As I was putting together the Hall of wWAR, I kept myself amused by putting together a few "teams" from the pool of players I had before me—a team of Hall of Fame snubs, best to miss the Hall of wWAR, etc. I figured Saturday morning was a good time to throw some of these out for discussion.
First of all, the one that I know I'd be curious about…
The All-Just-Missed-the-Hall-of-wWAR Team
These guys were the ones on the other side of the borderline.
- Catcher: Wally Schang
- First Base: Jake Beckley
- Second Base: Tony Lazzeri
- Third Base: Bob Elliot
- Shortstop: Jim Fregosi
- Left Field: Billy Williams
- Center Field: Vada Pinson
- Right Field: Jack Clark
- Starting Pitcher (pre-1900): Mickey Welch
- Starting Pitcher (post-1900): Red Ruffing
- Relief Pitcher: John Hiller
- Catcher: Ernie Lombardi
- First Base: Frank Chance
- Second Base: Tony Lazzeri
- Third Base: Pie Traynor (though the answer is really "none")
- Shortstop: Luis Aparicio
- Left Field: Ralph Kiner
- Center Field: Hack Wilson
- Right Field: Sam Thompson
- Starting Pitcher: Dizzy Dean
- Relief Pitcher: Bruce Sutter (though the answer is really "none")
The All-I'm-So-Glad-They-Made-It Team
- Catcher: Bill Freehan
- First Base: Will Clark
- Second Base: Lou Whitaker
- Third Base: Ron Santo (and so many others)
- Shortstop: Alan Trammell
- Left Field: Tim Raines
- Center Field: Dale Murphy
- Right Field: Dwight Evans
- Designated Hitter: Edgar Martinez
- Starting Pitcher: Tommy John (so hard to pick just one)
- Relief Pitcher: (none were added)
The All-I'm-Surprised-They-Made-It Team
- Catcher: Darrell Porter
- First Base: John Olerud
- Second Base: Cupid Childs
- Third Base: Ron Cey
- Shortstop: (no surprises)
- Left Field: Minnie Minoso
- Center Field: Dale Murphy
- Right Field: Bobby Bonds
- Starting Pitcher: Larry Jackson
- Relief Pitcher: (no surprises)
Any interesting teams you can construct?