Nolan Ryan pitched for three teams in this division. Does he make any of their Franchise Four lists? Alex Rodriguez played for two. Does he make the cut? You can vote for your choices here at MLB.com.
Career leaders in WAR:
1. Jeff Bagwell, 79.6
2. Craig Biggio, 65.1
3. Jose Cruz, 51.2
4. Cesar Cedeno, 49.5
5. Lance Berkman, 48.0
6. Roy Oswalt, 45.5
7. Jimmy Wynn, 41.4
These seven players are substantially ahead of other Astros players in terms of career WAR with the franchise. What's interesting is that MLB.com left Oswalt off its ballot but included three other pitchers. To me, Oswalt is pretty clearly the best starter in Astros history. A comparison (numbers with Astros only):
Oswalt: 143-82, 3.24 ERA, 1932 IP, 133 ERA+, 45.4 WAR
Nolan Ryan: 106-94, 3.13 ERA, 1854 IP, 110 ERA+, 25.4 WAR
Mike Scott: 110-81, 3.30 ERA, 1704 IP, 107 ERA+, 24.8 WAR
J.R. Richard: 107-71, 3.15 ERA, 1606 IP, 108 ERA+, 21.5 WAR
It's really not close. Oswalt pitched the most innings and when you adjust for the fact that he pitched in the heart of the performance-enhancing drug era, he was clearly superior. Ryan, despite pitching on generally good teams (including playoff teams in 1980, 1981 and 1986), wasn't much over .500. Scott won the Cy Young Award with a dominant 1986 season and had a good five-year run from 1985 to 1989, but had just the one season with an ERA under 3.00 while pitching in the Astrodome. Richard had the tragic ending, suffering a stroke in 1980 when he was at the peak of his powers. The Astros likely would have won the World Series that year if he hadn't gone down.
Does Ryan deserve extra credit because he's Nolan Ryan? Do you take Scott because his 1986 was better than any Oswalt season? Or Richard because he threw harder? I've written that we don't have to just go with the best players here, but in this case, I think you go Oswalt. Now, do you take him over the hitters with more WAR? Hmm -- with apologies to Berkman and Cedeno, yes.
My picks: Bagwell, Biggio, Oswalt, Cruz
Career leaders in WAR:
1. Chuck Finley, 52.2
2. Jim Fregosi, 45.9
3. Tim Salmon, 40.5
4. Nolan Ryan, 40.2
5. Brian Downing, 37.8
6. Jered Weaver, 36.6
7. Bobby Grich, 34.9
8. Frank Tanana, 34.4
9. Darin Erstad, 32.6
10. Mike Trout, 29.0
11. Garret Anderson, 28.0
Yes, Trout is already 10th on the club's all-time WAR list, which is just sick. Are you surprised by Finley's ranking? He spent 14 years with the club and won 165 games with a 3.72 ERA. He only picked up Cy Young votes once but had 7-WAR seasons in 1990 and 1993 and was a five-time All-Star. He was good. Fregosi was the team's shortstop in the 1960s when the team wasn't making the postseason. He was a good fielder with some power who made six All-Star appearances. He's best remembered, however, for getting traded to the Mets for Ryan. Downing was the underrated stalwart of the 1980s, Salmon the underrated stalwart of the 1990s. Anderson is the club's all-time leader in plate appearances, RBIs, runs and hits.
So, who best defines the Angels? Certainly Ryan. I think you have to include Finley. The other two choices are tougher, but I feel like going fishing.
My picks: Ryan, Finley, Salmon, Trout
Career leaders in WAR:
1. Eddie Plank, 73.7
2. Rickey Henderson, 72.5
3. Lefty Grove, 65.2
4. Jimmie Foxx, 62.5
5. Eddie Collins, 57.3
6. Sal Bando, 52.8
7. Al Simmons, 52.0
8. Eddie Rommel, 50.4
9. Bert Campaneris, 49.0
10. Reggie Jackson, 48.0
11. Rube Waddell, 46.5
12. Bob Johnson, 44.8
13. Chief Bender, 43.2
14. Mark McGwire, 42.8
This one is complicated because you have several different eras of great A's teams that spanned two cities (with a losing interlude in Kansas City). You have the Eddie Collins-led Philadelphia A's that won World Series in 1910, 1911 and 1914. You have the Grove/Foxx/Simmons squads that won three consecutive AL pennants over the Ruth-Gehrig Yankees. You have the 1972-74 Oakland teams that won three World Series in a row. You have the Bash Brothers of McGwire and Jose Canseco. You even have the Moneyball-era A's that never got over the hump.
How do you sift through all that? The list above doesn't even include Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter or Dennis Eckersley. I'm going more gut than anything else here. When I think of the A's, I see Rickey stealing a bag, I see Reggie in green and gold and I see Eck pointing after a strikeout. Those are my first three. The fourth one? I see Rollie's 'stache. Plus, he was super clutch in the postseason in the '70s. Sorry to all of you Philadelphia A's fans.
My picks: Henderson, Jackson, Eckersley, Fingers
Career leaders in WAR:
1. Ken Griffey Jr., 70.4
2. Edgar Martinez, 68.3
3. Ichiro Suzuki, 56.8
4. Felix Hernandez, 46.2
5. Randy Johnson, 39.3
6. Alex Rodriguez, 38.0
7. Jamie Moyer, 34.6
They've only been around since 1977, but what a power-packed group to choose from. Leaving Rodriguez and Moyer out of it, we're left with five strong candidates for four spots. Griffey and Edgar are locks. The quick pros and cons of the other three:
Suzuki
Pro: Most WAR, MVP in 2001, two batting titles, single-season hits record, 10-time All-Star, Gold Gloves, style and flair, culturally important.
Con: Once tried to bunt for a base hit with two outs and a runner on second in selfish pursuit of that hits record; 2001 team that won 116 games lost in ALCS and he never returned to the postseason.
Hernandez
Pro: Two ERA titles, one Cy Young Award and two runner-ups, since reaching the majors leads all of MLB in pitching WAR, every one of his starts at Safeco is an event, that changeup.
Con: Has never pitched in a postseason game.
Johnson
Pro: Hall of Famer, four strikeout crowns with M's, that roar from the crowd when he came in from the bullpen in the playoffs in 1995, greatest slider ever, basically saved baseball in Seattle in '95 when he went 18-2 and won the Cy Young Award, that hair.
Cons: Really only had four great seasons in Seattle (1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997), sulked in 1998 before getting traded to Astros, wild as hell early on, that hair.
I asked three of my closest friends who are Mariners fans what they'd do: Two said they'd leave off Johnson and one said Suzuki. Difficult call but I'll go longevity and the Big Unit gets the short straw.
My picks: Griffey, Martinez, Hernandez, Suzuki
Career leaders in WAR:
1. Ivan Rodriguez, 49.4
2. Rafael Palmeiro, 44.4
3. Buddy Bell, 36.2
4. Jim Sundberg, 34.7
5. Ian Kinsler, 34.6
6. Charlie Hough, 33.1
7. Toby Harrah, 32.2
8. Juan Gonzalez, 31.8
9. Kenny Rogers, 31.6
MLB.com's ballot leaves off Bell, Sundberg, Kinsler and Hough but includes Adrian Beltre (25.3 WAR), Michael Young (25.5 WAR), Josh Hamilton (22.3 WAR) and Ryan (15.3 WAR).
Really, Pudge is the only automatic here. I'd next go Young, who played 13 seasons with the club and seems to be held in high affection by Rangers fans. Ryan was only with the Rangers for five seasons, but those five seasons he was an aging wunderkind who threw the last two of his seven no-hitters and cemented himself as a living legend. Gonzalez is the club's leader in home runs and RBIs and was a two-time MVP, even if they were ill-awarded MVPs. Do you take him over Palmeiro? Or maybe longtime Rangers fans take Bell or Sundberg.
My picks: Rodriguez, Young, Ryan, Gonzalez