I’m flying through this series to try and finish before voting closes May 8. Thought I’d break from posting about the “storied” franchises and instead focus on some of the newer franchises.
Miami Marlins Franchise Four
Wow. Big difference here compared to the lists we’ve been working through.
- Josh Beckett
- Luis Castillo
- Jeff Conine
- Livan Hernandez
- Giancarlo Stanton
- Charles Johnson
- Gary Sheffield
- Mike Lowell
It’s mildly surprising to not see Hanley Ramirez on this list. I mean, it’s not like he was squeezed out by a bunch of more deserving nominees. Take Beckett. Any idea how many games he won for the Marlins? A whopping 41, good for 8th on the franchise list. Or take Livan Hernandez, he of the 24-24 career record for the Marlins. Seriously? These are your Franchise Four nominees?
What do I care? I’m a Cardinal fan. Anyway, here goes:
- Giancarlo Stanton. Franchise leader in HR and counting. He’s the face of the franchise now. (“Mr. Marlin?”)
- Mike Lowell. Franchise leader in RBI, although Stanton will catch him this season.
- Jeff Conine. Conine only played five seasons in Miami, but he was the first Marlin that mattered. That has to count for something. Doesn’t it?
- You know what? I’m actually going to write in for Hanley Ramirez with my final vote. It’s ridiculous that some of these guys are nominated ahead of him. His .300 lifetime average is second in team history.
I seriously doubt Hanley wins enough write-in votes. The final vote will probably include both Beckett and Livan on the basis of their postseason heroics.
Colorado Rockies Franchise Four
This little exercise reminds you of those fun Blake-Street-Bombers teams from the 90s. Here are the Rockie nominees:
- Dante Bichette
- Todd Helton
- Larry Walker
- Vinny Castilla
- Andres Galarraga
- Troy Tulowitzki
- Carlos Gonzalez
- Matt Holliday
What, no pitchers? Just kidding.
- Todd Helton. Helton leads the Rockies in a host of counting stats categories.
- Larry Walker. Walker leads the Rockies in a host of metric-based categories.
- Dante Bichette.
- Vinny Castilla. Castilla and Bichette rank 3rd and 4th in most other offensive categories.
I think Helton and Walker will definitely make the cut. Look for Tulo to edge out one of my other guys.
already & not yet 