Baseball's August Birthday Dream Teams
Lots of great players have August birthdays. But who would make an all-star team amongst active players? And who would make an all-time August Birthdays dream team?
Issues #17
We are already one-third the way through the month of August but I still wanted to take a look at what August birthday dream teams would look like—both for active players and all-time greats. Demographic oddities aside, on average you'd expect such rosters to be composed of about 1/12th of the top players during whatever period is under consideration.
I'll start with an active players August Birthday dream team, choosing players based on their entire careers to-date both in terms of credentials and what positions they could play at. Here is the depth chart:
Superstar CF Mike Trout is clearly the headliner here. Anthony Rizzo, J.D. Martinez, and Justin Upton are solid veterans, and Luis Robert has loads of talent that is still developing at the major league level. The catchers are stronger defensively than offensively.
Some players who didn’t make the roster, but could some day. include LF Jesse Winker, RF Mike Yastrzemski, 3B Patrick Wisdom, C Tyler Stephenson, and 3B Alec Bohm.
Starting lineups for this might look like this:
Against RHP:
Ian Happ 2B (S)
Mike Trout CF (R)
Anthony Rizzo 1B (L)
J.D. Martinez DH (R)
Max Muncy 3B (L)
Justin Upton LF (R)
Jason Heyward RF (L)
Elvis Andrus SS (R) / Paul DeJong SS (R)
Christian Vazquez C (R) / Martin Maldonado C (R)
Against LHP:
Chris Taylor 2B (R)
Mike Trout CF (R)
Josh Bell 1B (S)
J.D. Martinez DH (R)
Justin Upton LF (R)
Max Muncy 3B (L)
Randal Grichuk RF (R)
Elvis Andrus SS (R) / Paul DeJong SS (R)
Christian Vazquez C (R) / Martin Maldonado C (R)
The starting pitching here is strong, starting with the four veterans Wainwright, Price, Bumgarner, and Darvish. You could argue who should get the nod for the fifth rotation spot, but I went with the lefty Urias over Syndergaard, with Walker rounding out the set of starters. Miles Mikolas, Triston McKenzie, Tyler Glasnow, and Domingo German also have August birthdays and could one day crack this roster, especially as some of the veterans retire.
In the bullpen, there is an abundance of journeymen over guys with much closing experience. Gallegos is getting some saves for the Cardinals this year, and Cimber of the Blue Jays is currently leading the AL in games pitched. And when I said journeymen, I really meant it as Oliver Perez has played for 8 different major league teams over 20 seasons (the first half as a starter and the second half as a reliever), while Jesse Chavez has pitched for 9 different major league teams over 15 years (three as a starter in the middle of his career.) In his case, the journey has been even more winding than it seems, since he’s had multiple stints for some clubs, actually switching teams an amazing 14 times.
Here are the players above listed in order by birthday:
Hitters:
August 2: SS Paul DeJong (R)
August 3: CF Luis Robert (R)
August 6: 2B/3B/1B/SS Wilmer Flores (R)
August 7: CF Mike Trout (R)
August 8: 1B Anthony Rizzo (L)
August 9: RF Jason Heyward (L)
August 12: LF/CF/2B Ian Happ (S)
August 13: RF Randal Grichuk (R)
August 14: 1B Josh Bell (S)
August 14: LF/RF David Peralta (L)
August 16: C Martin Maldonado (R)
August 21: DH/RF J.D. Martinez (R)
August 21: C Christian Vázquez (R)
August 24: 2B/OF/SS Kiké Hernández (R)
August 25: LF/RF Justin Upton (R)
August 25: 1B/2B/3B Max Muncy (L)
August 26: SS Elvis Andrus (R)
August 29: OF/SS/2B Chris Taylor (R)
SP:
August 1: Madison Bumgarner (L)
August 12: Julio Urías (L)
August 13: Taijuan Walker (R)
August 16: Yu Darvish (R)
August 26: David Price (L)
August 29: Noah Syndergaard (R)
August 30: Adam Wainwright (R)
RP
August 6: Jake McGee (L)
August 10: Archie Bradley (R)
August 13: Hansel Robles (R)
August 14: Giovanny Gallegos (R)
August 15: Adam Cimber (R)
August 15: Oliver Perez (L)
August 21: Jesse Chavez (R)
All-Time August Birthdays Dream Team
What about an all-time August birthdays dream team? Does anyone besides Trout deserve to be included from the above active players roster?
As with every month’s all-time dream team, this roster is loaded. But I’d say the OF is particularly crowded: how do you choose a starting three? Trout in CF is obvious, and I think Ted Williams is too, though that means Yaz either doesn’t get to start or needs to be used at 1B (where he only played 22% of his games).
But it is RF that is most painful: how do you choose between Roberto Clemente and Frank Robinson for the starting spot? Not to mention Harry Heilmann and his .342 average and 148 OPS+.
The hot corner is also a close call, as Buddy Bell and Graig Nettles have nearly identical career WAR and OPS+, with Nettles hitting for more power and Bell a higher batting average. Nettles was a six-time All-Star with two Gold Gloves, while Bell was a five-time All-Star with five Gold Gloves.
And Catcher was similarly a close call, between recent Hall-of-Fame inductee Ted Simmons and Yankees great Jorge Posada. Here the OPS+ is again nearly the same, and the power/average difference is less dramatic (with Posada having more power, Simmons the higher average). Both players were switch hitters even. I give Simmons the slight edge because he played a bit longer, and was an All-Star eight times versus Posada’s five.
And at SS it is pretty clear that Ripken should be the starter, but then I included two guys as backups because as with Heilmann in RF I just couldn’t leave either guy off the roster. George Davis played from 1890-1909 and is sixth in total WAR amongst these August-birthday position players. He had 619 stolen bases, which ranks 17th all-time. Negro Leagues star Willie Wells also had a long career, playing in parts of 21 seasons from 1924 to 1948. But it was his peak performance, particularly early in his career, that earned him a spot on this roster, as he led his league in Runs four times, total bases four times, hits three times, HR three times, and RBI and SB twice each. His career ended with a lifetime .330 batting average and 152 OPS+.
Starting lineups, against righties and lefties, might look like this:
Against RHP:
Ted Williams LF (L)
Mike Trout CF (R)
Roberto Clemente RF (R) / Frank Robinson RF (R)
Jim Thome DH (L)
Todd Helton 1B (L) / Carl Yastrzemski 1B (L)
Cal Ripken SS (R)
Graig Nettles 3B (L)
Ted Simmons C (S) / Jorge Posada C (S)
Dustin Pedroia 2B (R)
Against LHP:
Paul Molitor DH (R)
Mike Trout CF (R)
Roberto Clemente RF (R) / Frank Robinson RF (R)
Ted Williams LF (L)
Cal Ripken SS (R)
Todd Helton 1B (L)
Buddy Bell 3B (R)
Ted Simmons C (S) / Jorge Posada C (S)
Dustin Pedroia 2B (R)
I do realize that Ted Williams almost never led off — I looked it up, and he only had six plate appearances in the top spot in the order. But his lifetime .482 OBP (.488 OBP against RHP) means he got on base almost half the time—so why not have him bat leadoff? (Assuming of course that doing so wouldn’t mess up his abilities and stats!)
I’ve included both players at RF and C, so you the reader can envision whichever lineup choices you’d prefer. We have a natural platoon at 3B, allowing Nettles and Bell can split the duties. And the same is true for a DH, with Molitor and Thome. Against lefties, Molitor makes for a good leadoff man given his .306 average and 500+ career stolen bases. All of the three guys who played the most 1B on this roster bat left-handed, but Helton had the least extreme split stats, so I gave him the nod in the second lineup. Another option would be giving Heilmann and his .340+ batting average some at-bats at 1B since he is blocked in RF.
Here are the position players in the depth chart above listed in order by birthday, with a few career stat highlights for each:
August 3: RF/1B Harry Heilmann (R) 72.5 WAR, 183 HR, 151 Triples, .342/.410/.520, 148 OPS+
*August 7: CF Mike Trout (R) 80.0 WAR, 334 HR, 204 SB, .303/.416/.584, 176 OPS+
August 9: C Ted Simmons (S) 50.3 WAR, 248 HR, .285/.348/.437, 118 OPS+
August 10: SS Willie Wells (R) 51.0 WAR, 140 HR, 160 SB, .330/.407/.535, 152 OPS+
August 11: CF/RF Vada Pinson (L) 54.2 WAR, 256 HR, 305 SB, .286/.327/.442, 111 OPS+
August 17: 2B Dustin Pedroia (R) 51.9 WAR, 140 HR, 138 SB, .299/.365/.439, 113 OPS+
August 17: C Jorge Posada (S) 42.7 WAR, 275 HR, .273/.374/.474 121 OPS+
August 18: RF Roberto Clemente (R) 94.8 WAR, 240 HR, 166 Triples, .317/.359/.475, 130 OPS+
August 20: 3B Graig Nettles (L) 68.0 WAR, 390 HR, .248/.329/.421, 110 OPS+
August 20: 1B Todd Helton (L) 61.8 WAR, 369 HR, .316/.414/.539, 133 OPS+
August 22: DH/3B/2B Paul Molitor (R) 75.6 WAR, 234 HR, 504 SB, .306/.369/.448, 122 OPS+
August 22: LF/1B Carl Yastrzemski (L) 96.5 WAR, 452 HR, 168 SB, .285/.379/.462, 130 OPS+
August 23: SS/3B George Davis (S) 84.9 WAR, 163 Triples, 619 SB, .295/.362/.405, 121 OPS+
August 23: SS/2B/1B Julio Franco (R) 43.6 WAR, 173 HR, 281 SB, .298/.365/.417, 111 OPS+
August 24: SS/3B Cal Ripken, Jr. (R) 95.9 WAR, 431 HR, .276/.340/.447, 112 OPS+
August 27: 1B/DH/3B Jim Thome (L) 73.1 WAR, 612 HR, .276/.402/.554, 147 OPS+
August 27: 3B Buddy Bell (R) 66.3 WAR, 201 HR, .279/.341/.406, 109 OPS+
August 30: LF Ted Williams (L) 122.0 WAR, 531 HR, .344/.482/.634, 191 OPS+
August 31: RF/LF Frank Robinson (R) 107.2 WAR, 586 HR, 204 SB, .294/.389/.537, 154 OPS+
* = Active
The depth of August Birthdays is truly remarkable, with many deserving honorable mention, starting with another RF, Rocky Colavito. Others include: OF Kiki Cuyler, 1B Jake Beckley, OF Sherry Magee, 1B John Olerud, OF Jose Cruz, RF Harry Hooper, OF Frank Thomas, 1B/OF Boog Powell, LF Carl Crawford, LF Albert Belle, RF Tim Salmon, C Wally Schang, 3B Troy Glaus, 3B George Kell, CF Adam Jones, and still-active stars 1B Anthony Rizzo, DH J.D. Martinez, and OF Justin Upton.
As for the starting pitchers, there are two guys at the top: Roger Clemens and Christy Mathewson. I’d say Eddie Plank clearly deserves the third rotation spot, and then you could debate about Ron Guidry and Roy Oswalt for the fourth and fifth.
There are lots of candidates for a few extra SP spots, but I decided to include Adam Wainwright as the best of the still-active hurlers mentioned above. Cliff Lee was a four-time All-Star, including 2008 when he went 22-3 and paced the AL with a 2.54 ERA, taking home Cy Young Award honors. And then for a final selection I went with William Bell who pitched in the Negro Leagues from 1923-1937, with a 114-52 record (.687) and a 135 ERA+. Here are the starters in order by birthday:
August 4: Roger Clemens (R) 24 yrs, 138.7 WAR, 354-184 W-L, 3.12 ERA, 143 ERA+
August 12: Christy Mathewson (R) 16+ yrs, 100.4 WAR, 373-188 WAR, 2.13 ERA, 136 ERA+
August 28: Ron Guidry (L) 12+ yrs, 479 WAR, 170-91 W-L, 3.29 ERA, 119 ERA+
August 29: Roy Oswalt (R) 13 yrs, 49.9 WAR, 163-102 W-L, 3.36 ERA, 127 ERA+
August 30: Cliff Lee (L) 12+ yrs, 42.5 WAR, 143-91 W-L, 3.52 ERA, 118 ERA+
*August 30: Adam Wainwright (R) 15+ yrs, 42.4 WAR, 192-113 W-L, 3.36 ERA, 119 ERA+
August 31: William Bell (R) 14 yrs, 32.1 WAR, 114-52 W-L, 3.26 ERA, 135 ERA+
August 31: Eddie Plank (L) 17 yrs, 87.5 WAR, 326-194 W-L, 2.35 ERA, 122 ERA+
* = Active
Interesting how all but the two top guys had very late August birthdays. And there are plenty who deserve honorable mention here too, including: Burleigh Grimes, Dolf Luque, Andy Messersmith, as well as the still-active David Price, Madison Bumgarner, and Yu Darvish. A tip of the cap for the longevity of 20+ year hurlers Bobo Newsom, Murry Dickson, and Tim Wakefield too.
For relievers this August Birthdays Dream Team is blessed with one Hall of Famer in Rollie Fingers, and several other strong closers (though only one a lefty). Again, here they are in order by birthday and with some numbers for each:
August 2: Huston Street (R) 12+ yrs, 324 SV, 2.95 ERA, 141 ERA+
August 3: Rod Beck (R), 13 yrs, 286 SV, 3.30 ERA, 124 ERA+
August 9: Troy Percival (R) 14 yrs, 358 SV, 3.18 ERA, 146 ERA+
August 21: John Wetteland (R) 12+ yrs, 330 SV, 2.93 ERA, 148 ERA+
August 25: Rollie Fingers (R) 16+ yrs, 341 SV, 2.90 ERA, 120 ERA+
August 30: Tug McGraw (L) 19 yrs, 180 SV, 3.14 ERA, 117 ERA+
It will be interesting to see how this roster stacks up with the other 11 months as we progress through the calendar! (See the July Dream Team.)
All data is from Baseball-Reference.com, and also their subscription service Stathead.com. If you are a big sports fan, be sure to check out the latest features at Stathead and the Sports Reference family of sites.