Florida Baseball All Time Lineup

We had done this once before here on our blog so figured Lets kick it up again now. Last time we did it, we had done it from the state of New York. Now we going south to the other state we cover here on the show. Florida.

Rules for this are as follows. To make this list they have to have been born and raised in the state of Florida. There are limits to the number of games you have to have played to make the cut. You'll see a starter and backup for each position if possible. Plus a starting rotation, a bullpen and a starting 8 lineup.

So lets get into it and let the debate begin.

Manager: Tony La Russa (Tampa FL)
Bench Coaches: Lou Pinella (Tampa FL), Davey Johnson (Orlando FL)

Catcher:
Starter: Charles Johnson (Fort Pierce FL) Backup: Jonathan Lucroy (Eustis FL)

The sole reason for going with Johnson over Lucroy is experience. Johsnon played in the majors longer then Lucroy did but the numbers favor Lucroy. Still its a good choice going with either one behind the plate.

1st Base:
Starter: Fred McGriff (Tampa FL) Backup: Pete Alonso (Tampa FL)

Nothing against Alonso, who's quickly sestablishing himself as one of the best hitters in the sport. Having said that McGriff was a solid hitter and power hitter in his own right. He is a slightly better overall hitter than Pete, which is why he gets the starting node over Pete.

2nd Base:
Starter: Jay Bell (Pensacola FL) Backup: Howie Kendrick (Jacksonville FL)

Bell gets the edge at starting because he may have had a better glove then Kendrick did and that's not a knock against Howie by any means.

3rd Base:
Starter: Chipper Jones (DeLand FL)  Backup: Howard Johnson (Clearwater FL)

Now HoJo was a big threat for the Mets when he really came into his own. But I don't think there's a doubt in anybody's mind that the best 3rd baseman to come out of this state is Chipper.

Shortstop: David Eckstein (Sanford FL)

Sadly there's no other really good shortstops that have come out of the state so Eckstein is the guy to help turn two up the middle. He had a good glove and was pretty good with a bat in his hands

Left Field:
Starter: Tim Raines (Sanford FL) Backup: Louis Gonzalez (Tampa FL)

Gonzo was a good hitter and a good leader during his time in Arizona. He had a really good stretch right at the start of his time in Arizona. But Raines gets the edge because of his speed, bot in the field and at the plate. The guy was probably the best base stealer out of anybody to come from the state of Florida, or one of them anyway.

Center Field:
Starter: Andrew McCutchen (Ft Mede FL) Backup: Mickey Rivers (Miami FL)

Again, another position that comes down to a speed edge. McCutchen had a great mix of power and speed, more so during his prime years with the Pirates. Now Rivers had a couple really good years swiping bags, and had a solid glove in center, but McCutchen put it all together a little better than Rivers did.

Right Field:
Starter: Gary Sheffield (Tampa FL) Backup: J.D Drew (Tallahassee FL)

Drew was a solid hitter, but lets be real here, 500 plus home runs for Sheffeld is going to get him the starting nod without even thinking about it.

Starting Rotation: 
Steve Carlton (Miami FL)
Doc Gooden (Tampa FL)
Zach Grenkie (Orlando FL)
Jacob deGrom (DeLand FL)
Chris Sale (Lakeland FL)

Bullpen:
Wade Davis (Lake Wales FL)
Andrew Miller (Gainseville FL)
Darren O'Day (Jacksonville FL)
Jay Howell (Miami FL)
Rob Murphy (Miami FL)

Closer:
Tom Gordon (Sebring FL)

Batting Order
Raines
McCutchen
Chipper
Sheffield
McGriff
Eckstein
Bell
Johnson
Pitcher