My MLB Franchise Four----Mt. Rushmore

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

When MLB decided to come up with the Franchise Four at this year's All-Star Game in Cincinnati, there was absolutely no way that I would pass up on this chance to come up with mine.

There are lots of great players that wouldn't make it because their teams in the 1900's are no longer in existence. The one guy that comes to mind is Cy Young.

There are many players that won't make it due to the Steroid Era. On My List, don't expect to see Barry Bonds on it because he was a cheater and his arrogant attitude towards the media will not help his chances to reach the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

Did you know that Hall of Famer Joe Morgan was a good player for the Houston Astros before joining the Cincinnati Reds Big Red Machine?

One day, I see Center Fielder Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels making this list.

If I had a fifth selection for the Detroit Tigers, southpaw hurler Mickey Lolich would be on it.

Lolich won three games in the 1968 World Series as the Tigers topped the St. Louis Cardinals to win a World Championship. He was a three-time All-Star. His career record for Detroit was 207-175, nine saves, pitched in 3,361.2 innings, 190 complete games and 2,679 strike outs. Lolich's 190 complete games is unrealistic in the New Specialization Era, predicated on pitch counts and innings pitched-monitored.

On Father's Day, June 16, 1974, Lolich worked 11 innings and threw 170 pitches, and got a walk-off win at Tiger Stadium. I'd like to see that happen these days. A manager could get fired today allowing a pitcher, especially his ace working this long.

Lolich would finish his career with 217 wins and 2,832 strikeouts also playing for the New York Mets and San Diego Padres in the National League.

What's even more impressive is Lolich's strike out total of 2,679, the most by an American League left-hander. Hall of Fame hurler Randy Johnson struck out 2,545 while pitching for American League teams, a number that includes strikeouts in inter-league play.

My photographer Candice Ebling asked me about how many pitchers would end up on the list? In some cases none.

Did you know that former Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is the only player in team history to amass over 3,000 hits?

I found it tough to choose between Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio. I went with DiMaggio because he won nine World Series Titles and owns an unbreakable 56-game hitting streak.

Where does Roger Clemens belong? It's tough to find a spot with the Yankees and Red Sox. He had some success with the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays, but not enough longevity.

Former St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols is a victim of the team's illustrious tradition.

The Small Market Florida Teams, The Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins are tough to come up with four due to the high roster turnover and small payrolls. It's tough for these teams to keep their big name star players longer than seven years.

Now that Giancarlo Stanton has signed a long term contract, if he stays healthy, then I could see him on a future Marlins list.

With My List, a real deciding factor is whether a player wins a championship(s). If the player does it with multiple teams, that's even better.

An interesting note is the Milwaukee Brewers and Houston Astros have swapped leagues. Ironically, the Astros players on this list played in the National League while the Brewers played in the American League.

Now that I've given you readers a basic criteria, I welcome your feedback.

Here is My Franchise Four.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST:

New York Yankees
1. Babe Ruth
2. Lou Gehrig
3. Derek Jeter
4. Joe DiMaggio

Baltimore Orioles
1. Brooks Robinson
2. Jim Palmer
3. Frank Robinson
4. Cal Ripken Jr.

Tampa Bay Rays
1. David Price
2. Evan Longoria
3. Wade Boggs
4. Carl Crawford

Boston Red Sox
1. Ted Williams
2. Carl Yastrzemski
3. Jim Rice
4. Pedro Martinez

Toronto Blue Jays
1. Joe Carter
2. Roberto Alomar
3. Dave Stieb
4. Roy Halladay

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL:

Detroit Tigers
1. Ty Cobb
2. Hank Greenberg
3. Al Kaline
4. Miguel Cabrera

Kansas City Royals
1. George Brett
2. Hal McRae
3. Willie Wilson
4. Dan Quisenberry

Minnesota Twins
1. Harmon Killebrew
2. Rod Carew
3. Tony Oliva
4. Kirby Puckett

Cleveland Indians
1. Bob Feller
2. Jim Thome
3. Sandy Alomar Jr.
4. CC Sabathia

Chicago White Sox
1. Frank Thomas
2. Paul Konerko
3. Nellie Fox
4. Carlton Fisk

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST:

Houston Astros
1. Nolan Ryan
2. Jeff Bagwell
3. Craig Biggio
4. Joe Morgan

Los Angeles Angels
1. Bobby Grich
2. Nolan Ryan
3. Brian Downing
4. Tim Salmon

Oakland A's
1. Jim "Catfish" Hunter
2. Reggie Jackson
3. Rickey Henderson
4. Dennis Eckersley

Seattle Mariners
1. Ken Griffey Jr.
2. Jay Buhner
3. Randy Johnson
4. Edgar Martinez

Texas Rangers
1. Nolan Ryan
2. Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez
3. Jim Sundberg
4. Toby Harrah


NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST:

New York Mets
1. Tom Seaver
2. Keith Hernandez
3. John Franco
4. Mike Piazza

Atlanta Braves
1. Warren Spahn
2. Greg Maddux
3. Tom Glavine
4. Hank Aaron

Miami Marlins
1. Al Leiter
2. Livan Hernandez
3. Miguel Cabrera
4. Josh Beckett

Washington Nationals/ Montreal Expos
1. Rusty Staub
2. Gary Carter
3. Tim Raines
4. Andre Dawson

Philadelphia Phillies
1. Steve Carlton
2. Mike Schmidt
3. Robin Roberts
4. Richie Ashburn

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL:

St. Louis Cardinals
1. Bob Gibson
2. Lou Brock
3. Stan Musial
4. Ozzie Smith

Chicago Cubs
1. Ernie Banks
2. Billy Williams
3. Ferguson Jenkins
4. Sammy Sosa

Cincinnati Reds
1. Pete Rose
2. Johnny Bench
3. Tony Perez
4. Barry Larkin

Pittsburgh Pirates
1. Willie Stargell
2. Roberto Clemente
3. Honus Wagner
4. Bill Mazeroski

Milwaukee Brewers
1. Robin Yount
2. Paul Molitor
3. Rollie Fingers
4. Cecil Cooper

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST:

Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers
1. Jackie Robinson
2. Sandy Koufax
3. Don Drysdale
4. Roy Campanella

San Diego Padres
1. Tony Gwynn
2. Dave Winfield
3. Randy Jones
4. Trevor Hoffman

New York/San Francisco Giants
1. Willie Mays
2. Willie McCovey
3. Juan Marichal
4. Orlando Cepeda

Colorado Rockies
1. Larry Walker
2. Dante Bichette
3. Todd Helton
4. Troy Tulowitzki

Arizona Diamondbacks
1. Curt Schilling
2. Randy Johnson
3. Luis Gonzalez
4. Matt Williams

Here are some after thoughts about My MLB Mt. Rushmore.

Did you know that Nolan Ryan's number was retired by the California Angels, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers. Ryan wore No. 30 with California, and No. 34 with the Astros and Rangers. He won his only World Series Title with the 1969 New York Mets.

Eddie Murray would have made this list with the Baltimore Orioles, but you can't leave off Cal Ripken Jr.

A unique player to talk about is Fingers. He won three World Series Championships with the Oakland A's and led the Brewers to the 1982 World Series. His No. 34 is retired by both franchises.

Fingers is known for his trademark mustache.

Why did Sammy Sosa make this list?

Sosa led the Chicago Cubs to the playoffs in 1998. It was the first time the Cubs reached the playoffs since 1989. In 1998, Sosa and Mark McGwire, had their famous home run chase of Roger Maris 61, which  helped Baseball resurrect itself after the demoralizing Player Strike in 1994.

What also rescued baseball was Cal Ripken Jr. broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive game streak in 1995 as he passed 2,130 finishing with 2,632.

Once again, I welcome your opinion and will respond back to you.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

Conversation With Hall Of Famer Tony Perez

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

The Miami Marlins don't have any Hall Of Fame Players in Cooperstown, NY, but they do have one in the front office.

His name is Tony Perez, 72, the Cuban native, who serves as the Assistant to The General Manager.

Perez was inducted into the Hall Of Fame Class of 2000 and he did it with a .279 average, 2,732 hits, 379 HR and 1,652 RBI. During the third baseman's 23-year career, he never went on the disabled list. His #24 jersey is retired by the Reds.

Perez has also appeared in seven All-Star Games and has won three World Championships with the Reds.

Two of those titles were with the Big Red Machine in 1975-76 managed by former Tigers Skipper Sparky Anderson. The other championship was as hitting coach for the 1990 Reds.

Like former Detroit Tiger Joe Coleman, who is the pitching coach for the Jupiter Hammerheads that play in Palm Beach County at Roger Dean Stadium (photographed), Perez is a baseball lifer.

Perez and I recently talked about his career and life with the Marlins in this Exclusive Interview.

Q: How much did your days mean to you as a member of the Big Red Machine?

A: They were great days. We had a great team, guys that can go out and play everyday and win. There were so many great players like Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Ken Griffey Sr. and Cesar Geronimo. Everybody on that team was great. Sparky Anderson was a great manager. We just went out to play everyday and win.

Q: Doesn't it seem like yesterday that you were playing? You look great at 72.

A: It's been a few years, but I still remember those days and I don't feel that old, but it's been over 30 years. But you never forget when you play that good, and win, plus you have super teammates.

Q: Lets talk about your existing situation with the Miami Marlins. I know they struggled the past couple years. The last time I was at this ballpark was on September 29, 2013 when they completed a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers, which culminated with the Henderson Alvarez 1-0 no-hitter. The Marlins finished the season 62-100 with a .383 winning percentage, 34 games back of National League East Champions, The Atlanta Braves. How much have they grown?

A: This year, we've grown a lot. We have some younger players who are improving and helping us. Our pitching has been good. We've struggled in the last three years in last place, but that's happened to us over the years. I've been with the organization since 1993 and we've changed owners and stuff like that. We trade people and we change everything.

This year from now on, we're going to be a more successful team on the field. That's what we do and we'll play a lot of good young players to do it.

Q: How difficult has it been for the Marlins since they've changed ownership multiple times to create a steady following with the fan base since they've moved many star players including current Tigers MVP Miguel Cabrera and former Detroit catcher Ivan "Pudge Rodriguez? In Cincinnati, you didn't have that problem like you do in Miami.

A: The fans have been good this year. Before, we made some big trades and the fans got real mad and they stayed away from the ballpark. Now they're starting to come back. We have a better relationship with the fans because we have a better team and they realize that we acquired good young players in those trades that are playing much better. I think they understand we made good baseball trades.

Q: Do you see this ownership staying with the good core of young players instead of trading them?

A: We're going to try to stay with these young players. We have good young players in the Minor Leagues. I think they'll help us in the near future. We're going to be better, a lot better.

Q: You went from Joe Robbie Stadium to Marlins Park. What's it been like changing venues?

A: It's been a big change. This ballpark is one of the best ballparks in the league. It's great, the fans love it and every ballplayer loves it. I think they will come back. This ballpark helps us because the other stadium wasn't a baseball park.

Q: How are you feeling these days?

A: I feel great. I enjoy spending time with the team, doing a lot of exercises, cardio and stuff like that. I feel like I'm 50.

Q How much money do you think you'd be worth under today's pay scale?

A: I don't think about that. I can't complain about my career. I played with great teams, great teammates, and I did win a couple World Series with the Cincinnati Reds. I played in All-Star Games and I'm in The Hall Of Fame. I can't ask for anything more from this game.

Q: Since Marlins Park is located in South Miami, do you see it selling out a lot?

A: We have to create sellouts here. We've been only here 21 years and we've never had fans here because baseball has never been big in this town. Now with all the little kids, they are Marlins fans and maybe in 15-20 years, they'll have the same type of good following like they do in other cities.

Q: Lastly, so you're telling me you can see 25-30,000 fans on a regular basis?

A: Oh yes. I think if we start winning here, we'll see that.

As of this posting, the Marlins are currently at the .500 mark with a 62-62 record matching last year's win total and are 8.5 games back of division leading the Washington Nationals.

Former Tigers Pitching Coach Chuck Hernandez is leading the young hurlers and Miami features one of the best young managers in baseball in Mike Redmond. It will be interesting to see if this team gets into the playoffs, but they've come a long way since the Fall of 2013.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.