Keeping Track

The All-Jeff Team

40 Comments

I was reading a note about Jeff Burroughs the other day when it occurred to me that there have not been a whole lot of great ballplayers named "Jeff".  So, with the help of baseball-reference.com, I put together my all-Jeff team.

A couple of ground rules.  First, you have to have been known as "Jeff" or "Jeffrey" during your career.  Thus, Jeffrey Adam Everett, while he might have been a useful utility infielder, does not qualify.  On the other hand, Jeff Pfeffer, whose given name was Edward Joseph Pfeffer, and Jeff Tesreau, whose given name was Charles Monroe Tesreau, do qualify.  If you have the wisdom to adopt the name "Jeff", you should be rewarded for it.

Also, players named "Geoff" qualify.  It is not the fault of Geoff Jenkins and Geoff Zahn that their parents did not know how to spell their names correctly.

So with that (drum roll, please), we introduce the all-Jeff team:

Jeff Blauser, SS
Jeff Kent, 2B
Jeff Heath, LF
Jeff Bagwell, 1B
Jeff Burroughs, RF
Geoff Jenkins, DH
Jeff Cirillo, 3B
Jeffrey Hammonds, CF
Jeff Reed, C

RESERVES

C    Jeff Newman
IF Jeff King
IF Jeff Keppinger
OF Jeff Conine

ROTATION

Jeff Pfeffer
Jeff Tesreau
Geoff Zahn
Jeff Fassero
Jeff Suppan

BULLPEN

Jeff Reardon
Jeff Montgomery
Jeff Brantley
Jeff Shaw
Jeff Russell
Jeff Nelson
Jeff Parrett

MANAGER

Jeff Torborg

It's a better team than I thought it would be.  Not a sure champion, but it would at least be in contention, I think.  Certainly there are names which would produce much better teams.  But the all-Jeff team turned out to be not so bad, after all.

40 thoughts on “The All-Jeff Team”

    1. I considered him, but I just didn't think he was good enough. He only had three seasons as a regular where his OPS was above .750, and only one where it was above .800. When I looked at his numbers, it seemed like his fame was better than his performance.

      1. Yes, but this team needs an instigator! One flap down! (I still don't get why that was a thing anyone cared about. "That guy is running without pumping one of his arms!!")

    1. There were actually two Jeff Pfeffers. They were brothers, but neither of them was actually named Jeff. The older brother, Big Jeff Pfeffer (Francis Xavier Pfeffer) was a pitcher/outfielder from 1905-1911. The Jeff Pfeffer who made the team was the younger brother and pitched from 1911-1924. Big Jeff was actually two inches shorter.

    1. I don't know, but it sure wouldn't be very good. You'd have Reardon, Zahn, and Cirillo (and Reed), but you'd also have a bunch of guys like Jeff Bronkey, Jeff Gray, Jeff Bittiger, Jeff Baker, Jeff Grotewold, and Jeff Reboulet.

  5. This is both inspiring and depressing.

    Bryan Harvey (RP. 12.0 rWAR)
    Brian Moehler (RP, 10.6 rWAR)
    Brian Fuentes (LP, 9.6 rWAR)
    Brian Anderson (LP, 8.8 rWAR)
    Brian Lawrence (RP, 7.2 rWAR)
    Brian Wilson (RP, 5.5 rWAR)
    Brian Shouse (LP, 4.8 rWAR)
    Brian Bannister (RP, 3.8 rWAR)
    Brian Duensing (LP, 3.7 rWAR)
    Brian Boehringer (RP, 3.4 rWAR)
    Bryan Clark (LP, 2.5 rWAR)

    Brian McCann (C, 19.8 rWAR)
    Brian Harper (C, 10.6 rWAR)
    Brian Schneider (C, 5.5 rWAR)

    Brian Daubach (1b, 5.1 rWAR)

    Brian Roberts (2B, 26.3 rWAR)

    Brian Giles (OF, 48.4 rWAR)
    Brian Downing (DH/LF, 47.8 rWAR)
    Brian Jordan (OF, 30.8 rWAR)
    Brian McRae (CF, 12.3 rWAR)
    Brian Hunter (CF, 6.2 rWAR)

    I could fill out the lineup with scrubby guys, but that's the best of the lot.

  7. It's really hard to do a search for my name, since "Bo" results in over 1,000 names, including everyone named Bob.

    Doesn't really matter, though. Bo Diaz will catch and Bo Jackson will play every other position and kick all your asses.

  8. The all-Will team (also accepting Willy, Willie, and Williams if necessary, but tiebreaker goes to those players who properly shortened their names - Billies don't count because there is no B in William). These guys are going to score some runs, cover some ground in the outfield, and have giant blackholes up the middle at shortstop and catcher. Will White is going to have to throw about 500 innings in a season to cover the rest of the pitching staff.

    Lineup
    William Fischer (C, 6.6 rWAR)
    Will Clark (1b, 53.2 rWAR)
    Willie Randolph (2b, 63.0 rWAR)
    Willie Kamm (3b, 31.4 rWAR)
    Wil Cordero (SS, 4.0 rWAR)
    Willie Davis (LF, 56.8 rWAR)
    Willie Mays (CF, 150.8 rWAR)
    Wee Willie Keeler (RF, 50.7 rWAR)
    Willie McCovey (DH, 60.7 rWAR)

    Bench
    Wil Nieves (C, -2.7 rWAR)*
    Princess Willie (Boom-Boom) Bloomquist (IF, 0.5 rWAR)*
    Willie Stargell (OF/1b, 54.2 rWAR)
    Willie Wilson (CF, 43.5 rWAR)
    Willie McGee (OF, 30.9 rWAR)
    Willie Jones (3b, 21.8 rWAR)

    Pitching Staff
    Will White (P, 35.7 rWAR)
    Willie Mitchell (P, 15.7 rWAR)**
    Willie McGill (P, 9.1 rWAR)
    Willie Blair (P, 2.1 rWAR)
    Willie Hernandez (RP, 15.4 rWAR)
    Will Ohman (RP, 2.6 rWAR)
    Willie Fraser (RP, 1.1 rWAR)
    Groundskeeper Willie Eyre (RP, 0.3 rWAR)
    Willie Banks (RP, 0.1 rWAR)

    Will Middlebrooks and Will Smith are in our farm system.

    *It's a shame how disproportionate the talent-level is at certain positions. I had to cut bunch of perfectly good first basemen and outfielders (Willies Horton, Aikens, and Upshaw, for example), yet I had to keep these two clowns to cover the middle infield and catcher's spot for my bench.
    **Not to be confused with the namesake of the SBG College of Law

  9. Is there a way to search by first name and position? This looks like a fun exercise (and someone should take all of the "All-citizen" teams and simulate a season or two), but there appear to be a surprising amount of Jesse's to sort through that I don't have time to do.

    1. If there is, I don't know it. There were more Jeffs than I expected. I did it over several days, taking about 25 at a time.

        1. After finding out that the link that says "Next 125 Results" does not actually mean there are another 125 results, I have found that I could not field a full team, even if I stretched the rules to allow it as a middle name. (Would have made you all jealous with Earl Battey.)

  10. I guarantee my team will finish in last place in the WGOM round robin.

    LINEUP
    Tom Klawitter, SS
    Tom Klawitter, 2B
    Tom Klawitter, LF
    Tom Klawitter, 1B
    Tom Klawitter, RF
    Tom Klawitter, DH
    Tom Klawitter, 3B
    Tom Klawitter, CF
    Tom Klawitter, C

    ROTATION

    Tom Klawitter
    Tom Klawitter
    Tom Klawitter
    Tom Klawitter
    Tom Klawitter

    BULLPEN

    Tom Klawitter
    Tom Klawitter
    Tom Klawitter
    Tom Klawitter
    Tom Klawitter
    Tom Klawitter
    Tom Klawitter

    MANAGER

    Tom Klawitter

  11. My RFer Stick will have an OPS+ of 118. His son Stick, Jr. will play center and he jacked 630 dongers in his career. We'll put Stick Singleton and his career 132 OPS+ in left. So, yeah, I'm good in the outfield.

    Of course, if your name is George, you could argue that you get the father-son combo, put the old man in left, and add some clown named George Ruth to play right.

    1. First, you have to have been known as "Jeff" or "Jeffrey" during your career. Thus, Jeffrey Adam Everett, while he might have been a useful utility infielder, does not qualify. On the other hand, Jeff Pfeffer, whose given name was Edward Joseph Pfeffer, and Jeff Tesreau, whose given name was Charles Monroe Tesreau, do qualify. If you have the wisdom to adopt the name "Jeff", you should be rewarded for it.

      Sorry, nobody gets the Babe unless he/she has "Babe" as an "official" moniker. The Georges of the world will have to settle with Bell, Foster and Hendrick in the OF.

        1. there appears to be credible evidence that the nickname preceded his time with the Red Sawks

          from the Repository:

          The train journey to spring training in Fayetteville, North Carolina in early March [1914] was likely Ruth's first outside the Baltimore area.[29] The rookie ballplayer was the subject of various pranks by the veterans, who also most likely gave him his famous nickname. There are various accounts of how Ruth came to be called Babe, but most center around him being referred to as "Dunnie's babe" or a variant. "Babe" was at that time a common nickname in baseball, with perhaps the most famous to that point being Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Babe Adams, who appeared younger than he was.[30][31]

          from baberuth.com (there's a baberuth.com???)

          Brother Matthias, one of the monks at St. Mary’s, took an instant liking to George Jr. and became a positive role model and father-like figure to George Jr. while at St. Mary’s. Brother Matthias also happened to help George Jr. refine his baseball skills, working tirelessly with him on hitting, fielding and pitching skills. George Jr. became so good at baseball that the Brothers invited Jack Dunn, owner of the Baltimore Orioles, to come watch George Jr. play. Dunn was obviously impressed, as he offered a contract to George Jr. in February 1914 after watching him for less than an hour. Since George Jr. was only 19 at the time, Dunn had to become George’s legal guardian in order to complete the contract. Upon seeing George Jr. for the first time, the Orioles players referred to him as “Jack’s newest babe”, and thus the most famous nickname in American sports history was born. Thereafter, George Herman Ruth Jr. was known as the Babe.

        1. Plus, we can put Stick Lofton out there for a defensive replacement, if need be. Maybe shift the old man to DH.

  12. Manager: Eric Wedge
    1b Eric Karros (7.7)
    2b Eric Young (16.7)
    ss Eric Mcnair (3.0)
    3b Eric Chaves (34.0)
    of Eric Byrnes (9.0)
    of Eric Davis (33.4)
    of Eric Hinske! (6.4)
    c Eric Munson (-2.0)
    dh Eric Soderholm (19.7)

    sp Erik Bedard (15.2)
    sp Eric Show (13.4)
    sp Eric King (8.5)
    rp Eric Plunk (12.4)
    rp Eric Gagne (11.0)
    rp Eric O'Flaherty (5.2)
    rp Eric Stults (2.0)

    That's actually a lot better than I thought.

  13. We'll be all right:

    MGR: Stick Macha
    C: Stick O’Day (8.3)
    1B: Stick Griffey, Sr. (31.6)
    2B: Stick Boswell (4.7)
    3B: Stick Boyer (58.7)
    SS: Stick Oberkfell (20.0)
    LF: Stick Lofton (64.9)
    CF: Stick Griffey, Jr. (79.2)
    RF: Stick Singleton (38.6)
    DH: Stick Williams (39.5)
    SP: Stick Raffensburger (31.2)
    SP: Stick Forsch (24.7)
    SP: Stick Holtzman (23.9)
    SP: Stick Hill (20.4)
    SP: Stick Rogers (19.7)
    RP: Stick Johnson (18.5)
    RP: Stick Heintzelman (15.4)
    RP: Stick Brett (10.6)
    RP: Stick Tatum (5.2)
    RP: Stick Kravac (4.6)
    RP Stick Trinkle (3.8)
    LOOGY: Stick Dayley (2.5)
    Bench
    Stick Caminiti: (30.8)
    Stick Keltner (30.4)
    Stick Berry: (13.0)
    Stick Henderson (12.6)
    Announcer: Stick Harrelson

  15. With WAR
    C: AR Moore, -0.5 (His initials are in the wrong Order)
    1B: DA LaRoche, 10.3
    2B: AM Rosales, 0.8 WAR (or 2B)
    3B: AJ DeBus, -0.2 WAR
    SS: JA Everett, 11.3
    LF: AT Dunn, 13.8
    CF: AL Jones, 13.2
    RF: AA Comorosky, 3.8

    SP: AP Wainwright, 21.9
    SP: AT Eaton, 0.8
    SP: AA Loewen, 0.4 (Plus -0.2 as an OF!)
    SP: AW Swigler, -0.2
    SP: AC Peterson, -1.9

    Bench:
    LF: AA Lind, 2.7
    OF: AC Eaton, 0.8
    3B: AD Piatt, -0.4
    UT: AD Riggs, -0.3
    PH: AD Greenberg, 0.0

    Bullpen:
    LRP: AC Butler, -0.5
    LRP: AC Pettyjohn, -0.8
    RRP: AB Johnson, -1.0
    RRP: AR Ottavino, 0.5
    RRP: AW Russell, 0.1

    Yeah, it's 26 players, but I really want Greenberg to get another AB.

    Despite Dunn, Jones, LaRoche, Everett, and Wainwright, I think this team would lose 80-90% of its games played against last year's Houston club. Other than those 5, everyone who's played under my first name has had 1 to -2 bWAR. (Oh, Lind's a bit higher.) I just ran through a murder's row of guys that played one season, or three seasons over a decade.

    I think I would offer to pay Wainright twice as much to start every game, as Providence did with Old Charlie Radbourn, and to close every game he doesn't start.

    I found it interesting that both Messrs. A. Eaton had acquired the same bWAR.

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