25 For 25: Cincinnati Reds 1945-1969
With everything that is going on that has extended out this offseason, I thought I would bring out a new set of 25 For 25 teams. This group is for the years 1945 through 1969 - the end of the war & return of the stars from service, the introduction of integrated baseball, the dominance of the New York teams generally and the Yankees specifically in the 50's, franchise shifts & expansion, and the second "Dead Ball" era. Prior to doing this research, so many of these players I was unfamiliar with, my knowledge largely limited to the Cardinals, the superstars, and what I had read from Bill James & others.
This team will follow the rules that I've laid out before: one player per season, all 25 years of the era; each player can only be selected once per franchise, not in multiple eras (can't pick Greg Maddux for ATL for 1994 & 1995); two players each at most positions (C, 1B, 2B,3B, SS), six outfielders (position based on most games played that year, outfield games combined), five starters (at least half of pitching appearances as GS that year), four relievers; using fWAR, bWAR, Win-Loss % w/avg team (basically Wins Above Average as a rate stat, referred to on B-R as waaWL%), and B-R WPA (note that earlier years are missing up to 30% of data and all seasons are missing at least a little bit, but it should be fairly representative). I will not be working up versions for any of the expansion franchises, as they will only have 8 or 9 seasons (or just one) to choose from.
Sometimes you have to make a choice between two phenomenal players in the same year, sometimes you get stuck with a nobody, sometimes a notable, long-time player gets left off, sometimes you're swimming with options, sometimes it looks like the discount bin at Blockbuster. That's part of the fun for me, making the puzzle pieces fit in the best way available. Please look over my list, tell me what you think, and challenge me on my selections - I look forward to hearing from you. (Link to all of my 25 For 25 posts)
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1945 - Eddie Miller SS - 115 G/452 PA, 1.9 fWAR/1.1 bWAR, .498 waaWL%, .238/.275/.404, -1.60 bWPA, 29th-MVP
1946 - Bobby Adams 2B - 94 G/346 PA, 2.2 fWAR/2.7 bWAR, .515 waaWL%, .244/.292/.344, -0.80 bWPA, 13 Rtot
1947 - Augie Galan OF - 124 G/491 PA, 3.7 fWAR/3.6 bWAR, .514 waaWL%, .314/.449/.416, 94 BB, +3.90 bWPA
1948 - Hank Sauer OF - 145 G/598 PA, 3.1 fWAR/3.3 bWAR, .507 waaWL%, .260/.340/.504, 35 HR, 97 RBI, +1.40 bWPA, 30th-MVP
1949 - Grady Hatton 3B - 137 G/605 PA, 2.5 fWAR/3.0 bWAR, .505 waaWL%, .263/.342/.413, +0.50 bWPA
1950 - Ewell Blackwell SP - 40 G/32 GS/261 IP, 6.4 fWAR/7.5 bWAR, .621 waaWL%, +4.00 bWPA, 17-15 W-L, 4/5 SvOpp, 2.97 ERA/3.18 FIP, All-Star, 11th-MVP
1951 - Harry Perkowski RP - 35 G/7 GS/102 IP, 2.0 fWAR/2.4 bWAR, .540 waaWL%, +1.10 bWPA, 3-6 W-L, 1/2 SvOpp, 3 Holds, 2.82 ERA/3.02 FIP
1952 - Ken Raffensberger SP - 38 G/33 GS/247 IP, 4.7 fWAR/6.2 bWAR, .596 waaWL%, +1.90 bWPA, 17-13 W-L, 1/4 SvOpp, 2.81 ERA/3.16 FIP, 1.6 BB/9, 23rd-MVP
1953 - Gus Bell OF - 151 G/665 PA, 4.0 fWAR/4.6 bWAR, .516 waaWL%, .300/.354/.525, 30 HR, 102 R/105 RBI/183 H, +2.30 bWPA, All-Star, 20th-MVP
1954 - Ted Kluszewski 1B - 149 G/659 PA, 7.4 fWAR/7.8 bWAR, .537 waaWL%, .326/.407/.642, 49 HR, 104 R/141 RBI/187 H, +6.70 bWPA, All-Star, 2nd-MVP
1955 - Smoky Burgess C - 116 G/477 PA, 3.5 fWAR/3.2 bWAR, .514 waaWL%, .306/.373/.499, 20 HR, +1.60 bWPA, All-Star
1956 - Roy McMillan SS - 150 G/574 PA, 3.9 fWAR/4.4 bWAR, .516 waaWL%, .263/.366/.344, +0.70 bWPA, 20 Rtot, All-Star, 6th-MVP
1957 - Ed Bailey C - 122 G/472 PA, 3.9 fWAR/3.6 bWAR, .516 waaWL%, .261/.377/.463, 20 HR, +1.50 bWPA, All-Star
1958 - Johnny Temple 2B - 141 G/653 PA, 3.6 fWAR/3.5 bWAR, .509 waaWL%, .306/.405/.402, 91 BB, +3.10 bWPA, 14th-MVP
1959 - Don Newcombe SP - 30 G/29 GS/222 IP, 5.6* fWAR/6.6* bWAR, .591 waaWL%, +1.80* bWPA, 13-8 W-L, 1/1 SvOpp, 3.16 ERA/3.54 FIP, 1.1 BB/9, 3.70 K/BB *(including batting)
1960 - Eddie Kasko 3B - 126 G/537 PA, 3.2 fWAR/3.7 bWAR, .513 waaWL%, .292/.359/.378, +1.00 bWPA
1961 - Vada Pinson OF - 154 G/660 PA, 6.8 fWAR/7.5 bWAR, .533 waaWL%, .343/.379/.504, 23 SB, 101 R/208 H, +2.60 bWPA, 18 Rtot, Gold Glove, 3rd-MVP
1962 - Frank Robinson OF - 162 G/701 PA, 8.2 fWAR/8.7 bWAR, .537 waaWL%, .342/.421/.624, 51 2B/39 HR, 134 R/1236 RBI/208 H, +6.60 bWPA, All-Star, 4th-MVP
1963 - Joe Nuxhall SP - 35 G/29 GS/217.1 IP, 5.4 fWAR/4.9 bWAR, .579 waaWL%, +2.70 bWPA, 15-8 W-L, 2/2 SvOpp, 2.61 ERA/2.38 FIP, 1.6 BB/9, 4.33 K/BB
1964 - Deron Johnson 1B - 140 G/519 PA, 2.7 fWAR/3.1 bWAR, .507 waaWL%, .273/.326/.472, 21 HR, +1.30 bWPA
1965 - Jim Maloney SP - 33 GS/255.1 IP, 7.4* fWAR/9.0* bWAR, .675 waaWL%, +4.60 bWPA, 20-9 W-L, 2.54 ERA/2.62 FIP, 8.6 K/9, All-Star, 21st-MVP *(including batting)
1966 - Billy McCool RP - 57 G/105.1 IP, 1.9 fWAR/4.0 bWAR, .540 waaWL%, +2.80 bWPA, 8-8 W-L, 18/25 SvOpp, 2.48 ERA/2.45 FIP, 8.9 K/9, 2.54 K/BB, All-Star
1967 - Ted Abernathy RP - 70 G/106.1 IP, 1.8 fWAR/6.2 bWAR, .551 waaWL%, +4.70 bWPA, 6-3 W-L, 28/34 SvOpp, 1 Hold, 1.27 ERA/2.30 FIP, 20th-MVP
1968 - Clay Carroll RP - 58 G/1 GS/121.2 IP, 1.2* fWAR/3.1* bWAR, .530 waaWL%, +1.80 bWPA, 7-7 W-L, 17/20 SvOpp, 1 Hold, 2.29 ERA/2.64 FIP *(including batting)
1969 - Bobby Tolan OF - 152 G/691 PA, 5.1 fWAR/5.3 bWAR, .520 waaWL%, .305/.347/.474, 10 3B/21 HR/26 SB, 104 R/93 RBI/194 H, +2.40 bWPA
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C - Smokey Burgess 1955, Ed Bailey 1957
1B - Ted Kluszewski 1954, Deron Johnson 1964
2B - Bobby Adams 1946, Johnny Temple 1958
3B - Grady Hatton 1949, Eddie Kasko 1960
SS - Eddie Miller 1945, Roy McMillan 1956
OF - Augie Galan 1947, Hank Sauer 1948, Gus Bell 1953, Vada Pinson 1961, Frank Robinson 1962, Bobby Tolan 1969
SP - Ewell Blackwell 1950, Ken Raffensberger 1952, Don Newcombe 1959, Joe Nuxhall 1963, Jim Maloney 1965
RP - Harry Perkowski 1951, Billy McCool 1966, Ted Abernathy 1967, Clay Carroll 1968