The All-1970's Team

Yesterday's top 5 cards post on Willie Stargell got me thinking a lot about 70's baseball. In particular, I began to go over the most talented players from likely the greatest decade in baseball history with the 60's being a relatively close 2nd. 

For an all-1970's team, I knew names like Reggie Jackson and Rod Carew needed to be included. However, I found more difficulty finding players for the shortstop and 3rd outfielder positions than I originally thought I would. For some reason, the 70's had an abundance of 1st and 2nd baseman while lacking a bit at shortstop, though I am happy with all my picks.

Led by starting pitcher Tom Seaver who took home the Cy Young award twice during the 70's, I've chosen a player for each and every position (DH excluded) for my all-1970's dream team. After briefly going over the starting pitcher, I'll move onto the catcher position.

It's pretty easy to choose a number of players from the 1970's Big Red Machine Cincinnati Reds team, so I was forced to narrow it down to a few players. Tom Seaver's best years in the 70's were spent with the Mets, but Johnny Bench spent every year of his 17-year career with the Reds. Johnny Bench took home the NL MVP award twice in the 70's and also made the All-Star team every year of the decade. No other catcher can really compete with Bench, let alone a 70's catcher. 

Carew pretty much split his time between the Twins and Angels throughout his career, and he also split his time between playing 2nd and 1st base. Since there was an undeniable option for 2nd, I placed the 1977 AL MVP at 1st. Carew, like Johnny Bench, made the All-Star team every year in the 70's and led all of baseball in batting average during 6 of those 10 seasons. 

A back-to-back NL MVP in both 1975 and 1976, Joe Morgan spent the better part of the 1970's decade being one of the most well-rounded players in baseball. He only missed the All-Star game once (1971), but he more than made up for it by winning 5 Gold Gloves that decade. Morgan also topped 40 single-season steals 8 times that decade, including 67 of them in '73 and '75 respectively. 

There wasn't really a sure-thing option for the shortstop position, so I had to think about this one for a bit. After reviewing the limited options that I had, I decided that Oakland A's shortstop Bert Campaneris was the best choice. He made the All-Star game 5 times in the 70's which is quite impressive for a player who isn't as well known as the others on this list. Additionally, he stole a total of 336 bases in the 70's which helped him on route to being 14th all-time (currently) in stolen bases.

Although Mike Schmidt didn't play full seasons throughout the entire decade and didn't start winning NL MVP's until the 80's, he more than meets the qualifications for the 3rd base position on the all-70's team. Although he made it to just 4 All-Star teams, Schmidt had 90+ RBI in all but 1 full season in the 70's and also took home the Gold Glove 4 times as well. 

Hank Aaron may not have played the whole decade, Willie Stargell may have struggled during some seasons, and Reggie Jackson did strike out quite a lot, but I truly stand behind these 3 players being the greatest 3 outfielders that the 1970's had to offer. Combining for 18 All-Star appearances in the entire decade, these 3 players and their accomplishments definitely speak for themselves. Aaron and Stargell may have had better years in the 60's, but Stargell won MVP in '79 for a reason and Aaron made the All-Star team in 5 of his final 6 seasons for a reason as well. Despite there being other options in the outfield, these 3 are for sure the right choices.