I love the 80s
April 2nd, 2008, 8:29 pm · 5 Comments · posted by Edward Carifio
Not that Spring Break is a slow time in the office, but talk today turned - not to monkeys playing poker - but to an all-80s baseball team.
And since I have apparently become the official office stenographer, here is that team.
We went with a DH, a three-man pitching staff, and a closer. And there were a few unanimous choices - Gary Carter catching, Eddie Murray at first base, Ryne Sandberg at second, Reggie Jackson at DH and Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens on the hill.
And then the debate began. I go with an all-power lineup. Ripken at short, Schmidt at third and an outfield of Jim Rice, Andre Dawson and Dave Winfield. Give me Lee Smith closing and Steve Carlton, who won two Cy Young awards in the 80s.
A co-worker of mine, let’s use the alias Derrick, insists Rickey Henderson must be on the team, taking him over Dawson and Tony Gwynn over Jim Rice. He too goes with Winfield. He’d also take Dave Stewart as his No. 3 starter, who would actually be my No. 4 guy if that was an option. He’d also have Sutter close. Wade Boggs would play third for him with Ozzie Smith at short.
(Note: Two other of my co-workers participated. Boss Man’s team would essentially be the 1984 Detroit Tigers - Guillermo Hernandez included - while the Golf Pro’s team would feature sentimental and fun picks like Will Clark and Wally Joiner. He’d also take George Brett at third. But “Derrick” and I got ultra-competitive on who’s team would win.)
So here are the lineups and the one different starter
“Derrick” Me
1. Henderson, CF Dawson, CF
2. Gwynn, LF Sandberg, 2B
3. Boggs, 3B Murray, 1B
4. Murray, 1B Schmidt, 3B
5. Winfield, RF Jackson, DH
6. Jackson, DH Rice, LF
7. Sanberg, 2B Winfield, RF
8. Carter, C Carter, C
9. O. Smith, SS Ripken, SS
P Stewart Carlton
Cl Sutter L. Smith
How do you stop my lineup? With Dave Stewart pitching is a step in the right direction, but that’s still is not enough. Not counting Murray, Carter, Sandberg, Jackson and Winfield - the five overlap guys - my other four players have 1,799 home runs and a career batting average of .280.
Carlton may not be as intimidating or as clutch as Stewart, but he was a winner. Stewart pitched for three teams before Oakland and never won a Cy Young. His four different guys - Smith, Boggs, Henderson and Gwynn - have 578 total homers. His biggest bopper in those four, Henderson, had 297. My weakest, Rice, has 382. He does have me by a mile in batting average, with his group hitting .302. Plus, Ozzie - a .268 hitter for his career with 28 career home runs - brings a top level of defense at short (although Ripken was no slouch and much better at the plate.)
Obviously, I think my team has the upper hand. They’ll slug the crap out of the ball, where as “Derrick” will depend on doubles, steals and Dave Stewart thinking it’s a playoff game.
Just for fun, here were some other names tossed out there, serious or not: Lance Johnson, Dave Parker, Jack Morris, Dwight Gooden, Fernando Valenzuela, Goose Gossage, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Kirk Gibson and Tom Henke.
If I had readers, I’d ask you to post your team or your thoughts on my chances against “Derrick.” But since I have no readers, I’m crowning myself champ.
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Derrick’s team would destroy yours. He’s got the greatest leadoff hitter of all time, the guy with the highest batting average of any player born since 1920, and the guy who hit over .350 in the 1980s - and that’s just his first three batters! He should have taken Schmidt at third, made Boggs the DH - Schmidt had a great glove - and dropped Reggie Jackson (perhaps the most overrated position player in baseball history), but you’ve got Reggie on your team too, so it’s not a big advantage for you.
You both got it right with Sandberg and Carter, though I would argue that if you limit it to strictly what they accomplished during the 80s, and not the sum of their entire careers, Don Mattingly was better than Eddie Murray. By that same token, Dale Murphy (a two-time MVP and 30-30 player) would have been a better pick in right than Dave Winfield. But again, this assumes that you’re limiting the criteria to what the players accomplished in the 80s; Winfield had the better career, but Murphy had the better decade.
Dawson and Rice in the outfield are insane picks. Murphy, Gwynn, and Henderson were all vastly superior during the 80s, and so too was Robin Yount, if you’re counting him as an outfielder (where he won the AL MVP in 1989).
Ripken is a better choice than Ozzie Smith, because the Wizard was an absolute zero on offense who benefitted greatly from playing his entire career on Astroturf. In any other decade, Ozzie would have struggled to avoid being sent down to the minors. Alan Trammell would have been a better pick, though again Ripken is better. So you’ve got that one.
You also beat him in starting pitcher. Carlton won the Cy Youngs in 1980 and 1982, while Stewart did nothing between 1980-1986 before rolling off three straight 20-win seasons to close the decade. Roger Clemens was probably the top pitcher of the 1980s, even though he didn’t get to the majors until midway through the decade. But from 1986 on, the Rocket was dominant. Fernando Valenzuela was about on par with Carlton, but certainly better than Stewart. Bret Saberhagen, Mike Scott and Dwight Gooden were all better than Stewart was in the 1980s.
As for relievers, it’s about a wash. Smith was the most consistent closer, but Sutter was certainly better at his peak. There isn’t really a clear-cut choice here.
But as far as the entire team is concerned, Derrick’s team is the better of the two. It’s not really that close.
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:04 pm
great
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I can’t believe Chet Lemon was not even mentioned here. Sparky Anderson must being spinning in his grave…oh, wait, he’s not dead yet.
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:21 pm
How ’bout Robin Yount or Donnie Baseball?
April 10th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Mr. Polikoff is right, at least about the pitching. Dwight Gooden would be my choice for a third starter. Can’t really go wrong with Fernando there either.
I’ll give him first base too. Mattingly should be there over Eddie Murray. But Dave Winfield had some monster years in the 80s.