Over the past couple of days, the old draft game has been going around Twitter among hockey fans and basketball fans. It’s a fun exercise — with a budget, what is the best starting lineup that you can put together featuring legends of the sport? There are no wrong answers, and you get to spend some time debating relative greatness across eras, which is always a good time.
MLB version would be boring, right? RT @JGreenberg81: Who's your team?pic.twitter.com/X366y6iSRs
— Sky Kalkman (@Sky_Kalkman) May 29, 2014
MLB DRAFT: Worst picks | Best picks
Would the MLB version actually be boring? No sport thrives as much on argument about past and present as baseball, and while there might be general consensus on some things, like Mike Schmidt being the best third baseman of all time, would he automatically make a roster of immortals if he cost $5 on team where the average player cost had to be $3?
It’s time to find out, and the answer is up to you with Sporting News’ MLB version of the draft game.
The slate of players was simple to make. It’s the top five players who played at least half of their career games at each individual position, sorted by baseball-reference.com’s calculation of Wins Above Replacement, with a couple of tweaks. There will be at least one active player included at each position, and no more than one deceased player at each position.
There are a few exceptions. Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, Alex Rodriguez, Frank Robinson, Rod Carew, Pete Rose, Paul Molitor did not play 50 percent of their games at any position. They have been included at the positions where they played the plurality of their games, as their WAR totals ranked high enough to be included over other candidates. Also, Ichiro Suzuki is included as the active right fielder over Bobby Abreu in recognition of Ichiro’s achievements in Japan before coming to North America.
So, you have $36 to put together a roster of legends. Who do you pick?
CATCHER
Johnny Bench $5
Gary Carter $4
Ivan Rodriguez $3
Carlton Fisk $2
Joe Mauer $1
FIRST BASE
Stan Musial $5
Albert Pujols $4
Rod Carew $3
Jeff Bagwell $2
Pete Rose $1
SECOND BASE
Rogers Hornsby $5
Joe Morgan $4
Lou Whitaker $3
Bobby Grich $2
Chase Utley $1
THIRD BASE
Mike Schmidt $5
Eddie Mathews $4
Wade Boggs $3
George Brett $2
Adrian Beltre $1
SHORTSTOP
Alex Rodriguez $5
Honus Wagner $4
Cal Ripken Jr. $3
Robin Yount $2
Ozzie Smith $1
LEFT FIELD
Barry Bonds $5
Ted Williams $4
Rickey Henderson $3
Carl Yastrzemski $2
Matt Holliday $1
CENTER FIELD
Willie Mays $5
Ty Cobb $4
Ken Griffey Jr. $3
Kenny Lofton $2
Carlos Beltran $1
RIGHT FIELD
Babe Ruth $5
Hank Aaron $4
Mel Ott $3
Frank Robinson $2
Ichiro Suzuki $1
DESIGNATED HITTER
Paul Molitor $5
Frank Thomas $4
Edgar Martinez $3
David Ortiz $2
Harold Baines $1
RIGHT-HANDED STARTER
Walter Johnson $5
Roger Clemens $4
Tom Seaver $3
Greg Maddux $2
Tim Hudson $1
LEFT-HANDED STARTER
Lefty Grove $5
Randy Johnson $4
Steve Carlton $3
Tom Glavine $2
Mark Buehrle $1
RELIEF PITCHER
Mariano Rivera $5
Hoyt Wilhelm $4
Goose Gossage $3
John Hiller $2
Joe Nathan $1
Share your roster with us by tweeting it to @SN_Baseball!