Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, it was a blessing to be a fan of the Cincinnati Reds during the Big Red Machine era.
Although the Reds were and are my favorite team, being a fan of many players on other teams was very easy.
This four-part series is an attempt to share my favorite players from each team during the 1970s and 1980s with the readers this site.
It’s possible for players to be listed on more than one team and in some cases the position might be different than most expect. Dave Winfield comes to mind because early in his career with the San Diego Padres he played left field, but he became an all-star playing in right.
The third part of the series features teams from the American League East Division:
Baltimore Orioles
1B – Lee May (Former Cincinnati Reds star)
2B – Bobby Grich
3B – Brooks Robinson (Hard to dislike this guy even though he hurt my Reds in the World Series)
SS – Cal Ripken Jr. (The night passed Lou Gehrig was so special)
LF – John Lowenstein (Just got the job done)
CF – Al Bumbry
RF – Ken Singleton (Liked him with the Monreal Expos, but he was a force with the Orioles)
C – Rick Dempsey (Made rain delays fun)
DH – Eddie Murray (Loved his rookie card)
P – Mike Cuellar
MGR – Earl Weaver (My vocabulary increased thanks to this guy LOL)
Boston Red Sox
1B – Bill Buckner (Such a great player, wish he could have caught the ball)
2B – Jerry Remy
3B – Wade Boggs
SS – Rick Burleson
LF – Jim Rice (Glad that he made it to the Hall of Fame)
CF – Fred Lynn
RF – Dwight Evans (One of my all-time favorites)
C – Carlton Fisk (Was at the long Hall of Fame speech)
DH – Carl Yastrzemski (Wish I could have watched him in the 1960s)
P – Luis Tiant (Tried to pitch like him, but I ended up playing in the outfield for good reason)
MGR – Don Zimmer (Check out his career, he seems to be around during a lot of baseball history)
Cleveland Indians
1B – Andre Thornton (Thunder!!)
2B – Duane Kuiper
3B – Buddy Bell (Was really happy when he joined the Cincinnati Reds)
SS – Julio Franco (Fun to watch … when he was young LOL)
LF – John Lowenstein
CF – Brett Butler
RF – Jorge Orta
C – Ray Fosse
DH – Rico Carty
P – Gaylord Perry (Amazing, two Cy Young Awards in the 1970s)
MGR – Frank Robinson (I was excited when he became the manager)
Detroit Tigers
1B – Norm Cash (He probably could have hit with the table leg)
2B – Lou Whitaker (Would love to see him in the Hall of Fame)
3B – Aurelio Rodriguez
SS – Alan Trammell (1984 World Series MVP)
LF – Willie Horton (Hold over from the 1968 squad)
CF – Ron LeFlore (Nice story to reach the majors)
RF – Kirk Gibson (Two homers in 1984 World Series final game)
C – Larry Parrish
DH – Al Kaline (RIP)
P – Mark Fidrych (Wish more people were like him)
MGR – Sparky Anderson
Milwaukee Brewers
1B – Cecil Cooper
2B – Paul Molitor
3B – Don Money (I’m still thinking it was a grand slam)
SS – Robin Yount (MVP as a shortstop and a centerfielder)
LF – Ben Oglivie
CF – Gorman Thomas (The homers were great, but oh, the strikeouts)
RF – Sixto Lezcano
C – Ted Simmons
DH – Hank Aaron (Nice for him to finish his career in Milwaukee)
P – Rollie Fingers (Could finally root for him)
MGR – Harvey Kuenn
New York Yankees
1B – Chris Chambliss (I can still hear Howard Cosell stepping all over Keith Jackson call of the pennant-winning homer in 1976)
2B – Willie Randolph
3B – Graig Nettles
SS – Bucky Dent (Russell has an awesome nickname and I don’t mean Bucky)
LF – Roy White
CF – Mickey Rivers
RF – Bobby Murcer
C – Thurman Munson (Sad day in 1979)
DH – Oscar Gamble (This guy could hit … so much more than the hair and a great 1976 baseball card)
P – Sparky Lyle (Read the Bronx Zoo … that’s how you make this list)
MGR – Billy Martin (Hard to believe he only won one World Series as a manager with the Yankees)
Toronto Blue Jays
1B – John Mayberry (He made the Blue Jays fun to watch in the early days of the franchise)
2B – Danny Ainge (He turned out to be a better basketball player, but there were some nice baseball cards)
3B – Roy Howell
SS – Alfredo Griffin
LF – George Bell (Saw him hit the left field roof at Old Comisky Park in Chicago)
CF – Lloyd Moseby
RF – Jesse Barfield (One of the guys who would have been a nice part of the World Series teams in the 1990s)
C – Ernie Whitt
DH – Cecil Fielder
P – Dave Stieb (Saw him lose a no-hitter in the ninth at Chicago … bummer)
MGR – Jimy Williams