With this, my 123rd fantasy sports column, I have decided to pay tribute to those who have come before, those whose histories – known to me virtually without exception as cold, hard statistics culled from The Baseball Encyclopedia coupled with baseball cards of my few contemporaries that I obtained in three packs from the neighborhood Piggly Wiggly – spurred my lifelong love affair with our nation’s pastime, the pinnacle of sport.  So it is for this reason that I assemble this team of the greatest fantasy baseball players ever.  Their positions and teams represent them at their most dominate; those nonetheless excluded from the list – Cap Anson, Alfonso Soriano, Manny Ramírez, Stan Musial, and Warren Spahn foremost among them – remain incredible athletes, some of the greatest the game has seen.  In Fantasyland, though, these mythic men below reign supreme, with a man named Babe as their absolute monarch.

C         Yogi Berra, New York Yankees – Many might be surprised by this pick, given Mike Piazza’s reputation as the best hitting catcher of all-time.  A trio of sub par campaigns, though, has pushed him off the pedestal to the second spot on this timeless totem.  No matter Piazza’s performance as of late, Yogi Berra is the most worthy of choices.  A three-time American League Most Valuable Player in 1951 and back-to-back in ’54 and ’55, the godfather of priceless quotes had dominant career numbers.  In 2,120 career games he scored 1,175 runs, recorded 2,150 hits, 321 doubles, legged out 49 triples, and homered 358 times, while driving in an astounding 1,430 batters.  He finished his illustrious 19-year career with a .285 batting average and .831 on base plus slugging percentage (OPS).

Honorable Mention:  Mike Piazza, Los Angeles Dodgers (.309, 992, 1975, 317, 6, 406, 1,251, and an OPS of .932.)

1B       Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals – More mighty than the Iron Horse?  Believe it.  Simply put, Albert Pujols is on pace to become the greatest hitter the game has ever seen.  In just his sixth season, his career totals – .327, 314, 448, 96, 4, 112, 305, for 888 total bases and a phenomenal OPS of 1.074 – are amazing.  He has a long way to go to equal Lou Gehrig, but if both were at their prime today I’d take Pujols in a heartbeat.

Honorable Mention:  Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees (.340, 1,888, 2,721, 534, 163, 493, 1,995, 5,060 total bases, 102 steals, and 1.074.)

2B       Rogers Hornsby, St. Louis Cardinals – Known simply as ‘The Rajah,’ well before Joe DiMaggio annexed 56 as his own, Rogers Hornsby owned .424, so coined for his startling 1924 campaign in which he scored 121 runs, recorded 227 hits, 43 doubles, 14 triples, 25 home runs, drove in 94 in posting a stratospheric OPS of 1.206.  For his career, he hit .358 (second all-time), complimented by his unprecedented stat line – 1,579, 2,930, 541, 169, 1,584 – and finished with an OPS (.424 OBP and .577 SLG) of 1.001.  His most impressive accomplishment, though, was in a four year span from 1922-25, he hit over .400 three times.

Honorable Mention:  Joe Morgan, Cincinnati Reds (.271, 1,650, 2,517, 449, 96, 268, 1,133, 1,865 walks, 689 steals at an 81% success rate, and an OPS of .819.)

3B       Álex Rodríguez, Texas Rangers – The Fantasy Man is well aware that while in Texas, Álex Rodríguez did not play third base.  Such is the glory of fantasy baseball in general, the All-Time team in particular.  Though eligible at both shortstop and third, I chose the latter and put him in a Rangers uniform because it is there where, at least individually, he blossomed into the most complete player.  His career numbers, still far from complete, virtually guarantee his spot among the greatest to ever live.  And unlike Ken Griffey Jr., his longtime Seattle Mariners teammate, A-Rod has remained remarkably healthy.  His career numbers of .306, 1,299, 1,973, 348, 26, 444, 1,377, 233 steals, and .960 OPS attest to that as well as his immense record-breaking potential.

Honorable Mention:  Eddie Matthews, Milwaukee Braves (.273, 1,470, 2,237, 341, 70, 502, 1,415, and .893.)

SS       Robin Yount, Milwaukee Brewers – Up until last year the only player to ever win MVP awards at two different positions, ‘Rockin’ Robin Yount revolutionized the shortstop position.  Coupled with Cal Ripken, Jr., he showed shortstops could hit with power – an apt harbinger for the later-day AL triumvirate of Nomar Garciaparra, Álex Rodríguez, and his paduan on this historical squad, Miguel Tejada.  In addition, he was the first to perfect the art form of bouncing the ball off the Astroturf to get it to first base more quickly.  His brilliance at the plate is shown in his career numbers: .285, 1,632, 3,142, 525, 71, 251, 1,406, 4,730 total bases, 271 steals, and solid OPS of .772.

Honorable Mention:  Miguel Tejada, Baltimore Orioles (.282, 824, 1,463, 295, 18, 232, 905, and .821.)

LF       Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox – In the most hotly contested positional battle, the prize ultimately went to the ‘greatest hitter that ever lived,’ edging out his heir apparent Manny Ramírez, and Barry Bonds, do more so to the latter’s incredible walk total – an albatross in standard five-by-five leagues – than his rumored steroid malfeasance.  A rarity in professional sports, Teddy Ballgame’s lifetime numbers equal his mythic status.  Despite losing three full seasons to fight valiantly in the Second World War, Williams finished his illustrious Red Sox career with a heroic stat line: .344, 1,798, 2,654, 525, 71, 521, 1,839, 2,019 walks, and a breathtaking 1.116 OPS.

Honorable Mention:  Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants (.299, 2,109, 2,780, 572, 77, 718, 1,883, 2,019 walks, 506 steals, and a 1.052 OPS.)

CF       Willie Mays, New York Giants – The ‘Say Hey Kid’ makes any fantasy team an instant contender.  His lifetime stats – .302, 2,062, 3,283, 523, 140, 660, 1,903, 6,066 (eesh!) total bases, 338 steals and on base plus slugging percentage of .943 – are without peer.

Honorable Mention:  Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers (.367, 2,245, 4,191, 723, 297, 117, 1,938, 892 stolen bases, and OPS of .937)

RF       Henry Aaron, Milwaukee Braves – The all-time home run king, Hammerin’ Hank Aaron – who actually hit cross-handed, with his right hand below his left, for the first part of his career – was one of the finest all-around hitters the game has ever seen.  In addition to hitting 755 career home runs, virtually all his final numbers – .305, 2,174, 3, 771, 624, 98, 2,298, 1,402 bases on balls, 240 steals, and an OPS of .929 – put him in elite company.

Honorable Mention: Vladimir Guerrero, Montreal Expos (.322, 896, 1,667, 302, 38, 321, 990, 156 steals, and an OPS of .970.)

UTIL   Babe Ruth, New York Yankees – Who better to fill this post than the greatest overall baseball player to ever live?  Whereas current fantasy stats don’t give pitchers credit for offensive statistics, if a hitter can pitch, especially as a starter, he would be the finest thing to hit fantasy baseball since the Internet.  Imagine having this guy on your squad in his early years.  At the plate, you’d get Albert Pujols; on the mound, Johan Santana.  Herman ‘Babe’ Ruth is the most valuable fantasy commodity of all-time.  His numbers – 94-46, 2.28 ERA, 107 CG, 17 SO, 4 SV, and 1.16 WHIP on the mound and .342, 2,174, 2,873, 506, 136, 714, 2,213, 2,062 walks, 123 steals, and 1.159, the best OPS ever, at the plate – are so gaudy they seem fabricated.

Honorable Mention:  Paul Molitor, Milwaukee Brewers (.306, 1,782, 3,319, 605, 114, 234, 1,307, 504 stolen bases, and OPS of .817)

SP       Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox – It’s amazing to think that exactly two decades earlier, at the tender but ferocious age of 24, Roger Clemens carried his team within a 3 unassisted of a World Series title.  Two seasons – that seminal 24-4 campaign and 2004’s 18-4 mark for the Astros – define this man.  Oh, and his career stats of 341-172, 3.12 ERA, 188 CG, 46 SO, 4,502 K, 8.61 K/9 and WHIP of 1.17 aren’t too shabby either.

Honorable Mention:  Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals (251-174, 2.91 ERA, 255 CG, 56 SO, 3,884 IP, 3.117 K, .228 BAA, 7.22 K/9, and 1.19 WHIP.)

RP      Trevor Hoffman, San Diego Padres – Trevor Hoffman is the quietest, most dependable, most dominating closer of all-time.  He – and the club to which he is solely devoted – has left an indelible mark on the game.  Buoyed by a virtually unhittable slider, he has posted a stat line – 49-54, 2.71, 454 saves, 938 strikeouts in just 849.1 innings for a 9.94 K/9 and anemic WHIP of 1.05 – worthy of first ballot entrance into Cooperstown.

Honorable Mention:  Rollie Fingers, Milwaukee Brewers (114-118, 2.90, 341 saves, 1,299 strikeouts, 6.87 K/9, and a WHIP of 1.16.)

FANTASY TIP OF THE WEEK:  Jonathan Papelbon is not the only young gun in Boston you should be aware of . . . Manny Delcarmen, Craig Hansen, and Jon Lester are also putting up huge numbers while mercilessly shutting down all Red Sox opponents.

Next Week:  All-June Team

Disagree with the TFM?  Believe his advice not so sage?  Think you could easily dominate him in a round-robin fantasy tournament?  Email him – fantasy_man@atomicsportsmedia.com – to talk smack or set the record straight.