This is the second-to-last article for the VAVEL MLB Ultimate Roster. The bench players will be filled out with backups for every position on the field. The next and final article will be a breakdown with the lineup and defensive alignment. Yours truly has done all the way from pitcher a few weeks ago to now the bench! Your humble correspondent will format it with C: name, 1B: name, and so on with descriptions under their name.
C: Johnny Bench
Johnny Bench is the second greatest catcher of all time behind Yogi Berra. Berra gets the edge over Johnny Bench because of Yogi’s total World Series titles, impact on baseball, and involvement in more historic moments than Bench.
Bench was a member of the legendary Big Red Machine during the 1970s for the Cincinnati Reds. Bench debuted with the Reds in 1967, but he played only 26 games. He played the majority of the games in 1968, collecting a .275 batting average, 15 home runs, 82 RBI, and 40 doubles on the way to a Rookie of the Year award. He won the MVP award in 1970, while compiling a .293 average, 45 homers and 148 RBIs. He won his second and final MVP award in 1972 with a .272 average, 125 RBIs and 40 dingers.
The Big Red Machine won the 1975 and 1976 World Series over the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. In the 1976 World Series, Bench had a .533 average, 8 H, 4 R, 6 RBI and 2 HR on the way to a World Series MVP. He was a 14-time All-Atar and 10-time Gold Glove winner.
The “Little General,” as he was nicknamed, has his number 5 retired by the Cincinnati Reds. Bench is the 13th member of the MLB All-Century Team on the VAVEL MLB Ultimate Roster. He is also a member of the MLB All-Time Team. Johnny Bench’s first year on the Hall of Fame ballot was 1989. That year, he got in with 96.42% of the votes, going in with Carl Yastrzemski.
1B: Hank Greenberg
Hank Greenberg is the second greatest first baseman of all time behind Lou Gehrig. Hank Greenberg played for 13 years, 12 for the Detroit Tigers and one for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The “Hebrew Hammer”, as he was known, due to his Jewish heritage, won two A.L. MVP awards 1935 and 1940). In 1935, Greenberg had a .328 average, 36 homers and 168 RBI. In 1940, he had a .340 average, 50 doubles, 41 homers and 150 RBI. Greenberg missed 1942-1944 because of his service in the United States Air Force during World War II.
Early in his career, Greenberg was the target of anti-Semitic barbs from the crowd, so when he and Jackie Robinson got into a collision at first one day, he gave Jackie Robinson words of encouragement and advice on how to deal with the crowd's throwing racist barbs at Jackie. The “Hebrew Hammer” was named to 5 all-star games in his career, including one in 1945.
The Detroit Tigers won the 1935 and 1945 World Series, which were Greenberg’s only World Series wins. His number 5 is retired by the Detroit Tigers. In 1956, Greenberg was elected to the Hall of Fame, getting 85% of the vote, on his eighth opportunity. If this writer makes varsity baseball for his high school, this writer will wear number 5 to honor the greatest Jewish position player ever. The first basemen on the VAVEL MLB Ultimate Roster were both born in New York City with Greenberg born in Greenwich Village.
2B: Rogers Hornsby
Rogers Hornsby is the second-greatest second baseman of all time. This was one of the easiest positions to decide because of Jackie Robinson and his impact on both the game and the country.
Hornsby played for 23 years with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and St. Louis Browns. Hornsby hit for his first Triple Crown in 1922, with a .401 average, 152 RBIs, and 42 long balls. He won two MVP awards,. the first of which was in 1925 with the St. Louis Cardinals; he hit .403, 39 homers and 143 RBIs. That year he also won his second Triple Crown. Hornsby is one of only two players to win more than one batting Triple Crown with Ted Williams being the other one.
Hornsby’s second MVP award came in 1929 with the Chicago Cubs with a .380 average, 39 homers and 149 RBIs. In 1926, St. Louis Cardinals player-manager Hornsby led the Cards to a World Series title over the New York Yankees. Over the course of his career, he collected a .358 batting average, 301 homers, 1,584 RBI, and 1,579 runs. Hornsby also managed from 1925-1953 with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Reds.
Hornsby is a member of the St. Louis Cardinals hall of fame. He is the 14th member of the MLB All Century Team on the VAVEL MLB Ultimate Roster. Hornsby is also on the MLB All -Time Roster. Hornsby was elected to the hall of fame in 1942, getting 78.1% of the vote, in his fifth year on the ballot.
SS: Honus Wagner
Honus Wagner is the second-best shortstop ever to play the game. Cal Ripken’s durability puts him ahead of Honus Wagner.
The Flying Dutchman, as he was known during his 21-year career from 1897-1917, played for the Louisville Colonels and Pittsburgh Pirates. He compiled a .328 batting average, with 3,420 hits, 101 homers, and 1,732 RBIs. He was the Pirates manager in 1917. He was a coach for the Pirates from 1933-1951. The Pirates won the 1909 World Series defeating Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers. Wagner compiled a .333 average, 14 H, 3 2B and 1 3B in the World Series.
Honus Wagner is an eight-time N.L. batting champion, five-time N.L. RBI champion, and five-time N.L. stolen base champion. His #33 is retired by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Flying Dutchman is the 15th member of the MLB All Century team on the VAVEL MLB Ultimate Roster. He is also another member of the MLB All-Time Team. He was elected to the inaugural MLB Hall of Fame class in 1936 with 95.1% of the vote.
Back in the day, baseball cards were packaged with packs of cigarettes much like baseball cards were in packs of gum, so legend has it that Honus Wagner was very anti-smoking, or he was not getting paid for his card being in the packs, so they stopped making his baseball card for the cigarette packs. As a result, Honus Wagner’s T206 card is very rare with only 57 of them existing. The Honus Wagner T206 is easily the most famous baseball card ever with owners such as legendary hockey player Wanye Gretzky at one point. In April of 2013, one of the cards sold at auction for $2.1 million.
3B: George Brett
George Brett is the second-best third baseman in baseball history. Brett spent all 21 years of his career playing for the Kansas City Royals. He compiled a .305 career batting average, 3,154 hits, 317 homers, and 1,596 RBI. In 1980, he beat out Reggie Jackson and Rich “Goose” Gossage for A.L. MVP with a .390 batting average, 175 hits, 24 homers, and 118 RBI. He was a 13-time All-Star every year from 1976-1988.
The Kansas City Royals won the 1985 World Series behind a strong performance from their star third baseman who had a .370 average, and 10 hits. He was named the 1985 ALCS MVP, and a 1985 Gold Glove winner. Brett is a three-time A.L. batting and silver slugger winner. His number 5 is retired by the Kansas City Royals. In 1999, he was elected to the baseball hall of fame with 98.2% of the vote.
LF: Ted Williams
Ted Williams is the second-best left fielder in baseball history after Stan “The Man” Musial. The “Splendid Splinter,” as he was known, played for 19 seasons for the Boston Red Sox. He, as most baseball players of the time did, missed three seasons from 1943-45 to serve in the United States military during World War II. He had 2,654 hits, 521 homers, 1,839 RBIs and a record .482 career on base percentage.
The Splendid Splinter was a 19-time All-star. He won the 1946 MVP with a .342 batting average, 176 hits, 38 homers and 123 RBIs. He also won the 1949 AL MVP award. Williams also was a two-time Triple Crown winner in 1942 and 1947. He was a six-time A.L. batting champion and four-time A.L. homerun and RBI champion. His number 9 is retired by the Boston Red Sox. He is the 16th member of the MLB All-Century Team on the VAVEL ultimate MLB Roster. He is also on the MLB All-Time Team. Ted Williams was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1966, his first try, with 93.4% of the vote.
CF: Joe DiMaggio
Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio, as he was known, is the second-greatest center fielder in baseball history. DiMaggio played all 13 years of his career in pinstripes for the New York Yankees. The Yankee Clipper, as he was also known, had a career .325 batting average with 2,214 hits and 361 homers. He, like Ted Williams and many other ballplayers, served in the United States military from 1943-45. He was a 13-time All-Star and a three-time A.L. MVP award winner in 1939, 1943, and 1947. He compiled a still-MLB record 56-game hitting streak from May 15, 1941 through July 17, 1941.He is a nine-time MLB world champion. His number 5 is retired by the Yankees. He is the 17th member of the MLB All-Century Team on the VAVEL MLB Ultimate Roster. He was elected to the hall of fame in 1955 with 88.84% of the vote.
RF: Hank Aaron
This is another tough one. However, it is slightly easier with the Babe no longer on the board. The second-best right fielder in MLB history is Hammerin’ Hank Aaron. He played for 23 years for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and then the Milwaukee Brewers.
Over the course of his career, Hank Aaron had a .305 batting average, hit 755 homers, an MLB record 2,297 RBI, and 3,771 hits. He was a 21-time All-Star, three-time Gold-Glove winner, two-time N.L. batting champion, and four-time N.L. home run champion. He also was a four-time N.L. RBI champion.
In 1957, Aaron won the N.L. MVP award with a .322 average, 198 hits, 44 homers, and 132 RBI. He has an MLB record 1,477 extra base hits. His number 44 is retired by both the Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers. His career 755 homers is second all-time behind noted steroid user Barry Bonds. Aaron was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982 with 97.83% of the vote. He was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.