Call to the pen
Fansided

MLB best starting nine for each generation of fans

By Bobby Mueller

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 02: Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully is congratulated on the last game of his 67-year career by hall of famer Willie Mays and San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer during the fourth inning at AT
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 02: Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully is congratulated on the last game of his 67-year career by hall of famer Willie Mays and San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer during the fourth inning at AT /
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BOSTON – CIRCA 1955: (UNDATED FILE PHOTO) Baseball legend Ted Williams (1918 – 2002) of the Boston Red Sox (R) signs a baseball contract as Boston Manager Joe Cronin (1906 – 1984) looks on in 1958. The 83-year-old Williams, who was the last major league player to bat .400 when he hit .406 in 1941, died July 5, 2002 at Citrus County Memorial Hospital in Florida. He died of an apparent heart attack. (Photo by Getty Images) /

MLB Silent Generation fanbase (born 1928 to 1945)

~MLB Players active between 1936 and 1953~

 

 

Biggest Snub(s): 1B Johnny Mize (68.6 fWAR), SP Hal Newhouser (60.4 fWAR), SS Luke Appling (60.0 fWAR), 2B Jackie Robinson (47.7 fWAR), C Josh Gibson (Negro Leagues), 1B Buck Leonard (Negro Leagues)

Many members of this generation of MLB players missed time-fighting in World War II. Ted Williams not only fought in World War II, but he also fought in the Korean War later in his career. His career spanned two generations, so there are plenty of Baby Boomers who would also claim Williams as their own.

Similarly, Yogi Berra and Stan Musial had significant portions of their career playing in front of the Silent Generation and the Baby Boomers. Berra fell a few wins short of Bill Dickey during this period and wasn’t the equal of Joe Torre for the next period, so he’s in no-mans land when it comes to the greatest players by generation.

Musial, on the other hand, takes the first base spot easily on this team and was also good enough for the Baby Boomer generation to be a top 10 first baseman. If you consider Musial a left fielder, where he played more than 900 games, he is second to Williams during this term and also a top-10 left fielder during the Baby Boomer era. That’s why they call him “The Man.”

Joe DiMaggio is the starter in center field in front of the Greatest Generation fans. He didn’t have the WAR that Williams did, but he picked up nine World Series rings during his 13-year career. The center fielder with the second-most fWAR during this era was Joe’s brother and Williams’ teammate, Dom DiMaggio.

Bob Feller finished second to Hal Newhouser in Fangraphs WAR from 1936 to 1953 but missed three full seasons and part of a fourth while serving during World War II right at the height of his career. Newhouser continued to pitch in the big leagues and went a combined 54-18, with a 2.01 ERA in 1944 and 1945, winning back-to-back AL MVP Awards. Newhouser was a good pitcher, no question, but he was facing inferior talent those two years while Feller was serving the country. For me, this is enough to bump Feller ahead of him.

Satchel Paige is the pick for a top reliever on the Silent Generation squad, but he could pitch for any of the first three generations. Baseball-Reference has Paige beginning his career as a 20-year-old in the Negro Leagues in 1927 and pitching until he was 59 years old in the Carolina League in 1966. He even pitched three scoreless innings for the Kansas City A’s in the American League when he was 58 years old. Paige is simply timeless.

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