Franchise Player Challenge - Answers
One of the features of my book Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises is the selection of a “franchise player” for each team’s chapter. The franchise player is the one that I considered (through 2018) the all-around best for that franchise’s entire history (including team name changes and location moves).
For some teams, there was a clear choice. But for others there were several candidates to consider, and you could reasonably make a case for any of them. I created a silhouette image to represent each of the players I chose, and these images are displayed to lead off each chapter.
I’ve presented this online as a challenge to baseball fans — how many can you identify? This page provides the answers below the images!
Silhouette Answers:
Row 1: Babe Ruth (Yankees), Bob Feller (Indians), Cal Ripken (Browns/Orioles), Cap Anson (Cubs), Craig Biggio (Astros), Ivan Rodriguez (Senators/Rangers)
Row 2: Giancarlo Stanton (Marlins), Robin Yount (Brewers), Randy Johnson (Diamondbacks), Rickey Henderson (Athletics), Ted Williams (Red Sox), Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners)
Row 3: Todd Helton (Rockies), Tom Seaver (Mets), Stan Musial (Cardinals), Mike Trout (Angels), Hank Aaron (Braves), Dave Stieb (Blue Jays)
Row 4: Evan Longoria (Rays), Mike Schmidt (Phillies), Gary Carter (Expos/Nationals), Walter Johnson (Senators/Twins), Honus Wagner (Pirates), George Brett (Royals)
Row 5: Frank Thomas (White Sox), Tony Gwynn (Padres), Johnny Bench (Reds), Ty Cobb (Tigers), Jackie Robinson (Dodgers), Willie Mays (Giants)
Even through the 2018 season when my book was published, some of the above choices as “franchise players” could certainly be argued. And that is even more true in some cases now, many years later. For instance:
Astros - Craig Biggio over Jeff Bagwell? And will Jose Altuve one day eclipse them both?
White Sox - Frank Thomas over Luke Appling or Eddie Collins (who was great, but only played half his career for Chicago)?
Indians/Guardians - Bob Feller over Nap LaJoie or Tris Speaker (who was great, but only played half his career for Cleveland)
Blue Jays - Dave Stieb over Roy Halladay (who was great, but had two of his best seasons for the Phillies). When will Vladdy become the choice here?
Cubs - Cap Anson over Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg, or Billy Williams?
Dodgers - Jackie Robinson over Sandy Koufax, Duke Snider, Don Drysdale, or Pee Wee Reese? Or with his career now complete, is the choice Clayton Kershaw?
Expos/Nationals - Gary Carter over Tim Raines or Andre Dawson?