Now, here's the test ... Visit the BaseballReference.com page that breaks down major league player birth by U.S. state and/or nationality and build yourself your own Hall of Names team, one that's better'n this here Canadian one. Then send it [in] and we'll publish it here at Batter's Box.Much to absolutely nobody's surprise, longtime Batter's Box contributor Craig Burley was the first to answer the challenge (okay, he was actually first through third, but the other two teams will wait until later this week) ... so it's time to see what sort of Hall of Names squad he was able to, uh, "Mobile-ize" ...
By Craig Burley
Here's an "All-Mobile, Alabama" team which would thrash the Canadian team in a seven-game series... five Hall-of-Famers and six real good players with some marginal players around them. There are only three pitchers of any consequence, but that should be enough.
Only players listed as born in Mobile itself, or in settlements that are now a part of Mobile itself, are used here -- Mobile has a population of around 200,000, roughly the same size as Regina or Saskatoon.
THE MOBILE HOMEBOYS
** indicates Hall of Fame
* indicates All-Star
Starting Lineup
C Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe
1B Willie McCovey**
2B Frank Bolling*
SS Ozzie Smith**
3B Alec Radcliffe
LF Billy Williams**
CF Amos Otis*
RF Hank Aaron**
DH Jack Bolling
Bench
C Bob Henley
IF Jim Mason
IF Red Rollings
OF Juan Pierre
1B Dave "Showboat" Thomas
OF Buddy Bradford
Rotation
RHSP Satchel Paige**
RHSP Jake Peavy*
RHSP Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe
LHSP Leo Townsend
5SP-RH Wade Taylor
Bullpen
CL-RH Terry Adams
RH-SET Randy McGillberry
LH-SET Herb Kelly
RH-LONG Courtney Duncan
LH-LONG Charlie Fritz
Mobile Phone Notes ... The Canadian team should be begging for mercy around the seventh inning of the first game ... Put McCovey at DH and Dave Thomas (the Negro Leagues' greatest fielding 1B) at first, and you have not only a tremendous fielding side, but three 40-homer men and six guys who might hit .300 ... And oh, by the way, one of the four or five best righthand starting pitchers ever as your #1 hurler ...
We're able to carry an extra position player because our 10-man pitching staff includes, among the others listed, Negro League great Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, who is the #3 starter -- that IS why they called him Double-Duty, after all ... If you don't like Bob Henley (who did hit .304 in his one year with the 1998 Expos) as the backup catcher in that situation, there's always Willie "Pat" Patterson or Jim "Pig" Harris, two more Negro League regulars ... How about that, just the one Smith and no Joneses on the team, but TWO Radcliffes, as still another Negro League star, Alec Radcliffe, made 11 East-West All-Star Games and was the best hitter in the history of that contest ... Yes, Ted and Alec were brothers -- talk about your Double Duty!
Among Those Not Making the Cut ... Drungo Hazewood did not make the team ... Also, Bobbie Robinson, another good Negro League 3B with an excellent glove, was from Whistler, which apparently is now part of Mobile but was just outside it in those days ... And yes, for the nitpicky, Billy Williams is also from Whistler and is included anyway ... Robinson might have made it as well -- he's probably miles better than Red Rollings ... If I could add players from around all of Mobile Bay, they might include Dave Stapleton from Fairhope as the utility player ... Bama Rowell was from Citronelle, not far away and would make a fair utility infielder/outfielder as well.
So what say Bauxites? Is this team as Mobile as it can be?
