The Washington Senators All-Time Team

The best line I came across about the Washington Senators also pretty much sums up their entire existence, and I'm quoting from baseball-reference.com: "The Senators were officially the Washington Nationals from 1905-1955, but the fans never recognized them as such". I mean how bad does your Baseball team have to be for the fans to give you the most derogatory nickname they can think of: The Senators.

The Senators were declared cursed beyond repair in 1960 and moved to Minnesota in an effort to increase the misery of that glacial alcove overlooking the frozen hells.

To everyones surprise, nostalgia crept into peoples hearts over the lost Senators; with their lone World Series win and their lone All-Timer Walter Johnson. That "nostalgia" was fueled by MLB's attempt "to stave off threats of lifting its antitrust exemption" by enraged members of Congress, who needed something to do instead of going to work. So even though the new team was called the Senators, played in the same division, and didn't miss a season, they were considered a new Washington Senators franchise. But they played just like the old Senators: god awful.

By the time the Senators left for good in 1971, the Country had moved on, and baseball had become a little square. The real Congressmen and Senators, who needed something to do instead of going to work, were spending all their time these days in the illegal casinos and strip-clubs. Nobody cared when the new Senators moved to Texas of all places. Without this move, which in the future would allow George W. Bush to hold a can't miss executive job, their wouldn't have been a Cheney Presidency. Go Senators.

Catcher:MUDDY RUEL

1. Highlights: Three straight .400 OBP seasons.

2. Career Best: .316 AVG, .411 OBP, .389 SLG. 1 HR--You read that right. Hey. it's the Senators.

3. Summary: Started with the Yanks, but they had some guy named Dickey behind the plate. Decent defender behind the dish, and had a great eye at the plate.

First Base: JOE JUDGE

1. Highlights: Hit .300 or better nine of the fourteen full seasons he played for the Senators. Ten straight seasons with over twenty doubles.

2. Career Best: .333 AVG, .416 OBP in '20, and .509 SLG in '30. Hit ten HRs in '22, and '30.

3. Summary: Solid average hitter who played a lot: 15 straight seasons with over 100 games started. Did everything well except hit home runs; sort of a rich man's Sean Casey.

Second Base: BUDDY MYER

1. Highlights: 1935, a top twenty season for a second baseman: 115 RS, 215 Hits, 100 RBI, and career highs in AVG, and SLG.

2. Career Best: .349 AVG in '35, .454 OBP in '38, .468 SLG in '35. 38 doubles, and 16 triples in '32. 6 HRs in '38.

3. Summary: Just missed out on a lot of HOF magic numbers, but the guy's a second baseman who played 17 seasons and retired with over a .300 AVG. He's a borderline Hall of Famer if there ever was one.


Third Base: BUDDY LEWIS

1. Highlights: Hit double digit doubles, triples, and home runs in '39. Scored 100 runs four times.

2. Career Best:.333 AVG, and .423 OBP in '45 ( only 69 ABs), .478 SLG in '39.

3. Summary: Short career and a crappy fielder. He did hit .300 almost half the seasons he played ( 4 out of 11). The second Buddy on this list in what was an occasional Buddy to Buddy start of a double play: insert joke here.

Shortstop: CECIL TRAVIS

1. Highlights: In 1941, Travis poster career highs in every major category except stolen bases. He went to The War the next year. When he came back, Travis was a shell of the player he was before, and ended up retiring two years later. A lot of guys during the forties could say the same.

2. Career Best: .359 AVG, .410 OBP, .520 SLG, 106 RS, 218 H, 39 Doubles, 19 Triples, and 101 RBIs all in 1941.

3. Summary: Played in the era where everybody's AVG was through the roof, but still the guy hit over .300 for his career. He was shipped over to Europe during The War, where he got frostbite on two of his toes. If he hadn't left for WWII he might have made a HOF push who knows. He did have more hits than anybody in '41, including Ted and Joe.


Outfield: GOOSE GOSLIN

1. Highlights: Won the batting title in '28 hitting .379. His RC/G that year was a 10.9, a massive number. Had a OPS+ number over 100 for 16 straight years. Hit over .300 for seven straight years. Had double digits in doubles, triples, and home runs, for five straight years. Also had over 100 RBIs, and over a .500 SLG for five straight years.

2. Career Best: .379 AVG, .442 OBP, and .614 SLG, all in '28. 37 doubles in '27. 20 triples in '25

3. Summary: A Hall of Famer and deserves to be. Another guy who seems to do everything on a baseball diamond well. Did he put up his numbers during one of the high water marks for offense? He did. Could he play today? He'd be an All-Star.

Outfield: HEINIE MANUSH

1. Highlights: Won the batting title in '26, and came in second twice, and third twice, mostly with Detroit. Four straight years with over 30 doubles (41, 41, 32, 42), over 10 triples, and over a .300 AVG with the Senators.

2. Career Best: .349 AVG, .392 OBP, and .523 SLG in '34. Had some years in Detroit that were bigger.

3. Summary: A Hall of Famer, he was traded for Goose Goslin in '36 in the rare HOF swap. Aged a little better than Goslin. Goslin had the better years.

Outfield: ROY SIEVERS

1. Highlights: 6 straight years with 20 or more HRs ( in Griffith Park that's something). Hit 42 Hr in '57.

2. Career Best: .301 AVG, .388 OBP and .579 SLG in '57. '27 doubles in '56.

3. Summary: The year Sievers hit 42 HRs the Senators pulled the left field fence in to 350 feet, turning what had been the ultimate pitchers park (until Petco) into a righty power park. If they'd done it sooner, or left it there for more than a year, Sievers is probably a HOF with 500 HRs. He's the only Senator to ever have 27 or more HRs in a season.

Designated Hitter: MICKEY VERNON

1. Highlights: When he made the bigs he was the youngest player in the majors. When he retired he was the oldest player. He played 20 seasons even though he missed another two to WWII! In '53 he had over 200 hits, 100 runs, and 100 RBIs. Hit over 27 doubles every year, his first ten years with the Senators. Never struck out more than 66 times in any of his twenty seasons.

2. Career Best: .353 AVG in '46, .403 OBP twice ('46 and '53: also .403 with Boston one year. Crazy), .518 SLG '53. 14 Triples and 24 HRs in '54. 51 doubles in '46.

3. Summary: The man loved to play baseball. Debuted in '39 and the son of a gun is still kicking. Good for you Mickey.

Pitchers: WALTER JOHNSON, DUTCH LEONARD, GEORGE MOGRIDGE, TOM ZACHARY, FIRPO MARBERRY

1. Highlights: Walter Johnson: ERA+ season 259, ERA+ career 147, SHO season 11, SHO career 110, complete games season 38, complete games career 531, SO season 313, SO career 3509, innings season 371, innings career 5914, WHIP season 0.780, WHIP career 1.061, Wins season 36, Wins career 417, ERA season 1.14, ERA career 2.17.

2. Career Best: see above

3. Summary: There are some good starters besides Walter, but nothing special. But Walter takes this staff to another level.

Bench: Rick Ferrell, Ossie Bluege, Joe Cronin, Eddie Yost, Joe Kuhel

Bullpen: Camilo Pascual, Bob Porterfield, Early Wynn, Case Patten, Bob Groom


Batting Order:

1. Myer-L
2. Travis-L
3. Goslin-L
4. Sievers-R
5. Manush-L
6. Vernon-L
7. Judge-L
8. Lewis-L
9. Ruel-R

Conclusion: Power challenged line-up but they could hit. Walter would give them a chance every time he pitched. They'd lose every game he didn't probably.