you disagree with me to stir up some good ole’ baseball banter.
Catcher: Gabby Hartnett (1930, Cubs)
84 R, 37 HR, 122 RBI, 0 SB, .339 AVG
Catcher: Mickey Cochrane (1930, Athletics)
110 R, 10 HR, 85 RBI, 5 SB, .357 AVG
Analysis: Catchers apparently started to lose their speed after 1920, because neither of these guys have much (if any!). Hartnett makes up for the lack of speed with tremendous power numbers that would make him a first round pick in today’s drafts. Cochrane brings Joe Mauer-esque numbers to the table.
First Base: Lou Gehrig (1927, Yankees)
149 R, 47 HR, 175 RBI, 10 SB, .373 AVG
Analysis: The 1927 MVP is the first of many Yankees to appear this week. Lou was an easy pick but it was just tough to decide between 1927 and 1930.
Second Base: Rogers Hornsby (1924, Cardinals)
121 R, 25 HR, 94 RBI, 5 SB, .424 AVG
Analysis: Hornsby ended up second in MVP voting in 1924 to Dazzy Vance. Regardless, Hornsby displayed one of the greatest batting averages in baseball history. He wasn’t the biggest provider in other categories, but he would be a first overall pick in 2009 with this stat line.
Third Base: Freddy Lindstrom (1930, Giants)
127 R, 22 HR, 106 RBI, 15 SB, .379 AVG
Analysis: A contributor in every area, it was hard to pass up Lindstrom. His OPS in 1930 was exactly 1.000, which is an extremely hard number to top these days, but was 10th in the league in 1930. The closest modern day comparison to Lindstrom is Chipper Jones (lacking speed).
Shortstop: Joe Cronin (1930, Senators)
127 R, 13 HR, 126 RBI, 17 SB, .346 AVG
Analysis: Just another one of the fantastic players from 1930, one of the best offensive seasons in baseball history, probably because of PEDs. That is, if liquor counts as a PED. He only struck out 36 times and posted a .422 OBP. There is a reason that he is in the Hall of Fame.
Outfield: Babe Ruth (1921, Yankees)
177 R, 59 HR, 171 RBI, 17 SB, .378 AVG
Outfield: Tris Speaker (1923, Indians)
133 R, 17 HR, 130 RBI, 8 SB, .370 AVG
Outfield: Hack Wilson (1930, Cubs)
146 R, 56 HR, 191 RBI, 3 SB, .356 AVG
Outfield: Lefty O’Doul (1929, Phillies)
152 R, 32 HR, 122 RBI, 2 SB, .398 AVG
Outfield: Chuck Klein (1930, Phillies)
158 R, 40 HR, 170 RBI, 4 SB, .386 AVG
Analysis: Isn’t it ironic that the best baseball player in history was the toughest decision so far? It was very tough to decide between 1921 and 1923, so I’m interested to see what everyone thinks of my decision in the comments. These are five of the best outfielders of all-time, O’Doul being the only one not in the hall (career cut short by death). I would love to have any of these guys in today’s fantasy game, especially since they all have such high batting averages.
Middle Infielder: Frankie Frisch (1927, Cardinals)
112 R, 10 HR, 78 RBI, 48 SB, .337 AVG
Corner Infielder: George Sisler (1922, Browns)
134 R, 8 HR, 105 RBI, 51 SB, .420 AVG
Utility: Paul Warner (1927, Pirates)
114 R, 9 HR, 131 RBI, 5 SB, .380 AVG
Analysis: Frisch and Sisler both help in the speed department and scored a lot of runs, just like Warner, the 1927 MVP, though we note that at that time you could only win one MVP award, and Warner would not have won otherwise. Sisler becomes the second .400 + hitter to make the team this week.
Pitcher: Dazzy Vance (1924, Robins)
28 W, 0 SV, 262 K, 2.16 ERA, 1.022 WHIP
Pitcher: Dolf Luque (1923, Reds)
27 W, 2 SV, 151 K, 1.93 ERA, 1.140 WHIP
Pitcher: Red Faber (1922, White Sox)
21 W, 2 SV, 148 K, 2.81 ERA, 1.185 WHIP
Pitcher: Burleigh Grimes (1928, Pirates)
25 W, 3 SV, 97 K, 2.99 ERA, 1.173 WHIP
Pitcher: Walter Johnson (1924, Senators)
23 W, 0 SV, 158 K, 2.72 ERA, 1.116 WHIP
Pitcher: Lefty Grove (1930, Athletics)
28 W, 9 SV, 209 K, 2.54 ERA, 1.144 WHIP
Pitcher: Carl Mays (1921, Yankees)
27 W, 7 SV, 70 K, 3.05 ERA, 1.212 WHIP
Pitcher: Ted Lyons (1927, White Sox)
22 W, 2 SV, 71 K, 2.84 ERA, 1.164 WHIP
Pitcher: George Uhle (1923, Indians)
26 W, 1 SV, 159 K, 2.83 ERA, 1.313 WHIP
Analysis: The most noticeable difference between the past couple weeks and this week is the strikeout rate of the pitchers. These are, in my opinion, the best pitchers that played in this era, but some would say otherwise due to low K’s. The sad part of this week is that it does in fact end Walter Johnson’s three week run on my list.
Disagree with some of picks? Is a pitcher with 70 strikeouts really worthy of making the team? Be sure to let me hear it in the comment section below.
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