HOFFBL Franchise Four Part 2: AL West

[Sha-Le Unique]

Less than a month ago during the real life 2015 MLB All-Star Game festivities, each team's "Franchise Four" was revealed before the All-Star Game itself. Earlier in the season, fans were asked to vote for the 4 best players in each team's franchise history out of 8 nominees. This inspired me and got me thinking...what would each HOFFBL team's Franchise Four look like at this point?

Thus, I went through the site and CATO extensively to search through every team's history and see who their 4 best players were that had the biggest impact on the given team for a long period of time. I'll then show what they did for their team(s) to show what kind of impact they had. Players can be eligible for multiple teams as long as they played for 3 full seasons, but if they spent a significant portion of their careers with 1 team, I will try to not consider them as part of another team as well. Longevity with the same team will be valued quite a bit here. I'll also provide 4 additional players per team as honorable mention nominees to make it look like an 8-nominee fan ballot like it was in reality.

Expansion teams will not be included unfortunately in this edition because of their very limited histories. They need more time for this.

Let's move onto the AL West teams.

Chicago White Sox



SP Mike Fornieles (1953-present)

- Is 2nd in White Sox history with 238 wins, 1st in ERA (2.75), 2nd in strikeouts (1941), 2nd in complete games (158) and 2nd in shutouts (40)

- Helped lead the White Sox to their 1st championship in 1959

- Was the 1959 postseason MVP, going 3-0 in 4 starts with a 0.77 ERA

- Has made 10 All-Star Game appearances in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964 and 1965

- Won the 1961 AL Gold Glove Award for pitchers



SP Mudcat Grant (1958-present)

- Has won 132 games, all with the White Sox in 7+ seasons, with a 3.25 ERA, 1761 strikeouts, and 27 shutouts

- Is a 2-time All-Star in 1963 and 1965

- Helped lead the White Sox to their 1st championship in 1959

- Put together his best season thus far in 1964, with 18 wins, a 2.32 ERA, 238 strikeouts and 5 shutouts

- Has led the AL in strikeouts 3 times in 1959, 1960 and 1963



SP Billy Pierce (1949-1964)

- Won 2 AL Cy Young Awards in 1954 (23 wins, 2.41 ERA, 196 strikeouts, 25 complete games, 3 shutouts) and 1959 (26 wins, 2.58 ERA, 194 strikeouts, 21 complete games, 7 shutouts)

- Leads White Sox in career wins (279), strikeouts (2474), complete games (253), and shutouts (53); 2nd in career ERA (2.93)

- Led AL twice in wins (1954, 1959), ERA 5 times (1954, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1962), strikeouts once (1954), complete games 3 times (1953, 1954, 1959) and shutouts 3 times (1953, 1956, 1959)

- Made 7 consecutive All-Star appearances between 1956-1962

- Led the White Sox to their 1st championship in 1959



OF Don Robertson (1958-present)

- Has hit over .300 since being traded to the White Sox in 1958, with 152 home runs, 623 RBI

- Leads the White Sox in career average, OBP, slugging, OPS, and home runs

- Is a 4-time All-Star with White Sox (1960,1963-1965)

- Helped lead the White Sox to their 1st championship in 1959

Honorable Mentions: Earl Battey, Joe Cunningham, Nellie Fox, Steve Ridzik

Cleveland Indians



LF/CF Rocky Colavito (1955-present)

- Indians career leader in doubles (335), home runs (233), RBI (1000), and walks (704)

- Is a 3-time All-Star (1956, 1960, 1965)

- Has won 2 Gold Glove Awards in left field in 1956 and 1958



SP Mike Garcia (1953-1958)

- Won 107 games over 6 seasons with the Indians, sporting a 3.25 ERA, 807 strikeouts, 103 complete games and 15 shutouts

- Posted a career season in 1953, with 21 wins and a 2.57 ERA

- Made 3 consecutive trips to the All-Star Game with the Indians between 1953-1955



RF Roger Maris (1958-1963)

- Is 3rd in Indians history in home runs and 6th in RBI

- Had a career season in 1959, with career highs in average (.282), slugging (.506) and OPS (.861), to go along with 25 doubles, 28 home runs and 102 RBI

- Was a 2-time All-Star with the Indians in 1959 and 1963

- Won 2 consecutive Gold Glove Awards in right field in 1961 and 1962



3B Al Rosen (1947-1959)

- Won 2 AL MVP Awards in 1954 (.366/.459/.627, 40 2B, 14 3B, 26 HR, 115 RBI, 99 BB, 125 R) and 1957 (.319/.402/.579, 23 2B, 10 3B, 35 HR, 123 RBI, 80 BB, 111 R)

- Won AL batting title in 1954 and AL RBI title in 1957

- Indians career leader in average, OBP, slugging and OPS

- Made 5 trips to the All-Star Game with the Indians in 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957 and 1958

Honorable Mentions: Roberto Barbon, Stu Miller, Don Mossi, Al E. Smith

Kansas City Athletics



CL Morrie Martin (1953-1957)

- Athletics' career saves leader, with 157 saves over 4 1/2 seasons

- Was a 3-time All-Star with the Athletics in 1953, 1956 and 1957

- Finished 2nd in the AL with 41 saves



C John Romano (1960-present)

- Is 2nd for Athletics in career home runs and RBI

- Has been a 4-time All-Star in 1960, 1962, 1963 and 1965

- Had a career season in 1961, with career highs in average (.274), home runs (21), walks (90), and OPS (.821), to go along with 86 RBI



SP Bobby Shantz (1949-1963)

- Spent his entire 15-year career with Athletics

- Athletics career leader in wins and games started, and 2nd in career ERA

- Had his best sim season in 1954 (15 wins, 2.82 ERA and 132 strikeouts)



LF Gus Zernial (1952-1961)

- Won the 1955 AL MVP Award, with a .331 average, 29 doubles, 42 home runs, 134 RBI, 71 walks, 109 runs and a 1.025 OPS

- Hit 244 home runs with the Athletics in sim seasons, a franchise record

- Also Athletics career leader in slugging, OPS, hits, runs, doubles, RBI and walks

- Made 2 trips to the All-Star Game in 1953 and 1955

- Won an AL Gold Glove Award in left field in 1955

Honorable Mentions: Joe Ginsberg, Alex Kellner, Sadaharu Oh, Carl Scheib

Minnesota Twins



CL Sonny Dixon (1953-1957, 1962-1963)

- Twins career leader in saves, with 164 saves in parts of 6 seasons

- Won AL Rolaids Relief Award in 1953, leading the AL with 44 saves

- Finished in AL's top 5 in saves in each season between 1954-1956

- Made 3 trips to the All-Star Game as a Twin in 1953, 1956 and 1962



3B Harmon Killebrew (1956-present)

- Twins career leader in slugging, OPS, hits, runs, home runs, RBI and walks

- Had a career season in 1963 with a .301 average, 33 home runs, 109 RBI, 87 walks, 107 runs, and a .917 OPS

- Has been a 2-time All-Star in 1963 and 1965

- Won an AL Gold Glove Award at third base in 1963



SP Don Newcombe (1954-1960)

- Is 2nd in career wins and strikeouts as a Twin

- Had his best season with Twins in 1956, with 15 wins, a 3.10 ERA and 180 strikeouts

- Threw 91 complete games in 229 starts as a Twin



SP Chuck Stobbs (1953-1959)

- Twins career leader in wins, ERA, games started and shutouts

- Had his best season with the Twins in 1953, with 21 wins, a 2.59 ERA, 113 strikeouts, 6 complete games and 4 shutouts

- Made 2 trips to the All-Star Game with the Twins in 1953 and 1959

- Won an AL Gold Glove Award in 1956

Honorable Mentions: Tom Haller, Jackie Jensen, Camilo Pascual, Joe Presko



NL East teams coming up next!

[CSCommish]

This is cool. Can you do one every 10 years and do it in list format?

[CSCommish]

5!

[Sha-Le Unique]

Aug 10, 2015 21:26:47 GMT -5 CSCommish said:

This is cool. Can you do one every 10 years and do it in list format?

Yeah sure and what do you mean as in "list format"?

[CSCommish]

Just make a list:

Team A

1. Player A
2. Player B
3. Player C
4. Player D

HM: Players E, F, G, H

and do a compare and contrast at the end of the next decade.