Baseball’s best players by position

By Rick Morris

This past weekend, during our 4^th annual FDH-produced charity marathon webcast, we utilized as we had during every earlier event bracket-style voting to determine the best players in Major League Baseball at each position. This was a key component of our broadcast and arguably our best one as it so often has been before. The judges may use any criteria: stats, defense, intangibles, being a good or bad teammate – any of these elements and others are equally valid.

The FDH judges were as follows: Nate Noy and me for the entire event, with the role of “third judge” being filled on a rotating basis by Tony Mazur for part of the first round, Mike Ptak for the other part of the first round and Jason Jones for the semifinals and finals.

First, let’s list our winners by position:

C: Victor Martinez

1B: Albert Pujols

2B: Chase Utley

SS: Jimmy Rollins

3B: Alex Rodriguez

LF: Manny Ramirez

CF: B.J. Upton

RF: Vladimir Guerrero

DH: David Ortiz

LHP: Johan Santana

RHP: Jake Peavy

CL: Jonathan Papelbon

NOTE: Players listed in bold won every round of votes by a unanimous decision.

Now, let’s examine the balloting by position:

CATCHER

First Round

Victor Martinez 3-0 over Benji Molina, Jorge Posada 3-0 over Joe Mauer, Brian McCann 2-1 over Ivan Rodriguez (Tony Mazur dissenting), Russell Martin 2-1 over Kenji Johjima (Tony Mazur dissenting).

Second Round

Victor Martinez 3-0 over Jorge Posada, Russell Martin 2-1 over Brian McCann (Jason Jones dissenting).

Finals

Victor Martinez 2-1 over Russell Martin (Rick Morris dissenting).

Notes

This position contained few real surprises, with the possible exception of Joe Mauer getting shut out in the first round against a player we all agreed would have significantly less offensive production this year in Jorge Posada. Russell Martin has to keep producing at a high level if he is to win the bracket next year.

FIRST BASE

First Round

Albert Pujols (3-0) over Paul Konerko, Carlos Pena (2-1) over Justin Morneau (Rick Morris dissenting), Ryan Howard (3-0) over Lance Berkman, Prince Fielder (2-1) over Derek Lee (Nate Noy dissenting).

Second Round

Albert Pujols (3-0) over Carlos Pena, Ryan Howard (3-0) over Prince Fielder.

Finals

Albert Pujols (2-1) over Ryan Howard (Rick Morris dissenting).

Notes

I was greatly surprised that Pena’s one great year was enough to get him past a former MVP in Morneau. Nate offered a very passionate and entertaining defense of Lee, who he sees as the epitome of an all-around player. We all liked Fielder a great deal, but each of us preferred Howard by a slim margin. I took Howard in the finals just because of remaining questions about the health of Pujols’ elbow.

SECOND BASE

First Round

Chase Utley (3-0) over Placido Polanco (3-0), Jeff Kent (2-1) over Dan Uggla (Tony Mazur dissenting), Robinson Cano (2-1) over Brian Roberts (Nate Noy dissenting), Brandon Phillips (3-0) over Mark Ellis.

Second Round

Chase Utley (3-0) over Jeff Kent, Brandon Phillips (2-1) over Robinson Cano (Jason Jones dissenting).

Finals

Chase Utley (3-0) over Brandon Phillips.

Notes

We saw very few surprises at this position. Jason had such respect for Cano that he took him over Phillips in the second round, but that was about it. Utley made it through on three consecutive 3-0 votes.

SHORTSTOP

First Round

Jimmy Rollins (2-1) over J.J. Hardy (Tony Mazur dissenting), Derek Jeter (2-1) over Troy Tulowitzki (Rick Morris dissenting), Hanley Ramirez (3-0) over Miguel Tejada, Jose Reyes (3-0) over Khalil Greene.

Second Round

Jimmy Rollins (2-1) over Derek Jeter (Jason Jones dissenting), Hanley Ramirez (2-1) over Jose Reyes (Rick Morris dissenting).

Finals

Jimmy Rollins (3-0) over Hanley Ramirez.

Notes

This position turned out to be way more fun and interesting than second base. My regard for Tulow’s upside was controversial in the first round inasmuch as it came at the expense of the sainted Derek Jeter, “King of All Intangibles.” The role of defense came up in both second-round matchups as Nate and I voted for Rollins in part because of his superior range and I voted for Reyes because Ramirez is a butcher with his glove. Ramirez lost in the finals because Rollins could trump him on defense but also match him for power.

THIRD BASE

First Round

Alex Rodriguez (3-0) over Mike Lowell, Aramis Ramirez (3-0) over Garrett Atkins, Miguel Cabrera (3-0) over Chipper Jones, David Wright (3-0) over Troy Glaus.

Second Round

Alex Rodriguez (3-0) over Aramis Ramirez, David Wright (3-0) over Miguel Cabrera.

Finals

Alex Rodriguez (2-1) over David Wright (Rick Morris dissenting).

Notes

In a round filled with 3-0 results, the most surprising by far was Wright/Cabrera. Wright’s speed and defense guided him to a narrow win on each of our ballots. I voted for Wright in the finals largely on the strength of getting along with his teammates significantly better than Rodriguez.

LEFT FIELD

First Round

Manny Ramirez over Eric Byrnes (3-0), Carl Crawford (3-0) over Carlos Lee, Alfonso Soriano (2-1) over Ryan Braun (Tony Mazur dissenting), Matt Holliday (3-0) over Hideki Matsui.

Second Round

Manny Ramirez (2-1) over Carl Crawford (Rick Morris dissenting), Matt Holliday (2-1) over Alfonso Soriano (Nate Noy dissenting).

Finals

Manny Ramirez (2-1) over Matt Holliday (Rick Morris dissenting).

Notes

I came close to voting for Braun in the first round, but his poor defense at third base, combined with his position switch, made him too suspect in my book. I preferred Crawford to Ramirez largely because of defensive considerations, as well as the fact that Crawford turns the statistically-significant age 27 this year. Nate voted against Holliday in the semifinals largely because of his home/road splits. I was fairly incredulous that I got outvoted in the Ramirez/Holliday finals. In my personal opinion, too much weight was given to the outcome of the World Series and the length of Manny’s track record and too little weight was given to Holliday’s defensive and team-oriented advantages.

CENTER FIELD

First Round

B.J. Upton (3-0) over Vernon Wells, Torii Hunter (2-1) over Andruw Jones (Nate Noy dissenting), Carlos Beltran (2-1) over Ichiro (Nate Noy dissenting), Grady Sizemore over Curtis Granderson (3-0).

Second Round

B.J. Upton (2-1) over Torii Hunter (Nate Noy dissenting), Carlos Beltran (3-0) over Grady Sizemore.

Finals

B.J. Upton (2-1) over Carlos Beltran (Nate Noy dissenting).

Notes

This position looked like it would be the most wide-open when we started and it did not disappoint. The twists and turns were amazing, from the dubious-about-Beltran Nate Noy voting against him in the first round and for him in the next two rounds (including the finals, when he was on his own on that one!). The battle of emerging young AL Central centerfielders between Sizemore and Granderson was closer than it looked, as all of us narrowly gave Grady the nod and then all of us narrowly voted against him vs. Beltran in the second round! In the end, an unlikely candidate came out on top, as a player who only moved to center field in the second half of 2007 was proclaimed the best in the game at the position – largely due to the matchups he faced in this topsy-turvy bracket.

RIGHT FIELD

First Round

Vladimir Guerrero (3-0) over Brad Hawpe, Nick Markakis (2-1) over Jeff Francouer (Mike Ptak dissenting), Alex Rios (2-1) over Jermaine Dye (Nate Noy dissenting), Magglio Ordonez (3-0) over Corey Hart.

Second Round

Vladimir Guerrero (3-0) over Nick Markakis, Magglio Ordonez (2-1) over Alex Rios (Rick Morris dissenting).

Finals

Vladimir Guerrero (3-0) over Magglio Ordonez.

Notes

The Francouer/Markakis discussion was a lot of fun as we debated the merits of these different but compelling young stars. I felt strongly that Rios and Ordonez might well be ships crossing in the night this season, but I was outvoted. Guerrero did not have a vote cast against him in either of the three rounds, although I really hedged on voting for Markakis.

DESIGNATED HITTERS

First Round

David Ortiz (3-0) over Frank Thomas, Jim Thome (3-0) over Barry Bonds (listed because we felt he would be most likely to play as a DH this year if he signs with anyone), Travis Hafner (3-0) over Jack Cust, Gary Sheffield (3-0) over Sammy Sosa.

Second Round

David Ortiz (3-0) over Jim Thome, Travis Hafner (2-1) over Gary Sheffield (Nate Noy dissenting).

Finals

David Ortiz (3-0) over Travis Hafner.

Notes

This position didn’t have a ton of drama, as Ortiz was not seriously challenged in any round en route to three 3-0 victories and the rest of the first round matchups were not very competitive. Nate cast the only dissenting vote in the entire round in taking up for Sheffield’s ability to hang on at a level higher than Hafner this year. The judges agreed that a year ago, Hafner would have won in the finals given his career trajectory, but that he’d have to have a great 2008 to get within sniffing distance of Ortiz next year.

LEFT-HANDED STARTING PITCHER

First Round

Johan Santana (3-0) over Mark Buehrle, Scott Kazmir (3-0) over Oliver Perez, Cole Hamels (2-1) over Francisco Liriano (Rick Morris dissenting), C.C. Sabathia (3-0) over Jeff Francis.

Second Round

Johan Santana (3-0) over Scott Kazmir, C.C. Sabathia (2-1) over Cole Hamels (Rick Morris dissenting).

Finals

Johan Santana (3-0) over C.C. Sabathia.

Notes

Santana breezed through with 3-0 decisions in every round, although he might not have beaten Liriano on my ballot had he advanced to the finals (and Jason Jones, who was not part of the balloting where Liriano was eliminated, agreed with me on that). I was a bit surprised that Sabathia beat Hamels, but that Cy Young Award apparently carried some weight. In the finals, we all agreed that we had probably seen Sabathia’s high-water mark in ’07, and it was still barely better than an average year by Santana’s standards.

RIGHT-HANDED STARTING PITCHER

Qualifying Round (we added an extra round at this position because of the sheer depth of it)

Josh Beckett (3-0) over Tim Hudson, Roy Oswalt (2-1) over Roy Halladay (Tony Mazur dissenting), Chris Young (2-1) over Brad Penny (Nate Noy dissenting), John Lackey (2-1) over John Smoltz (Nate Noy dissenting), Jake Peavy (3-0) over Felix Hernandez, Dan Haren (3-0) over Erik Bedard, Justin Verlander (2-1) over Fausto Carmona (Nate Noy dissenting), Brandon Webb (2-1) over Carlos Zambrano (Nate Noy dissenting).

First Round

Josh Beckett (3-0) over Roy Oswalt, John Lackey (3-0) over Chris Young, Jake Peavy (3-0) over Dan Haren, Brandon Webb (3-0) over Justin Verlander.

Second Round

Josh Beckett (2-1) over John Lackey (Rick Morris dissenting), Jake Peavy (3-0) over Brandon Webb.

Finals

Jake Peavy (2-1) over Josh Beckett (Jason Jones dissenting).

Notes

We had surprises a’plenty here, from Haren eking out the slimmest 3-0 victory you’ve ever seen from the judges to him being on the reverse end of such a decision in the next round against Peavy. Webb also lost a narrower-than-it-looked 3-0 result to Peavy. Beckett and Peavy both looked like freight trains rolling into their final matchup, but ultimately Peavy’s longer track record of dominance outweighed Beckett’s ascension as the best big-game pitcher in the game.

CLOSER

First Round

Jonathan Papelbon (3-0) over Mariano Rivera, J.J. Putz (3-0) over Francisco Cordero, Joe Nathan (3-0) over Trevor Hoffman, Francisco Rodriguez (3-0).

Second Round

Jonathan Papelbon (3-0) over J.J. Putz, Joe Nathan (2-1) over Francisco Rodriguez (Jason Jones dissenting).

Finals

Jonathan Papelbon (3-0) over Joe Nathan.

Notes

Papelbon just rolled through our competition, destroying even those closers who themselves won 3-0 battles. The only real drawn-out discussion was Rodriguez/Nathan, which was a good one.