In my last article, I looked at the greatest rookie classes of all time. I’d like to continue with that theme by looking at pairs of rookie teammates. To do this, I used harmonic mean – the same measure used to come up with Power/Speed Number. The formula is very simple:
(Player A Win Shares X Player B Win Shares) X 2
Divided by (Player A Win Shares + Player B Win Shares)
By using harmonic mean rather than just adding, we’ll get a list that includes two outstanding players, as opposed to one superstar and one bum. An example… the 1905 Tigers. They had Cobb, with 722 Win Shares, but the next-best guy was Chris Lindsay, who I’m sure was a wonderful human being, but who accumulated a grand total of 15 Win Shares. Using harmonic mean, they score at a paltry 29. To make the list, then, both players have to be very good.
Diving right in…
Didn’t make the list: Koufax/Drysdale, 1956 Dodgers. They have to be mentioned, obviously. Their score was a very good 221 (258 for Drysdale, 194 for Koufax), but it’s far too low to rank among the leaders. They’d score a lot higher if we used some measure that focused on peak value.
31. Sal Bando and Rick Monday, 1967 Kansas City A’s (score: 270)
Don’t ask me why this is a Top 31 list, rather than a Top 30 or Top 25... Both Bando and Monday were taken in the first-ever amateur draft, in 1965. Of course, Monday was the #1 overall pick.
30. Tommy John and Luis Tiant, 1964 Indians (272)
29. Nolan Ryan and Jerry Koosman, 1968 Mets (279)
The highest-ranking pair of rookie pitchers. And as a bonus, Ryan and Koosman share the same Topps rookie card.
28. Jim Rice and Fred Lynn, 1975 Red Sox (281)
26. Dwight Evans and Cecil Cooper, 1973 Red Sox (284)
Oh, and in 1972, the Red Sox came up with Carlton Fisk and Ben Oglivie, who score at an excellent 254. That’s three all-time great rookie pairs in a span of four years. The odd year out is 1974, but even then, they came up with Rick Burleson. All that young talent, and all the Red Sox had to show for it was a single pennant in 1975. We talk about the late ‘90s Mariners as a great disappointment, but the late ‘70s Red Sox have to be up there with them.
27. Mike Piazza and Pedro Martinez, 1993 Dodgers (283)
Ugh… Don’t get me started. Those two names embody the frustration of my childhood as a Dodgers fan. Anyway, they probably deserve to rank a good bit higher than this.
25. Mickey Mantle and Gil McDougald, 1951 Yankees (289)
24. Bobby Grich and Don Baylor, 1972 Orioles (292)
23. Sam Rice and Joe Judge, 1916 Senators (296)
21. (tie) Pete Rose and Tommy Harper, 1963 Reds (297)
21. (tie) Mike Schmidt and Bob Boone, 1973 Phillies (297)
20. Duke Snider and Gil Hodges, 1948 Brooklyn Dodgers (301)
19. Tim Raines and Tim Wallach, 1981 Expos (303)
The greatest pair of rookie Tims of all time.
17. (tie) Thome and Lofton, 1992 Indians (304)
17. (tie) Eddie Murray and Dennis Martinez, 1977 Orioles (304)
From 1972 to 1977, the Orioles came up with Grich, Baylor, Al Bumbry, Enos Cabell, Doug DeCinces, Mike Flanagan, Murray, El Presidente, and Scott McGregor (also in ’77). This was immediately after winning three straight pennants from 1969-71.
16. Musial and Murry Dickson, 1942 Cardinals (305)
15. Stan Hack and Billy Herman, 1932 Cubs (307)
14. Lou Gehrig and Earle Combs, 1925 Yankees (310)
Followed by Tony Lazzeri and Mark Koenig in 1926. Even when they didn’t have a great crop of rookies, the Yankees always seemed to come up with somebody good. From 1923 through 1930, they had at least one solid player every year: George Pipgras, Milt Gaston and Harvey Hendrick, Gehrig and Combs, Lazzeri and Koenig, Wilcy Moore, Leo Durocher, Bill Dickey and Lyn Lary, Ben Chapman and Lefty Gomez.
1931 was an off year, but they followed it up with Frankie Crosetti and Johnny Allen, Dixie Walker, Red Rolfe and George Selkirk and Johnny Murphy, another off year, DiMaggio, Tommy Henrich and Spud Chandler, Joe Gordon, King Kong Keller, Tiny Bonham and Buddy Rosar, Rizzuto and Jerry Priddy, Hank Borowy and Johnny Lindell, Snuffy Stirnweiss… it took World War II to end the great run of Yankee rookies. That’s two solid decades with at least one or more good or great rookies every year. It’s like adding one all-star per year to your team, plus a Hall of Famer every two or three years.
13. Zack Wheat and Jake Daubert, 1910 Dodgers (311)
12. Frank Thomas and Robin Ventura, 1990 White Sox (312)
11. Lefty Grove and Mickey Cochrane, 1925 Philadelphia A’s (323)
The A’s in this period were amazing. Rube Walberg came along in 1923, followed by Al Simmons and Max Bishop (with a score of 247) in 1924. Then Grove and Cochrane in ’25, Jimmie Foxx in ’27, George Earnshaw and Mule Haas in ’28. From 1924-27, that’s an average of one no-doubt Hall of Famer per year.
I’m just giving you the rankings as the formula produced them… Personally, I’d put Grove-Cochrane up against any other pair of rookies. Grove – he’s arguably the greatest pitcher ever. Bill has him second behind Walter Johnson in the New Historical Abstract. And then there’s Cochrane, one of the top five or so catchers of all time. You could make a case for Cochrane as the best ever… I’d put him behind Berra, Bench, and possibly Piazza, but he’s in that cluster at the top. So one of these guys may be the best pitcher ever, and the other may be the best catcher ever. You think that might justify ranking them the best pair of rookies ever? I think so. This is my choice for #1, my own formula be damned.
10. Rusty Staub and Jimmy Wynn, 1963 Houston Colt .45s (329)
A little underwhelming on the heels of Grove-Cochrane, but this is a great, underrated pair. In their inaugural year in 1962, the Colt .45s came up with Dave Giusti and Bob Aspromonte, both of whom had nice careers. Then came Staub and Wynn, followed two years later by Joe Morgan and Larry Dierker (with a score of 211). Yet Houston wouldn’t win more than it lost until 1972, by which time Staub was an Expo and Morgan a Red.
8. (tie) Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker, 1978 Tigers (334)
It should be obvious, but this is far and away the greatest rookie keystone combo ever. I’m not even sure who’s in second place. And what’s more, the Tigers came up with Jason Thompson in 1976, Jack Morris and Steve Kemp in ’77, Dan Petry in ’79, Kirk Gibson in 1980, and Howard Johnson in 1982.
8. (tie) Robin Roberts and Richie Ashburn, 1948 Phillies (334)
Believe it or not, this is the highest-ranking pair of Hall of Famers. That will change in a few years, when these guys are eligible:
7. Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson, 1989 Mariners (342)
Will Randy hang on another year to get to 300 wins if he doesn’t make it this season? I would think so. He can still pitch, anyway.
6. Jeff Bagwell and Luis Gonzalez, 1991 Astros (344)
They rank this highly thanks to Gonzo’s late-career surge. The ’91 Astros were awash in young talent. Biggio was 25, Steve Finley 26, Bagwell and Gonzalez 23, Curt Schilling 24, Darryl Kile 22, Pete Harnisch 24. Kenny Lofton, also 24, got into twenty games, but they traded him to the Indians that winter. Oh, and Tuffy Rhodes was 22, and he went on to become a superstar in Japan.
5. Tris Speaker and Eddie Cicotte, 1908 Red Sox (355)
Part of the second-greatest rookie class of all time.
4. Walter Johnson and Clyde Milan, 1907 Washington Senators (361)
Bill tells the story in the New Historical Abstract… A Senators scout signed Milan in Wichita, then went up to Idaho and signed Johnson – quite a haul for one scouting trip. Both came up in 1907 and played their entire careers with Washington.
3. Babe Ruth and Carl Mays, 1916 Red Sox (382)
Until the last couple years, Ruth and Mays were #1 on this list.
2. Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla, 1986 Pirates (386)
1. Rafael Palmeiro and Greg Maddux, 1987 Cubs (392)
The top two spots, held by two NL teams in back-to-back years. I’m sure somebody would want to put asterisks by both of these pairs… Anyway, Ruth and Mays were knocked out of the top spot by Palmeiro and Maddux in 2006. Take a look at the Cubs rookies in the late ‘80s:
1985 Shawon Dunston
1986 Jamie Moyer
1987 Palmeiro, Maddux, and Dave Martinez
1988 Mark Grace
1989 Joe Girardi
That ’87 crew barely missed making into the overall Top 10 list of rookie classes.
Who’s next in line? Barring an unlikely return and resurgence from Barry, Palmeiro-Maddux face no immediate threats. (Incidentally, this season Maddux will pass Palmeiro, so it will be Maddux-Palmeiro instead of Palmeiro-Maddux.) To get near the top spot on this list, you either need two Hall of Famers or one utterly dominant megastar in the Bonds/Ruth/Walter Johnson mold, plus another excellent player (somebody with 2000+ hits or 200+ wins, a la Bonilla, Carl Mays, or Clyde Milan). With that in mind, the biggest threat to Palmeiro-Maddux seems to be Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla, who entered the year with a score of 45. They’ve got their work cut out for them.