Pick a Team

[Edgy MD]

[FIMG=500]https://i0.wp.com/www.ecustoms.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/baseball-in-america.jpg?fit=800%2C477&ssl=1[/FIMG]





Imagine a baseball tournament. It's a 64-team knockout bracket with each team representing a U.S. state, territory, or armed service division. Eligible to play for the team is any player — major league, minor league, retired, college, schoolboy, AAU — that was born in that state or territory. (We're assuming money and logistics have been sorted out to allow the very best to participate.) The only exceptions are:

• the Native American team, which would allow any player born on a U.S.-based reservation or holding an American Indian Card (basically, self-identifying Native Americans), and


• the military teams, which would be open to any player who has served (which unfortunately wouldn't include a whole lot of current pros), provided they didn't receive a dishonorable discharge. Also, students and graduates of the service academy would be eligible for that branch's team.

We've got to get 64 teams out there.



Teams meet for three-game elimination series, so you'll need your whole pitching staff, and things might get a little wild after the brutal eliminations of the bottom half of the bracket in Round One.



The top-ranked California team may look like this:

	Starting Pitchers (5)
[th]Name[/th]	[th]2019 Affiliation[/th]	[th]Highest Level[/th]	[th]Born[/th]
	Shane Bieber		Cleveland Indians		MLB AS		Orange
	Gerrit Cole		Houston Astros		MLB AS		Newport Beach
	Lucas Giolito		Chicago White Sox		MLB AS		Santa Monica
	Cole Hamels		Chicago Cubs		MLB AS		San Diego
	Stephen Strasburg		Washington Nationals		MLB AS		San Diego
	Relief Pitchers (7)
[th]Name[/th]	[th]2019 Affiliation[/th]	[th]Highest Level[/th]	[th]Born[/th]
	Brad Boxberger		Kansas City Royals		MLB AS		Fullerton
	Zack Britton		New York Yankees		MLB AS		Panorama Cith
	Trevor Cahill		Los Angeles Angels		MLB AS		Oceanside
	Chris Devenski		Houson Astros		MLB AS		San Cerritos
	Sergio Romo		Minnesota Twins/Miami Marlins		MLB AS		Brawley
	Trevor Bauer		Cincinnati Reds		MLB AS		North Hollywood
	Ryan Cook		Seattle Mariners		MLB AS		Clovis
	Catchers (2)
[th]Name[/th]	[th]2019 Affiliation[/th]	[th]Highest Level[/th]	[th]Born[/th]
	Jason Castro		Minnesota Twins		MLB AS		Castro Valley
	Travis d'Arnaud		New York Mets/Los Angeles Dodgers/Tampa Bay Rays		MLB		Long Beach
	Infielders (6)
[th]Name[/th]	[th]2019 Affiliation[/th]	[th]Highest Level[/th]	[th]Born[/th]
	Nolan Arenado		Colorado Rockies		MLB AS		Newport Beach
	Matt Chapman		Oakland Athletics		MLB AS		Victorville
	Brandon Crawford		San Francisco Giants		MLB AS		Mountain View
	Freddie Freeman		Atlanta Braves		MLB AS		Fountain Valley
	D.J. LeMahieu		New York Yankees		MLB AS		Visalia
	Evan Longoria		San Francisco Giants		MLB AS		Downey
	Dustin Pedroia		Boston Red Sox		MLB AS		Woodland
	Outfielders (5)
[th]Name[/th]	[th]2019 Affiliation[/th]	[th]Highest Level[/th]	[th]Born[/th]
	Ryan Braun		Milwaukee Brewers		MLB AS		Mission Hills
	Adam Jones		Arizona Diamondbacks		MLB AS		San Diego
	Aaron Judge		New York Yankees		MLB AS		Linden
	Jeff McNeil		New York Mets		MLB AS		Santa Barbara
	Joc Pederson		Los Angeles Dodgers		MLB AS		Palo Alto

Manager Torey Lovullo is a lucky man. Because California is California, that's a team of all current big leaguers, all of whom have at least one All-Star Game behind them, most with more than one. The only exception there is Travis d'Arnaud, but I bet if I looked hard enough I could find another active All-Star catcher from the Golden State. Also, some dudes (Trevor Bauer, I'm looking your way) may have an All-Star pedigree but are coming off a crap season. But that's my first pass.



Here's the seeding. Pick a team and make us a 25-man roster for that team.


[TABLE][TR]

[TD]1) California 2) Florida 3) Texas 4) Georgia 5) Illinois 6) New York 7) Pennsylvania 8) Ohio[/TD]

[TD]9) Tennessee 10) North Carolina 11) Puerto Rico 12) New Jersey 13) Virginia 14) Indiana 15) Washington 16) Alabama[/TD]

[TD]17) Missouri 18) South Carolina 19) Massachusetts 20) Arizona 21) Oklahoma 22) Louisiana 23) Kentucky 24) Michigan[/TD]

[TD]25) Nevada 26) Mississippi 27) Maryland 28) Oregon 29) Connecticut 30) Colorado 31) Iowa 32) Minnesota[/TD]

[Willets Point]

Do the players have to be alive and active at some level?

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, I think the idea would be "What if there was a tournament this offseason?" So Ty Cobb probably wouldn't be much of an asset to the Georgia team.

[Chad ochoseis]

So at today's level of skill, or roughly their career level? If I choose David Wright for the Virginia team, am I getting vintage 2006-08, or am I getting bad back, out of shape, hasn't-been-in-a-real-game-in-years David Wright?

[Edgy MD]

You're getting the guy he is.

[Edgy MD]

I'll tell you what: I took the easiest, with the California team, so I'll do the 64th-seed from the U.S. Merchant Marines, too.



Because that's how much I care about you.

[kcmets]

Just as an example, how does one fill a roster under your parameters with players

from Guam when only one player from Guam played MLB ball in 2019? I didn't check

MiLB, but my guess is we'd still fall quite short.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I tried to do the 41st ranked Blue Hens but ran out of 2019 MLB players after SP Jon Duplantier, INF Joey Wendle and 1B Paul Goldschimdt.



P Chad Kuhl made the club but will miss the tournament with an injury.



They're gonna get killed

[Edgy MD]

=kcmets post_id=24579 time=1571308277 user_id=53]
Just as an example, how does one fill a roster under your parameters with players

from Guam when only one player from Guam played MLB ball in 2019? I didn't check

MiLB, but my guess is we'd still fall quite short.

[HahnSolo]

Is there a single link somewhere that shows the birthplaces of minor leaguers? BBR has it for major leaguers.



Also a suggestion? If you're dealing with a small state (like JCL's Delaware Blue Hens) maybe make an allowance for college players who were born elsewhere? For instance, let's say University of Delaware had three players from Texas. Those three guys are likely not cracking the Texas team, but maybe they could play for the Delaware team? One of the little Solos is an undergrad at UD, maybe she could be JCL's assistant GM and do some scouting.

[Edgy MD]

The Baseball Cube. BOOM!



http://thebaseballcube.com/extra/places/region.asp?ID=DEhttp://thebaseballcube.com/extra/places/region.asp?ID=DE

[Lefty Specialist]

Ay Caramba. Too much work.

[Vic Sage]

we never even finished the superhero tournament!

[metsmarathon]

i'm calling dibs on new jersey.



not only do i want the best damned player in the game in mike trout, but also for the sheer pleasure of adding derek jeter to my roster. and making him ride the fucking pine every. single. game.

[Benjamin Grimm]

It would be nice if there was a way to actually play this tournament in OOTP or something. (I'm assuming there isn't, but maybe there is?)

[Lefty Specialist]

=metsmarathon post_id=24610 time=1571325920 user_id=83]
i'm calling dibs on new jersey.



not only do i want the best damned player in the game in mike trout, but also for the sheer pleasure of adding derek jeter to my roster. and making him ride the fucking pine every. single. game.

[metsmarathon]

Lefty Specialist wrote: =metsmarathon post_id=24610 time=1571325920 user_id=83] i'm calling dibs on new jersey. not only do i want the best damned player in the game in mike trout, but also for the sheer pleasure of adding derek jeter to my roster. and making him ride the fucking pine every. single. game.

Then, putting him in late for defense.

[Edgy MD]

Multiple 2019 Mets from New Jersey: Brad Brach, Todd Frazier, Hector Santiago ... probably somebody I'm forgetting.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Mets born in New Jersey:

New Jersey (28)

Bayonne

• Pete Gebrian

Camden

• Shawn Gilbert, Greg Burke

Cherry Hill

• Casey Fossum

East Orange

• Elliott Maddox, Rob MacDonald

Fort Dix

• Jim Riggleman

Freehold

• Brad Brach

Glen Ridge

• Charlie Puleo, Joe Orsulak

Jersey City

• Jerry Dipoto

Long Branch

• Scott Schoeneweis

Neptune

• Denny Walling

New Brunswick

• Rick Peterson, Eric Young

Newark

• Willard Hunter, Rick Cerone, Hector Santiago

Orange

• Tom O'Malley, Bobby Jones

Passaic

• Bobby Pfeil, Mike Jorgensen

Plainfield

• Jeff Torborg

Point Pleasant

• Todd Frazier

Somerville

• John Sullivan, Joe Vitko

Toms River

• Al Leiter

Trenton

• Dave Gallagher

http://leaptoad.com/mets/birthplace.phphttp://leaptoad.com/mets/birthplace.php

[MFS62]

=metsmarathon post_id=24620 time=1571332813 user_id=83]
no. fuck that. he can sit on the fucking bench and rot.

i'll tease him with a few on-deck circle appearances, perhaps.

and i'll give him a nice gift basket after each series.

[MFS62]

The State with the second most current major leaguers is Florida.



But I have to admit, I wasn't that familiar with many of the players.

Here's my try, with players I have heard about.

My graphics skills aren't as elegant as Edgy's, but this team could kick some arse, too.



SP -5

Jake DeGrom

Zach Greinke

Gio Gonzales

Chris Sale

Mike Clevinger





RP-6

Wade Davis

A J Cole

Anthony Swarzak

Darren O'Day

Andrew Miller

Luke Jackson



C-2

Jonathan Lucroy Mike Zunino



INF-7

1B Pete Alonso

2B Daniel Murphy

3B Manny Machado

SS Bo Bichette

inf Anthony Rizzo (1B, 3B) Josh Donaldson Addison Russell



OF-5

JD Martinez

Andrew McCutcheon

John Jay

Michael Taylor

Nick Castellanos





Later

Edited October 17, 2019 by Guest

[kcmets]

=metsmarathon post_id=24610 time=1571325920 user_id=83]but also for the sheer pleasure of adding derek jeter to my roster. and making him ride the fucking pine every. single. game.

[Edgy MD]

=MFS62 post_id=24641 time=1571339106 user_id=60]
The State with the second most current major leaguers is Florida.



But I have to admit, I wasn't that familiar with many of the players.

Here's my try, with players I have heard about.

My graphics skills aren't as elegant as Edgy's, but this team could kick some arse, too.

[MFS62]

Edgy MD wrote: That's a good job, but you've got 34 players there. You've got to make some tough decisions.

Thanks.

I didn't notice there was a 25 man limit.

I'll edit my list in the above post.

Thank goodness I didn't have Walter Lockett on my original list, so I won't have the anguish of cutting him. (PHEW!)

Later

[HahnSolo]

Here goes nothing.



Team New York



SP

Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals, Clay NY

Steven Matz, New York Mets, Stony Brook NY

Marcus Stroman, New York Mets, Medford NY

Justin Dunn, Seattle Mariners, Freeport NY

Ian Anderson, Atlanta Braves (AAA), Clifton Park, NY



RP and swing guys

Dellin Betances, New York Yankees, New York NY

Tommy Kahnle, New York Yankees, Lathan NY

Adam Ottovino, New York Yankees, New York NY

Kevin McCarthy, Kansas City Royals, Rockville Centre NY

Sal Romano, Cincinnati Reds, Syosset NY

Matt Festa, Seattle Mariners, Staten Island NY

Anthony Kay, Toronto Blue Jays, Stony Brook NY



Starters

LF Jesse Winker, Cincinnati Reds, Buffalo NY

CF Harrison Bader, St. Louis Cardinals, Bronxville NY

RF Nick Markakis, Atlanta Braves, Glen Cove NY

SS Luis Garcia, Washington Nationals (AA), New York, NY

2B Joe Panik, New York Mets, Yonkers, NY

3B Colin Moran, Pittsburgh Pirates, Port Chester NY

1B Jeimer Candelario, Detroit Tigers, New York, NY

C Tom Murphy, Seattle Mariners, West Monroe, NY



Bench

Kevin Smith, infield, Toronto Blue Jays AA, East Greenbush NY

TJ Rivera, infield, unknown, Bronx, NY

Tim Locastro, outfield, Arizona Diamondbacks, Auburn, NY

Travis Demeritte, outfield, Atlanta Braves, New York, NY

Sean Murphy, catcher, Oakland Athletics, Peekskill, NY

[Willets Point]

The Massachusetts Chickadees join the fray.



Starting Pitching



https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hillri01.shtmlRich Hill, Boston

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cobbal01.shtmlAlex Cobb, Boston

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/newcose01.shtmlSean Newcomb, Brockton

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/beedety01.shtmlTyler Beede, Worcester

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/capuach01.shtmlChris Capuano, Springfield





Bullpen



https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cishest01.shtmlSteve Cishek, Falmouth

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/obergsc01.shtmlScott Oberg, Tewksbury

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/colliti01.shtmlTim Collins, Worcester

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/drakeol01.shtmlOliver Drake, Worcester

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leathja01.shtmlJack Leathersich, Beverly





C - https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=ritchi000jamJamie Ritchie, South Hadley

1b - https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/shawch01.shtmlChris Shaw, Stoneham

2b - https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/diazis01.shtmlIsan Diaz, Springfield

3b - https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=ahmed-000micMike Ahmed, East Longmeadow

SS - https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/ahmedni01.shtmlNick Ahmed, Springfield

LF - https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/yastrmi01.shtmlMike Yastremski, Springfield

CF - https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=marzil000evaEvan Marzilli, Fall River

RF - https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/andrejo03.shtmlJohn Andreoli, Shrewsbury



Bench



https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mazeik000patPatrick Mazeika, Springfield

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/colabch01.shtmlChris Colabello, Framingham

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=rivera000janJansiel Rivera, Beverly

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=wisema000rheRhett Wiseman, Mansfield

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=toffey000wilWill Toffey, Wareham

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=kneela000camCam Kneeland, Rowley

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=manea-000scoScott Manea, Shrewsbury



Manager - Gary DiSarcina, Billerica

Bench Coach - Joe Morgan, Walpole

Batting Coach - Jeff Bagwell, Boston

Pitching Coach - Tom Glavine, Concord

Bullpen Coach - Jeff Reardon, Pittsfield

Edited October 18, 2019 by Guest

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Springfield, Mass. might be the jockiest town in America, per capita

[Willets Point]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Springfield, Mass. might be the jockiest town in America, per capita

I was surprised by the number of ballplayers from the Birthplace of Basketball. The Ahmeds apparently moved between the births of Nick and Mike, or there'd be one more.

[Edgy MD]

I like your full coaching staff, including bringing back Joe Morgan, who never had a losing season with the Sox, but hasn't been heard from since 1991.



Also, I'm real curious to see what Chris Capuano's got going that makes him want to come out of retirement at 41.



I would have guessed that Worcester gave us more players. Has it really been a decade since the great Tanyon Sturtze era?

[LWFS]

Primed to be upset, here be your thinner-than-you-might-imagine, more-Ontarian-than-you'd-expect, every-day's-a-bullpen-day Pennsylvania Possums:



(* for lefties, ** for switchies)



SP

*Brendan McKay (TBR), Darlington

Trent Thornton (TOR), Pittsburgh

Ross Stripling (LAD), Blue Bell

Nate Karns (BAL), Franklin





BULLPEN (Extended remix)

Lou Trivino (OAK), Green Line

*Ryan Buchter (OAK), Reading

Derek Law (TOR), Pittsburgh

Randy Dobnak (MIN), South Park

David Bednar (SD), Valencia

Joe Harvey (COL), Audobon

*Tim Mayza (TOR), Allentown

Ray Black (SF), Wilkes-Barre





STARTING LINEUP

*LF Derek Fisher (TOR), Lebanon

**3B Ian Happ (CHC), Pittsburgh

**2B Neil Walker (MIA), Pittsburgh

RF Christian Walker (ARI), Limerick

*1B Matt Adams (WAS), Phillipsburg

C Devin Mesoraco (FA), Punxsatwney

*CF Travis Jankowski (SD), Lancaster

SS Joey Wendle (TBR), Lincoln University





BENCH

C Cam Gallagher (KC), Lancaster

C/1B/LF Matt McBride (PHI), Downington

2B/3B/OF Corey Spangenberg (MIL), Clark Summit

OF Ian Miller (MIN), Philadelphia

OF Brandon Guyer (CWS), West Chester





MANAGER: Joe Maddon, Hazelton

BENCH COACH: Ruben Amaro, Philadelphia

PITCHING COACH: Jamie Moyer, Sellersville

HITTING COACH: Mike Piazza, Norristown

OUTFIELD COACH: Ken Griffey, Jr., Donora

STRAWMAN THAT STIRS THE DUGOUT: Reggie Jackson, Wyncote

BULLPEN COACH: Bruce Sutter, Lancaster

Edited October 18, 2019 by Guest