With the MLB All-Star game next week, we look at the all-time American League All-Star team
Using the best single seasons in baseball history and the current All-Star Game roster rules, here is the all-time AL All-Star team.
Imagine an All-Star team with all of the best single-season performances in baseball history. You could have an American League outfield with Ted Williams in left field, Ty Cobb in center field, and Babe Ruth taking his place in right field. When Ted Williams comes out, you simply put Carl Yastrzemski in left field, handing the position from one Red Sox legend to another. Backing up Ty Cobb in center would be Mickey Mantle or Ken Griffey, Jr. If you need speed off the bench, you could send in Rickey Henderson or Mike Trout.
The pitching staff would be impressive, with old-schoolers Walter Johnson or Cy Young handing the ball over to modern-day studs like Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez. The bullpen would feature Rich “Goose” Gossage and Mariano Rivera, of course, along with a name only serious baseball fans might expect, Mark Eichhorn (his 1986 season was incredible).
The rules for populating the roster are the current all-star roster rules. There are 32 total roster spots for each league. This includes 20 position players and 12 pitchers. As always, every team must be represented. In the case of the all-time American League All-Star roster, the rule requiring every team to have a representative made things difficult because of two teams—the Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Astros have been a major league franchise since 1962, but were a National League team until 2013. This leaves just five seasons to choose from for an Astros representative. The Rays have been around since 1998, so we have 20 seasons from which to pick. That’s better, but it’s not close to the 100-plus years that some franchises have played.
With the MLB All-Star Game to be played on Tuesday, July 17, it’s fun to consider an all-time All-Star Game that would feature the best players from each league in their best seasons. Let’s look at the American League roster.