Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise. The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati. Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the National League West.
The Diamondbacks have only been around since 1998, so there isn’t a ton of history to choose from. 6 of the 8 nominees played on their 2001 World Championship team. My selections would be Randy Johnson, Luis Gonzalez, Matt Williams, and Steve Finley.
The Rockies franchise dates all the way back to 1993, so they are in a similar boat as the Diamondbacks, but without the championship to boost their roster. Not surprisingly, no pitchers made their list of 8 nominees. I would go with Todd Helton, Larry Walker, Dante Bichette, and Troy Tulowitzki.
Now here’s a franchise with history, dating back to Brooklyn and the late 1800s. There are two obvious picks right off the bat, with Sandy Koufax and Jackie Robinson. Clayton Kershaw may eventually end up earning a spot on this list, but I’m not willing to put him there yet. For the last 2 slots, I’m going with Duke Snider and Don Drysdale.
The Padres franchise burst on to the scene in 1969 and have had the occasional success, making and losing the World Series twice. In that time, they have 2 obvious choices with Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman. The next two are slightly more difficult, as they’ve had numerous players who are better known for their successes elsewhere. That said, I will choose Dave Winfield and Jake Peavy to finish off their four.
Like the Dodgers, the Giants franchise also dates back to the late 1880s and New York. They are also the first team that I’ve examined where my initial glance leaves me with more choices than available spots to put them. With all due respect to Juan Marichal, Buster Posey, and Orlando Cepeda, they will not be able to compete with the remaining 5. I don’t see how you pick between Christy Mathewson, Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Mel Ott, and Willie McCovey. Basically, it comes down to Ott and McCovey for the last spot, and I’m going to choose Ott.