{ Whoops a little out of order here. Also, with all the tables, https://wbl.dmlco.com/wp/2023/11/01/...silver-sticks/ may be easier to read. }
With no regard for defense, here are the best hitters at each position.
#C
Catching is hard. Only 5 full-time catchers qualified (plus Houston's
Craig Biggio, who only played a couple hundred innings behind the plate). And while
Thurman Munson and
Buster Posey had fantastic seasons, with OPS' over .850, the top three are obvious
Code:
Name Tm 2B 3B HR R RBI BA OBP SLG SB RC/27
Johnny Bench IND 31 2 32 82 90 287 385 566 0 8.0
Curt Blefary BAL 23 3 29 84 90 280 392 549 3 8.1
Elrod Hendricks HOD 27 1 41 79 94 283 342 619 1 7.7
Blefary is clearly third best. Imma go with
Bench here as the more dangerous offensive force despite
Hendricks' edge in homeruns.
#1B
Code:
Name Tm 2B 3B HR R RBI BA OBP SLG SB RC/27
Mike Epstein HOM 22 0 24 80 79 316 420 528 0 8.8
Hank Greenberg DET 45 4 31 93 113 317 374 595 1 8.3
Kent Hrbek POR 36 0 36 91 106 297 365 556 0 7.5
You could spend a lot of time arguing about
Epstein and
Hrbek, but it wouldn't change the fact that
Greenberg was the best.
#2B
Code:
Name Tm 2B 3B HR R RBI BA OBP SLG SB RC/27
Eddie Collins CAG 28 4 20 106 70 315 409 513 61 8.6
Larry Gardner BAL 26 5 12 84 72 318 393 471 16 6.8
Bobby Grich LAA 42 5 12 77 76 288 378 476 12 6.7
Rogers Hornsby KCM/POR 35 3 19 75 88 294 365 487 2 6.4
There is so little to separate
Gardner,
Grich, and
Hornsby that I had to list all three of them. But they are all far, far behind the force of nature that is
Eddie Collins.
#3B
Code:
Name Tm 2B 3B HR R RBI BA OBP SLG SB WAR
Dick Allen CAG 30 10 26 86 109 311 383 559 5 7.9
Bob Bailey DET 22 3 21 76 70 277 364 462 5 6.1
Doug Rader LAA 43 7 18 85 134 330 391 529 0 7.8
I like RBI's too. Really, I do. And BA. But I'll take
Dick Allen over
Doug Rader every day. I hadn't realized how thin the pickings got at 3B after those two.
#SS
Code:
Name Tm 2B 3B HR R RBI BA OBP SLG SB RC/27
Jim Fregosi POR 32 3 17 78 61 300 373 472 16 6.1
Bobby Wallace BAL 40 4 5 99 60 302 396 418 18 6.1
Robin Yount MCG 30 5 14 24 68 276 314 454 16 5.0
The choice between
Wallace and
Fregosi is close, but Fregosi is slightly the better offensive player, even if Wallace is the better shortstop if you add defense into the equation.
#OF
The outfielders include all fulltime players with an OPS over .900 or with a runs created per 27 outs over 7.0.
#LF
Code:
Name Tm 2B 3B HR R RBI BA OBP SLG SB RC/27
Rick Reichardt HOM 23 8 27 83 98 301 378 531 1 7.2
Frank Robinson BAL 17 2 37 101 111 302 383 539 2 7.3
Babe Ruth NYY 35 3 48 127 136 312 427 663 14 10.8
The easiest choice of all ...
#CF
Code:
Name Tm 2B 3B HR R RBI BA OBP SLG SB RC/27
Pete Browning HOD 34 4 26 82 82 331 370 591 38 8.4
Bobby Murcer POR 29 8 24 95 87 314 388 542 11 8.2
Willie Mays NYG 30 5 24 99 97 322 384 516 11 7.1
Reggie Smith MEM 39 5 22 100 72 304 381 522 20 6.8
Mike Trout LAA 27 6 21 102 100 321 390 498 37 7.7
Browning's year has to be discounted from the amount of time he missed, which really leaves this to
Bobby Murcer.
#RF
Code:
Name Tm 2B 3B HR R RBI BA OBP SLG SB RC/27
Ron Blomberg CLE 39 0 44 110 127 336 412 649 0 10.2
Ty Cobb DET 41 4 21 92 89 352 391 557 52 8.7
Joe Jackson CAG 33 3 31 109 102 330 412 588 34 9.5
Reggie Jackson SFS 29 1 30 75 105 317 424 589 23 8.4
Mickey Mantle NYY 34 2 27 101 85 319 420 552 3 9.1
Stan Musial KCM 49 4 25 94 98 329 395 577 6 8.4
The quality in RF rolls deep ...
Ron Blomberg takes this, with
Joe Jackson very close behind. The deepest position in the league.
#DH
Code:
Name Tm 2B 3B HR R RBI BA OBP SLG SB RC/27
Gavvy Cravath PHI/POR 36 3 27 86 85 310 385 560 5 7.9
Lou Gehrig NYY 25 4 27 74 79 275 379 526 3 7.1
Frank Thomas CAG 33 3 25 93 105 297 405 505 3 7.4
Gavvy Cravath spent a lot of time in RF, both with Philadelphia and Portland, but we're still going to count him here, where he edges out both
Thomas, who slumped late in the season, and
Gehrig, who got red-hot as the Black Yankees failed in their attempt to make the playoffs.
#The Silver Sticks
C: Johnny Bench (IND)
1B: Hank Greenberg (DET)
2B: Eddie Collins (CAG)
3B: Dick Allen (CAG)
SS: Jim Fregosi (POR)
LF: Babe Ruth (NYY)
CF: Bobby Murcer (POR)
RF: Ron Blomberg (CLE)
DH: Gavvy Cravath (PHI/POR)