A few weeks ago I referenced a Bill James post about the best seasons for any position players in baseball history, and we listed the Reds players by position and season.
Here’s a Reds recap, which is essentially a best season list by position:
c–Johnny Bench, 1970
1b–Ted Kluszewski, 1954
2b–Joe Morgan, 1976
3b–Tony Perez, 1970
ss–Barry Larkin, 1996
LF–George Foster, 1977
CF–Cy Seymour, 1905
RF–Frank Robinson, 1962
Now…that’s measuring one season….who would you pick for a Reds lineup and for an all-time Reds roster?
For me…and I’m going to balance peak seasons along with career value….essentially trying to balance a Mr. MVP seasons and Mr. Red careers:
1st team
c-Johnny Bench
1b–Tony Perez
2b–Joe Morgan
3b–Pete Rose
ss–Barry Larkin
LF–Eric Davis
CF–Edd Roush
RF–Frank Robinson
2nd Team
c–Ernie Lombardi
1b–Ted Kluszewski
2b–Bid McPhee
3b–Heine Groh
ss–Dave Concepcion
LF–Adam Dunn
CF–Vada Pinson
RF–George Foster
So, there’s 16 players of a 26 man roster…here’s my 10 pitchers.
Tom Seaver, Eppa Rixey, Dolf Luque, Tony Mullane, Paul Derringer, Bucky Walters, Jim Maloney, Noodles Hahn, Jose Rijo, John Franco
What’s your team? Who do you add? Who do you replace? Why? Which of my two all-time teams would actually be better?