By: William Robinson
As I sit here being sad about this prolonged lockout and wondering if we will have Spring Training or even a 2022 baseball season. I sit back and think if I could have a non-superstar favorite players team who would I put on my squad.
Here’s the rules:
- Nobody that is considered a superstar. So absolutely nobody that is in the Hall of Fame.
- All of these folks have to be people that you genuinely enjoyed watching play baseball. So, without further ado here is my squad.
C – Joe Oliver – I met Joe Oliver once, I was at a card show and wanted his autograph but didn’t have anything for him to sign. He pulled out a picture and gave it to me of him and he autographed it. After that I was a huge fan. Joe was a great catcher for the Cincinnati Reds and was on the team that won the World Series in 1990.
1B – Daniel Murphy – Okay he played a lot of positions in the infield but I’m putting him at first base. Daniel Murphy played like Babe Ruth every time that I watched him play. I swear if I had seen him play the entirety of his career he would have been in the Hall of Fame.
2B – Brandon Phillips – Dat dude was so much fun to watch play baseball. He had an infectious smile and never-ending hustle. He was also very steady with the bat.
SS – Dansby Swanson – I love watching Lieutenant Dan play baseball. He is very steady with the glove and always seems to come up with the big hits.
3B – Chris Sabo – I think every kid my age had those specs. Admittedly this was the hardest position on my team to field but I’m quite cool with Chris Sabo.
LF – Dale Murphy – The closest thing that I have on this team to a superstar, Dale Murphy did win two MVP awards so I will admit that maybe this is breaking the rules but he’s not in the Hall of Fame so I’m going to allow it.
CF – Jim Edmonds – I thought that maybe Andruw Jones might be considered a one-time superstar and so I didn’t think I could skirt my rules more than once. So, instead I’m going with Jim Edmonds. Edmonds was fun to watch play CF, he was great defensively and would always end up in the highlight reels.
RF – Paul O’Neill – O’Neill after he left the Reds was better than when he played for the Reds and there is no way he’s getting into the Hall of Fame, but he was really fun to watch.
SP – Tom Browning – The dude wasted no time pitching. He was constantly moving out there, and the games were short when he was on the mound. He was also really good.
Jose Rijo – Yeah I’m hitting the former Reds hard on this one but again they were really good in the late 80’s.
Dave Stewart – Dave Stewart in his prime was a beast. I know he doesn’t have the career stats to be in the Hall of Fame but man when this guy was good, he was really good.
Brad Penny – Okay so Brad Penny got really bad. But the year that he made the All-Star team he was amazing. He threw so hard and looked so imposing out there. He was fun.
RP – The Nasty Boys – I’m sorry but none of those guys are in the Hall of Fame and they were a blast to watch in the 80’s and 90’s. I’m just going to take all of them.
So, what does your list look like?