After the 2019 Major League Baseball season, some all-decade teams have been speculated. Of course there are different opinions on what players should make the rosters, but if everyone agreed on the same roster, it could get boring. Some may even go as far as saying the decade should count as 2011-through-2020 while others say 2010-through-2019. Either way, here is a potential all-decade team for the American League East from the years 2010-through-2019.
(This includes a starting lineup [with a DH,] a pitching rotation and two bullpen pitchers.)
Starting Lineup
1.) Mookie Betts (RF)
Team- Boston Red Sox (2014-2019)
Even though Mookie Betts was sent to the Dodgers in a trade, he still played the 2019 season with the Red Sox, the same team he debuted with in 2014. In his six seasons with Boston, he made four All-Star games, won an AL MVP and finished as runner-up in 2016, and was a three-time Silver Slugger award winner. His slash line through those years was .301/.374/.519.
2.) Robinson Cano (2B)
Team- New York Yankees (2005-2013)
Robinson Cano made the All-Star game every season from 2010-through-2013. He also finished in the top six of the American League MVP voting each of those years, finishing third in 2010. In those four seasons, Cano totaled 117 homers, 176 doubles and 428 RBIs. Cano won the Silver Slugger each of those four years as well, and even won two Gold Glove awards.
3.) David Ortiz (DH)
Team- Boston Red Sox (2003-2016)
At 40-years-old in 2016, David Ortiz had a big year at the plate. He led all of the MLB in doubles (48), slugging percentage (.620) and OPS (1.021). From 2010-through-2016, Ortiz made five All-Star games and won three Silver Slugger Awards. The 2013 World Series MVP also hit 224 of his 541 career home runs during those years.
4.) Jose Bautista (RF)
Team- Toronto Blue Jays (2008-2017)
Six-time All-Star Jose Bautista made all six of those All-Star games from 2010-through-2015. Two of his more notable seasons came in 2010 and 2011 when he led the league in homers. He hit 54 in 2010 and 43 in 2011. His 2011 slash line was .302/.447/.608 with a 1.056 OPS. Bautista’s numbers declined since that season. However, he hit at least 22 home runs each season from 2010-through-2017.
5.) Evan Longoria (3B)
Team- Tampa Bay Rays (2008-2017)
Evan Longoria was with the Rays for 10 seasons, with eight of them coming in the 2010-through-2019 time period. In those eight seasons, he hit 201 homers, 263 doubles and had 694 RBIs. One of his biggest seasons from the decade came in 2016 when he had a slash line of .273/.318/.521. That season included 36 dingers and 98 RBI. He also won a Gold Glove in 2017.
6.) Chris Davis (1B)
Team- Baltimore Orioles (2008-Present)
Even though Chris Davis has been in numerous memes for his recent struggles at the plate, he still had some better years with the Orioles. An example is 2013 when he led the league in home runs (53) and RBIs (138). He also won a Silver Slugger award and finished third in the AL MVP voting that year. Davis led the league in homers in 2015 with 47, which are part of the 253 homers he hit in his first nine seasons with Baltimore.
7.) Xander Bogaerts (SS)
Team- Boston Red Sox (2013-Present)
Xander Bogaerts brought his numbers up after his 2019 performance that helped him finish fifth in the AL MVP voting. He slashed .309/.384/.555 and hit 33 homers along with 52 doubles. That line attributed to his current career slash line of .288/.350/.451. Bogaerts is at 207 heading into the 2020 season. The shortstop has made two All-Star games and won two Silver Slugger awards so far.
8.) Matt Wieters (C)
Team- Baltimore Orioles (2009-2016)
Matt Wieters put together some solid seasons with Baltimore. He made four All-Star games and won two Gold Glove awards. The current Cardinal slashed .262/.328/.450 in 2011. That season, he hit 23 long balls, 27 doubles and drove in 83 RBIs. From 2010-through-2016, Wieters had 108 homers and 142 doubles with the Orioles
9.) Brett Gardener
Team- New York Yankees (2008-Present)
Brett Gardener had a career-high in home runs (28), slugging percentage (.503) and OPS (.829) in 2019. During the years 2010-through-2019, Gardener compiled 121 homers, 219 doubles and even 60 triples. He also made the All-Star game in 2015 and won a Gold Glove in 2016. If Gardy can continue from his performance in 2019, he could get some consistent playing time in a stacked Yankees outfield.
Pitching Rotation
1.) CC Sabathia
Team- New York Yankees (2009-2019)
CC Sabathia had some notable seasons with the Yankees. From 2010-through-2012, he made the All-Star game each season, and finished in the top four of the AL Cy Young voting each of those years. In 2011, the southpaw had a 3.00 ERA and 230 strikeouts in 237 1/3 innings pitched. He even had some solid numbers years later in 2018 when he posted a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts.
2.) David Price
Teams- Tampa Bay Rays (2008-2014) Toronto Blue Jays (2015) Boston Red Sox (2016-2019)
Another lefty in the rotation is David Price. He pitched for three different teams in the AL East during the decade. Some of his best seasons on the mound came in 2010 and 2012 with the Rays. He was the AL Cy Young runner-up in 2010 when he posted a 2.72 ERA in 208 2/3 innings pitched. A few years later in 2012, he won the Cy Young award in the American League. The 2018 World Series Champion had a 2.56 ERA in 2012 with 211 innings pitched.
3.) Chris Archer
Team- Tampa Bay Rays (2012-2018)
Chris Archer has had some struggles on the mound with the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, his numbers with the Rays are better. In seven seasons with Tampa Bay, Archer had a 3.69 ERA, 1,349 strikeouts and three shutouts. He made two Mid-Summer Classics as well. One of Archer’s best seasons pitching was in 2015 when he had a 3.23 ERA in 34 starts.
4.) Masahiro Tanaka
Team- New York Yankees (2014-Present)
Masahiro Tanaka has had some ups and downs in his pitching career, but he still made a spot on this list. He pitched in six seasons with the Yankees so far, and has a 3.75 ERA and 947 strikeouts with just 200 walks. Tanaka made the All-Star game his rookie season. He had 20 starts that year and compiled a 2.77 ERA and a 1.056 WHIP. The New York Yankee got back to the All-Star game in 2019.
5.) Jon Lester
Team- Boston Red Sox (2006-2014)
This rotation could have guys like Marcus Stroman or Chris Sale go here. However, Chris Sale only pitched three seasons with an AL East team, and 2019 was pretty below average for him. Jon Lester made three All-Star rosters with the Red Sox in 2010, 2011 and 2014. He finished fourth in the AL Cy Young voting twice. In the five seasons he pitched with them in the 2010’s he picked up 899 strikeouts.
Bullpen
Dellin Betances
Team- New York Yankees (2011-2019)
Dellin Betances has 358 career games pitched with the Yankees. A career-high 74 of them came in 2014 when he had a 1.50 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 84 innings pitched. That season was part of a four year stretch from 2014-through-2017 where Betances made the All-Star game each of those seasons. His career ERA with the Yankees is 2.36 in 381 2/3 innings pitched.
Zack Britton
Teams- Baltimore Orioles (2011-2018) New York Yankees (2018-Present)
So far, Zack Britton has spent his whole MLB career with an AL East team. In 2011-through-2013, a majority of Britton’s outings were starts. He struggled as a starter as his lowest ERA in those three seasons was 4.61. He was a bullpen pitcher in 2014, and it really seemed to help him. That year, he pitched in 71 games and posted a 1.65 ERA with a 0.904 WHIP. As a Yankee, he currently has a 2.19 ERA in 86 1/3 innings pitched heading into the 2020 season.
(A lot of stats are according to Baseball Reference)
Feature Image Courtesy of Zimbio.
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