All-Time Rhode Island Baseball Team
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by user Steaksammich
Of the 14,513 major league players to be born in the United States, just 71 of them have been born in my homestate, Rhode Island.
With that small of a percentage you'd expect them to field a pretty pathetic team, but there are some legitimate stars amongst the
very few who have been born in Little Rhodey. There won't be much for power and it may get kicked around by every state besides
Alaska and Hawaii, but this is a team that can really burn on the bases. It's better than I'd expect to see with such a small
percentage of players.
Catcher
Gabby Hartnett, (Woonsocket) - He's a hall of famer and the best offensive catcher of his time. He's one of the top ten
best catchers to ever play the game.
First Base
Paul Konerko, (Providence) - Every good team wants a big bat at first base, and Konerko is just the guy to provide that.
He doesn't register as a blip on the radar for the greatest first basemen of all time, but he's one of today's best sluggers.
Second Base
Nap Lajoie, (Woonsocket) - He's a career .338 hitter who had a .426 AVG in 1901. His power numbers don't look
impressive, but he played in an era when only a handful of players reached double digits in a year. He's still considered one of
the best second baseman in baseball history.
Third Base
Joe Mulvey, (Providence) - Mulvey gives this team a little old school flavor. How old school? Well, the guy played a
year in the Players League and a year in the American Association, two major leagues that haven't been around in over 100
years. He couldn't hit, but he did have some speed.
Shortstop
Bill Almon, (Providence) - He was never a good ballplayer with just a .254 AVG and .305 OBP, but he did have a little
bit of speed with 128 career steals and he did hold a utility role in the majors for 15 years.
Outfield
Hugh Duffy, (Cranston) - With a career OBP of .384 and 574 career steals, this is a guy who can score a lot of runs at
the top of the order. He scored 1552 runs in 1737 career games, .89 runs scored a game. Just for reference, Derek Jeter has
scored .76 runs a game through 2005. He'll make a great leadoff hitter for this team.
Davey Lopes, (East Providence) - He played over 1400 games at second base and just over 200 in the outfield, but with
Nap Lajoie already on the team, Lopes is going to have to take his spot in the outfield. He hit just .263, but had a little bit of
pop in his bat. His biggest weapon was his speed which led to 557 steals for his career.
Rocco Baldelli, (Woonsocket) - We haven't seen this kid's best stuff yet. The Joe DiMaggio comparisons are very
premature, but he's a five tool talent who's just getting started. And he wouldn't be where he was today if it weren't for my
brother. That's right. If my brother hadn't served up all those home runs to him in little league, Rocco may never have realized
just how good he was at the game.
Designated Hitter
Ed Daily, (Providence) - Ed is the type of guy you'd like to have on your bench as a pinch running option. He can't hit
to save his life as his .276 OBP will tell you, but he does have 235 steals for his career, including 2 seasons with more than 60
steals. He's also probably the team's best pitcher with a 3.39 career ERA and a 66-70 record.
Starting Rotation
Andy Coakley, (Providence) - His career record 58-59 is unimpressive and he pitched for just 9 years, but he posted a
2.35 ERA in 1072 career innings over 124 games started (150 games overall). His ERA+ is 111 so that 2.35 ERA doesn't exactly make
him Pedro Martinez, but it does make him a good starter.
Ed Daily, (Providence) - Ed will get to play every day on this team as the DH, but once every five days he'll take the
mound as one of Rhode Island's best starters. His career ERA is 3.39, but that actually makes him a little bit worse than average.
He pitched in the 1880's and 90's when the league average ERA was 3.31. Like the ace of this staff, Coakley, he also has a losing
record at 66-70.
Frank Corridon, (Newport) - Every team wants a starter with a career ERA of 2.80, right? Well, before you get excited
just remember that he pitched in the early 1900's when the league average ERA was 2.63, so he actually has an ERA+ of 94. He's the
first guy on this staff with a winning record for his career, however, with 70 wins compared to 67 losses.
Tom Lovett, (Providence) - He pitched for just 6 years in the major leagues, but gets the nod because he's one of just
four Rhode Islanders to start at least 100 games (the other 3 are the 3 listed above him in the rotation). He posted a 3.94 ERA,
mostly in the 1890's when the league average ERA was 3.70. He started 149 games and completed 132 of them. He walked more batters
than he struck out in his career, 444-439. He does have the best W/L record amongst the starters at 88-59, mostly thanks to a
30-11 season in 1890 when he had a 2.78 ERA in 372 IP, by far his best season.
Bullpen
Clem Labine, (Lincoln) - He leads RI hurlers in games pitched and strike outs with 551 K's in 513 games pitched and 1079
IP. He posted a 3.63 ERA, impressived when you consider that the league average ERA was 4.04. He had 96 career saves before the
role of closer was actually established.
Johnny Cooney, (Cranston) - Cooney makes the team thanks to his versatility. He'd be a swing-starter (he pitched in 159
major league games and started 76 of them) and, in a pinch, he can play in the outfield. He hit .286 in 3372 career AB's, but hit
just 2 homers and stole just 30 bases. He had a 3.72 ERA for his career, compared to the league average of 3.94.
Date
Sat 07/08/06, 7:16 am EST
