Greatest Kansas City Royals players in the Last 50 Years

I am continuing my list for the greatest players at each position for every team in the last 50 years for each team. Today’s team is the Kansas City Royals. The criteria are as follows:

- Player must have played a full 5 seasons for the team.

-1 player will be selected for each position, 1 right handed starting pitcher, 1 left handed starting pitcher, and 1 relief pitcher. I will include a DH for both leagues (considering interleague play now).

 Below is my list of greatest players by position for the Royals in the last 50 years (since the 1970 season).

First Base- Mike Sweeney

Second Base- Frank White

Shortstop-   Freddie Patek

Third Base-   George Brett

Left Field-   Willie Wilson

Centerfield-   Lorenzo Cain

Right Field- Danny Tartabull

Catcher- Salvatore Perez

Designated Hitter-   Hal McRae

Right-Handed starting pitcher- Brett Saberhagen

Left-Handed starting pitcher- Larry Gura

Relief pitcher- Dan Quisenberry



 A couple of notes. The Royals have had some great players. There were some easy decisions picking this team. Frank White, George Brett, Salvatore Perez and Hal McRae were the best at their positions by far. Centerfield was a tough position to decide on. It was between Cain and Amos Otis. Both were great Royals ,who were terrific fielders.  I gave the nod to Cain due to his leadership and post season contributions to the Royals pennant winning team in 2014 and championship team in 2015 (winning the LCS MVP in 15). Right field was another challenging position. The Royals have had some great teams in the last 50 years. Through the 8 division championships, 4 AL titles, and 2 World Championships, they have never had a consistent right fielder. Lots of players were there for a short time or had career years and faded fast. Daryl Motley, Al Cowens were a few of those players. I picked Tartabull, who had some excellent seasons while playing on average teams with the Royals. Another challenging position was First base. Royals always had quality first basemen. I considered John Mayberry, but, he did not last too long. It came down to Eric Hosmer and Mike Sweeney. The easy decision would have been Hosmer.  He was a key member of the Royals 2014/2015 teams and put up some great numbers those 2 seasons. But, if you look at what Mike Sweeney did, he deserves the nod. Sweeney played on some of the worst Royals teams in their history, but consistently hit over .300.  To hit .340 on a team that lost 100 games in 2002 is remarkable. Hosmer had the team around him. Sweeney did not. The Royals had some great right-handed starting pitchers through the years. Dennis Leonard, Mark Gubicza, Kevin Appier, and Zach Greinke all had some wonderful seasons. But I had to pick Bret Saberhagen based on his 2 Cy Young seasons and his World Series MVP.



Next up is the Minnesota Twins.

Greatest Detroit Tigers in the last 50 years

I am continuing my list for the greatest players at each position for every team in the last 50 years for each team. Today’s team is the Detroit Tigers. The criteria are as follows:

- Player must have played a full 5 seasons for the team.

-1 player will be selected for each position, 1 right handed starting pitcher, 1 left handed starting pitcher, and 1 relief pitcher. I will include a DH for both leagues (considering interleague play now).

 Below is my list of greatest players by position for the Tigers in the last 50 years (since the 1970 season).

First Base-  Miguel Cabrera

Second Base-  Lou Whitaker

Shortstop-   Alan Trammel

Third Base-   Travis Fryman

Left Field-   Tony Phillips               

Centerfield-   Chet Lemon

Right Field-  Kirk Gibson

Catcher-  Bill Freehan

Designated Hitter-   Willie Horton

Right Handed starting pitcher-  Justin Verlander

Left Handed starting pitcher-   Mickey Lolich

Relief pitcher-   Willie Hernandez



 A couple of notes. The Tigers have a lot of legendary players who did not make this list since they played before the 1970 season. Missing from the list are HOF Hank Greenberg, Charlie Gehringer, George Kell, Ty Cobb, and Al Kaline (who’s best years were prior to the 70 season).  Cabrera could have been selected for first or third Base. I put him at first, since Travis Fryman was a better option at third than anyone else at first base. Left field was a challenging position to choose. The Tigers have not had many players who played the position consistently and lasted over 5 years. I chose Tony Phillips, who played many positions for the Tigers, but, was the starting leftfielder for 2 seasons.

Tough choice at catcher between Bill Freehan and Lance Parrish. Very close. Both were very good productive catchers. I picked Freehan due to his longevity with the team. Chet Lemon appears on his 2^nd team (was the CF for the White Sox as well). The rest of the positions were easy to pick.



Next up is the Kansas City Royals.

Greatest Cleveland Indians players in the last 50 years

I am continuing my list for the greatest players at each position for every team in the last 50 years. Today’s team is the Cleveland Indians. The criteria are as follows:

- Player must have played a full 5 seasons for the team.

-1 player will be selected for each position, 1 right handed starting pitcher, 1 left handed starting pitcher, and 1 relief pitcher. I will include a DH for both leagues (considering interleague play now).

 Below is my list of greatest players by position for the Indians in the last 50 years (since the 1970 season).

First Base-  Jim Thome

Second Base-  Carlos Baerga

Shortstop-   Omar Visquel

Third Base-   Jose Ramirez

Left Field-   Albert Belle

Centerfield-   Kenny Lofton

Right Field-  Manny Ramirez

Catcher-  Victor Martinez

Designated Hitter-   Travis Haffner

Right Handed starting pitcher-  Corey Kluber

Left Handed starting pitcher-   C.C Sabatthia

Relief pitcher-   Doug Jones


 A couple of notes. If you watched the Indians in lose 2 World Series in the 90s, you know most of this team. HOF 2B Roberto Alomar did not play enough years with Cleveland to qualify (only 3 years with the Indians).  Only questions were at shortstop and third base. At shortstop, I considered current All Star Francisco Lindor, but I went with the great Omar Visquel, who was an integral part of the 2 Indians WS teams. At third base, I considered Buddy Bell, who was a terrific fielder on some awful Indians teams in the 70s. But, I decided on the young Jose Ramirez, who has put together some terrific numbers after just 5 full seasons.

Next up is the Detroit Tigers

Greatest Chicago White Sox players in the last 50 years

 I am continuing my list for the greatest players at each position for every team in the last 50 years for each team. Today’s team is the Chicago White Sox. The criteria are as follows:

- Player must have played a full 5 years for team.



-1 player will be selected for each position, 1 right handed starting pitcher, 1 left handed starting pitcher, and 1 relief pitcher. I will include a DH for both leagues (considering interleague play now).

 Below is my list of greatest players by position for the White Sox in the last 50 years (since the 1970 season).

First Base-  Paul Konerko

Second Base-  Ray Durham

Shortstop-  Alexei Ramirez

Third Base- Robin Ventura

Left Field-   Carlos Lee

Centerfield-  Chet Lemon

Right Field- Hal Baines

Catcher- Carlton Fisk

Designated Hitter-  Frank Thomas

Right Handed starting pitcher-    Jack McDowell

Left Handed starting pitcher-  Chris Sale

Relief pitcher-  Bobby Thigpen.



 A couple of notes. There were some slam dunks picking this list. Konerko, Ventura, Fisk, and Thomas were easy selections. There were some challenging positons. Second base was never a very strong position for the White Sox in the last 50 years. HOF Nellie Fox retired in the 60s. The best second baseman from an underwhelming bunch is Ray Durham. Shortstop was between Ramirez and Ozzie Guillen. Both were terrific fielders, but, I picked Ramirez due to his durability and consistency (played over 148 games 7 straight seasons for the White Sox). Left field was another tough position. Lots of players faded quickly. Ron Kittle was a key member of the 1983 Sox team that went to the playoffs. But he only had 3 good seasons. I took Carlos Lee, who played LF for 6 years in the early 2000s and hit at least 24 home runs in 5 of the 6 yrs. There were not many good options for right handed starting pitcher. Lamar Hoyt won the Cy Young for the White Sox in 83. He had 2 terrific seasons, but, then lost 18 games in 84 and a few years later was traded to the Padres. I picked Jack McDowell over Hoyt. McDowell had 4 excellent seasons, including 2 where he won over 20. The White Sox had a terrific trio of left handed starting pitchers. It was between Sale, Mark Buerhle, and Wilbur Wood. All 3 were great for the White Sox. I picked Sale due to his dominance over 6 years. But, you could not argue picking any of them.





Next up is the Cleveland Indians

Greatest Toronto Blue Jays players in their history

 I am continuing my list for the greatest players at each position for every team in the last 50 years for each team. Today’s team is the Toronto Blue Jays The criteria are as follows:

- Player must have played a full 5 years for team.

-Since Toronto had their first season in 1977, this will be their all-time team.

-1 player will be selected for each position, 1 right handed starting pitcher, 1 left handed starting pitcher, and 1 relief pitcher. I will include a DH for both leagues (considering interleague play now).

 Below is my list of greatest players by position for the Blue Jays in their history.

First Base-   Carlos Delgado

Second Base-  Roberto Alomar

Shortstop-  Tony Fernandez

Third Base- Kelly Gruber

Left Field- George Bell

Centerfield- Vernon Wells

Right Field- Jose Bautista  

Catcher- Ernie Whitt

Designated Hitter- Edwin Encarnarcion

Right Handed starting pitcher- Roy Halladay  

Left Handed starting pitcher- Jimmy Key

Relief pitcher- Tom Henke



 A couple of notes. This team was pretty straight forward. Only challenge was in CF. I picked Vernon Wells over Devon White. Although White was a terrific defensive centerfielder, Wells put up much better offensive numbers. Honorary mention goes out to Dave Stieb, who was a terrific long time Blue Jay, but had to give the starting RHP to the great Roy Halladay.



Next up is the Chicago White Sox