25 for 25: The National League East

For those of you not familiar with my earlier work, I used the model of making a 25-man roster, selecting just one player from each of the last 25 seasons. I did this for the Cardinals for the era 1985-2009 and then did the same for '60-'84, '35-'59, and finally '10-'34. Back in January, I cobbled together the above linked post, trying to illuminate a little bit of the history of the Cardinals from 1910 to 1934. After receiving many positive comments, my intentions were to do the same for the other three eras, but I haven't gotten there yet, a combination of things (boredom, computer games, a return to gainful employment, etc.) working to prevent me from doing so.

One of the tangents that led me astray was seeing what the rest of the National League looked like through the same prism. Having completed that diversion fairly recently, I thought that I should share my ideas and open myself up to criticism (positive, negative, otherwise). I will start with the entire National League East; doing a team at a time would take up to much space in the Fan Posts section; doing the entire league is too weighty (and too much work at the moment).

This version, unlike the previous entry, will be simply lists of the players I selected for each team, with a few notable exceptions listed as well. Also I did not make a special effort to limit players to one era or another (unlike before). Please look over these and let me know what you think. (If anyone could link these to the other SB Nation sites, it would be appreciated.)

P.S. I usually cannot access VEB during the day at work, so I may be a little slow in responding during the middle hours of the day.

Atlanta Braves

C – Javy Lopez (1998), Brian McCann (2006)

1B – Bob Horner (1985), Mark Teixeira (2008)

2B – Jeff Treadway (1990), Marcus Giles (2003)

3B – Terry Pendleton (1992), Chipper Jones (2007)

SS – Jeff Blauser (1997), Rafael Furcal (2005)

OF – Dale Murphy (1987), Lonnie Smith (1989), David Justice (1993), Andruw Jones (2000), Garry Sheffield (2002), J.D. Drew (2004)

SP – Tom Glavine (1991), Greg Maddux (1994), John Smoltz (1996), Kevin Millwood (1999), Javier Vazquez (2009)

RP – Gene Garber (1986), Paul Assenmacher (1988), Mark Wohlers (1995), Mike Remlinger (2001)

Notable exceptions: Fred McGriff (1994), Andres Galarraga (1998), Kelly Johnson (2008), Edgar Renteria (2005), Yunel Escobar (2009), Ron Gant (1991), Rick Mahler (1985), Charlie Leibrandt (1990), Denny Neagle (1997), Tim Hudson (2007), Jair Jurrjens (2009), John Rocker (1999)

Florida Marlins (because the Marlins have only existed since 1993, I picked two players from each of eight seasons; all other rules continue)

C – Charles Johnson (1995), Ivan Rodriguez (2003)

1B – Derrek Lee (2003), Carlos Delgado (2005)

2B – Luis Castillo (2000), Dan Uggla (2008)

3B – Mike Lowell (2002), Miguel Cabrera (2006)

SS – Edgar Renteria (1997), Hanley Ramirez (2008)

OF – Jeff Conine (1994), Garry Sheffield (1996), Moises Alou (1997), Cliff Floyd (2001), Preston Wilson (2001), Josh Willingham (2006)

SP – Kevin Brown (1996), Alex Fernandez (1999), Carl Pavano (2004), Dontrelle Willis (2005), Josh Johnson (2009)

RP – Bryan Harvey (1993), Matt Mantei (1998), Armando Benitez (2004), Lee Gardner (2007)

Notable excpetions: Al Leiter (1996), Josh Beckett (2005), Ricky Nolasco (2008), Robb Nen (1996), Todd Jones (2005)

New York Mets

C – Gary Carter (1986), Mike Piazza (2001)

1B – Keith Hernandez (1987), John Olerud (1998)

2B – Edgardo Alfonzo (2000), Luis Castillo (2009)

3B – Howard Johnson (1989), David Wright (2007)

SS – Jose Vizcaino (1995), Jose Reyes (2008)

OF – Darryl Strawberry (1988), Bobby Bonilla (1993), Bernard Gilkey (1996), Roger Cedeno (1999), Cliff Floyd (2005), Carlos Beltran (2006)

SP – Dwight Gooden (1985), Frank Viola (1990), David Cone (1991), Sid Fernandez (1992), Bret Saberhagen (1994)

RP – John Franco (1997), Armando Benitez (2002), David Weathers (2003), Braden Looper (2004)

Notable exceptions: Todd Hundley (1996), Dave Magadan (1990), Jose Valentin (2006), Kevin Elster (1989), Lenny Dykstra (1986), Kevin McReynolds (1988), Lance Johnson (1996), Al Leiter (1998), Mike Hampton (2000), Tom Glavine (2004), Pedro Martinez (2005), Johan Santana (2008), Jesse Orosco (1986), Randy Myers (1988)

Philadelphia Phillies

C – Darren Daulton (1992), Mike Lieberthal (2003)

1B – John Kruk (1993), Ryan Howard (2006)

2B – Juan Samuel (1987), Chase Utley (2009)

3B – Mike Schmidt (1986), Scott Rolen (1998)

SS – Kevin Stocker (1996), Jimmy Rollins (2007)

OF – Von Hayes (1989), Lenny Dykstra (1990), Jim Eisenreich (1995), Doug Glanville (1999), Pat Burrell (2002), Bobby Abreu (2004)

SP – Kevin Gross (1985), Danny Jackson (1994), Curt Schilling (1997), Robert Person (2000), Cole Hamels (2008)

RP – Greg Harris (1988), Mitch Williams (1991), Jose Mesa (2001), Billy Wagner (2005)

Notable exceptions: Jim Thome (2003), Placido Polanco (2003), Dave Hollins (1992), Jayson Werth (2009), Shane Rawley (1985), Tommy Greene (1991), Brett Myers (2005), J.A. Happ (2009), Doug Jones (1994), Brad Lidge (2008)

Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals

C – Darrin Fletcher (1995), Brian Schneider (2003)

1B – Andres Galarraga (1988), Nick Johnson (2005)

2B – Delino DeShields (1993), Jose Vidro (2000)

3B – Tim Wallach (1990), Ryan Zimmerman (2009)

SS – Wil Cordero (1994), Christian Guzman (2008)

OF – Tim Raines (1985), Mitch Webster (1986), Larry Walker (1992), Vladimir Guerrero (2002), Alfonso Soriano (2006), Ryan Church (2007)

SP – Mark Langston (1989), Dennis Martinez (1991), Pedro Martinez (1997), Javier Vazquez (2001), Livan Hernandez (2004)

RP – Tim Burke (1987), Mel Rojas (1996), Ugueth Urbina (1998), Steve Kline (1999)

Notable exceptions: Vance Law (1985), Mike Lansing (1997), Hubie Brooks (1986), Orlando Cabrera (2001), Ivan Calderon (1991), Marquis Grissom (1994), Moises Alou (1994), Rondell White (1997), Bryn Smith (1989), Butch Henry (1994), Ken Hill (1994), Jeff Fassero (1996), Dustin Hermanson (1998), John Wetteland (1993), Luis Ayala (2004)