Six years ago -- geez, almost seven now -- I wrote a post about the first player I think of when I think of a specific team.
I said in that post that maybe in five years I'd try it again and see if any of my choices changed. Well, it's more than five years since and, of course they've changed. This is a totally random exercise!
So I'm doing it again. I tried not to look at my choices from the first time. And, like last time, though I didn't plan to repeat the pattern, I conducted this thinking exercise shortly after waking up, so my brain wouldn't be influenced by anything that's going on currently.
However, my timing isn't great. The last time I did this was in January, the offseason. This time I'm doing it in the middle of the postseason, so I'm naturally going to pick people playing in that. Anyway, let's see what the brain said this time.
National League West
Dodgers: Mookie Betts. He's kind of been on my mind lately.
Diamondbacks: Mark Grace. Weird. I'm blaming Immaculate Grid. When I was playing regularly I had my brain trained to think of off-the-wall choices like this.
Giants: Bobby Bonds. Interesting, I usually first think of his '76 Yankees card.
Padres: Dave Winfield. This is the same pick as six years ago.
Rockies: Vinny Castilla.
National League Central
Brewers: Ted Simmons. Another surprise pick. One, it's not someone currently playing in the playoffs and, two, I first think of Simmons with the Cardinals.
Cardinals: Hah, what? This is what happens before I have my coffee.
Cubs: Pete Crow-Armstrong
Pirates: Willie Stargell. This is another same pick from last time.
Reds: Johnny Bench
National League East
Braves: Ronald Acuña Jr.
Marlins: Gary Sheffield
Mets: Pete Alonso
Nationals: Bryce Harper. He hasn't been on the Nationals in seven years. Yet still.
Phillies: Greg Luzinski
American League East
Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Orioles: Boog Powell
Rays: Evan Longoria
Red Sox: Carl Yastrzemski
Yankees: Aaron Judge
American League Central
Guardians: Buddy Bell
Royals: George Brett
Tigers: Howard Johnson. Completely out of left field.
Twins: Rod Carew. As it should be. Makes up for my brain's choice on the next team.
White Sox: Carlton Fisk. Come on, brain!
American League West
Angels: Mike Trout
Astros: Jose Cruz. He's a National League Astro, but the brain doesn't recognize weird MLB revisions.
A's: Rollie Fingers
Mariners: Julio Rodriguez. With all the online talk of "The Big Dumper," this is an amazing pick. ... OK, not quite Bob Stinson, but we're not playing Immaculate Grid here.
Rangers: Mike Hargrove. When I got to the Rangers, my brain went completely blank. It couldn't think of anyone from any era. When it got over its glitch, it did produce a satisfying result.
And that's what the brain thinks of first here in 2025. It's a mix of oldies and newbies, which I think is good. It means I'm not totally stuck in the past.
For comparison sake, I'll put my first picks from six years ago down next to these ones.
Dodgers: Mookie Betts (Sandy Koufax)
Diamondbacks: Mark Grace (Paul Goldschmidt)
Giants: Bobby Bonds (Will Clark)
Padres: Dave Winfield (Dave Winfield)
Rockies: Vinny Castilla (Larry Walker)
Brewers: Ted Simmons (Ryan Braun)
Cardinals: Todd Zeile (Stan Musial)
Cubs: Pete Crow-Armstrong (Ryne Sandberg)
Pirates: Willie Stargell (Willie Stargell)
Reds: Johnny Bench (Pete Rose)
Braves: Ronald Acuña Jr. (Freddie Freeman)
Marlins: Gary Sheffield (Giancarlo Stanton)
Mets: Pete Alonso (Tom Seaver)
Nationals: Bryce Harper (Bryce Harper)
Phillies: Greg Luzinski (Greg Luzinski)
Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Joe Carter)
Orioles: Boog Powell (Ken Singleton)
Rays: Evan Longoria (Evan Longoria)
Red Sox: Carl Yastrzemski (Roger Clemens)
Yankees: Aaron Judge (Babe Ruth)
Guardians: Buddy Bell (Albert Belle)
Royals: George Brett (George Brett)
Tigers: Howard Johnson (Al Kaline)
Twins: Rod Carew (Bert Blyleven)
White Sox: Carlton Fisk (Paul Konerko)
Angels: Mike Trout (Frank Tanana)
Astros: Jose Cruz (Craig Biggio)
Athletics: Rollie Fingers (Bert Campaneris)
Mariners: Julio Rodriguez (Alex Rodriguez)
Rangers: Mike Hargrove (Toby Harrah)
Six repeat choices. Maybe in five years I'll try this again. We'll see where I'm at then and where MLB is at. And where my brain is at.
Comments