Latest news with #JaysonStark
New York Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Presenting the Mets' All-Quarter Century team, Queens' best of the 2000s
Editor's note: The Athletic is marking 2025 by naming an MLB All-Quarter Century Team, selected by Jayson Stark. We invited readers to take our survey and make their picks for the best players at each position since 2000, with the results announced in an upcoming story. Some of our beat writers are picking All-Quarter Century Teams for the teams they cover. Check this page to find all of our All-Quarter Century Team coverage. Advertisement The New York Mets entered the 2000s in a good place. They had just made the NLCS, losing in six games to a rival, and they were a favorite in the National League to win a pennant in 2000 (which they did). They entered 2025 in a good place. They had just made the NLCS, losing in six games to (perhaps an incipient) rival, and they are a favorite in the National League to win a pennant. Almost makes it seem that the intervening quarter-century was smooth, eh? The juxtaposition of 2025 to 2000 belies the occasional peaks and longer stretches in the valley that the franchise has experienced in that time. The Mets have endured the Bernie Madoff scandal and its consequent years of austerity, a pair of brutal late-season collapses, and a series of debilitating injuries to many of the players I'm about to single out for praise. But the team I'm about to build? It's pretty good. The left side of the infield has combined for more than 100 career wins above replacement (according to FanGraphs). The center fielder has the second-most WAR among all outfielders this century. The pitching staff, while shy on longevity, can be dominant. This is the Mets All-Quarter Century Team. Since it's been almost two decades since his last game with the Mets, you might have thought Piazza wasn't behind the plate enough this century to make this choice so easy. Well, he's caught 200 more games in the 2000s than any other Met, and Piazza isn't going to lose on production to anyone, Met or otherwise. From 2000 to 2005, Piazza hit .286/.368/.525 with 157 home runs. Honorable mention: Travis d'Arnaud Alonso has made this a simple decision, as well, putting up numbers on par with Carlos Delgado's best years for a lot longer in blue and orange. He's played almost twice as many games at first as any other Met, and he should set the franchise home run record later this season. Advertisement Honorable mentions: Delgado, Lucas Duda This is the first difficult selection, and I'm going with Murphy over Jeff McNeil's higher WAR with the Mets. And yes, it's because of about a 10-game stretch in October 2015. This is no slight to McNeil, who has made two All-Star teams and won a batting title with the Mets; he's been their best regular-season second baseman this century. But Murphy's postseason run in 2015 included homers in five straight games (many off the game's best pitchers that season). He provided all the Mets' offense in the deciding victory over the Dodgers in the NLDS — probably the best game the Mets played this century until last fall. And Murphy manned second base nearly as often as McNeil has, making his own All-Star team in 2014. Honorable mention: McNeil Here again, I'm bypassing the club's actual leader in WAR at the position (José Reyes, of course) for a different pick. Lindor's played more than 500 fewer games at short than Reyes (and 800 overall), but he's approaching the same overall value and emerged as a leader for this era of Mets baseball. Honorable mention: Reyes Does this require explanation? Wright is the best Mets player of this century and the last Met to be named team captain. He played five times more games at third than any other Met, such that there's not even a point in having an honorable mention here. (Sorry, Robin Ventura.) He also authored one of the finest individual seasons in team history in 2007, when he might have won MVP if not for the team collapsing around him. If you want to be super strict about positional alignment in the outfield, then this is a close race between Nimmo and Cliff Floyd. (Floyd played more games in left this century than Nimmo has so far.) But when you add up what Nimmo has done in all three outfield positions, he's head and shoulders above the other contenders here. Advertisement Nimmo has matured from an aw-shucks kid from Wyoming into a verifiable team leader, a guy who cried tears of joy on the field last season when the Mets clinched their first postseason series at Citi Field. By the end of his contract in 2030, he's poised to play 15 seasons in a Mets uniform — more than all but Ed Kranepool in franchise history. Honorable mention: Floyd Beltrán isn't just the center fielder for this team; he's the center fielder on the all-franchise team if we go back to 1962. Following a slow start to his Mets tenure in 2005, Beltrán was a force for the final six years of his contract. He made five All-Star teams, won three Gold Gloves, placed in the top five for the MVP in 2006 and brought back Zack Wheeler in a deadline deal in 2011. Honorable mention: Nimmo Perhaps Conforto didn't live up to all the promise he showed as a sweet-swinging rookie comfortably performing in a pennant race and the postseason in 2015. Overall, though, he had a fine Mets career that included an All-Star team in 2017 and a 30-homer season in 2019. It's unfortunate that his two best years as a Met were both cut short: 2017 by a shoulder injury and 2020 by the pandemic. Honorable mention: Curtis Granderson Picking a DH doesn't feel right for a team that didn't have one for 21 seasons this century. But let's go with the best hitter not yet on the team, a guy whose acquisition provided as big an in-season spark as an offense has ever experienced. Céspedes did, after all, hit a game-winning homer in the first home game in which the Mets ever played a DH. As with some other greats in franchise history, the memories are better if we forget how it ended. OK, so before you furrow your brow, I'm going with guys who actually came off the bench for most of their Mets tenures. Advertisement Castro ranks fourth among Mets backstops in WAR this century despite never batting more than 240 times in a season with New York. He's getting pushed here now by Luis Torrens, although so is Francisco Alvarez, so Torrens might not be a 'backup' much longer. Had Castro's fly ball to the warning track in the first inning of the final game of the 2007 regular season traveled about six more feet, he'd have supplanted Piazza on this team. Flores is a Mets icon even though he qualified for the batting title only once in Queens, in 2015. A walk-off magician, he overcame the lack of a solid defensive position to be a consistent contributor. I remember writing about him weekly when part of my first job was covering the Appalachian League and he was a 17-year-old wunderkind in Kingsport; that was literally half a lifetime ago for him. Is Chavez's catch still the most memorable Mets play of this century? (Other contenders off the top of the noggin include Piazza's home run in the first game back after Sept. 11, Bartolo Colon's home run and Pete Alonso's season-saver last fall.) He had the best year of his career in 2006, hitting better than .300 with 22 doubles while filling in often for Floyd. Smith edges out Lenny Harris and Marlon Anderson for his pinch hitting prowess. That's right, I'm not even factoring in his absurd 2020 season — which in retrospect will go down as one of the great anomalies in club history. But when pinch hitting for the Mets, Smith posted a .902 OPS with some clutch homers, most notably his unbelievable shot to end the 2019 season. Honorable mentions: Harris, Anderson, Joe McEwing, Mike Baxter, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Scott Hairston DeGrom is as easy a choice as any on the board — a legitimate contender to be on a team picked from the entire league. His run of success from the start of the 2018 season through his injury halfway through 2021 is on par with the greatest in the sport's history. (His ERA+ over that stretch is better than the best four-season stretches by Sandy Koufax, Greg Maddux or Randy Johnson. Pedro Martínez does best deGrom with his run from 1997 through 2000.) Santana had just 3 1/2 healthy seasons as a Met, but he was among the game's aces throughout that stretch. He delivered a signature performance on the penultimate day of the 2008 season and, of course, the first no-hitter in club history. Advertisement While Leiter's most memorable start as a Met came in 1999, he was the ace of the 2000 pennant-winners and a stalwart at the top of the rotation through 2004. He did not post an ERA above 4.00 this century with the Mets. Dickey owns the fewest wins above replacement of this group, ranking way down at ninth for the club among starting pitchers. His 2012 Cy Young season, however, was an obvious bright spot, and his trade to Toronto helped spark the Mets' eventual pennant in 2015. For the last spot, I'm going with Harvey over Noah Syndergaard. Syndergaard is actually second among Mets starters in WAR this century, behind only deGrom. However, it's hard to overstate how meaningful Harvey was to Mets fans at the time of his arrival in 2012 and breakout in 2013. And Harvey was right there with deGrom as the ace of the 2015 staff — a guy who deserved Game 1 starts in the postseason (and, as I duck, the ninth inning of Game 5). Honorable mention: Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, Tom Glavine I contemplated going strictly by bullpen roles, but decided that byzantine arguments about who the best longman of the century for the Mets was — Darren Oliver over Trevor Williams, I think — is best left for the comments. Díaz's 2022 season is the best by a Mets reliever this century, and out of this group, he's still the guy getting the nod to close. No Met has thrown more innings out of the pen this century than Familia, whose struggles in the 2015 World Series and at the end of his Mets tenure have overshadowed how good and important he was last decade. Wagner and Benitez were excellent closers who did not do their best work in the postseason, unfortunately. Reed is the best set-up man the Mets have had this century, and Lugo was for a time as useful a reliever as any in the sport (even if the Mets often labored to maximize that usage). Parnell was a solid reliever for a lot of mediocre teams, and Feliciano — or 'Perpetual Pedro,' as Gary Cohen took to calling him — felt like he got a big out every day. He appeared in 344 games over a four-year stretch, or easily more than half of New York's games. Honorable mention: Aaron Heilman, Adam Ottavino, Francisco Rodriguez And because making a lineup is fun: SS Lindor CF Beltrán C Piazza 3B Wright RF Conforto DH Céspedes 1B Alonso 2B Murphy LF Nimmo (Top photo of Jacob deGrom: Brad Penner / USA Today)
New York Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Presenting the Cubs' All-Quarter Century team, the best on the Northside since 2000
Editor's note: The Athletic is marking 2025 by naming an MLB All-Quarter Century Team, selected by Jayson Stark. We invited readers to take our survey and make their picks for the best players at each position since 2000, with the results announced in an upcoming story. Some of our beat writers are picking All-Quarter Century Teams for the teams they cover. Check this page to find all of our All-Quarter Century Team coverage. Advertisement With Jayson Stark taking the time last week to dig in and start a spirited debate on an All-Quarter Century team, it felt worthwhile to see which Chicago Cubs of the past 25 years would fit the bill. Coming away from this exercise actually helps one appreciate just how good things have gotten for this organization. Imagine how sad this exercise would have been to perform in 2000? There would have been little debate and a quick drop in talent after a handful of names. That absolutely is not the case with this group. The last 25 years have marked an incredible shift in how the Cubs are viewed and what expectations fans have for the group. No longer is the moniker 'lovable loser' acceptable. Playoff droughts like the one the team went through over the previous four seasons have gone from the norm to inexcusable. There is plenty of talent to choose from over the last two-plus decades and the choices were not easy. There will be some controversy, surely, but that's what the comment section is for. Unsurprisingly, this team is littered with players from the World Series-winning team. Oftentimes, when things were close, the edge went to a player in that group just because they accomplished what once seemed impossible. This was a two-horse race with Rizzo edging Derrek Lee. But it was closer than some may have thought. Lee and Rizzo both posted a 131 wRC+ during their time with the Cubs but Rizzo was worth more wins above replacement, mostly due to the edge in games played. Lee won two Gold Gloves, made two All-Star teams and won a Silver Slugger (in 2005 when he finished third in MVP) during his time with the Cubs. Rizzo had three All-Star games, four Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger and two fourth-place MVP finishes. That, along with the World Series win, gives him the edge over Lee. He also deserves extra love for his work with Lurie Children's Hospital and his philanthropy associated with pediatric cancer. Advertisement Hoerner isn't flashy, but he's incredibly consistent at the plate and his glove is elite. There's probably an argument to be made that Hoerner's glove is a little underappreciated. It seems like once a week he's stealing a hit or saving his pitcher a run. At the plate, he doesn't hit for much power, but he rarely strikes out and has put up between a 102 and 108 wRC+ every season since 2021. Add in the fact that he's a plus base runner and he's a safe pick for this spot. Hoerner gets the edge over Ben Zobrist and Javier Báez, who are both good enough to show up on this list anyway. Great range and an elite arm paired with plus-plus power at the plate help make Báez the pick here. There are few Cubs in recent memory who fired up the fanbase and were must-watch whenever they entered the game as much as Báez. The swing and miss could be rough at times and the lows were quite low, but few provided as much joy and excitement as El Mago. #ElMago makes an 0-2 pitch disappear.#EverybodyIn — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 25, 2019 Rookie of the Year, MVP and World Series winner, Bryant was as good as it gets at his peak. Yes, that peak was shorter-lived than expected, but the No. 2 pick in the 2013 draft delivered on the hype early. Aramis Ramirez deserves a mention here for his consistent production at the plate. During his time with the Cubs, Ramirez hit .294 with a .237 ISO while striking out just 12.3 percent of the time. Certainly an underrated player Cubs fans should appreciate. Tough choice between Happ and Alfonso Soriano, who took a lot of heat during his time with the Cubs largely due to the enormous contract he signed before the 2007 season. Happ has the edge in wRC+ which he gets due to his great walk rate, helping push his on-base percentage above .340. Happ has turned himself into a good defender in left as well. Soriano struggled there — though he'd show off his arm on occasion — but he improved over time and had impressive power. His speed was sapped almost immediately upon joining the Cubs due to a bad quad tear. The more this is discussed, the more difficult this choice becomes. Recency bias probably won out on this pick. Premature? Ridiculous? Unfair? Perhaps. But get this: During this timeframe, with 5.6 fWAR, Crow-Armstrong is already fourth among Cubs center fielders. In fact, if he just plays solid baseball the rest of the way, he could be first ahead of Dexter Fowler (7.2) by the end of the season. There have been plenty of words written about Crow-Armstrong in this space. He's a speed demon who plays elite defense, a great base runner and has suddenly become a great big-league bat. He is one of the most exciting and impressive all-around talents currently in the game and it feels like this won't be at all controversial in short order. This really isn't close. Sosa leads the right field list by 16 WAR (25.9) and 170 homers (238) over Seiya Suzuki. Maybe if the Cubs re-sign Kyle Tucker, there will be more of a debate come 2050. Quibble with his framing or game calling if you want, but he's the best bat the Cubs have had at catcher during this era. Geovany Soto deserves some love for his defense and Michael Barrett was probably overlooked for his bat, but Contreras was (and continues to be) a really valuable offensive player. He also quickly became the World Series team's regular catcher as a rookie and handled things well in a pressure-packed season. With the most important and most clutch hit in Cubs history, Zobrist, the 2016 World Series MVP, has to be on this list. There's also something to be said for the type of hitter Zobrist was during his career. The World Series-winning core was exposed over time by the high heater and breaking balls away. What they lacked was the diversity in the lineup. Specifically, a bat like Zobrist's. He was also a great team leader and steady defensive presence wherever he played. Advertisement Arrieta had the greatest run of pitching in Cubs history, arguably one of the most dominant stretches of the last 50 years. Lester brought a bulldog, winning mentality to a team that was filled with youth and searching for an ace. Hendricks rarely got much national love but his Cubs career was steady and strong. From 2014-2020, only six starting pitchers with a minimum 800 innings pitched had a better ERA than Hendricks' 3.13 (Clayton Kershaw, Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Corey Kluber, Zack Greinke and Chris Sale). Zambrano was mercurial, but he's the Cubs starting pitching leader in both WAR and innings during this period. Despite logging so much time on the mound, he was still fifth in ERA among pitchers with at least 300 innings. Prior edges out Kerry Wood and Ryan Dempster for an elite peak and for being second in ERA (3.51) behind Arrieta among pitchers with at least 500 innings. Marmol would have some stretches that would stress fans out and he could certainly struggle to find the zone at times. But, man, was he electric when on. Back when 30 percent strikeout rates were not the norm, Marmol had seasons of 33.7 percent (2007), 32.8 percent (2008) and a wild 41.6 percent (2010). Strop had a 2.88 Cubs career ERA and, in a role defined by volatility, was as steady and consistent as they come. He's also the second piece in one of the most lopsided deals the Cubs have ever pulled off — they traded Scott Feldman and Steve Clevinger to Baltimore for Arrieta and Strop. Quick mention for lefty Sean Marshall, who accumulated 4.9 WAR in just 219 innings pitched with a 2.67 ERA. It's really hard to find left-handed relievers, and Marshall is one of the best this organization has developed in recent memory. (Top photo of Báez: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
New York Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Giants' All-Quarter Century Team: Barry Bonds and the rest of the best since 2000
Editor's note: The Athletic is marking 2025 by naming an MLB All-Quarter Century Team, selected by Jayson Stark. We're inviting readers to take our survey and make their picks for the best players at each position since 2000, with the results announced in an upcoming story. Some of our beat writers are picking All-Quarter Century Teams for the teams they cover. Check this page to find all of our All-Quarter Century Team coverage. Advertisement When you see similar stories across The Athletic's team sites, that's usually because people behind the scenes came up with the idea. If my contract were up, I'd describe them as 'smart people,' but it's not, so let's not give them any ideas. The All-Quarter Century trend that began with Jayson Stark's piece and has been spreading among my colleagues, though, has been totally organic. It's easy to see why. Ranking things is fun. Round numbers are easy to comprehend. Unambiguous beginning and end points keep the debates from being too sprawling. Once upon a time, it was the year 2000. Now it's 2025. Who have the best baseball players been for every franchise during that time? For the Giants, though, there's an entirely different meaning. The year 2000 is when the Giants moved from the worst stadium in baseball to the best ballpark in the world. In those 25 years, the ballpark has been the setting for the single-season home run record, the all-time home run record, a perfect game, six Most Valuable Player awards and three championship teams. Before the turn of the millennium, the future of San Francisco baseball was uncertain. After 2000, San Francisco baseball finally became permanent. Get out of here, Tampa. Go find another team to play in the centre of your town, Toronto. Quick ground rules for making the Giants' All-Quarter-Century Team: I'm not going to ignore how many rings every player has, but I'm also not going to give championship seasons as much weight as cumulative value over several seasons. Joe Panik has The Flip, which might make him the most important Giants second baseman of the last 25 years, but it'll be an uphill battle for him to make a list like this. Bench spots will be filled by bench players, not excellent regulars who didn't make the varsity squad. Same goes with the bullpen: one closer and one closer only. Advertisement I will attempt to keep the capsules short, which means this will be the longest article you've ever opened in your life. Apologies in advance. With that out of the way, let's dive in. Just seeing if you're paying attention. WAR leader: Buster Posey (45.0) No surprises here. If you want a hagiography of Posey, you can find them, so let's focus on the other catchers over the last 25 seasons. Here's how all the non-Poseys rank by WAR (an admittedly lousy way to evaluate catchers): 2. Benito Santiago (4.6 WAR) 3. Bengie Molina (2.6) 4. (t) Patrick Bailey (2.5) 4. (t) Bobby Estalella (2.5) 6. Yorvit Torrealba (2.4) 7. Curt Casali (2.1) 8. Chris Stewart (2.1) 9. Stephen Vogt (1.1) 10. Doug Mirabelli (0.9) A.J. Pierzynski was 19th, with 0.3 WAR, in case you were wondering, behind Blake Sabol, Austin Wynns, Eliézer Alfonzo and Todd Greene. Seems high. WAR leader: Brandon Belt (27.9) The Giants are an excellent team for this exercise in terms of how important the post-1999 years have been for the franchise. They're a lousy team for this exercise if you like surprises. Of course it's Belt, the Giants' best homegrown first baseman since Will Clark. I'd say that Travis Ishikawa merited a little thought because of his pennant-winning home run, except he did that as a left fielder, not a first baseman. Maybe he'll be the choice when we get to left field. Haven't really thought about that position yet. J.T. Snow merits a special note, though, for his absurd 2004 season. He missed more than 50 games, yet he still finished with the highest WAR of his career by hitting .327/.429/.529 as a 36-year-old. It's even more absurd when you break it down by half: .261/.351/.400 in the first half, .387/.496/.646 in the second. It was one of the most unexpected and hilarious heaters you'll ever see a player have. Advertisement WAR leader: Jeff Kent (19.5) I was planning on getting cute and selecting Ray Durham for this spot as a way to celebrate his underrated Giants career. Kent nearly doubled him up on WAR, though, which would be hard to ignore even if Kent didn't also win an MVP and a pennant. Which he did. So it's an obvious choice here, even if it's a begrudging one. If it makes you feel better, he didn't make the Dodgers' version of this exercise. (He wasn't even their WAR leader, finishing behind Gavin Lux.) I don't know if it's worthwhile to rank the runners up for every position, but this one gets that treatment because it's a great way to remember some guys: 2. Ray Durham (10.5) 3. Joe Panik (7.0) 4. Thairo Estrada (4.5) 5. Donovan Solano (4.1) 6. Marco Scutaro (4.0) 7. Freddy Sánchez (2.9) 8. Kelby Tomlinson (1.6) 9. Brandon Hicks (0.6) 10. Christian Koss (0.5) Kelby Tomlinson is an optometrist now, and he played on the 2015 Giants with Dr. Justin Maxwell, DDS. Is there any other team in baseball history that's had two future doctors on the same team? I'm desperately hoping that Marlon Byrd is an ornithologist now, and I'm not even going to look it up. I'm just going to will it into existence. WAR leader: Brandon Crawford (29.7) Rich Aurilia had one of the greatest seasons from any shortstop in baseball history (2001), but here's another position that could have been selected without a second of additional research. Of course it's Crawford. The Giants have had such amazing longevity and stability at shortstop in the last quarter-century that Dixon Machado sneaks into the top 10 with the 0.1 WAR he accumulated over five games. If you're a member of Machado's immediate family, and you're reading this, that's right: He was on the Giants. Advertisement Willy Adames is currently behind Machado, Tomás de la Rosa, Johan Camargo, Cody Ransom and Luis Figueroa. Hopefully that changes over the next several seasons, both for your sake and his. WAR leader: Pablo Sandoval (20.8) The young pitching gets the lion's share of the credit for the championship era, and rightfully so. But don't overlook that Sandoval went from being unranked in the Baseball America Giants' top-30 prospect list to the majors in 2008. He was blocked by Bengie Molina behind the plate, so the Giants asked him to move to third base, even though he'd played only 21 games there in the minors, and he was immediately a solid defender. It's one of the most unusual developmental stories you'll ever see, and it helped the Giants win three World Series. Sandoval has six home runs and a .464 slugging percentage for the Staten Island FerryHawks right now, in case you were wondering. He's teammates with former Giants prospect Adalberto Mejía, who was once traded for Eduardo Nuñéz, who was traded for Shaun Anderson, who was traded for LaMonte Wade, Jr. WAR leader: Travis Ishikawa (one pennant) Again, just seeing if you're paying attention. We're not even a third of the way done. Keep your focus. WAR leader: Barry Bonds (59.0) In second place in WAR for left fielders is Melky Cabrera, but he is DISQUALIFIED for using performance-enhancing drugs. We simply don't abide by that sort of tomfoolery around these parts. So let's celebrate Bonds instead. If you were there, you'll never be able to explain it properly. If you weren't there, you'll never understand. Bonds' on-base percentage in those eight seasons was .517, which seems low. Pat Burrell and Alex Dickerson both hit 23 home runs as a Giants left fielder this millennium, which is the second-highest total after Bonds, who hit 37 home runs in 114 games against the Padres alone. Advertisement WAR leader: Andrés Torres (7.8) Finally, a tough decision! Torres' WAR total is mostly inflated by his incredible 2010 season, so Pagán gets the tiebreaker because of longevity. And because this is one of the greatest regular-season moments in the ballpark: It wouldn't take long for Jung Hoo Lee to claim this spot. Check back in the year 2050*. (* Just kidding. There isn't going to be a 2050.) WAR leader: Mike Yastrzemski (15.4) Unlike some of the other positions, you have to scroll a while in right field to get to the players you don't remember. It doesn't take that long to start remembering some guys — Ryan McKenna, Ka'ai Tom and Francisco Santos round out the top 20, which is a combination of words that might make you think I used Chat GPT to write this whole thing — but the top five is a heckuva group: Yastrzemski, Randy Winn, Hunter Pence, Ellis Burks and Moises Alou. All of them have arguments for a spot on the team, depending on what's important to you. If you're counting championship rings and popularity, it's Pence all the way. The WAR gap (Pence had 9.9) is hard to ignore, though, and when you dig into the traditional numbers, it's still Yastrzemski, who has more homers, more doubles and a higher OBP and SLG. He'll probably catch Pence in games played and runs scored before the end of this season, too. There won't be a lot of recent Giants who make this team, so take a minute to appreciate how good Yastrzemski has been over the last few years. WAR leader: Hard to say. Austin Slater had the best OPS (.869) when he didn't start the game, but they don't give WAR totals in those same splits. If you don't care about plate appearances, note that Scott Munter has the best OPS among all reserves, with a 3.000 OPS (one double and one sac bunt in two plate appearances). Advertisement It's tricky to figure out where the starters end and the reserves begin. Wilmer Flores would make it, but he's started too much. Same goes with a lot of other players. Torrealba faced stiff competition from Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, Willie Mac Award winner Nick Hundley and Doug Mirabelli, but he did the job — and did it well — for so long, that he didn't just lead backup catchers in WAR. He led them by a hefty amount. If the Giants trusted him to be a starter behind the plate, they don't make the A.J. Pierzynski trade. Sounds great, but then Francisco Liriano gives up three earned runs in Game 1 of the 2010 NLDS and Tim Lincecum gets drafted by the Diamondbacks. Be careful what you wish for. Hands up if you can't say Arías' full name without adding 'FROM DEEP THIRRRRRD' afterward. This will continue for the rest of your lives, and you're better for it. And as long as we're referencing the announcers' part in these memories, listen to the mirth in Mike Krukow's voice here: I'd wager that Blanco might have a chance to be on the all-2000s bench if you widen the pool to include all 30 teams. We're talking dedicated reserves, not younger players trying to win a starting job one day, and not declining name-brand veterans. He was the platonic ideal of an extra outfielder. Played all three positions, did a ton well. The Giants probably have one championship without him. Slater is healthy again and has two home runs for this year's White Sox team. You'll never believe it, but both of the homers came against left-handers. WAR leaders: See above Some writers will have to make tough decisions for their team's list. The Giants did not make it very difficult. Without Webb, it would have been Ryan Vogelsong, most likely, although Johnny Cueto had the highest WAR among runners-up. Advertisement The WAR ranking has Bumgarner first, followed by Cain, Schmidt, Lincecum and Webb, in that order. Webb has a shot to move into third place by the end of the season, though. Mostly, I just want a time machine, some robot parts and Tim Lincecum's trust. We'll get him fixed up in short order. WAR leader: Sergio Romo (9.2) Again, we're trying to put these pitchers in the roles they were actually in for the Giants. So while we can't use Casilla's time as middle reliever to support his case as the quarter-century closer, we can definitely use it to point out that he was one of the better middle relievers on the team for quite a while. For a couple seasons, his role was comparable to what Randy Rodríguez is doing for this year's team, and a funny aside is that Casilla has just 3 1/3 career innings in the World Series, despite being a healthy, effective reliever in the 16 World Series games his team played in. There will be multiple high-leverage relievers who get that in this year's NLDS alone, I'll wager. Kontos might be a surprise, but I'm defining the role as someone who you felt comfortable getting up in the fifth inning, but typically came into the sixth or seventh of a normal game. Nobody filled that role better than Kontos over the years. The biggest snub is Robb Nen, who was brilliant when healthy and almost helped pitch the Giants to a championship with a shoulder that was filled with spiders and molten pain. He had a legitimate argument over Wilson, who had only three full seasons as the closer. How many games would these players win if they were on the same team? Probably none. Galarraga is 63 years old, fer cryin' out loud. Bonds is 60, and it would be hard to expect anything better than a .380 OBP and 25 homers out of him now. It sure is an impressive collection of players, though, and there weren't a lot of tough choices or unfortunate snubs. The quarter-century Giants team is filled with a lot of obvious selections, which goes quite a ways toward explaining why most of the last 25 seasons were so much fun. Would I trade it all for my youth and a chance to relive those 25 years? Of course not. I'd do that only if it were possible. And it's not possible. Right? Seems like it's not a real thing. But if it is, please reach out. I would definitely trade everything for it. My heavens, I was young once. You should have seen my head of hair and boundless youthful energy. It was glorious. At least the Giants made it fun while it lasted. And, considering there of a couple players up there on this year's team, some of that fun can still be had today. (Top photo of Bonds: Jon Soohoo / Getty Images)
New York Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Texas Rangers' All-Quarter Century Team, a 26-man roster of the club's best since 2000
Editor's note: The Athletic is marking 2025 by naming an MLB All-Quarter Century Team, selected by Jayson Stark. We're inviting readers to take our survey and make their picks for the best players at each position since 2000, with the results announced in an upcoming story. Some of our beat writers are picking All-Quarter Century Teams for the teams they cover. Check this page to find all of our All-Quarter Century Team coverage. Advertisement On Thursday, Jayson Stark gave us his version of an MLB All-Quarter Century Team, and that got a few of us around here thinking: What would a franchise-specific team look like? Let's dig in and find out. First, the rules: Only stats from 2000-2025 count toward this exercise. So, for instance, you won't find Rusty Greer on this list, even though he stuck around until 2002, because he played only 218 games over those three years, for a combined 2.4 WAR (Baseball Reference). He has a case for an all-time Rangers team, but for the purposes of this exercise, he's out — his biggest contributions came from 1994-1999. The other way my team differs from Stark's is that I'm putting together a full 26-man roster with a dual goal: honor the players who contributed the most in this era and build a roster constructed to win a playoff bracket against other teams our writers are cooking up around the league. Here we go. Yes, his best years were pre-2000, so we're not getting vintage Pudge here. But even though Rodriguez played only four seasons in Texas after the turn of the century (one of which was the back half of the 2009 season, in which he played just 28 games), he's still the team's most valuable catcher of the 2000s with 12.9 WAR (FanGraphs). Imagine how much easier this exercise would be if the team hadn't let him depart in free agency after 2002, when he went on to win the 2003 World Series with the Marlins and the last three of his 13 Gold Gloves in Detroit. Rafael Palmeiro certainly has an argument here. He hit 14 more home runs than Teixeira in the 2000s, and … actually, that's it. Of Palmeiro's 44.6 bWAR as a Ranger, 23.7 of it came in the 1990s, leaving 20.9 bWAR in the 2000s. Teixeira outpaces him in just about every other category (and he's close in on-base percentage and slugging percentage). Notably, he was worth 21.5 bWAR with the Rangers, just ahead of Palmeiro's total for this exercise. But I'm giving Teixeira bonus value for this: When the Rangers traded him, they acquired five players, including three — Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison and Neftalí Feliz — who helped the team make its first World Series appearances in 2010 and '11. We could have a debate about Michael Young here, but bear with me. (Spoiler: He'll be on this list, just not at second base.) It might surprise you to know that when I filtered for Rangers players between 2000 and 2025, Kinsler was the third-most valuable player by fWAR (29.3, trailing only Adrián Beltré and Andrus). Kinsler caught a lot of flak for a perceived plethora of popups (#IKPU was a frequent hashtag in those days), but the facts are the facts: No other second baseman since 2000 comes close. Advertisement Before you scroll immediately to the comments section, let me just say: I know. But I'm building a team to win, and while Andrus was indubitably a better ambassador for the team, Rodriguez's three years in Texas were otherworldly. Look at these numbers, accumulated in three seasons. .305/.395/.615 (1.011 OPS), 156 home runs, 395 RBIs, 25.5 bWAR, 1,146 total bases. He was not a Ranger at heart, no. And given his later suspensions for performance-enhancing drugs, there's every reason to believe those numbers were a byproduct of the, uh, era. But I'm sorry, I don't think there has been a Rangers player — maybe not even in their entire history — who was a more dangerous hitter than 2002-04 A-Rod. His 27.0 fWAR as a Ranger ranks fourth since 2000, and he did it in 485 games. Nobody else in the top five played fewer than 1,066. Roast me if you will, but look: Do you want to beat Chandler Rome's Astros or not? By far the easiest choice of this entire exercise. Beltré sealed his Hall of Fame induction over his eight-year tenure in Arlington. In the process, he provided Rangers fans with some milestones — his 300th and 400th home runs, his 3,000th hit, his last three Gold Glove awards, precisely one stolen base per year — and more than a few moments of sheer joy. If you want to hear more about why this pick was so easy, I wrote about him when he was elected to the Hall of Fame. I'm not sure there's much argument to be had here, either. Shin-Soo Choo got on base at a much higher clip, but never approached Cruz's power. Joey Gallo did, but his 36.7 percent strikeout rate blows past Cruz's 22.4 percent. (To be fair, Gallo's 14.9 percent walk rate was close to double Cruz's 7.8 percent.) Gallo (who was better in Texas than you remember if you're a Yankees, Twins or Nationals fan) was kind of close. But while it's easy to remember the one moment — you know the one — the fact is that the Rangers don't make it to the 2011 World Series without Cruz going 8-for-22 (.364) with six home runs in six games against the Tigers in the ALCS. His walk-off grand slam in the 11th inning of Game 2 is one of the top five greatest moments in franchise history. Advertisement Some idiot once said 'I don't think there has been a Rangers player — maybe not even in their entire history — who was a more dangerous hitter than 2002-04 A-Rod.' What a fool. What an absolute buffoon. Because 2010 Josh Hamilton was so good that I might have included him on this list even if that was the only season he ever played for Texas. Fortunately for me, the choice is much easier, since he was in Texas for five years, including that transcendent MVP season. One hundred nineteen players have gotten at least one start in left field for the Rangers since 2000. Murphy started 482 games there from 2007-2013, the most among the group. The next three on the list? Hamilton (253) and Kevin Mench (239). In the 1,731 games (counting the 60-game 2020 season plus 51 this year) since Murphy's departure, the Rangers have started 61 different players in left field. The leader? Willie Calhoun with 149 starts. Not a single left fielder has even played 162 games at the position in over 11 years. The only other real contender here is Choo, but he played more right field than left. Their career numbers with the Rangers are comparable — Choo had more home runs, but Murphy's slugging percentage was still higher — so I'm giving the nod to Murphy, just because he's been the only stable left fielder the Rangers have had since Greer. Since defense and speed (and ergo, range) were the biggest knocks on Young elsewhere — but it doesn't seem right to bench the club's all-time leader in so many offensive categories — this feels like the best fit. The upside: If this hypothetical team ever played a full 162, having Young on the roster would give it a lot of flexibility, since he could fill in at all four infield positions. That's going to come into play later. Just for fun, here's my batting order: 2B Kinsler CF Hamilton SS A. Rodriguez 3B Beltré RF Cruz 1B Teixeira C I. Rodriguez DH Young LF Murphy Advertisement That lineup isn't hugely imbalanced, with six right-handed hitters, two lefties and a switch-hitter. But we'll balance it a little more by taking switch-hitting Heim as our second catcher, with big apologies to Mike Napoli, who spent only two full seasons with the Rangers (plus 35 games in 2015). Napoli's postseason heroics made this a tough choice, but with Pudge as our starter, the ability to have a defense-first switch hitter on the bench was too tempting. With Young capable of filling in for a different infielder every day, that leaves us with three spots, so let's identify our three biggest needs: speed, a big left-handed bat, and outfield defense. The team doesn't feel right without Andrus, and he just so happens to be the franchise's all-time leader in stolen bases. Bonus: He could serve as a late-innings defensive replacement for Rodriguez or Kinsler at shortstop or second base, respectively. If we'd gone with a 25-man roster, I would have to shake things up and include Leonys Martín, since he hit left-handed and was a good defender. Instead, we still have two spots: a lefty bat and a fourth outfielder. That allows us to sneak Corey Seager onto the team. There. We have Seager and Andrus on the team. You can now forgive me for putting Alex Rodriguez on this list. That leaves one spot. Maybe this is recency bias, but given how good García was in the 2023 postseason before he was injured (and the fact he won a Gold Glove that year), I didn't have to think too hard about adding him to the roster. He can pinch hit for Murphy if the opposition brings in a lefty late in the game, and would also be a fantastic late-innings defensive replacement in right field if the team happens to be one out away from winning a World Series. Which brings me to this decision: Sorry, Wash. Bochy was at helm when the Rangers won their first-ever World Series. Maybe we should ding him for being on the other side of the field when Ron Washington's 2010 squad made the first World Series appearance in franchise history. But I'm not gonna do that. Advertisement You know what's tricky? Evaluating pitching value across this century. If I were putting together a roster to win a World Series, I would absolutely take Rangers-era Jacob deGrom over peak Kenny Rogers, and it's not even close. If this exercise was to put together the best single seasons in these years, I'd have to take a hard look at 2015 Mike Minor and 2019 Lance Lynn. But if the point is to choose a team based on their contributions to the Rangers from 2000-25, we can't leave out Rogers — or Lewis, for that matter. For what it's worth, they're both tied for second with the Rangers in fWAR (14.1) over this period. For a franchise that was so long defined by its big bats, Rogers and Lewis were the two biggest workhorses of this century. The leader in that category, by the way, is Darvish at 18.1 fWAR. He was the first guy who came to mind even before I consulted the numbers. That's an easy slam-dunk. For the other two, I'm including their importance to the franchise beyond just regular-season numbers. I debated putting Cliff Lee on here, since his presence was central to the first World Series team, but he was only in Texas for 15 starts. Instead, we'll go with Hamels, who was central to the team's return to the postseason in 2015-16. And of course, Eovaldi was the ace on the first World-Series-winning team in franchise history, and started the clinching game. Apologies to Kevin Millwood, Martín Pérez, Derek Holland and C.J. Wilson (for now). Cordero has more saves (117) than any other Ranger in this timeframe and Feliz is second (93). The latter also has a statue outside the stadium commemorating the moment he struck out another member of this list to send the Rangers to their first World Series. Those two are easy picks. So is Francisco, who pitched 277 games and carried a 3.75 ERA for the Rangers in a time when home runs were soaring out of ballparks around the league. Advertisement Nathan's best years were in Minnesota, but in two seasons in Texas, he amassed more value (4.1 bWAR) than all but three relievers, and more saves than all but the two I just mentioned. It was a brief-but-brilliant tenure. As for Leclerc: His ninth-inning meltdowns (and there were a few) notwithstanding, he was also untouchable when he was on — maybe the nastiest reliever I've seen in a Rangers uniform. He also appeared in more games during these years than any Rangers reliever besides Cordero, and his 11.83 K/9 ranks third (behind Kirby Yates and David Robertson, each of whom pitched just one year in Texas). You might be surprised to see Claudio on this list. Not only was he one of my favorite pitchers to watch (the soft-slinging lefty wibble-wobble set was an all-time signature pitching move), but he also amassed more bWAR than any other left-handed Rangers reliever since 2000. Not Darren Oliver, not Matt Moore, not Jake Diekman — not even Wilson, who I am including here as a nod to his importance to the 2010 and 2011 World Series teams (even though he started in those years). I'm also including Wilson because his versatility would allow him to spot start, close, or anything in between. That brings us to the last name on the list: Sborz, who threw the curveball that sealed the franchise's first championship. There are a few franchises that don't have that guy in their history books yet. Sborz has been worth a mere 1.4 fWAR (and -0.6 bWAR) in his four seasons with the Rangers (though his 11.11 K/9 is fourth-best of all candidates). Don't care. He threw the pitch. He's on the list. (Top photo of Adrián Beltré: Rick Yeatts / Getty Images)
New York Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Presenting the Cardinals' All-Quarter Century Team, the best in St. Louis since 2000
Editor's note: The Athletic is marking 2025 by naming an MLB All-Quarter Century Team, selected by Jayson Stark. We're inviting readers to take our survey and make their picks for the best players at each position since 2000, with the results announced in an upcoming story. Some of our beat writers are picking All-Quarter Century Teams for the teams they cover. Check this page to find all of our All-Quarter Century Team coverage. Advertisement Full disclosure: This last quarter-century of baseball is all I've ever known. As a baseball writer still grasping to her late-20s, I grew up in an era when the St. Louis Cardinals set the standard in drafting and development. It wasn't until much later, when I took over as The Athletic's Cardinals beat writer in 2021, that I started to understand just how imperative that era was for this franchise. The Cardinals have made the playoffs in 16 of their past 25 seasons, including two World Series championships. Even during their current down stretch, they remain one of baseball's most prestigious and respected franchises. That's partly what made this exercise so hard (the other part being that I was a pre-teen/early teenager during the Cardinals' most dominant stretches). But if I know how to do one thing, it's how to annoy people with relentless questions. And that's exactly what I did as I surveyed various people around the ballpark over the past week, taking as many different opinions on players before my final submission. Below is The Athletic's official St. Louis Cardinals All-Quarter Century team. I look forward to you all agreeing with me. In the case that you don't, I'll try to do better when we do this again in 2050. Wow, who saw this one coming? I mean, he's only a two-time World Series champion, a 10-time All-Star, a nine-time Gold Glove Award winner, a future Hall of Famer and one of the best defensive catchers the game will ever see. Enough said. OK, I promise these get less obvious as we go on. But the resume of Mr. 703 speaks for itself. A World Series winner, twice. A three-time National League MVP, all with St. Louis. An 11-time All-Star. A six-time Silver Slugger and a two-time Gold Glove Award winner. He should be a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection when he's eligible in 2028. Advertisement No disrespect to his 10-year stint with the Los Angeles Angels, but when you think Albert Pujols, you think the St. Louis Cardinals. Some of his most magical swings came wearing the Birds on the Bat. The memorable moments range from his first career homer on April 6, 2001 (when he would later go on to win the National League Rookie of the Year), to his monstrous homer off Brad Lidge in the 2005 NLCS, to his first home run back in a Cardinals uniform in 2022 — the beginning of a truly storybook final season. And of course, there were career home runs No. 699 and No. 700 on the same night at Dodger Stadium. Who's forgetting that? In a franchise rich with legends and heroes, Pujols stands among the very top. There will simply never be another No. 5. Carpenter, who spent 12 of his 14 MLB seasons with St. Louis, debuted with the Cardinals when St. Louis was on a roll. His gritty, hard-nosed style captured the hearts of Cardinals fans, who certainly had plenty to cheer about from 2011-2015. Those times coincided with the start of Carpenter's career. He was a back-to-back All-Star in 2013 and 2014, and notched his third selection in 2016. In 2013, he led the National League in hits (199) and doubles (55) and won a Silver Slugger at second base. There has been no shortage of tenacious middle infielders in St. Louis (seriously, it's like a factory out here). But Carpenter's time with the Cardinals was special. He announced his retirement earlier in the month and is all but a lock for the Cardinals Hall of Fame. Renteria spent six seasons with the Cardinals, winning two Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers and a National League pennant in that time. He was also a two-time All-Star selection, so not too shabby. Rentería is the only player in Cardinals history to win Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards in the same season twice. He ranks second in shortstops in franchise history in home runs (71) and stolen bases (148) and third in batting average (.290, with a minimum of 1,500 plate appearances), hits (973) and RBIs (415). Advertisement Rentería was named to the team's 2025 Hall of Fame class in early April and will be inducted this September. Rolen was an All-Star in four of his six seasons with the Cardinals and was a key piece of their 2006 World Series team — the franchise's first title in a 24-year span. He was also instrumental in the team's National League championship season in 2004, where he set career highs in (deep breath) home runs (34), RBIs (124), batting average (.314), on-base percentage (.409), slugging percentage (.598) and OPS (1.007). He finished fourth in MVP voting that year, behind teammates Pujols and Jim Edmonds (who, spoiler, might be on this list as well). Rolen helped spark the Cardinals to four postseason appearances (including two World Series) and played in 32 playoff games for St. Louis. His booming home run off Roger Clemens in Game 7 of the NLCS that season ultimately sent the Cardinals to the World Series in 2004. While Rolen played for four organizations throughout his 17 MLB seasons, he chose to represent the Cardinals when he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023. The Cardinals are no strangers to excellence at the hot corner, and Nolan Arenado is certainly worthy of consideration here. But given Rolen's extensive postseason experience, it's his spot for now. He's a seven-time All-Star (four with St. Louis), a four-time Silver Slugger, a 2011 World Series champion and a Cardinal Hall of Famer. After coming to the Cardinals halfway through the 2009 season, the organization inked him to the largest free-agent contract in franchise history at the time. Good thing they did. Holliday led the Cardinals in OPS for three consecutive seasons from 2012-2014 and received MVP votes in five of his eight seasons as a Cardinal. In his 982 games with St. Louis, Holliday hit .293/.380/.494 and tallied 1,048 hits, 237 doubles, 156 homers and 616 RBIs. Holliday ranks third all time among Cardinals outfielders in home runs (behind Stan Musial and Ray Lankford) and was instrumental in the team's run in the early 2010s. Advertisement Edmonds was the definition of center-field superiority during his time with St. Louis. After being traded to the Cardinals in 2000, Edmonds won six straight Gold Gloves and was a human highlight reel in the outfield, dazzling fans with his rugged style. The Cardinals reached the playoffs in all but two of the eight seasons he played in St. Louis. In those eight seasons, Edmonds was an All-Star three times, hit .285 with 241 home runs — ranking fourth all time within the franchise — and won the Silver Slugger Award in 2004. Edmonds was elected into the Cardinals' inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2014 and remains an organizational favorite amongst Cardinals fans. Taguchi came to St. Louis in 2022, his age-32 season, becoming the Cardinals' first Japanese-born signing. It wasn't until 2004 when he started making an impact, but his role in the Cardinals' 2006 World Series championship turned him into a fan favorite. During the 2006 postseason, Taguchi hit a scorching .400/.438/.867 with two homers, tying his regular-season total. Other right fielders who played for the Cardinals (J.D. Drew, Lance Berkman, Larry Walker, to name a few) might have more prestigious career resumes. But Taguchi's impact in a short time in St. Louis matters more, given what it led to. This rotation features 515 Cardinals wins (200 from Wainwright), four World Series championships, 11 All-Star selections and two Cardinals Hall of Fame berths (and two more coming, once Lynn and Wainwright are eligible). Pick your favorite here, you can't go wrong. Few closers were as effective as Isringhausen in the 2000s. In the seven seasons he spent as the Cardinals' closer (from 2002 to 2008), Isringhausen made 401 appearances and holds the franchise record for saves (217) and ranks third amongst Cardinals relievers in strikeouts (373). He established the Cardinals' then-single-season record for saves in 2004 with 47, and followed up that performance with an All-Star selection in 2005. During Isringhausen's tenure, the Cardinals won the National League Central Division four times, the National League pennant twice and the World Series in 2006. He logged 408 innings and posted a 2.98 ERA with 217 total saves. Even with other stellar closers that followed behind him (Trevor Rosenthal and Ryan Helsley, both of whom have broken his previous single-season save record), Isringhausen still reigns supreme as the Cardinals' ninth-inning man. (Top photo of Yadier Molina, left, and Albert Pujols from 2022: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
