Wyoming's Baseball All-Time Dream Team

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

Issue #107

This is the 14th article in a series where I am creating all-time dream teams for players born in each of the fifty US states. I’ll be 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, and Idaho.

Next up is Wyoming, which became a US State on July 10, 1890, the 44th to join the union, and one week after Idaho had become the 43rd state (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 Wyoming towards the end of this article (and vice-versa, those born elsewhere but who went to high school in Wyoming.)

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

The first thing you might notice is that the above depth chart doesn’t actually represent a full team. As always, I list players at the several positions where they played substantially in the majors. But I couldn’t find enough guys to cover 3B, SS, and 2B. So if Zach Walters is the starter at 3B, Mike Lansing can’t play both SS and 2B at the same time. There are also really only three outfielders, one 1B, and one C—so no backups. The pitching staff also was light on candidates—not enough for a five-man rotation, not to mention a full bullpen.

All of this, combined with the lack of a true superstar like Idaho had in Harmon Killebrew, makes this the weakest “dream team” I’ve done in this series so far. Which shouldn’t be surprising of course, as Wyoming has the lowest population of all 50 states!

Here is a little info on each of the players I’ve included, starting with the four recent non-pitchers that readers are most likely to be familiar with:

• Brandon Nimmo is a left-handed hitting outfielder for the Mets. Signed through 2030, he’s been generally productive when on the field, putting up a career .269/.383/.442 slash line with an impressive 130 OPS+.

• Mike Devereaux played parts of 12 seasons from 1987-1998, with his best seasons coming with the Orioles. He had 22 SB in his first full season in 1989, and then had his best overall year in 1992 when he hit 24 HR with 11 triples, a .276 average, and a 117 OPS+.

• Mike Lansing played nine years from 1993-2001 with the Expos, Rockies, and Red Sox. He provided a moderate mix of power and speed, and played mostly 2B but had over 100 games each at 3B and SS. His best offensive season came in 1997 when he hit 20 HR with 45 doubles, 11 SB, .281 average, and 111 OPS+.

• John Buck was a catcher in the majors for 11 years, over half with the Royals, and then five seasons spread around with the Marlins, Blue Jays, Mets, Pirates, Mariners, and Angels. A lifetime .234 hitter, the one season he was an All-Star he batted .281 with 20 HR and a 114 OPS+.

Then here are the other three position players, in no particular order:

• Rick Sofield was outstanding in the minors in 1977, but then only had a three-year major league career with the Twins from 1979-81. He played all three OF positions, but only had a .243/.293/.342 slash line.

• Zach Walters got into major league games from 2013-16 for the Nationals, Indians, and Dodgers, playing a mix of infield and outfield positions, but only produced a .176 average and 65 OPS+.

• Bucky Jacobsen hit well at each level of the minors, but then only had one season in the majors, with the Mariners in 2004, where he contributed a .275 average with 9 HR in 42 games, before playing in independent leagues in subsequent seasons.

As for the pitchers, you could debate which of the first two here should be the nominal “ace” of this team’s staff, and then I found two others to partially fill out a rotation:

• Tom Browning passed away at the age of 62 in December of last year. He pitched in the majors from 1984-1995, with all but his final two games with the Reds. He posted 10+ wins in seven consecutive seasons, and went 20-9 as a rookie in 1985. He started 35 or more games six times, and led or tied for the NL lead in games started four times. His biggest claim to fame of course was throwing a perfect game on September 16, 1988 against the Dodgers at home at Riverfront Stadium.

• Dick Ellsworth pitched parts of 13 seasons in the big leagues from 1958-1971. Most of that time was spent with the Cubs, including five seasons with 10+ wins, before later pitching for the Phillies, Red Sox, Indians, and Brewers. His best season came in 1963 when he posted a 22-10 record with 19 complete games and a 2.11 ERA.

• Bob Harris pitched in the majors from 1938-42, for the Browns, Tigers, and Athletics. WWII military service essentially ended his MLB career, but it is unclear how many more years he would have pitched effectively as he had a career 4.96 ERA and 90 ERA+.

• John McCloskey was a stretch to include here, as he only pitched in 12 major league games, starting four of them. He played for the Phillies in 1906-07, posting a 3.60 ERA but given the time period that equates to only a 73 ERA+.

For the bullpen, here is a bit about the four I included:

• Dan Spillner started his 12-year MLB career (1974-85) as a starter, before becoming a mixed starter/reliever, and ultimately a dedicated reliever. His best season came in 1982 for the Indians when he posted 21 saves with a 2.49 ERA.

• Jeremy Horst had a three-year major league career from 2011-13, only pitching 72.2 IP, but posting a 3.34 ERA and 119 ERA+.

• Bill Wilkinson similarly only had three seasons in the majors, all with the Mariners, and involving 113.1 total IP. He had 10 saves in 1987, and posted a career 4.13 ERA and 111 ERA+.

• Jan Dukes also pitched a bit in three seasons in the majors, though only accumulated 20 total IP.

To wrap up, several of the above players were born in Wyoming but grew up and in particular went to high school in other states, including at least the following:

• Tom Browning = New York

• Dick Ellsworth = California

• Dan Spillner = Washington

• Rick Sofield = New Jersey

• Zach Walters = Nevada

• Bucky Jacobsen = Oregon

• John Buck = Utah

• Jeremy Horst = North Dakota

• Bill Wilkinson = Colorado

• Jan Dukes = California

So if you subtract all of them from this roster, then you really are left with very little. What about the other direction—born elsewhere but went to high school in Wyoming? I found only one such player:

• Mark Lee (1988, 90-91, 95) a relief pitcher born in North Dakota but who went to Natrona County HS in Casper, WY

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.

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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.