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Geographical All-Stars

Valadius Aug 18 2007 03:01 PM

Who were the greatest players from every state? That's the question I put to you. While some states have produced few major leaguers (Alaska, Wyoming, Montana), others, of course have many ballplayers to debate over. So here is what I am proposing: let's compile a list of the greatest baseball players from every state (plus DC), as well as other U.S. territories, other countries, and the like. The data we'll be using will be [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/]here[/url], at Baseball Reference, under Players by Place of Birth. I'm thinking that for the states/countries, etc. that are large enough, we can try to come up with All-Star teams. If that isn't possible, then a Best Position Player and Best Pitcher, and if that isn't possible, then Best Player. Later, this can evolve into creating regional All-Star teams, international All-Star teams, and the like. Let's begin!

Valadius Aug 18 2007 03:13 PM

I think we can start with one we'll all be able to agree on: [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/AK_born.shtml]Alaska[/url]. Nine players have been born in Alaska. Of these, the best is Curt Schilling by an ENORMOUS margin. Josh Phelps gets an honorable mention as best position player. The only Met to come out of Alaska is Dave Williams, which by default makes him Best Met.

Edgy DC Aug 18 2007 03:41 PM

Well, you skipping Alabama helps us avoid the Willie vs. Hank Conundrum.

Valadius Aug 18 2007 03:42 PM

Another one that shouldn't be a problem: [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/NV_born.shtml]Nevada[/url]. Twenty-two players have been born in Nevada. Of these, Barry Zito is the cream of the crop, easily the best pitcher and best overall player of the bunch. Marty Cordova is the best position player out of them all, and the only position player to do much of anything, really. No Mets have been born in Nevada (yet).

Valadius Aug 18 2007 03:49 PM

Well I figured I'd try and get the easy ones out of the way before I went after the harder ones, including Alabama (Aaron vs. Mays). Alabama is one where I figure we try and assemble a whole team (imagine Satchel Paige, Don Sutton, and Early Wynn in your rotation!)

G-Fafif Aug 18 2007 04:15 PM

If we expand the definition to states players called home, including for work purposes, at some point in their lives... California: Seaver Alaska: Seaver Florida: Seaver New York: Seaver Connecticut: Seaver Ohio: Seaver Illinois: Seaver Massachusetts: Seaver Makes ya feel bad for the other states.

Valadius Aug 18 2007 04:52 PM

Next, we'll run through the [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/DC_born.shtml]District of Columbia[/url], which is a little bit more interesting, though not really when you actually examine who was born there. The best position player and overall player is Maury Wills by quite a large margin. The crop of pitchers, though, is very poor here. The best pitcher here is a deadball-era player named Doc White, with Brendan Donnelly getting an honorable mention. Craig Anderson is best Met by virtue of being the only Mets player to have been born in our nation's capital.

Valadius Aug 18 2007 05:07 PM

Running through our easier places to analyze, we next come to [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/NM_born.shtml]New Mexico[/url], home of Gov. Bill Richardson, who famously claimed for years to have been drafted by the Kansas City Athletics when he never was. The best position player, and far and away the best overall player, is our good buddy Ralph Kiner. The only other position player worth mentioning is Vern Stephens. The pitchers from New Mexico aren't much to look at, with the best of them being Duane Ward, followed by Steve Ontiveros. No Mets players have been born in New Mexico.

Valadius Aug 18 2007 05:38 PM

Next state to examine: [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/ID_born.shtml]Idaho[/url]. Harmon Killebrew runs away with being best position player and best overall player. Who to choose for best pitcher, though, is more difficult. Larry Jackson or Jason Schmidt? I'm going with Jackson, who has a better ERA+, but feel free to dispute me on this one. Note: no Mets have been born in Idaho, but that might have changed had we held onto Matt Lindstrom.

Valadius Aug 18 2007 06:01 PM

Next up: [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/RI_born.shtml]Rhode Island[/url]. Here, the best position player and best overall player is certainly Nap Lajoie, although other good Rhode Islanders include Gabby Hartnett, Paul Konerko, Davey Lopes, and Hugh Duffy. Pitching is a different story, however - careerwise, Clem Labine is the best pitcher here. The best Mets here are Labine, Bill Almon, and Dan Wheeler.

Valadius Aug 18 2007 06:39 PM

Now, on to [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/CO_born.shtml]Colorado[/url]. The best position player, and best Met, from Colorado is John Stearns. However, the contest for best pitcher and best overall player is a heated one, between Goose Gossage and Roy Halladay. Ultimately, I think Gossage comes out on top of this one, but that could change in a few years' time.

DocTee Aug 18 2007 06:40 PM

Rhode Islander Rocco Baldelli merits some love.

Valadius Aug 18 2007 06:42 PM

DocTee wrote: Rhode Islander Rocco Baldelli merits some love. Indeed. If only he weren't so injury-prone!

Mendoza Line Aug 20 2007 02:40 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Aug 20 2007 03:48 PM

]Florida: Seaver New York: Seaver Koufax gives him a run for his money, though. [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/HI_born.shtml//url]Hawaii[/url] could be a Metly sweep. Darling and/or Fernandez beat out Charlie Hough at pitcher. Agbayani wins the heavyweight class for position player, but it's a close call between him and Shane Victorino for the overall title.

Nymr83 Aug 20 2007 02:47 PM

]Koufax gives him a run for his money, though. the disparity in GS/IP is too much to suggest that Koufax had a better career, even if he had what was arguably the best "peak" ever.

RealityChuck Aug 22 2007 09:08 AM

Valadius wrote: Next state to examine: [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/ID_born.shtml]Idaho[/url]. Harmon Killebrew runs away with being best position player and best overall player. Who to choose for best pitcher, though, is more difficult. Larry Jackson or Jason Schmidt? I'm going with Jackson, who has a better ERA+, but feel free to dispute me on this one. Note: no Mets have been born in Idaho, but that might have changed had we held onto Matt Lindstrom. Hey, Jackson was a renowned Met killer. Back in the 60s, he ranked with Koufax and Marichal for most victories over NY. His final record was 21-2 vs. NY, including 18 wins before his first loss. Some said at the time that he stayed in the league a couple of extra years because of NY. Jackson also beat the Mets in their first game.

Rockin' Doc Aug 22 2007 11:15 AM

My old stomping ground of West Virginia has produced more successful MLB careers than I would have expected. George Brett was the greatest position player with Bill Mazeroski finishing a distant second. Lew Burdette would be the most accomplished pitcher. West Virginia can actually assemble a passable infield: 1B - John Kruk 2B - Bill Mazeroski* SS - Toby Harrah 3B - George Brett* C - Steve Yeager/John Wockenfuss P - Lew Burdette and Rick Reed Mets reliever Jon Adkins (piched one scoreless inning this season) hails from Huntington, WV. *=Enshrined at Cooperstown

Valadius Nov 15 2007 10:26 PM

I figured I ought to revive this. It would be a shame to leave it unfinished. The following have been taken care of (although anyone's free to dispute any of them): Alaska Colorado District of Columbia Hawaii Idaho Nevada New Mexico Rhode Island West Virginia That's 8 states and the District. 42 states left to sift through.

Valadius Nov 15 2007 10:42 PM

Let's look at [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/MT_born.shtml]Montana[/url]. Pickings are pretty slim here. The best pitcher, and player overall, is Dave McNally. The best position player is John Lowenstein. The best Met is Ed Bouchee, with John Gibbons the only other Montana-born Met.

Fman99 Nov 16 2007 01:39 PM

I'll throw one out there as it's a short list for [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/WY_born.shtml]Wyoming.[/url] Twelve players in MLB history have hailed from this state. The best pitcher ever who was born in Wyoming was Tom Browning, a 20 Game winner who pitched a perfect game in 1998, won a WS game in 1990 and was an All-Star in 1991. Career record of 123-90 with a 3.94 ERA. Honorable mention to Dick Ellsworth who had a career record of 115-137 for a number of MLB teams between 1958 and 1971. For position players this is a pretty weak list. The two names that stand out are Mike Devereaux, who played OF for a number of teams between 1987 and 1998, and Mike Lansing, infielder for the Expos, Rockies and Red Sox in the 1990s and early 2000s. Lansing hit for the cycle as a member of the Rockies and Deveraux was the 1995 ALCS MVP for Atlanta. Best individual season: Deveraux - 1992 (.276/24/107, 10 SBs, 7th in MVP voting) Lansing - 1997 (.281/20/70) I give the edge to Mike Devereaux for the postseason hardware and overall better numbers. None of the 12 Wyoming natives ever donned a Mets uniform.

RealityChuck Nov 16 2007 07:21 PM

I'll give [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/VT_born.shtml]Vermont[/url] a try. Batter is easy: Carlton Fisk is the only HOF player on the list, and leads Green Mountain State batters in almost every category. Birdie Tebbits and Larry Gardner are the only other who might be considered, but they are nowhere near Fisk. Pitcher is tougher -- no standouts, or well known names. Ray Collins is probably #1 -- he was a 20-game winner and won two games for the 1912 Red Sox world champs (or were they still called Pilgrims then). Henry Porter won 33 games in 1885, but lost 37 in 1888 and Lee Viau had a couple of good years. It doesn't look like any Vermonter played for the Mets.

SI Metman Nov 16 2007 07:23 PM

[url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/UT_born.shtml]Utah[/url] is another easy state to examine. Mets World Series foe Bruce Hurst is far and away the best player to hail from Morman country. The only Morman Met was George 'The Stork' Theodore.

SI Metman Nov 16 2007 07:27 PM

No Mets from [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/ND_born.shtml]North Dakota[/url] The 2 best position players are active with Travis Hafner outslugging Darin Erstad. Rick Helling had the best career out of the 8 pitchers from the state.

Edgy DC Nov 16 2007 08:52 PM

SI Metman wrote: [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/UT_born.shtml]Utah[/url] is another easy state to examine. Mets World Series foe Bruce Hurst is far and away the best player to hail from Morman country. The only Morman Met was George 'The Stork' Theodore. The Stork may have been a Ute, but I don't think he was a Mormon. Latter Day Saints who are also former-day Mets include McKay Christensen, Shawn Estes, and Jeff Kent, as well as Jason Vargas trade bait Matt Lindstrom.

Valadius Nov 17 2007 01:38 PM

Let's examine [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/ME_born.shtml]Maine[/url]. The best pitcher of the bunch is Bob Stanley by far. The best position player is probably George "Piano Legs" Gore, who played in the 19th century. I'm not sure if I can really compare the two, but I think Gore is the best overall player. Carl Willey is the only Met to hail from Maine. I noticed that Maine players have some fantastic nicknames, such as Live Oak Taylor, Chief Sockalexis, Cannonball Titcomb, Chummy Gray, Cuke Barrows, and Squanto Wilson.

Valadius Nov 17 2007 02:52 PM

To update, we have so far covered: Alaska Colorado District of Columbia Hawaii Idaho Maine Montana Nevada New Mexico North Dakota Rhode Island Utah Vermont West Virginia Wyoming Let's now take a look at [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/NH_born.shtml]New Hampshire[/url]. For a small state, New Hampshire is surprisingly pitcher-heavy. It boasts 5 100-game winners. The battle for best pitcher (and best overall player) is between Mike Flanagan and Chris Carpenter. Both have a Cy Young award. My pick is Flanagan, because he (so far) kept it up longer than Carpenter. The best position player, in my opinion, is Arlie Latham, but Red Rolfe comes in at a close second. Don Florence is the only Met to come out of New Hampshire.

Valadius Nov 17 2007 04:02 PM

Now, for [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/DE_born.shtml]Delaware[/url]. Delaware has a few pitchers to consider, but it comes down to either Sadie McMahon or Chris Short. I'm going with Short. There are actually a few decent position players from Delaware despite the fact that it's a small state. The following position players of some importance are from Delaware: Delino DeShields - 2B Kevin Mench - OF John Mabry - 1B/3B/OF Chris Widger - C Randy Bush - OF/1B Hans Lobert - 3B/SS Dave May - OF Delino DeShields is the best position player and best overall player from Delaware. And so, the all-Delaware team: Delino DeShields 2B Hans Lobert 3B John Mabry 1B Kevin Mench LF Randy Bush RF Dave May CF Chris Widger C Ed Cihocki SS Chris Short P Dallas Green is the only Met from Delaware.

Iubitul Nov 17 2007 05:38 PM

OK - I have to take my home state of [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/CT_born.shtml]Connecticut[/url] While hardly an all-time great, I have a soft spot for [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/ceccaar01.shtml]Art Ceccarelli[/url], because he was my history and driver's ed teacher in high school. Quite a few decent players can call Connecticut their home: Brad Ausmus Steve Blass Ricky Bottalico Rob Dibble Walt Dropo Jay Johnstone Dick McAuliffe Charles Nagy Carl Pavano Jimmy Piersall Bobby Valentine Mo Vaughn In addition to Messrs Valentine, Piersall, and Vaughn, quite a few CT natives have worn the orange and blue: Bruce Boisclair Ricky Bottalico Darren Bragg Bill Denehy (had to share his rookie card with some guy named Seaver) Brook Fordyce Tim Tuefel

Valadius Nov 17 2007 06:44 PM

Who do you think is the best player to come out of Connecticut, Iubitul? I'm going with Roger Connor, who held the all-time home run record before Babe Ruth. A case could also be made for Jim O'Rourke. The crop of pitchers is pretty thin, though. That's pretty cool that your teacher played in the majors!

metsguyinmichigan Nov 17 2007 07:31 PM

I'll take Michigan, which was better than I thought. First, we have Hall of Famers Charlie Gehringer, Kiki Cuyler and Prince Hal Newshouser -- who shared HOF induction day with Tom Seaver. I suppose there are some who think John Smoltz will sneak in the Hall as well. Players just shy of Cooperstown are Jim Kaat, Billy Pierce and Ted Simmons. Ex-Mets are Mike Bordick, Clint Hurdle, Mike Kinkade, Frank Tanana and my favorite, Mickey Weston. In the "Inspirational Story" category, we have Flint native Jim Abbott, who was incredible to watch. His Starting Lineup figure is perhaps the only MFY artifact in my baseball room. In the "Pitcher Turned Knick" category we have Dave DeBusschere. In the "Was My Upstairs Neighbor" category we have Scott Kamieniecki. In the "Stole Darryl Strawberry's MVP" category we have Kirk Gibson. In the "Brought Shame to the Game" category we have Steve Howe, Ed Cicotte and Derek Jeter. (OK, Jeter weas born in Jersey but moved to Kalamazoo when he was 4) In the "Most Unfortunate Name" category we have Dick Pole. Cy Young Award winners include Pat Hentgen, Mike Marshall and Bob Welch.

Fman99 Nov 17 2007 09:47 PM

I think I'll take [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/NE_born.shtml]Nebraska.[/url] Of the 102 MLB'ers in history to hail from this state there are quite a few names of note. Hall of Famers include Richie Ashburn, deadball star Sam Crawford (2961 career hits) and chicken-eating dork Wade Boggs. I put Boggs up there as the best of the position players. The two pitchers that jump off the page for Nebraska are Grover Cleveland Alexander (373 career wins) and Bob Gibson. I'll ignore contemporary bias and pick Alexander here, who might've won 400 games had he not missed a season and a half due to WWI. Notable Mets from NE include a late-career Ashburn and Todd Pratt.

Fman99 Nov 18 2007 06:23 AM

Next up is [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/OR_born.shtml]Oregon.[/url] There have been 115 MLB players born in the Beaver State (snicker). Recent players and notables include: Danny Ainge Scott Brosius Jacoby Ellsbury Scott Hatteberg Brian Hunter John Jaha Dave Kingman Dale Murphy Johnny Pesky Richie Sexson Harold Reynolds Aaron Rowand The list of pitchers is less elite and includes just one player who won more than 122 games, that player being Mickey Lolich. Best pitcher: Lolich Best player: Open to debate between Kingman and Murphy, but Murphy had the better overall numbers and won back to back MVP awards. Notable Mets include Lolich, Kingman and Wally Backman.

Iubitul Nov 18 2007 06:45 AM

Valadius wrote: Who do you think is the best player to come out of Connecticut, Iubitul? I'm going with Roger Connor, who held the all-time home run record before Babe Ruth. A case could also be made for Jim O'Rourke. The crop of pitchers is pretty thin, though. That's pretty cool that your teacher played in the majors! I'd have to go with Mo Vaughn - he was on hell of a hitter in Boston. As for pitchers, I would have to go with Steve Blass.

Valadius Nov 18 2007 09:55 AM

I'll take my home state of [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/NJ_born.shtml]New Jersey[/url]. For a relatively large state with a relatively large number of players, New Jersey's crop of talent is surprisingly thin, especially at pitcher. Among position players: Johnny Briggs - OF George Case - OF Sean Casey - 1B Rick Cerone - C Doc Cramer - CF Mark DeRosa - 2B/3B/SS Doug Glanville - CF Kid Gleason - 2B/P Goose Goslin - LF/RF Billy Hamilton - CF Jeffrey Hammonds - RF Bill Haselman - C Frankie Hayes - C Charlie Jamieson - LF Derek Jeter - SS Mike Jorgensen - 1B/OF Eric Karros - 1B Elliott Maddox - OF/3B Joe Medwick - LF Dots Miller - 1B/2B Joe Orsulak - OF Hardy Richardson - 2B/OF/3B Johnny Romano - C Billy Shindle - 3B Joe Stripp - 3B Mike Tiernan - OF Jeff Torborg - C Hal Wagner - C Earl Williams - C/1B Eric Young - 2B New Jersey can put together a rotation of: Don Newcombe Al Leiter Andy Messersmith Johnny Vander Meer Al Downing With the following pitchers in the bullpen: Ron Perranoski Joe Borowski Dan Miceli Rawly Eastwick Joe Black The starting lineup for the New Jersey team: Billy Hamilton CF Derek Jeter SS Joe Medwick LF Goose Goslin RF Eric Karros 1B Frankie Hayes C Hardy Richardson 3B Eric Young 2B Don Newcombe P With the following bench players: Sean Casey Johnny Romano Mark DeRosa George Case Johnny Briggs Billy Shindle Doc Cramer The greatest New Jerseyan Met, by far, is Al Leiter. For best pitcher, I'm going with Don Newcombe. The best position player and best overall player, in my opinion, is Goose Goslin, who barely edges Joe Medwick.

Fman99 Nov 18 2007 05:33 PM

Next up is [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/AR_born.shtml]Arkansas.[/url] Of the 148 MLB players to be born in Arkansas there are quite a few notable names. On the hitting side: Lou Brock Pat Burrell Willie Davis Torii Hunter Travis Jackson (Hall of Famer who I had never heard of) George Kell (HOF) Kevin McReynolds Rick Monday Brooks Robinson (HOF) Arky Vaughn (another HOF'er) Looking at the pitchers, another few names jump out at me. Dizzy and Paul Dean AJ Burnett Ryan Franklin Preacher Roe Johnny Sain Lou Warneke (won 192 games and had the great nickname "The Arkansas Hummingbird") Mets from Arkansas include Wes Gardner, Jeff McKnight, Kevin Lomon, Ellis Valentine, McReynolds, Sammy Drake, Tom McCraw and Jesse Gonder. Best hitter: Lou Brock Best pitcher: Dizzy Dean Best Met: McReynolds