New Mexico's Baseball All-Time Dream Team

What would a dream team roster look like for major league players born in New Mexico?

Issue #154

This is the 38th article in a series where I am creating all-time dream teams for players born in each of the fifty US states. I’m publishing each write-up on the anniversary date that the particular state joined the union. So far I’ve covered Maryland, Louisiana, Minnesota, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, West Virginia, New Hampshire, Virginia, Idaho, Wyoming, New York, Colorado, Missouri, Hawaii, California, Nevada, North and South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Illinois, Delaware, Mississippi, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Alabama, New Jersey, Iowa, Texas, Georgia, Alaska, and Utah.

Next up is New Mexico, which became the 47th US State on January 6th, 1912 (according to Wikipedia).

Important caveat to what follows: I’m creating these all-time dream teams based on the birthplace data available at baseball-reference.com. I realize this might mean some players will appear for a state’s all-time dream that seems odd, e.g., a player who was born in one state but lived there only briefly, while then spending most of his youth, or especially critical years playing baseball in high school in another state. So that is an important caveat to the below dream team roster—and I’ll discuss the players that I know went to high school in a state other than New Mexico towards the end of this article (and vice-versa, those born elsewhere but who went to high school in New Mexico.)

Here is the all-time dream team I came up with for players born in New Mexico:

There are I think three stars on this roster:

• Six-time All-Star Ralph Kiner only played 10 seasons, but is a Hall of Famer because he led the NL in HR in seven consecutive seasons. He had both 100+ runs and 100+ RBI in six seasons, and retired with a .279/.398/.548 slash line and 149 OPS+.

• Eight-time All-Star SS/3B Vern Stephens played 15 seasons, mostly for the Browns and Red Sox. He hit 20+ HR in six seasons, and had impressive RBI totals of 137, 159, and 144 from 1948-50. He retired with a .286/.355/.460 slash line and 119 OPS+.

• Current Astros two-time All-Star 3B Alex Bregman hit 31 HR in 2018 and then 41 HR in 2019. His career slash line thus far is .274/.373/.487 and he has a 135 OPS+.

There are few other position players of note, such as C Mitch Garver who hit 31 HR in 93 games in 2019 and 19 HR in 87 games in 2023, and OF Cody Ross who hit 132 HR over 12 years, including 20+ HR in three seasons.

A starting lineup for this all-time dream team could look like this:

1. Fred Haney (R) 2B - .368 OBP, 10+ SB three times

2. Alex Bregman (R) 3B

3. Ralph Kiner (R) LF

4. Vern Stephens (R) SS

5. Cody Ross (R) CF

6. Mitch Garver (R) C

7. Billy McMillon (L) RF

8. Chuck Stevens (S) 1B

9. Jordan Pacheco (R) DH

I wouldn't really make any changes in the lineup depending on the opposing pitcher— maybe just drop the lefty-hitting McMillon down to ninth against LHP. But there isn't much roster depth here, so there aren't any platoon options to consider.

There is some good power in spots 2-6, but no obvious leadoff hitter. I went with Fred Haney, who had a career .368 OBP and three times stole 10 or more bases in a season.

As for the pitching staff, there is no clear ace starter. Steve Ontiveros pitched more in relief, but started 73 of his 207 games spread across 10 seasons from 1985-2000. He was an All-Star in 1995 and retired with a 3.67 ERA and 113 ERA+. Wade Blasingame also pitched in the majors for 10 years, from 1963-1972. He started 128 of his 222 games, but retired with a 4.52 ERA which amounted to a well-below league average 77 ERA+.

This means there is an opportunity for two young current starters to eventually earn the top spot on this dream team’s pitching staff. Trevor Rogers was a first-round draft pick in 2017, and has pitched four seasons for the Marlins, including making the All-Star team in 2021. And 23-year old Chase Silseth has had a few bright moments in his first two seasons for the Angels, such as a 10 K game against the Yankees and a 12 K game against the Mariners.

The bullpen on this dream team is led by Duane Ward, who had a nine-year major league career, mostly for the Blue Jays from 1986-1995. He received down-ballot Cy Young Award votes twice, including in 1993 when he was an All-Star with a 2.13 ERA and league-leading 45 saves. Overall he accumulated 121 saves with a 3.28 ERA and 124 ERA+.

Power pitcher Ken Giles had a good start to his major league career, including 34 saves and a 2.30 ERA in his fourth season in 2017. He has 115 saves, a 2.71 ERA, and 150 ERA+ for his career, but injuries and Tommy John surgery have put the 33-year old’s major league future in doubt.

What about players who went to High School in New Mexico?

As noted at the outset of this article, and as I’ve done for my other US State dream team write-ups, what if you change the criteria from players who were born in the state of New Mexico to players who grew up—which we’ll define as going to high school—in the state of New Mexico?

First off, some of the players on the roster above were born in New Mexico but went to high school elsewhere, including:

• SS/3B Vern Stephens – California

• 3B/2B Fred Haney – California

• C Al Montgomery – California

• LF Ralph Kiner – California

• LF/RF Billy McMillon – South Carolina

• SP Steve Ontiveros – Indiana

• SP Wade Blasingame – California

• SP Willie Adams – California

• RP Mike Dunn – Nevada

• RP Scott Terry – Texas

• RP Aaron Thompson – Texas

Losing all of these players would be significant, especially Kiner and Stephens as power hitters in the lineup and the six pitchers from the rotation and bullpen.

On the other hand, I also found several who were born elsewhere but went to high school in the state of New Mexico:

• 3B Shane Andrews – Texas

• C/OF Blake Swihart – Texas

• OF/1B Kyle Blanks – Pennsylvania

• CF/RF Larry Harlow – Colorado

• OF Tito Landrum – Missouri

• SP/RP Matt Moore – Florida

• SP/RP Rod Nichols – Iowa

• RP Brendan Donnelly – Washington DC

• RP Brandon Claussen – South Dakota

So using this alternate dream team criterion, these players would all be included on a New Mexico dream team. But overall the lineup and pitching staff would be weaker than the version shown above for players born in New Mexico.

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. The state map, flag, flower, and bird images are from Wikipedia.

---

Did you know? I wrote a book with the same title as this Substack newsletter / blog: Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises. It was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports, the publisher of the annual Bill James Handbook and other popular titles. You can learn more about it at www.NowTakingTheField.com, or buy directly at Amazon and other booksellers.