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25 For 25: Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins 1945-1969

With everything that is going on that has extended out this offseason, I thought I would bring out a new set of 25 For 25 teams. This group is for the years 1945 through 1969 - the end of the war & return of the stars from service, the introduction of integrated baseball, the dominance of the New York teams generally and the Yankees specifically in the 50's, franchise shifts & expansion, and the second "Dead Ball" era. Prior to doing this research, so many of these players I was unfamiliar with, my knowledge largely limited to the Cardinals, the superstars, and what I had read from Bill James & others.

This team will follow the rules that I've laid out before: one player per season, all 25 years of the era; each player can only be selected once per franchise, not in multiple eras (can't pick Greg Maddux for ATL for 1994 & 1995); two players each at most positions (C, 1B, 2B,3B, SS), six outfielders (position based on most games played that year, outfield games combined), five starters (at least half of pitching appearances as GS that year), four relievers; using fWAR, bWAR, Win-Loss % w/avg team (basically Wins Above Average as a rate stat, referred to on B-R as waaWL%), and B-R WPA (note that earlier years are missing up to 30% of data and all seasons are missing at least a little bit, but it should be fairly representative). I will not be working up versions for any of the expansion franchises, as they will only have 8 or 9 seasons (or just one) to choose from.

Sometimes you have to make a choice between two phenomenal players in the same year, sometimes you get stuck with a nobody, sometimes a notable, long-time player gets left off, sometimes you're swimming with options, sometimes it looks like the discount bin at Blockbuster. That's part of the fun for me, making the puzzle pieces fit in the best way available. Please look over my list, tell me what you think, and challenge me on my selections - I look forward to hearing from you. (Link to all of my 25 For 25 posts)

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1945 - George Myatt 2B - 133 G/575 PA, 3.5 fWAR/4.3 bWAR, .520 waaWL%, .296/.378/.365, 30 SB, +2.30 bWPA, 5th-MVP

1946 - Mickey Vernon 1B - 148 G/638 PA, 5.7 fWAR/5.6 bWAR, .525 waaWL%, .353/.403/.508, 51 2B, 201 H, +3.50 bWPA, All-Star, 5th-MVP

1947 - Walt Masterson SP - 35 G/31 GS/253 IP, 4.4 fWAR/5.3 bWAR, .600 waaWL%, +2.30 bWPA, 12-16 W-L, 1/1 SvOpp, 3.13 ERA/3.17 FIP, All-Star

1948 - Forrest Thompson RP - 46 G/7 GS/131.1 IP, 1.1* fWAR/2.1* bWAR, .512 waaWL%, +0.70* bWPA, 6-10 W-L, 4/6 SvOpp, 3.84 ERA/4.20 FIP *(including batting)

1949 - Al Evans C - 109 G/374 PA, 1.3 fWAR/1.1 bWAR, .501 waaWL%, .271/.369/.346, +0.90 bWPA

1950 - Irv Noren OF - 138 G/615 PA, 3.0 fWAR/3.4 bWAR, .511 waaWL%, .295/.375/.459, 10 3B, 98 RBI, +1.10 bWPA, 15th-MVP

1951 - Eddie Yost 3B - 154 G/716 PA, 4.2 fWAR/4.1 bWAR, .514 waaWL%, .283/.423/.424, 109 R/126 BB, +3.30 bWPA, 30th-MVP

1952 - Bob Porterfield SP - 31 G/29 GS/231.1 IP, 3.8* fWAR/5.3 bWAR, .614 waaWL%, +3.80 bWPA, 13-14 W-L, 0/1 SvOpp, 2.72 ERA/3.25 FIP, 34th-MVP *(including batting)

1953 - Wayne Terwilliger 2B - 134 G/541 PA, 1.7 fWAR/4.2 bWAR, .518 waaWL%, .252/.343/.347, -1.30 bWPA, 20 Rtot

1954 - Jim Busby OF - 155 G/686 PA, 2.9 fWAR/3.9 bWAR, .512 waaWL%, .298/.342/.389, 187 H, +2.50 bWPA, 18th-MVP

1955 - Pedro Ramos RP - 45 G/9 GS/130 IP, 0.3 fWAR/2.3 bWAR, .529 waaWL%, -1.30 bWPA, 5-11 W-L, 5/6 SvOpp, 3.88 ERA/4.30 FIP

1956 - Jim Lemon OF - 146 G/613 PA, 1.8 fWAR/1.7 bWAR, .500 waaWL%, .271/.349/.502, 11 3B/27 HR, 96 RBI, +4.00 bWPA

1957 - Roy Sievers OF - 152 G/657 PA, 4.7 fWAR/4.6 bWAR, .518 waaWL%, .301/.388/.579, 42 HR, 99 R/114 RBI, +6.50 bWPA, All-Star, 3rd-MVP

1958 - Dick Hyde RP - 53 G/103 IP, 1.6 fWAR/4.8 bWAR, .560 waaWL%, +3.30 bWPA, 10-3 W-L, 19/23 SvOpp, 1.75 ERA/2.73 FIP, 12th-MVP

1959 - Camilo Pascual SP - 32 G/30 GS/238.2 IP, 8.5* fWAR/8.5* bWAR, .687 waaWL%, +3.20 bWPA, 17-10 W-L, 2.64 ERA/2.44 FIP, 2.68 K/BB, All-Star, 19th-MVP *(including batting)

1960 - Earl Battey C - 137 G/530 PA, 3.6 fWAR/3.2 bWAR, .513 waaWL%, .270/.346/.427, +1.10 bWPA, Gold GLove, 8th-MVP

1961 - Jack Kralick SP - 33 GS/242 IP, 5.1 fWAR/6.0 bWAR, .626 waaWL%, +2.50 bWPA, 13-11 W-L, 3.61 ERA/3.40 FIP

1962 - Rich Rollins 3B - 159 G/721 PA, 4.0 fWAR/3.9 bWAR, .513 waaWL%, .298/.374/.428, 96 R/96 RBI/186 H, +3.00 bWPA, All-Star x2, 8th-MVP

1963 - Bob Allison OF - 148 G/626 PA, 6.9 fWAR/7.4 bWAR, .539 waaWL%, .271/.378/.533, 35 HR, 99 R/91 RBI/90 BB, +4.40 bWPA, 17 Rtot, All-Star, 15th-MVP

1964 - Jimmie Hall OF - 149 G/562 PA, 4.3 fWAR/4.0 bWAR, .517 waaWL%, .282/.338/.480, 25 HR, +2.60 bWPA, 10 Rtot, All-Star

1965 - Zoilo Versalles SS - 160 G/728 PA, 7.0 fWAR/7.2 bWAR, .533 waaWL%, .273/.319/.462, 45 2B/12 3B/27 SB, 126 R/182 H, +2.10 bWPA, 17 Rtot, All-Star, Gold Glove, Most Valuable Player

1966 - Al Worthington RP - 65 G/91.1 IP, 2.0* fWAR/2.7* bWAR, .524 waaWL%, +0.40 bWPA, 6-3 W-L, 16/20 SvOpp, 2.46 ERA/2.29 FIP, 9.2 K/9, 3.44 K/BB *(including batting)

1967 - Harmon Killebrew 1B - 163 G/689 PA, 7.0 fWAR/6.5 bWAR, .528 waaWL%, .269/.408/.558, 44 HR, 105 R/113 RBI/131 BB, +6.20 bWPA, All-Star, 2nd-MVP

1968 - Dean Chance SP - 43 G/39 GS/292 IP, 7.7 fWAR/6.2 bWAR, .585 waaWL%, +0.70 bWPA, 16-16 W-L, 1/1 SvOpp, 2.53 ERA/2.20 FIP, 1.9 BB/9, 3.71 K/BB

1969 - Leo Cardenas SS - 160 G/665 PA, 5.0 fWAR/5.1 bWAR, .518 waaWL%, .280/.353/.388, -1.10 bWPA, 17 Rtot, 12th-MVP

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C - Al Evans 1949, Earl Battey 1960

1B - Mickey Vernon 1946, Harmon Killebrew 1967

2B - George Myatt 1945, Wayne Terwilliger 1953

3B - Eddie Yost 1951, Rich Rollins 1962

SS - Zoilo Versalles 1965, Leo Cardenas 1969

OF - Irv Noren 1950, Jim Busby 1954, Jim Lemon 1956, Roy Sievers 1957, Bob Allison 1963, Jimmie Hall 1964

SP - Wes Masterson 1947, Bob Porterfield 1952, Camilo Pascual 1959, Jack Kralick 1961, Dean Chance 1968

RP - Forrest Thompson 1948, Pedro Ramos 1955, Dick Hyde 1958, Al Worthington 1966