Apr 21, 2015
  • David SchoenfieldESPN Senior Writer
MLB.com has a fun little thing asking readers to vote for the "Franchise Four"of each franchise -- basically, a ripoff of the old "Mount Rushmore of Sports" idea that everyone has done. You can vote for the four greatest living players and then the four "most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise." Note that the guidelines don't necessarily say the four greatestplayers.
OK, I'm game. I'll give it a crack, starting with the AL East.
Career leaders in WAR:
1. Cal Ripken, 95.5
2. Brooks Robinson, 78.3
3. Jim Palmer, 68.1
4. Eddie Murray, 56.3
5. George Sisler, 52.5
6. Bobby Wallace, 48.3
7. Mike Mussina, 47.6
Right away, I see some problems with the MLB.com presentation. They list only eight players for each franchise. Sisler and Wallace played for the St. Louis Browns and both are Hall of Famers, but they aren't listed as candidates. That's understandable; the Browns don't have a lot to do with the Baltimore Orioles and were usually horrible. However, other franchises include players from a previous location: The Washington Nationals' page, for example, includes Gary Carter and Vladimir Guerrero; the Oakland A's page includes Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx and Al Simmons. The other problem: It lists career stats. So Frank Robinson is listed with 586 home runs, not the 179 he hit with the Orioles.

Listed above is career WAR earned only with the Orioles. Again, however, we don't have to pick the four greatest players, although Ripken, Brooks Robinson and Palmer are pretty obvious selections. My fourth choice would go to Murray or the beloved Boog Powell, who doesn't rank in the top 10 franchise position players, but did win an MVP award and was part of the 1966-71 dynasty. You also could consider Frank Robby, who helped put the Orioles over the top in 1966. But I'm going with Murray, a great player and Hall of Famer, even if he doesn't have his own BBQ stand at Camden Yards.