All Time Mets

All Time Mets
(More new Cards!!)

The New York Metropolitans were founded in 1962 to fill the void of the departed Giants and Dodgers, and started out with an atrocious 40-120 in their first regular season. In fact, they never finished better than second to last until the "Miracle Mets" of 1969, giving them the first of two World Series Titles. They have won five NL Pennants, the NL East six times and gotten wild card berths three times. Despite their standing as the "lesser" NYC team, they are going to pack a punch here and will put up a really strong fight to get out of this division.

The Mets have had one of the more consistent logos out there

All Time Phillies

All Time Phillies




The next All Time Team is the Philadelphia Phillies, who came about in 1883, and have won two World Series, seven NL Pennants and 11 NL East titles and have featured yours truly on their jumbotron! This team will reflect their storied history and has quite a few Hall of Famers on it.

All Time Expos

All Time Expos (New Cards!)


Today's team is the Montreal Expos, who are no longer a team. I debated combining the Expos and Nationals,  but I felt that there were just too many good cards that I wanted to showcase here. To bolster the team a bit I decided to include David's "What If" Expos . The Expos were created in 1969 and failed to post a winning season in their first ten years. They only managed to make the playoffs in the strike shortened 1981 season when they won the NL East, however they were in a prime position to be a competitive club when the 1994 strike crippled their chances, and their existence as an organization. In 2002 the MLB purchased the club and in 2005 they moved them to Washington DC to create the Nationals.

All Time Indians

All Time Indians (New Cards!)


Today's team is the Cleveland Indians. With many of the contributors to this site being Indians fans, there is considerably more cards to chose from than any other team. Sadly to say, none of these fans have seen an Indians championship team, as the only two came in 1920 and 1948. However, with 6 AL Pennants, 11 Divisional Championships and a Wild Card berth, there has been plenty of October baseball since the teams inception in 1900. They also set the record for longest win streak in the AL with 22 games in 2017.

 Logo Circa 1915- I'm sensing a pattern here

All Time Royals

All Time Royals



The next team up is the Kansas City Royals, who much like the Tigers, are in a period of rebuilding- although they have had success more recently. Founded in 1969 as an expansion team they have won the World Series in 1980 and in 2015, while losing in 1985 and 2014. They also have 6 AL West titles, one Central title and a wild card berth.

Royals Logo 1969-1978

All Time Tigers

All Time Tigers


This week we start with the AL Central, and leading them off is the Detroit Tigers. They are one of the AL's original eight charter franchises from back in 1894, and the only "western" team still in their original city. They've won four World Series titles, 11 AL Pennants, 7 division titles and 1 wild card appearance. At the moment the Tigers are in Major rebuild mode, but over the years they've had some stellar players, and this team largely represents their early 2010s dominance.

Tigers Logo 1901-1902

All Time Cardinals

All Time Cardinals



Today's team is the Cardinals, and just as always, they come in and grasp the Brewers dominance right out of their hands. In 1881 the Brown Stockings barnstorming club was purchased and renamed the St. Louis Browns. They would join the National League in 1892, and in 1900 took their current name of the Cardinals. They invented farm systems, and have a long list of accomplishments over the years including 11 World Series Titles, 19 NL pennants, 11 Central division titles, 4 AA Pennants, 3 East Division titles and 3 wild card berths. There's a long list of players who have made it to Cooperstown from playing with the Cardinals, and you will see quite a few in here.

All Time Brewers

All Time Brewers



The Milwaukee Brewers, originally the Seattle Pilots of the AL, were founded in 1969 and relocated a year later to Milwaukee and adopted their current name during the move. They jumped over the NL in '98 and are the only team to play in four divisions. They have made the playoffs five times and their only World Series appearance came back in 1982, losing to the Cardinals in seven games. The only two Brewers in the Hall of Fame in Brewers uniforms are Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, who make an appearance here.

The original Pilots and Brewers logos

All Time Reds

ALL TIME REDS


Two teams in one week, and we are officially back in the swing of things! Today's team is the Cincinnati Reds. They joined the NL in 1890, and actually played in the NL West from 1969-1993 before joining their current division, the central. They've won five world series, with their first coming from the infamous 1919 Black Sox Scandal. Fun fact, that was one of a few best of 9 game series formats that they tried. They've also won 9 NL Pennants and 10 division titles. The Reds have many players enshrined in Cooperstown, however possibly the most famous is not there due to his alleged gambling ways.

Cincinnati Reds first logo (previously were Red Stockings)

All Time Pirates

All Time Pirates


                     After a LONG layoff, I'm back! Going to try and include more run analysis while doing this. Our first team in the NL Central is the Pirates, one of the oldest teams in the sport. They briefly spent time in Allegheney before moving to Pittsburgh in 1891, and have been there ever since. Over their storied franchise they have won five World Series titles, although none since 1979. They’ve also won nine NL pennants, no central division titles, nine east division titles and three wild card births. Throughout their long history they’ve also had a large number of Hall of Famers don the black and yellow, including Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, Ralph Kiner and Willie Stargell. This team won’t have the same punch as the other teams, however they definitely have some fun players to use. 

All Time Astros

All Time Astros

                Our final AL West team is the Astros, who made the jump from the NL in 2013. This team is coming in as another heavy favorite for the top team out there. The team was established in 1962 as an expansion team with the Mets, initially called the Houston Colt .45s, however when they moved to the famous Astrodome in ’65, they changed their name to Astros. With the Astrodome came the AstroTurf, which changed the way the game was played. They've been a successful team historically, however until recently they hadn't cemented themselves as a dominant team. They won the World Series in 2017, and got to it in 2005 as the NL pennant winners. They’ve won the AL west the past two years (and will again this year), and won the NL central division four times in five years from ’97 until 2001. They won the NL West in ’80,’81 and ’86. As of now they only have two players in the Hall wearing the Astros jersey in Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, though many more have worn the jersey, including Nolan Ryan. This team is going to hit you from every angle and is definitely one of the favorites to win it all.

All Time Athletics

All Time Athletics

                With late August upon us and the playoff races heating up, work has cooled down and given me time to pump these articles out. Today’s team is the Athletics, who were founded in 1901 as the Philadelphia Athletics. They won three World Series from 1910 to 1913, and also won back to back series in 1929 and 1930. The historical Connie Mack was the head of the franchise for the first 50 years. In 1955 the team left Philadelphia for Kansas City, where they stayed until 1968 when they moved to Oakland for good. They won another three consecutive World Series in Oakland from 1972 to 1974. In ’89 they won another World Series amidst three consecutive AL pennants. Overall, that adds up to 9 World Series titles, 15 AL pennants, 15 West Division titles and 3 wild card berths. The A’s have had a bunch of players get into the Hall, but to wear their jersey, and from their time in Philadelphia are John “Home Run” Baker, Charles “Chief” Bender, Connie Mack, Eddie Plank, Al Simmons and Rube Waddell. None made it in from Kansas City, and from Oakland, Dick Williams, Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers. This team is going to trot out some very good cards.

                 Philadelphia                                     Kansas City                                              Oakland

All Time Angels

All Time Angels

                The Angels were founded in 1961 as one of the league’s first two expansion teams, headed by Gene Autry, a famous singing cowboy actor and are now owned by Arte Moreno. The Angels won the World Series in 2002 against the Giants, and was the first time both teams in the series were wild card entries. They have some fish guy people like talking about, and some other really good players in their history, although this team is going to fall a bit short of the dominant type teams. Their offense is solid, but lopsided, and their pitching isn't going to scare anyone off, but won't quite wimper and fold either. There’s a handful of players who have worn the Angel’s uniform that made it to the Hall of Fame, although Vladimir Guerrero’s induction in 2017 marked the first time a player has gone in as an Angel.

All Time Rangers

All Time Rangers

                In 1961 the first iteration of the Rangers came about, as the Washington Senators, and in 1971 they moved to Arlington and became the Rangers that we know of today starting with the 1972 season. The Rangers, like the Mariners, have yet to win a World Series, but have two AL Penants, 7 West Division titles and a wild card berth. Only two players are in the Hall of Fame wearing the Rangers Jersey in Nolan Ryan and Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, although there are quite a few others who spent time in the uniform that are in there. This team might not come in quite as filthy as the top tier teams but I will admit this teams is way better than I thought it’d be, and will cause a lot of problems.

All Time Mariners

All Time Mariners

               

                The Mariners came from the 1977 expansion, and didn’t find success until the mid-90s. In 2001 they won a record 116 games, although it didn’t lead to a ring. They have no World Series titles or AL pennants, but have three division titles and a wild card berth. The Mariners currently hold the longest playoff drought among the four major sports, which dates back to their record setting 2001 season. The Mariners do have three Hall of Famers in Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr, and you’ll notice all three in our Showdown team. They have some great players, although their team history of 28 losing seasons in 42 years does come through here.

All Time Giants

All Time Giants

                  We wrap up the NL West with another powerhouse team in the Giants. The Giants were originally from NY before heading to SF in 1958. The Giants have won the most games of any team in the history of professional baseball, and have won eight division titles, 23 NL Pennants, and played in 20 World Series, winning 8 of them, including 3 in 5 years recently. The Giants have 55 players and 11 managers in the Hall of Fame, and one of the most controversial players not in the Hall of Fame in Bonds. This team might be better than the Dodgers overall, and their lineup is probably the best one we’ve seen yet!

Original NY Giants Logo

Original SF Giants Logo

All Time Dodgers

All Time Dodgers

              The Los Angeles Dodgers, once the Brooklyn Dodgers, are one of the more storied and successful franchises in baseball history. As a franchise they have won six World Series, 23 pennants, 17 West division titles and 2 wild card births. There’s too many players to name that have made the Hall of Fame for the Ddogers, and I think we’ll see a few here. I’ve got big expectations for this team, as it’s the first true historic powerhouse we’ve profiled. 

All Time Diamondbacks

All Time Diamondbacks

Next up is the Diamondbacks, who truthfully are one my least favorite teams. I’m still salty about 2001, get at me. I’m a spoiled Yankees fan and that one hurt. Talk about an outlier of a season, Luis Gonzalez that year…ANYWAY. Phoenix was given the expansion award in ’95 and the Diamondbacks debuted in the ’98 season. They’ve won the division 5 times and a wildcard berth two years ago and they just made the stunner trade of the deadline by dealing Greinke to give the Astros an even more ridiculous rotation. Speaking of ridiculous rotations, the Diamondbacks will roll out some of the better cards we've seen so far including The Big Unit. Randy Johnson is the only player to go into the Hall wearing Diamondback jersey, however his primary team is the Mariners. 

All Time Colorado Rockies

All Time Colorado Rockies

Next up for the All Time Team Series is the Colorado Rockies. I figured I’d keep it in the NL West, and went with a team I’ve always enjoyed watching for one reason or another. The Rockies came about in 1991 after much support for the Denver Bears/Zephyrs minor league baseball teams and after a bit of an owners scandal got running in 1993. They have reached the playoffs five times, each and every time as the wild card team. In 2007 they were able to advance to the World Series after an unbelieve run only to lose to the Red Sox. They have no members in the hall of fame…yet. Larry Walker is knocking on the door with 54.6% this past year and Todd Helton is also registered 16.5% in his first year on the ballot.

All Time San Diego Padres

ALL TIME SAN DIEGO PADRES

As mentioned in my last post, I am going to be putting out the best team possible based on my metrics, regardless of points or era. The card just needs to have been part of the OG sets or made on this site. Instead of doing a traditional showdown roster I’m going to do a more traditional MLB Roster with 5 starters, a fielder at each position, and then will break it down based on how I see fit from there (I will almost definitely be using more than 25 spots but will do when two players are close in value so you can compare on your own). I will only allow one card per player, so no stacking lineups with multiple iterations of one player and only include full season cards for players. No all-star game cards, as we want a full year representation.