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Roster of the Month: 50 States

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Baseball is a meritocracy, at least to a certain extent. The best players get drafted, signed, started, and promoted. Where they come from, which state or which country, matters little.

This is evident in the MLB Draft. Every year, the first round includes at least one player from California, Texas, and Florida. Usually, there are several from each of those states. Sure, there’s a Wisconsinite or New Englander thrown in from time to time, but certain states produce more baseball talent than others.

This is as it should be. While MLB should do a much better job recruiting and developing talent across racial and socioeconomic lines, no one really cares about statehood representation.

Let’s pretend this does matter. What if MLB worked like, say, the US Senate? When two teams compete, they have 25 active participants each, for a total of 50 players. What if each of those 50 players had to have been born in a different state?

For this Roster of the Month, we have two teams for the price of one! However, between the two teams, there must be a representative from each of the 50 states. Here are the rest of the ground rules:

  • Only one player is allowed from each state between the two rosters. That means deciding between Alabamians Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Any player from MLB history post-1901 is eligible.
  • Only the 50 states are used. US territories such as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., don’t get a player on this team. Nothing personal; it’s how the US Senate operates. (If you think they deserve Senate representation, this writer agrees with you!)
  • Birthplace is all that matters. Roger Clemens, a notorious Texan, happens to have been born in Ohio, so that’s the state he must represent. It’s just easier.
  • Everyone on Team A is deemed to be better than everyone on Team B at a similar position. In other words, it is better to be on Team A’s bench than Team B’s starting lineup.

Team A Lineup

  1. CF Ty Cobb, Georgia- This was one of the easiest selections to make. Cobb’s 151.0 bWAR is more than double any other Georgian’s (Frank Thomas is second with 73.4).
  2. 2B Rogers Hornsby, Texas- Texas has produced nine Hall of Famers, but Hornsby is widely regarded as the greatest second baseman in history. He is buried at Hornsby Bend Cemetery in Hornsby Bend, Texas. Unsurprisingly, the town was founded by his great grandfather, Reuben.
  3. DH Babe Ruth, Maryland- There can be no arguments with Ruth, but that leaves out Cal Ripken, Jr., Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Grove. At least Ruth can make a spot appearance on the mound if necessary.
  4. LF Barry Bonds, California- There have been 2,287 Californians in baseball history, making this state one of the toughest decisions of all. Bonds beat out Ted Williams, Tom Seaver, Randy Johnson, Joe DiMaggio, and many others.
  5. RF Hank Aaron, Alabama- Yes, this Aaron/Mays debate was the most agonizing choice of all. With Cobb entrenched in center field, a natural right fielder was more desirable.
  6. 1B Lou Gehrig, New York– (see below)
  7. SS Honus Wagner, Pennsylvania- New York and Pennsylvania are two heavy-hitting states. In the first draft of this roster, Stan Musial (PA) played first base and Alex Rodriguez (NY) manned shortstop, but they were subbed out for Gehrig and Wagner.
  8. 3B Wade Boggs, Nebraska- Nebraska might have the best Hall of Famer to native player ratio of any state. Of their 113 players, six are enshrined (one as a manager). After surpassing Pete Alexander and Bob Gibson for the roster spot, Boggs starts at the hot corner over a loaded bench and Team B at the position.
  9. C Johnny Bench, Oklahoma- Mickey Mantle is the payer best associated with The Sooner State, but catchers are harder to find for this roster than outfielders.

Team A Bench

  • CI George Brett, West Virginia- George’s older brother Ken was born in Brooklyn, and they both grew up in the Los Angeles area. Per our rules, he represents West Virginia. (Both Bretts starred in last month’s RotM as well!)
  • C Carlton Fisk, Vermont- Fisk blasted 376 career home runs. The second place Vermonter is Pat Putnam, who hit 63.
  • OF Rickey Henderson, Illinois- Henderson leads the state with 111.2 bWAR. Could you imagine him pinch running for Babe Ruth with Barry Bonds at the plate?
  • 2B Nap Lajoie, Rhode Island- Lajoie amassed a .338/.380/.466 slash line playing in the deadest period of the Deadball Era.
  • OF Mike Trout, New Jersey- There was legitimate consideration to put Trout in the starting lineup and Hank Aaron on the bench. Maybe not quite yet.

Team A Rotation

  1. RHP Walter Johnson, Kansas- Johnson has 164.3 bWAR. The second, third, fourth, and fifth places Kansans have 173.2 combined.
  2. RHP Roger Clemens, Ohio- Admittedly, it’s difficult to consider Clemens anything other than Texan. You can replace him with true Ohioan Cy Young if you prefer.
  3. RHP Max Scherzer, Missouri- Scherzer’s 57.4 bWAR is tenth all-time in Missouri history, but he could climb as has as third by the end of 2019.
  4. LHP Tom Glavine, Massachusetts- Glavine gets the nod over Jeff Bagwell because of a greater need for a pitcher than a first baseman.
  5. RHP Bob Feller, Iowa- “The Heater from Van Meter” led the AL in strikeouts seven consecutive full seasons (not counting the three and a half lost years during WWII).

Team A Bullpen

Team B Lineup

  1. LF Shoeless Joe Jackson, South Carolina- Shoeless Joe’s .356 batting average is the third highest career mark in MLB history. Of course, his lifetime ban prevented his decline years.
  2. DH Chipper Jones, Florida- Jones makes the roster ahead of a handful of deserving Floridians, including Steve Carlton, Tim Raines, Gary Sheffield, and Andre Dawson.
  3. 3B Ron Santo, Washington- It’s a pick-’em between Santo and Ryne Sandberg. He led the NL in walks four times from 1964-68, which was underappreciated in his time.
  4. C Bill Dickey, Louisiana- Mel Ott is Louisiana’s best player by far, but this team needs a catcher, and Dickey is a Hall of Famer.
  5. 2B Charlie Gehringer, Michigan- Gehringer posted five consecutive seasons of 7.2 bWAR or better from 1933-37, winning the AL MVP in 1937.
  6. 1B Paul Goldschmidt, Delaware- With 42.3 bWAR, Goldschmidt is already the all-time Delaware leader at 31-years-old.
  7. SS Arky Vaughan, Arkansas- His given name was Joseph Floyd Vaughan; you’ll never guess why they call him Arky! The Hall of Famer is, by any measure, the greatest left-handed hitting shortstop of all time.
  8. RF Mookie Betts, Tennessee- We’re betting on Betts surpassing Todd Helton as Tennessee’s best in a decade or so. Tennessee is the largest state to never produce a Hall of Famer (317 players).
  9. CF Kenny Lofton, Indiana- There are eight Hoosiers in the Hall of Fame, but the state’s top two bWAR leaders, Scott Rolen and Lofton, are not. Both deserve more Hall consideration.

Team B Bench

  • 3B/OF Kris Bryant, Nevada- Take your pick between Bryant and Bryce Harper. 31 of the 46 Nevada-born MLB players are from Las Vegas.
  • 4C Harmon Killebrew, Idaho- The 30 Idaho-born MLB players have combined for 733 home runs. Killebrew has 573 of them.
  • 2B Ian Kinsler, Arizona- WIth 57.0 bWAR, Kinsler has nearly doubled Arizona’s second-place finisher John Denny (32.2). There have been more MLB players from Arizona State University (135) than the state of Arizona (115).
  • C/1B Joe Mauer, L Minnesota- Paul Molitor or Dave Winfield could’ve represented Minnesota well, but Mauer spent his entire career with the Twins.
  • OF George Springer, Connecticut- Take your pick between Springer, A.J. Pollock, Mo Vaughn, or a few other similar caliber position players.

Team B Rotation

  1. RHP Curt Schilling, Alaska- Yes, he grew up outside of Alaska as a military brat, and yes, he’s a repugnant individual, but he’s by far the best Alaskan-born player ever. He has 79.5 of the state’s 95.8 combined bWAR. Unsurprisingly, Alaska’s 12 MLB players are fewer than any other state.
  2. RHP Addie Joss, Wisconsin– Joss’ 0.968 WHIP is the best in baseball history, and his 1.89 ERA is second best.
  3. RHP Jim Bunning, Kentucky- Bunning represents Kentucky on this roster and the Hall of Fame, just as he used to represent the state in the US Senate from 1998-2010.
  4. LHP Mickey Lolich, Oregon- Lolich, Oregon’s bWAR leader, is most famous for outdueling Bob Gibson in the 1968 World Series.
  5. RHP Roy Oswalt, Mississippi- Despite having no Hall of Famers, the state of Mississippi boasts several near misses, including Oswalt, Dave Parker, Frank White, and Chet Lemon.

Team B Bullpen

  • RHP Chris Carpenter, New Hampshire- Carpenter wasn’t a reliever, but with a Cy Young award and a trio of top-three CY finishes, he’s a better fit for this roster than Mike Flanagan, Stan Williams, or Brian Wilson‘s beard.
  • LHP Terry Forster, South Dakota- Forster played 16 seasons. It’s South Dakota. That’s enough of that.
  • RHP Rick Helling, North Dakota- Yeah, Helling, I don’t know. He had some good seasons for the Rangers in the late 90s, didn’t he? It’s like South Dakota, except probably a little colder.
  • LHP Bruce Hurst, Utah- (see below)
  • LHP Dave McNally, Montana- Neither Hurst nor McNally were really relievers, but Utah and Montana combined have just 63 MLB players. We’re bending the rules a little, just as with Carpenter above. Hurst spent 15 years in MLB, becoming the only All-Star ever from Utah. McNally won 20 games four straight seasons from 1968-71. His 25.5 bWAR is 73% of the total produced by Montanans.
  • RHP Dan Spillner, Wyoming- Seven of the 16 MLB players from Wyoming have produced at least 5.0 bWAR, and six of them lasted at least nine seasons (Brandon Nimmo has a good chance to get there as well).
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