Mount Rushmore: AL EAST

American League East

St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles

Cal Ripken Jr.

            He's more than just the most games played in a row, he was a revolution at the shortstop position.  Thanks to him we have the likes of Rodriguez, Jeter, Garciaparra, and now Lindor and Correa.  He also happens to lead the franchise in many offensive categories including WAR, Runs, Hits, Total Bases, Doubles, and Home Runs.

Brooks Robinson

            Perhaps the greatest defensive third baseman of all time, he became nationally famous with his performance, and MVP, in the 1970 World Series.  A life-long Oriole, he's also near the top of most offensive categories.

Earl Weaver

            Certainly one of the most famous managers of all time, known mostly for his tirades on the field.  He managed for 17 years, reaching the World Series four times but winning only once.  He was ahead of his time, eschewing the popular, but poor, strategies of small ball.  It's also been said that Jim Palmer would have been nothing without his ability to coddle him.

George Sisler

            Speaking of Palmer...Sisler was easily the best player for the otherwise terrible Browns.  He's near the top of most offensive categories for the franchise, and leads in Triples.

Other notables:

            Jim Palmer has been the franchise's best pitcher, but given what I said with Weaver, I couldn't put him on the list.  Mike Mussina also had a great career with the Orioles.  You could also entertain guys like Eddie Murray, Ken Williams, and Frank Robinson (who simply didn't play long enough in Baltimore).

Boston Red Sox

Ted Williams

            In an otherwise difficult list, this one is a no-brainer.  Teddy Ballgame may be the greatest pure hitter in the history of the game.  He's one of the few guys who leads his franchise (outside of the recent expansion teams) in both Batting Average and Home Runs.  He's also, of course, the last man to hit over .400 in a season.  And, of course, he missed three seasons (ages 24-26) thanks to World War II and more than another season due to the Korean War.  Imagining his numbers without those years lost is remarkable.

Carl Yastrzemski

            Ok, here's another no-brainer for Boston.  He leads most of the longevity stats for the franchise, which makes sense since he played nearly 23 full seasons.  If you don't think of him second when you think of the Red Sox you're doing it wrong.

David Ortiz

            This is where it gets really tough.  Big Papi makes it because he was the face of the Red Sox when they finally broke the curse...and won two more times.  He's also high up on most of the power stats for the franchise, including second in Home Runs.

Cy Young

            The Red Sox were really good the first two decades of the 20th century, and Young was a big part of that (at least the first decade).  So, for the sake of sharing the love over the generations, he gets the fourth spot.  It certainly wouldn't be Harry Frazee who dismantled that dominant franchise and essentially made the Yankees.

Other notables:

            Some more pitchers to consider: Roger Clemens (leader in pitching WAR), Pedro Martinez, Lefty Grove, Smoky Joe Wood.  Other position players: Wade Boggs, Carlton Fisk, Tris Speaker, and my man Dwight Evans.  It's a pretty deep field in Fenway.

New York Yankees

Babe Ruth

            What can be said about him that hasn't been said?  He's the greatest player in history.  He revolutionized the game.  He's the Babe.

Lou Gehrig

            I know others have said it, and I've thought it many times, but can you imagine being a pitcher in the American League in the 20s and 30s?  If you somehow get past Ruth, the greatest player of all time, you still have to face Gehrig, the greatest first baseman of all time!  And how about the fact that he is the franchise leader in RBI...hitting after Ruth that long!

Mickey Mantle

            For reasons I don't want to get into, people, at least from that time, loved DiMaggio much more than Mantle.  But Mantle, in every way, was a much better player.  And, of course, many people have said this, but he could have been Ruth, but with a lot more speed, if his knees weren't shredded.  The best switch hitter of all time.  I love in the Ken Burns' Baseball when he admits that he tried to crush a home run every at bat.

Joe DiMaggio

            I really wanted to not have one of the most overrated players of all time on here (no, you cannot put him in the same conversation as Ted Williams), but he was good and he was beloved.  56 straight games was amazing.

Other notables:

            As much as I hate the Yankees, they have had way too much talent.  They're second and third Rushmores would probably be better than most franchises.  Want to see?  Rushmore #2: Yogi Berra (who very nearly replaced DiMaggio), Mariano Rivera, Joe McCarthy, Casey Stengel.  Rushmore #3: Whitey Ford, Joe Torre, Bill Dickey, Derek Jeter (ugh).  And there's still Don Mattingly, Tony Lazzeri, Thurman Munson, Andy Pettitte, Ron Guidry, Goose Gossage, Miller Huggins...

Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays

Evan Longoria

            Maybe Tampa doesn't have a lot going for them, but at least they had Longoria (up to now).  He's clearly the best franchise player, and there's really no competition.

Joe Maddon

            Again, they don't have a lot, but they did have the best manager in the game for nine seasons.  He's an interesting mixture of old school (platooning like Stengel) and new school (has really embraced advanced metrics/shifting).  And, unlike many managers, he seems like he'd be fun to play under.

David Price

            The best example of how the Rays actually have developed some good pitching, but have not been able to hold onto them long (almost six full seasons).  A well deserved Cy Young in 2012 and nearly one in 2010 show how good he can be.  Unfortunately he hasn't been quite that great since leaving Tampa.

Carl Crawford

            For a little be, he was the best the franchise had to offer.  It's hard to explain how he could be so good for nine years in Tampa, then next to nothing for Boston and Los Angeles.  It's too bad, because he was fun to watch (and a Houston native).

Other notables:

            It's almost comical to talk about the Rays after the Yankees, but a couple of other guys would be considered.  There's super-utility Ben Zobrist, the best example of Maddon-ball.  Kevin Kiermaier may make the list if he sticks around longer.  As much as I like Chris Archer, he's not there now and probably won't be on the Rays much longer.

Toronto Blue Jays

Dave Stieb

            The franchise leader in most important pitching stats, sometimes we forget how good he was.  He was consistantly good in the 80s for a not so decent team.

Carlos Delgado

            A sneaky great power hitter who came up as a catcher put found a home at first base.  He's certainly the best power hitter in franchise history (leads in Total Bases, Doubles, and Home Runs).

Roy Halladay

            He had some great seasons in the 2000s, beyond just his Cy Young in 2003.  He's basically just a step behind Stieb in most franchise stats.

Roberto Alomar

            There has to be someone on here from their World Series titles, so why not him?  Joe Carter maybe had the bigger moment, but he was nowhere near as good.  And, this was pre-spit Alomar.

Other notables:

            Would you have guessed that Tony Fernandez leads the franchise in position player WAR?  I sure didn't.  Jose Bautista had some monster years, and was a big part of the recent success, but I just couldn't sneak him on there.  John Olerud was another guy that was considered.  The somewhat "out there" pick would have been Tom Henke.