— by Mark Ross

MLB Mt. Rushmores

by Charlie Miller

The question was posed earlier this season whether Derek Jeter should be considered as part of the Yankees’ Mt. Rushmore. That certainly piqued my interest. Not really the Jeter-Yankees part, but the idea that all MLB teams should have their own Mt. Rushmores. Who are the four individuals that have risen above all others for each organization? The question sounds simple. But it isn't as easy as it sounds. Let the arguments begin.

Boston Red Sox Mt. Rushmore

The overplayed drought of championships from 1918 to 2004 and the Curse of the Bambino have overshadowed what has been a very successful franchise. By 1918 the team had won five World Series and another AL pennant in 1904, a year there was no Series. Dark days followed from 1922-33 when they finished in last place in nine of 12 seasons and next-to-last in another two. But Sox fans have had much to cheer for recently. Even going back to 1966, there have been just six losing seasons. They have finished worse than second place just twice since 1997. With a postseason berth almost assured in 2011, that would be the 13th postseason appearance in 26 seasons. However, the team has won 100 games in a season only three times, the last all the way back in 1946. The famous 1978 playoff game with the Yankees would have been the Sox 100th win had Bucky Dent not shattered Boston’s championship plans. The Red Sox pose the toughest test to date in selecting just four individuals. Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski are easy choices. The list of candidates for the last two spots is long, and filled with strong arguments.

Ted Williams
There is absolutely no doubt that Teddy Ballgame belongs here. The Splendid Splinter is also in the discussion for the MLB Hitters Mt. Rushmore. There may not have been a better hitter ever. His entire career was spent in Boston and was interrupted twice by stints in the U.S. Marine Corps — first in World War II then again during the Korean War. The 10 best on-base percentages in Boston history, ranging from .479-.553, all belong to Williams.

Carl Yastrzemski
It isn’t easy to step into a legend’s shoes, especially at the age of 21 and a legend the size of Williams. But that’s what was asked of Yastrzemski in 1961. But 3,308 games later, Yaz had cemented his place alongside Williams as the two greatest players in Red Sox history. Yastrzemski won three batting titles, a triple crown, made 18 All-Star teams and earned seven Gold Gloves. At ages 22 and 38 he finished 18th in MVP voting. In between, he had nine finishes that high or better, including winning the award in his triple crown season of 1967. Sadly, Yaz never won a World Series, but he batted .400 and hit three home runs in the 1967 Classic and hit .310 in the 1975 Series. Overall, he batted .369 in the postseason with 11 RBIs and 15 runs in 17 games.

David Ortiz
Ortiz doesn’t rank in the top 5 in any of the main offensive categories except slugging percentage. But Big Papi embodied the spirit of the Red Sox in the 2000s. Over his first five seasons with the team, he averaged .302 with 42 home runs, 128 RBIs, 105 runs and 41 doubles, and finished in the top 5 in MVP votes each year. And most importantly, the Sox won two World Series in that time. He has 12 postseason home runs and hit .321 with eight RBIs and seven runs in their two World Series sweeps.

Jim Rice
Rice is third on the Red Sox list in hits, total bases and RBIs. He and Hank Aaron (in 1959) are the only two hitters with as many as 400 total bases in a season between 1948 and 1997. From the mid-1970s to the mid-’80s, Rice was the most feared hitter in the American League.

Close Calls
You would think any player with a foul pole named for him would deserve a Mt. Rushmore honor. And Johnny Pesky remains a beloved player to fans of several generations.

The Game 6 home run in 1975 by Carlton Fisk certainly is on Boston’s Mt. Rushmore of moments, but the catcher had a tough breakup and spent too much time in white socks.

Third in career runs, fourth in hits and total bases, Dwight Evans was as good a rightfielder as we’ve seen since the 1970s.

Cy Young has an award named for him, but fewer than 200 wins in Boston.

Bobby Doerr made nine All-Star teams and drove in 100 runs six times. He missed a full season due to military service at age 27. He played only second base in his career and wore no other uniform.

From 1935 to 1947, Joe Cronin managed Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr, among others, to a pennant, four second-place finishes and 10 .500 seasons or better in 13 years.

Tris Speaker won the 1912 MVP in a Boston uniform. In seven full-time seasons from 1909-15, he averaged .342-6-76 with 99 runs, 34 doubles and 15 triples and a .909 OPS.

Jimmie Foxx made six All-Star teams and won an MVP with the Sox.
 

Follow Charlie Miller on Twitter @AthlonCharlie or email him Charlie.Miller@AthlonSports.com
 

Other teams' Mt. Rushmores:

MLB Mt. Rushmores

by Charlie Miller

The question was posed earlier this season whether Derek Jeter should be considered as part of the Yankees’ Mt. Rushmore. That certainly piqued my interest. Not really the Jeter-Yankees part, but the idea that all MLB teams should have their own Mt. Rushmores. Who are the four individuals that have risen above all others for each organization? The question sounds simple. But it isn't as easy as it sounds. Let the arguments begin.

Tampa Bay Rays Mt. Rushmore

The Devil Rays spent nine of their first 10 years of existence languishing in last place, with seemingly no hope of competing with the heavyweights in New York and Boston. Then came a minor name change from Devil Rays to just Rays, and a major cultural change under manager Joe Maddon. The team wore shirts that said 9+9=8. Their motivation was that nine guys playing hard for nine innings equals one of eight teams playing in the postseason. Certainly a key to their success was that during the years spent in last place, the team was spending more than the big market teams on draft picks and player development. That strategy paid off, and the Rays are now going head-to-head with wealthier teams in the AL East.

Carl Crawford
There can absolutely be no argument here. The only category among the franchise’s all-time list that I could find without Crawford’s name at the top was home runs, and he is fourth in team history with 104. The team’s first real star, Crawford made four All-Star teams and stole 409 bases. From 2003 (the year he became a full-time starter) to 2010, he averaged .299 with 13 homers, 70 RBIs, 50 stolen bases, 93 runs and 12 triples. The fans’ warm reception upon his return to Tropicana Field this season in a Red Sox uniform spoke volumes to his popularity.

Evan Longoria
The popular third baseman is fifth on the team’s all-time list in runs and hits, and fourth in total bases and RBIs. He is currently the face of the franchise and under contract through 2013 with team options through 2016. I can’t imagine the team not picking those up. He has seven postseason home runs in 21 games.

Joe Maddon
The innovative manager is responsible for all the good seasons in team history. In his six seasons at the helm, he’s guided the Rays to their only four winning seasons, two division titles and an AL Pennant. He was recently voted the manager players would most like to play for in an SI poll of 291 major leaguers.

Andrew Friedman
In 2005, at the age of 28, Friedman was promoted from his position in player development to general manager. Under his leadership, the franchise saw its first success in 2008.

Close Calls
James Shields' 70 wins, six shutouts and 16 complete games are tops on the team’s all-time lists.

The former No. 2 overall draft pick may not be in a Rays’ uniform much longer, but B.J. Upton has been a fixture in centerfield since 2007 and was a key player in the Rays’ AL Championship in 2008.

Lefty David Price has the best ERA in team history (min. 500 IP) and is already third in wins with 41. And he was that 23-year-old on the mound when the Rays clinched the AL pennant in 2008.

Aubrey Huff is second or third on most of the franchise’s all-time lists.
 

Follow Charlie Miller on Twitter @AthlonCharlie or email him Charlie.Miller@AthlonSports.com

Other teams' Mt. Rushmores:

MLB Mt. Rushmores

by Charlie Miller

The question was posed earlier this season whether Derek Jeter should be considered as part of the Yankees’ Mt. Rushmore. That certainly piqued my interest. Not really the Jeter-Yankees part, but the idea that all MLB teams should have their own Mt. Rushmores. Who are the four individuals that have risen above all others for each organization? The question sounds simple. But it isn't as easy as it sounds. Let the arguments begin.

Toronto Blue Jays Mt. Rushmore

The Toronto Blue Jays began play in 1977 along with the Seattle Mariners. It took the Jays six seasons to escape the cellar, but the team managed to win a division title in 1985. Having competed in the same division as the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox during their entire existence, the Jays have always had tough competition. Their five postseason appearances came in the span of nine years from 1985-93, culminating in back-to-back World Series titles. The Jays have finished above the breakeven mark in 19 of their 34 seasons. Success has been hard to come by in recent seasons. They’ve won as many as 88 games just once (1998) since the title seasons of 1992-93. Toronto was once the envy of all of MLB when it came to drawing fans. During the team’s heyday in the early 1990s, the Jays topped 4 million three successive seasons. Since the strike in 1994, attendance hasn’t reached 3 million.

Roy Halladay
Although he ranks behind Dave Stieb on most of the career lists, Halladay dominated the American League while he was Toronto. He made his debut in 1998, but joined the rotation full-time for good in 2002. From 2002-09, Halladay made six All-Star teams and was in the top five in Cy Young voting six times as well, winning the award in 2003 with 22 wins. Over that span, Doc Halladay averaged 16-7 and 214 innings.

Tony Fernandez
The slick-fielding shortstop made three All-Star teams, won four Gold Gloves and amassed 1,583 hits for the Blue Jays. He’s the Jays’ all-time leader in games and hits, fourth in runs and total bases. Fernandez was traded back to the Blue Jays in June of 1993, and teamed with Alomar to give the Jays one of the best defensive middle infields in baseball. Fernandez rapped out seven hits and nine RBIs in the six-game World Series win over Philadelphia.

Roberto Alomar
The Hall of Fame second baseman essentially launched his Hall of Fame career in Toronto. He spent just five seasons in Toronto, but made five All-Star teams and won five Gold Gloves. He finished sixth in MVP voting three times while with the Blue Jays. He averaged 90 runs and 41 steals in his five seasons and batted .307.

Joe Carter
The likeable Carter doesn’t rank in the top five in any category other than RBIs, but no Blue Jays fans will ever forget him jumping with joy after his walk-off home run off Mitch Williams to end the 1993 World Series. Carter anchored the lineup in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots in the batting order for the two championship teams.

Close Calls
Few GMs have had as positive an impact on a franchise as Pat Gillick had in Toronto. The recently inducted Hall of Famer built the team that captured the back-to-back titles in 1992-93.

The leader in franchise wins, Dave Stieb was the team’s ace throughout the 1980s and made eight All-Star teams.

Tom Henke is the all-time leader in saves with 217.

Carlos Delgado, the catcher-turned-first baseman, leads the franchise in runs, homers and RBIs.

Don’t laugh, but Vernon Wells is third all-time in games played and second in hits, runs and RBIs.

Cito Gaston managed the Jays to their two World Series titles.

Follow Charlie Miller on Twitter @AthlonCharlie or email him Charlie.Miller@AthlonSports.com

Other teams' Mt. Rushmores:

-by Braden Gall (@AthlonBraden on twitter)

No one should envy the American League Cy Young voters this year.

Twitter: @4QuartersRadio

The MLB All-Stars have been selected, and there is no shortage of debates on the merits of the players who made the mid-summer squads. Most of the candidates, though, have some merits to debate.

This piece is not about those players.