Bill James' All-Time All-Star Line-Up....

OK, I know this is supposed to be a basketball blog...but I was watching a program about the Bill James baseball abstract the other day, and it got me thinking. Here is his line-up of the nine best baseball players of all time (although the batting order is mine):

CF - Willie Mays
2B - Joe Morgan
RF - Babe Ruth
LF - Ted Williams
1B - Lou Gehrig
3B - Mike Schmidt
SS - Honus Wagner
C - Yogi Berra
P - Roger Clemens

Hard to find much to argue with about that starting nine. But then I started thinking, who would I want on the bench? Here are my personal picks:

Outfielders: Ty Cobb, Henry Aaron, Barry Bonds.

OK, I admit...there are lots of others to choose from who didn't juice, even if I arbitrarily eliminate anyone who has ever played for the Yankees. But these are the guys I would want backing up Ruth, Williams, and Mays. In fact, with bats like these available, I might even be tempted to platoon.

Infielders: Alex Rodriguez, Ozzie Smith.

A-Rod gets a pass on his current team affiliation because he started his career with the Mariners. And I confess, "the Wizard of Oz" is no doubt a very idiosyncratic choice. But I'm captivated by his speed on the basepaths and what he can do with a glove. And frankly, I just love to watch him play.

Catchers: Johnny Bench, Josh Gibson.

Even Bill James will tell you that Josh Gibson was probably the best catcher ever to play the game. But since the Negro League statistics were so haphazard, James doesn't have the data to compare him to his Major League contemporaries. Fortunately, I don't have to worry about that restriction....

In the Bullpen: And this is the trickiest part of all. So many good pitchers to pick from. But here are my tentative choices (recognizing that I'm a little heavy on RHPs).

Walter Johnson
Sandy Koufax
Bob Gibson
Nolan Ryan
Robert Leroy "Sachel" Paige
Randy Johnson
Juan Marichal
Greg Maddox

And now for The Closer. And this is truly a tough call. I mean, with pitchers like these others available, do I really even NEED a Closer? Maybe one of these other guys could be pressed into the role. Can you imagine how overwhelming someone like Koufax or Gibson (not to mention my matched set of Johnsons) might have been if they only had to pitch one inning a night?

Likewise, there are so many other great pitchers out there. Oldtimers like Cy Young or Bob Feller, Lefty Grove, Warren Spahn, Dizzy Dean, and Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown. Household names like Tom Seaver or Jim Palmer. Or even someone like Pedro Martinez, or perhaps another of my sentimental favorites, say junkball pitcher Gaylord Perry or Bill "Spaceman" Lee....

But to be fair, if I had to chose a real Closer, it would have to be Mariano "The Sandman" Rivera. And I hate to do it, because lets face it, he plays in pinstripes. But hands down he is unquestionably the best there's ever been in the bottom of the ninth. Which simply makes it all the more painful....