Franchise Four Announced

So Major League Baseball let fans vote on something else besides the All-Star teams...Fans got to go online and pick their favorite team's "Franchise Four"...You teams Mount Rushmore basically...And while fans didn't totally blow it, they did do some idiot shit...

Franchise Four winners were selected from a list of 8 nominees from each franchise chosen by official MLB historian, John Thorn and representatives from the Elias Sports Bureau, MLB.com, MLB Network, and the Baseball Writers' Association of America...So, some of the idiot shit is the fault of these jokers as well...

Examples of idiot stuff: With all the greats from the San Francisco/NY Giants, some how Buster Posey was picked...He's an excellent player, but one of the Giants top 4...Really? Worse, Paul Goldschmidt from Arizona...The guy is just in his 4th full season...Yeah, they don't have a huge history, but a guy 4 years in with one huge year, and having another huge one this year...Still seems premature...

Speaking of premature...Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins...Really!?! They guy has a .270 career batting average...That is just sad folks...Real sad, like Tampa Bay sad...Tampa Bay's history is so weak, Ben Zobrist was picked!

Then you have teams with huge and rich history...the Dodgers and Yankees, can't argue those at all, and almost feel like if you gave them 8 instead of 4 it would be justified...I think White Sox fans really screwed up not putting Eddie Collins...And Red Sox fans look like dolts not putting Cy Young in there...You know, just 511...

Then comes my hometown Indians...Bob Feller felt like a no-brainer...I was proud to see Tris Speaker in there (often underrated)...Then Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel...I always sang the praises of Vizquel for his great defense, and becoming a good hitter...He was steal from Seattle, in which the Tribe gave up Felix Fermin...And yes, those two guys were huge in the 90's...And fans loved them...I get it...And Thome has 612 HR's so that looks sexy...But Vizquel (.272 avg...80 HR's...951 RBI) over Larry Doby? Larry Doby (.283 avg...253 HR's...970 RBI)...the second black in Baseball, first in the American League...Or over Earl Averill (.318 avg...238 HR's...1164 RBI)...But worse then that, Nap Lajoie was not picked...A .339 avg...80 HR's and 1599 RBI...That folks is a sin...The team was at one time named the Naps in honor of their second baseman/manager...

Fan voting is and always be flawed, because many fans don't know all their history, and are blinded by their favorites....

Fans also voted in three additional categories: Greatest Living Player, Greatest Negro Leagues Player and the sport's Greatest Pioneers....Here are all of the Franchise Four...

What do you think?

Winners:

Greatest Living Players
Hank Aaron
Johnny Bench
Sandy Koufax
Willie Mays

Greatest Negro Leagues Players
Cool Papa Bell
Josh Gibson
Buck O'Neil
Satchel Paige

Greatest Pioneers
Walter Johnson
Nap Lajoie
Christy Mathewson
Cy Young

Angels
Vladimir Guerrero
Nolan Ryan
Tim Salmon
Mike Trout

Astros
Jeff Bagwell
Lance Berkman
Craig Biggio
Nolan Ryan

Athletics
Dennis Eckersley
Jimmie Foxx
Rickey Henderson
Reggie Jackson

Blue Jays
Roberto Alomar
Joe Carter
Carlos Delgado
Roy Halladay

Braves
Hank Aaron
Chipper Jones
Greg Maddux
Warren Spahn

Brewers
Cecil Cooper
Rollie Fingers
Paul Molitor
Robin Yount

Cardinals
Lou Brock
Bob Gibson
Rogers Hornsby
Stan Musial

Cubs
Ernie Banks
Ryne Sandberg
Ron Santo
Billy Williams

D-backs
Paul Goldschmidt
Luis Gonzalez
Randy Johnson
Curt Schilling

Dodgers
Don Drysdale
Sandy Koufax
Jackie Robinson
Duke Snider

Giants
Barry Bonds
Willie Mays
Willie McCovey
Buster Posey

Indians
Bob Feller
Tris Speaker
Jim Thome
Omar Vizquel

Mariners
Ken Griffey Jr.
Felix Hernandez
Edgar Martinez
Ichiro Suzuki

Marlins
Jeff Conine
Mike Lowell
Gary Sheffield
Giancarlo Stanton

Mets
Keith Hernandez
Mike Piazza
Tom Seaver
David Wright

Nationals/Expos
Gary Carter
Andre Dawson
Vladimir Guerrero
Tim Raines

Orioles
Jim Palmer
Cal Ripken Jr.
Brooks Robinson
Frank Robinson

Padres
Tony Gwynn
Trevor Hoffman
Randy Jones
Dave Winfield

Phillies
Richie Ashburn
Steve Carlton
Robin Roberts
Mike Schmidt

Pirates
Roberto Clemente
Bill Mazeroski
Willie Stargell
Honus Wagner

Rangers
Adrian Beltre
Ivan Rodriguez
Nolan Ryan
Michael Young

Rays
Evan Longoria
David Price
James Shields
Ben Zobrist

Red Sox
Pedro Martinez
David Ortiz
Ted Williams
Carl Yastrzemski

Reds
Johnny Bench
Barry Larkin
Joe Morgan
Pete Rose

Rockies
Andres Galarraga
Todd Helton
Troy Tulowitzki
Larry Walker

Royals
George Brett
Dan Quisenberry
Bret Saberhagen
Frank White

Tigers
Miguel Cabrera
Ty Cobb
Hank Greenberg
Al Kaline

Twins
Rod Carew
Harmon Killebrew
Tony Oliva
Kirby Puckett

White Sox
Harold Baines
Paul Konerko
Minnie Minoso
Frank Thomas

Yankees
Joe DiMaggio
Lou Gehrig
Mickey Mantle
Babe Ruth

What About Larry Doby?

This post is in no way intended to disrespect Jackie Robinson...Seeing what Jackie Robinson went through, without a doubt helped give Bill Veeck the confidence to do what he knew was the smart/right thing to do...So Veeck brought Larry Doby to Cleveland, and Doby became the American League's first black player...

And Doby was no bum...He started out slow, but he got it together...Doby was a key member of two of Baseball's great teams...The 1948 Indians, (last World Series Championship) and the 1954 Indians (so close)...He ended his career having played 1533 games...With 1515 hits...243 doubles...52 triples...253 Home Runs...970 RBI...47 Stolen bases...And a .283 batting average...


Now the Indians retired Doby's number 14...As well they should have...I don't want to see everyone wearing number 14 on a day to honor Doby...I don't like it on Jackie Robinson Day, that all of baseball wears 42...A number is retired because the player it represents is so highly regarded, that no one else is worthy of that number...So I had no problem with 42 being retired throughout Major League Baseball...But no one should ever wear it again...

What I would like to see, is the Cleveland Indians doing the right thing, once again...I mean this is the organization that not only brought Doby in, but also made Frank Robinson the first black manager in Baseball...SO what should they do?

Well, last year, the city of Cleveland and the Indians were all in love once again, with Jim Thome, after bringing him in late in the season...Some how people forgot how he said he wasn't going to leave, and then took boat loads of cash and ran off to Philly...At the end of the year, they had Jim Thome Day, and said they were commissioning a statue of Jim Thome in their center field park area...

There should be a Larry Doby statue long before they ever put up one for a guy who said he 'wasn't going to leave the Indians, and wanted to be an Indian for his whole career.' I guess Thome meant after he got done with the Phillies, White Sox, Twins, and Phillies again...

While I'd like to see all of Major League Baseball give Doby the love he deserves, I'd be happy if the Indians at least stepped up, and honored a true Cleveland Baseball hero with more then his number on the wall...For what Larry Doby went through, he deserves if far more then any other past Indians...

Later, The Beeze.