My own All-Star team of former MLB favorites

I love lists, particularly starting lineups and batting orders.

When I was a kid, I poured through sports magazines making lists of the lineups for every major league team. I memorized them and could recite the lineups and their batting averages and stats without looking them up. I was a fantasy baseball expert before fantasy baseball was even invented.

So when SCD contributor Doug Koztoski suggested creating an All-Star lineup of Hall of Famers who played for just one team, I was all in. Doug’s list is fascinating, particularly his statistical analysis of each selection.

I enjoyed it so much I decided to create my own list. Call it the rival All-Star team, or second string.

Also See: An MLB All-Star team of Baseball Hall of Famers 

Compiling such lists is not easy. There are only 188 former major league players who played for a single team. Of those, only 55 are Hall of Famers. So I fudged a bit and narrowed my list to players I liked or had a personal connection to for some reason or another. Even with that, I selected Hall of Famers at all but one position.

So here’s my list and reasons behind each selection.

This one has a personal story, one I will never forget and have retold countless times. A few years after college, I was at a minor league game in Sumter, S.C. when I giant of a man walked in and sat down beside me.

We began chatting about baseball and it was obvious right away that he not only knew the game well, but had a wealth of knowledge about a host of former players, as well as every player on the field for the Single-A Sumter Braves.

After talking for about four innings, he stood up, shook my hand and said, “Well, young man, I have to be getting on down the road. Enjoyed talking with you.”

A few minutes later, a sportswriter for the local paper came running down the bleacher steps and exclaimed, “Man, you must be on cloud nine.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Do you know who you’ve been talking to?”

“No.”

“That was Willie Stargell,” he said.

I was speechless. Stargell, the star of the 1960s-70s Pirates, was a roving hitting instructor for the Braves at the time and was in town to scout some of the young talent. It is still the greatest conversation I have ever had with a baseball Hall of Famer.

Also See: Josh Rawitch relishes job as Baseball Hall of Fame president 

Yes, I know Sandberg played for two teams (as many of you pointed out when this first appeared in print), but he played only 13 games with just six plate appearances for the Phillies before being traded to Chicago.

That’s when the baseball world was introduced to Ryno.

Like many baseball fans in the ’70s and ’80s, I watched the Cubs almost every day because they were one of only two teams (along with my beloved Braves) on national cable. The slick-fielding, solid-hitting second baseman was one of my favorites, along with “The Hawk” Andre Dawson, and made the hapless Cubs worth watching.

I never saw Mr. Cub play, but you heard about him often on Cubs broadcasts. How could you not love a guy who played for the “lovable losers” yet his most famous saying was, “Let’s play two.”

Doug chose Mike Schmidt over Chipper and George Brett, which I can’t argue with. I loved George Brett and the way he played the game (who can ever forget the infamous “pine tar” incident), but Chipper is one of my all-time favorites and led my beloved Braves to their first World Series championship. 

I had the privilege of chatting with Chipper while he signed autographs at the 2021 National in Chicago. He was as professional, insightful and accommodating as a Hall of Famer and legend should be. 

I’ll take Larry Wayne every day and in a double-header on Sunday.

Though I still have to look up the spelling of his last name, Yaz was the star of my second-favorite team, one that broke my heart in the 1975 World Series. Still, I loved seeing Yaz on the Red Sox lineup card every day and penciled him into many fantasy lineups.

Speaking of players who broke my heart, Puckett shattered it like a high school girlfriend when he slugged that 11^th-inning home run to beat the Braves in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series. Still, Puckett was a 10-time All-Star, a class act and one of the Twins’ most legendary players.

Memorabilia from the late center fielder is a treasure at Target Field. 

Also See: Twins history, memorabilia in good hands with Clyde the Curator

With apologies to Wade Boggs and Rod Carew, the best pure hitter I ever saw.

Even in the 1970s and ’80s, everyone loved home runs. But I had a special affection for pure hitters who could spray line drives all over the field and flirt with the elusive .400 mark. I loved Carew and Boggs, but Gwynn was the best ever.

Since Doug made the obvious choice in selecting Johnny Bench, this one was tough, so tough I started to go with longtime Braves catchers Bruce Benedict or Biff Pocoroba. Instead, I passed over two more favorites, Joe Mauer and Buster Posey, to go with the tragic Yankees captain.

Munson was one of the most popular Yankees of all time (and that’s saying a lot) and would have likely made the Hall of Fame if not for his tragic death. The emotional story of his wife viewing his locker in the museum at the new Yankee Stadium is a tear-jerker and well worth your time.

Also See: Touring Yankees Museum and historic Monument Park 

The 1978 AL MVP and Anderson, S.C. native was a hero to practically every young baseball fan growing up in the Carolinas in the 1970s.

Yaz, Rice and Fred Lynn made the Red Sox of the 1970s worth watching.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner and ace of the 1970s Orioles was the popular, All-American boy. And thanks to his cutting-edge commercials, I spent years shamelessly wearing Jockey underwear.

— Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD and sportscollectorsdigest.com. You can reach him at jowens@aimmedia.com or on Twitter at @jeffowens_jeff.