ARod or Griffey? Ruth or Gehrig? Each Franchise’s Greatest Players, Part 2

There’s something bizarre about the Marlins trading their two best-ever players in the same trade, and getting better as a team.  Maybe it’s evidence that baseball isn’t quite the individualized sport we make it out to be.  Of all of the Marlins’ great young pitchers (Beckett, Penny, Burnett, Nenn), Willis is the one who was the strongest while a Marlin.  His ROY campaign in 2003 helped propel the team to the World Series, and his 22 wins in 2005 season are the most by any pitcher in the last five seasons.  

    Houston Astros

Batter: Jeff Bagwell, 1991-2005
Bagwell was a dangerous and smart power hitter who has slipped from the public consciousness a little bit.  He never had the 3000 hit or 500 home run moment of some of his peers, but he was an equally outstanding player.  He was a 40-30 guy twice, twice scored more than 140 runs and batted .368 with 39-116 in 1994, when he also won the MVP.  Had that season continued, and had Bagwell played 160 games he was on pace for 56 HR and 167 RBI and we’d remember him as a likely hall-of-famer.  He gets my vote. 
Pitcher: Roy Oswalt, 2001-present
Again, the Traveling Player Syndrome hits Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens here.  Clemens won a Cy Young Award in his one good season with the Astros; Ryan was a reliable number 2-3 starter for them in his late 30’s and early 40’s, but he never won more than 16 games.  Oswalt, on the other hand, almost single-handedly pitched his team to the World Series in 2005, has won 20 games twice, finished in the top 5 in Cy Young voting 5 times in his 7-year career, and would have been a shoo-in ROY in 2001 (14-3, 2.73 ERA) if it hadn’t been for Albert Pujols. 

    Los Angeles/Brooklyn Dodgers

Batter: Duke Snider, 1947-1962
It is tempting to select Jackie Robinson or Pee Wee Reese here, as a nod to history, and to rightfully recognize their roles as the leaders of the great Dodger teams of the 1950’s.  But it is Snider who was the on-the-field star.  He batted over .300 with 40+ home runs and 120 RBI, while leading the league each year in runs, from 1953-1955, and averaged 31-101 for his career.  Snider also had 4 home runs in the 1952 and 1955 World Series.  He was the best pure baseball player on a tremendous team. 
Pitcher: Sandy Koufax, 1955-1966
I would start Koufax if I had to win one game for all of the marbles.  Yes, he was a flash in the pan, but what a flash.  Yes, I acknowledge that he pitched in a pitcher’s park in an era that was bad for offense, but he was still THAT good.  Between 1963-1966 he won 3 Triple Crowns and Cy Young Awards, led the league in ERA each year, threw 4 no-hitters, including a perfect game, struck out 1228 batters (including a then-record 382 in 1962), won two World Series, surrendering 5 runs and striking out 54 in 48 IP.  Case closed. 

    Milwaukee Brewers/Seattle Pilots

Batter: Robin Yount, 1974-1993

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