Never Got a Ring – The All-Time Non-World Series Team

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The 2012 World Series has come and gone, with a number of players on both teams (Joaquin Benoit, Jose Valverde, Prince Fielder, Marco Scutaro, among others) making their World Series debut. Other players, though, have gone their entire careers without ever having a moment on baseball’s biggest stage. This piece is a tribute to those men.

To qualify for this team, I looked at retired players who never appeared in a World Series game. Possibly, some of these players played on league championship teams and missed the World Series through injury or otherwise being left off the series roster. The vast majority, though, compiled notable, distinguished or even HOF careers without ever playing on a league championship team.

Here are the starting nine:

Player	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS+	Pos	WAR	Bonafides
Jason Kendall	2085	8702	1030	2195	394	35	75	744	721	686	.288	.366	.378	95	C	38.3	5th in games caught
Rafael Palmeiro	2831	12046	1663	3020	585	38	569	1835	1353	1348	.288	.371	.515	132	1B	66.1	6th in 1B WAR
Nap Lajoie	2480	10460	1504	3242	657	163	82	1599	516	346	.338	.380	.466	150	2B	102.2	18th/20th in WAR/BA, HOF
Ron Santo	2243	9397	1138	2254	365	67	342	1331	1108	1343	.277	.362	.464	125	3B	66.6	7th in 3B WAR, HOF
Luke Appling	2422	10254	1319	2749	440	102	45	1116	1302	528	.310	.399	.398	113	SS	69.9	7th/1st in SS WAR/BB, HOF
Billy Williams	2488	10519	1410	2711	434	88	426	1475	1045	1046	.290	.361	.492	133	LF	59.9	8th in LF WAR & Hits, HOF
Ken Griffey, Jr.	2671	11304	1662	2781	524	38	630	1836	1312	1779	.284	.370	.538	136	CF	79.2	6th in HR, likely HOFer
Harry Heilmann	2147	8960	1291	2660	542	151	183	1539	856	550	.342	.410	.520	148	RF	67.3	12th in BA, HOF
Frank Thomas	2322	10075	1494	2468	495	12	521	1704	1667	1397	.301	.419	.555	156	DH	69.7	10th in BB, Top 20 in HR, OPS+

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/26/2012.

And, the pitching staff:

Player	W	L	ERA	G	CG	SHO	SV	IP	SO	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	Pos	Bonafides
Fergie Jenkins	284	226	3.34	664	267	49	7	4500.2	3192	115	1.142	8.3	1.0	2.0	6.4	3.20	RHSP	CYA, HOF
Gaylord Perry	314	265	3.11	777	303	53	11	5350.0	3534	117	1.181	8.3	0.7	2.3	5.9	2.56	RHSP	8th in SO, CYA, HOF
Phil Niekro	318	274	3.35	864	245	45	29	5404.0	3342	115	1.268	8.4	0.8	3.0	5.6	1.85	RHSP	4th in IP, HOF
Chuck Finley	200	173	3.85	524	63	15	0	3197.1	2610	115	1.376	8.6	0.9	3.7	7.3	1.96	LHSP	11th in LH WAR
Wilbur Wood	164	156	3.24	651	114	24	57	2684.0	1411	114	1.232	8.7	0.7	2.4	4.7	1.95	SWING	T-1st in 40 GS Seasons
Jeff Montgomery	46	52	3.27	700	0	0	304	868.2	733	135	1.244	8.1	0.8	3.1	7.6	2.48	RHRP	154 ERA+ over 10 yrs
Lee Smith	71	92	3.03	1022	0	0	478	1289.1	1251	132	1.256	7.9	0.6	3.4	8.7	2.57	RHRP	1st in Car. SV for 13 yrs
Billy Wagner	47	40	2.31	853	0	0	422	903.0	1196	187	0.998	6.0	0.8	3.0	11.9	3.99	LHRP	2nd in RP ERA+
Dan Plesac	65	71	3.64	1064	0	0	158	1072.0	1041	117	1.286	8.2	0.9	3.4	8.7	2.59	LOOGY	6th in Games

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/26/2012.

Rounding out the 25 man roster is this bench:

Infielders – Ryne Sandberg, Rod Carew, Ernie Banks
Outfielders – Andre Dawson, Jose Cruz, Sammy Sosa
Catcher – Joe Torre

In case of injury, a deluxe 40 man roster.

Infielders – Buddy Bell, Bobby Grich, George Sisler, Carlos Delgado
Outfielders – Minnie Minoso, Cy Williams, Indian Bob Johnson
Catcher – Al Lopez
Pitchers – Dave Stieb, Jack Chesbro, Ted Lyons, Wes Ferrell, Steve Rogers, Jim Bunning, Mark Langston

Other Notables (incl. active players)

Infielders – Eddie Yost, Ray Durham, Jim Fregosi, Larry Parrish, Tim Wallach, Ed Brinkman, Dave Kingman, Miguel Tejada, Julio Franco, Don Mattingly, Aramis Ramirez
Outfielders – Clyde Milan, Carlos Beltran, Ichiro Suzuki, Dale Murphy, Bobby Bonds, Carlos Lee, Torii Hunter, Shawn Green, Ralph Kiner, Rocky Colavito
Catchers – Brian Downing, Rick Ferrell
DH – Edgar Martinez
Pitchers – Milt Pappas, Frank Tanana, Mel Harder, Johan Santana, Roy Halladay, Rod Beck, Joe Nathan, Doug Jones, Tom Gordon

What do you think? Who would make your team of the best players never to play in the World Series?

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David

12 years ago

How about Don Mattingly?

Dave V.

12 years ago

Reply to David

That was my first thought as well.

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to David

That was just to see if you were paying attention. But, definitely worth a mention under notables.

Mattingly is one of 50 players who played for the Yankees in 10 or more seasons. Only 3 of those 50 never played in the World Series – Mattingly with 14 seasons, and Horace Clark and Jake Gibbs at 10 seasons.

Hartvig

12 years ago

Reply to David

Amazingly I had no idea that Mattingly had never appeared in a World Series.

My first thought was Ernie Banks & I think I would start him at shortstop over Appling although neither would exactly be a bad choice.

To think this team would probably kick the snot out the the 1927 Yankees over the course of a typical season and yet not a single ring among them.

Great subject for a post.

Richard Chester

12 years ago

Reply to Hartvig

The Yankees appeared in the WS in 1981 and then not again until 1996. Mattingly’s career started in 1982 and ended in 1995.

12 years ago

The All-Time Non-World Series Team aka the All-Time Chicago Cubs Team. 🙂

cubbies

12 years ago

Reply to Ed

painful article to read- one of the few “best of” teams where i hate to see so many cubbies.

c’mon theo… weve gotta make it sooner or later…

Wine Curmudgeon

12 years ago

Reply to cubbies

Where’s Ernie?

scott-53

12 years ago

Reply to Wine Curmudgeon

On the bench (infielders)

topper009

12 years ago

By the title I thought this would be a Cubs all-star team. Haha.

Niekro never won a Cy Young and you listed Aramis Ramirez as an outfielder. Pretty nice list otherwise

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to topper009

Oops. Thanks for the corrections.

Editor

birtelcom

12 years ago

Edgar Martinez?

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to birtelcom

Had to go with the Big Hurt. Somehow, seemed weird to have a backup DH, especially another RH hitter, so I didn’t add a second DH.

But, I should have had Edgar as a Notable. Thanks for the reminder.

Dr. Doom

12 years ago

I would’ve liked to have seen the criminally underrated Carlos Delgado on the list of infielders.

Beyond that, though, good list. When I saw Jason Kendall listed as the catcher, I thought, “there MUST be a better catcher than that!” But I really don’t think there is. I’m not normally one to go for such theories without evidence, but mightn’t it mean something that the top, let’s say 25 catchers of all-time have all played in a WS, while that’s not true at any other position (excluding pitcher)?

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to Dr. Doom

I went back and forth between Palmeiro and Delgado. Ultimately, I couldn’t ignore the 26 WAR difference, even with PED consideration.

Editor

Bryan O'Connor

12 years ago

Reply to Dr. Doom

This was my thought too, Doom. It’s quite a logical leap to conclude that catcher is the most important position because a lot of great catchers have played for great teams, but some of the best teams of all time have had some of the best catchers of all time. Bench won 2 WS and played in 4. Berra won 10 of 14, Dickey 7 of 8, Gabby Hartnett even played on 4 with the Cubs. On the other hand Fisk and Piazza each only made one and lost, Carter and Rodriguez only won one each, and it looks like… Read more »

scott-53

12 years ago

Reply to Bryan O'Connor

Bryan

Did the pitchers on this list have catchers that stayed with their teams.

scott-53

12 years ago

Reply to scott-53

@ 20: Typo Should have been a question.

Niekro,Perry,Jenkins,Finley and Wood all had good won/loss records for some pretty bad teams.

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to Bryan O'Connor

Bryan,

I agree Torre is easily a better player than Kendall, but Joe played less than half his career at catcher. I included Torre on the team as the backup.

Richard Chester

12 years ago

Other players to consider: Mickey Vernon, Rocky Colavito, Ralph Kiner, Babe Herman, Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell.

Dr. Doom

12 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

Whitaker and Trammell played in the ’84 Series.

Richard Chester

12 years ago

Reply to Dr. Doom

Thanks for the correction. I copied the names out of a book without bothering to check. The book is in error.

Dave V.

12 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

Throw that book away to have such a bogus fact! 😉

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

Good additions, Richard.

Editor

John Autin

12 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

I’d definitely take Babe Herman over Cy Williams.

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to John Autin

Yeah, I missed looking at Herman. He’s got the edge over Williams on WAR (in 25% fewer games) and by a bit in OPS+. Williams has the power edge by a fair margin, though Herman has the SLG edge as he was a doubles machine (6 straight years over 35, 8 years over 30, 11 years over 25), and pretty prolific in triples too (5 straight years in double figures). It’s interesting to think what Williams might have done if he had been born ten years later. He played the first third of his career in the dead-ball era and… Read more »

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to John Autin

Herman was pretty unlucky is missing the WS. He played for the Cubs in 1933 and 1934, between their 1932 and 1935 NL championships.

bstar

12 years ago

I was maybe going to argue for Andre Dawson over Billy Williams in the starting outfield until I realized you went LF-CF-RF instead of three OFs regardless of position. But Dawson over Billy Williams is more of a very slight preference due to me seeing Dawson play his whole career than a big difference between the two.

Yeah, it’s kind of sad that this club is so Cub-heavy. This very un-hardcore, bandwagon-jumping Cubs fan hopes for better times ahead.

12 years ago

Reply to bstar

Wait, I thought you were a Braves fan Bstar???

bstar

12 years ago

Reply to Ed

I am, to the core. But I jumped on the Cubs bandwagon in ’84 and ’89 in my younger days and had a blast rooting for them those years. So Cubs are #2 team and the Cincinnati Redlegs, my dad’s team, is #3.

But they’re a distant 2nd and 3rd. Very distant.

Richard Chester

12 years ago

You could also toss in Ernie Lombardi.

Richard Chester

12 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

You better toss him right back out, how could I forget his famous snooze?

kds

12 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

That book above, (#8), put you in a snooze! That should be your story and stick to it.

Richard Chester

12 years ago

Reply to kds

Actually I thought of Lombardi on my own, I guess I was in a self-induced snooze. There are 3 main sources from which I retrieve information (in addition to BR). They are The Baseball Maniac’s Almanac, the SABR Baseball List & Record Book and the Charlton Chronology. They are all rich with information but, unfortunately, all contain a number of errors. When I can I try to verify info but sometimes I forget.

JDV

12 years ago

I was surprised to see Grich, who was with the ’69 & ’70 Orioles, but, as you note, he was a late call-up each year and not on their post-season roster.

JDV

12 years ago

Reply to JDV

Check that…’70 & ’71.

JDV

12 years ago

Separately, has anyone read of the murder this morning of Pasqual Perez in the Dominican Republic?

Jason Z

12 years ago

Reply to JDV

I had not. This is horrible news. Anyone who followed baseball in the 1980’s and had the Superstation, (yes on both counts) has to be saddened by this news. I will always remember how shocked I was when he came back with Montreal in 1987 and became basically unhittable for the rest of 1987 and 1988. He led the NL in WHIP in 1988. I know this has been mentioned in the past, but my other powerful memory is Perez missing a start for the Braves because he got lost on I285 that looped around Atlanta. I went to a… Read more »

brp

12 years ago

Reply to JDV

Heard about it at lunch… nasty stuff. He did lead the NL in JCAR (Jheri-Curl Above Replacement); George Bell the AL leader, of course.

Jeff

12 years ago

It may just be my opinion but does anyone look at Ken Griffey’s numbers vs. Frank Thomas’ and think…Hmmm, Thomas was a better hitter. We all know Griffey is more valuable overall due to his ouytfield greatness but pure hitting I’ll take Frank hands down. Thomas in 700 fewer AB’s had 17 points in average and SLG% better than Jr, 49 points in OBP, 355 more BB’s, 382 fewer K’s and their RBI per game is nearly identical. Griff had him in runs by 168 which a full 700 AB’s would cut that in half to maybe a third(Griff obviously… Read more »

Dr. Doom

12 years ago

Reply to Jeff

Never knew this was in question. Maybe in 2001 or so, when Griffey was healthy and Thomas was looking like he was on the downswing of his career, and people were having fantasies of Griffey breaking the HR record, people thought this. Even in 1999, when they named Griffey player of the decade (which was a joke – Bonds practically lapped him), I don’t know that there was an argument that Griffey was the superior offensive player. It’s very obvious (to me, at least) that Thomas was the better offensively. As for Griffey’s defense… well, it wasn’t great. But either… Read more »

Jason Z

12 years ago

Doug- I am curious as to why you picked “Old Aches and Pains” instead of Ernie Banks at shortstop. I remember in the 70’s and 80’s Ernie Banks being held up as the poster boy for someone who never played in the World Series. Tt seemed whenever an article apppeared on the subject, Banks would be prominently mentioned. I attribute this to two factors. He played for the Cubs who up until 1945 were second to the NYG in National League history with 10 NL Pennants. A glorius tradition indeed. Since then, none. Secondly, Banks enthusiastic nature that is embodied… Read more »

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to Jason Z

Just because Appling played his entire career at short, and did so well (only one season with negative dWAR after becoming a regular). I also liked Appling’s .399 OBP compared to Banks at .330. Their career OPS are just 32 points apart, despite Banks’ massive power edge. That power, plus playing at two positions, also makes Banks a more desirable guy coming off the bench. Curious that the Cubs moved Banks to first base as early as they did (in his age 31 season). Perhaps they didn’t know how good he was defensively (12.4 dWAR over 8 seasons). Or, maybe… Read more »

Richard Chester

12 years ago

Reply to Doug

It could also be pointed out that Appling had 14 seasons with a .300+ BA compared to Banks’ 2. And despite his lack of power Appling did drive in a decent number of runs. His 162 game career averages are 3 HR and 75 RBI. He holds the seasonal record for most RBI with 8 HR or fewer with 6 HR and 128 RBI in 1936.

no statistician but

12 years ago

Reply to Doug

Doug:

I vaguely remember that Ernie had an injury that hampered him his last year playing short. He only started 102 games at that position and missed 16 altogether after running without injuries for many years. Could be his range was lessened.

seth

12 years ago

Reply to Doug

I think Banks was moved not because of defensive reasons, but his body was already starting to give out. His knees, it was thought, couldn’t hold up with the demands of short. (thinks that’s from somewhere in the BJHA)

Brooklyn Mick

12 years ago

Doug, wondering why Pud Galvin isn’t mentioned in the discussion.

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to Brooklyn Mick

Or why not Cap Anson?

I was just looking at players who could have played in the World Series.

The guys before 1903 will have to wait for an all-time 19th century all-star team post.

Brooklyn Mick

12 years ago

Reply to Doug

Fair enough. I could have named Anson and a dozen others but only mentioned Galvin because he’s one of the most prolific pitchers of all time.

That said, I didn’t know this was a post 1903 20th century team. I read your selection criteria carefully and saw no mention of a demarcation line regarding years and/or eras. As far as I know the first World Series was played in 1884, and Galvin played until 1892, so he *could* have played in the World Series.

Brooklyn Mick

12 years ago

Reply to Doug

But then again I realize that 19th-century competitions are not officially recognized as part of World Series history by Major League Baseball, as it considers 19th-century baseball to be a prologue to the modern baseball era.

It always bothered me that the pioneers of the game who were playing for pennies have been relegated to 2nd class status to this day.

Author

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to Brooklyn Mick

You’re right, BM. That is an institutional bias for a lot of reasons – it was so long ago – the game was in a ongoing state of flux with significant rules changes on a regular basis (even yearly, at times) – the basic statistics are there, but legitimate doubts persist as to their completeness and accuracy – the game was changing to a business. Early on the teams (especially in the Troys, Roanokes, and other smaller cities) often consisted mostly of the best ballplayers from those towns or regions, rather than the best ballplayers the owners of those teams… Read more »

Brooklyn Mick

12 years ago

Reply to Doug

Excellent points Doug, and as far as apples and oranges comparisons go, the Pre-Integration Era Committee is going to comparing apples, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, etc. when they do their evaluations of candidates “whose greatest contributions to the game were realized from the 1876-1946 era.”

Brooklyn Mick

12 years ago

Can Gene Mauch be the manager? 8th all time in wins and not a Pennant to show. Unbelievable to think that he managed almost 200 more games than Casey Stengel.

Brooklyn Mick

12 years ago

Reply to Brooklyn Mick

Oops…didn’t mean to say 8th all time in wins, rather, 8th all time in games and 12th all time in wins.

Hartvig

12 years ago

Reply to Brooklyn Mick

Some time ago I looked at Mauch’s record as a manager over on B-R and as I recall he never exceeded his expected Pythagorean W-L record until near the very end of his career with the Angels and often came up well short. My interpretation of those results was that the genius at small ball reputation that some bestowed up him at the time was probably actually costing his team a few wins most years.

Hartvig

12 years ago

Reply to Hartvig

So yes, I think he would be the PERFECT manager for a team of players who never made the World Series.

12 years ago

What about Ted Williams?

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to jr

Splinter played in the 1946 WS.