I said in that post that maybe I’d try again in five years and see if my choices changed. Well, it’s been over five years and of course they’ve changed. This is a completely random exercise!
So I’ll do it again. I tried not to look at my choices from the first time. And just like last time, I performed this thinking exercise shortly after waking up, even though I had no intention of repeating the pattern, so that my brain wouldn’t be affected by what was currently going on.
My timing isn’t great though. The last time I did this was in January, out of season. This time I’m doing it in the middle of the postseason, so of course I’m going to pick people who play in that. Anyway, let’s see what the brain said this time.
National League West
Evaders: Mookie Betts. He’s been on my mind quite a bit lately.
Diamondbacks: Mark Grace. Weird. I blame Immaculate Grid. When I played regularly, I let my brain train to come up with these kinds of default choices.
giants: Bobby Bonds. Interesting, I usually think of his ’76 Yankees card first.
Parents: Dave Winfield. This is the same choice as six years ago.
Rockies: Vinny Castile.
National League Central
Brewers: Ted Simmons. Another surprising choice. First of all, it’s not someone currently in the playoffs, and second, I think of Simmons with the Cardinals first.
Cardinals: Haha, what? This is what happens before I drink my coffee.
Cubs: Pete Crow Armstrong
Pirates: Willie Stargell. This is the same choice as last time.
Red: Johnny Bank
National League East
Brave: Ronald Acuna Jr.
Marlins: Gary Sheffield
Of: Pete Alonso
Nationals: Bryce Harper. He hasn’t competed in Nationals in seven years. Still.
Phillies: Greg Luzinski
American League East
Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Orioles: Bow Powell
Rays: Evan Longoria
Red Sox: Carl Yastrzemski
Yankees: Aaron Judge
American League Central
Guards: Friend call
Royals: George Brett
Tigers: Howard Johnson. Completely out of left field.
Twins: Rod Carew. As it should be. Makes up for my brain’s choice for the next team.
White Sox: Carlton Fisk. Come on, brains!
American League West
Angels: Mike Trout
Astros: Jose Cruz. He’s a National League Astro, but the brain doesn’t recognize weird MLB revisions.
If: Rollie fingers
Sailors: Julio Rodriguez. With all the talk online about ‘The Big Dumper’ this is a great choice. …Okay, not quite Bob Stinson, but we’re not playing Immaculate Grid here.
Rangers: Mike Hargrove. When I arrived at the Rangers, my brain was completely blank. No one from any era could think of it. When it got over its problem, it gave a satisfactory result.
And that is what the brain thinks about first in 2025. It’s a mix of oldies and newbies, which I think is good. It means I’m not completely stuck in the past.
For comparison, I’ll put my first picks from six years ago next to this one.
Dodgers: Mookie Betts (Sandy Koufax)
Diamondbacks: Mark Grace (Paul Goldschmidt)
Giants: Bobby Bonds (Will Clark)
Padres: Dave Winfield (Dave Winfield)
Rockies: Vinny Castilla (Larry Walker)
Brewers: Ted Simmons (Ryan Braun)
Cardinals: Todd Zeile (Stan Musial)
Cubs: Pete Crow-Armstrong (Ryne Sandberg)
Pirates: Willie Stargell (Willie Stargell)
Red: Johnny Bench (Pete Rose)
Braves: Ronald (Freddie Freeman)
Marlins: Gary Sheffield (Giancarlo Stanton)
Starring: Pete Alonso (Tom Seaver)
Nationals: Bryce Harper (Bryce Harper)
Phillies: Greg Loezinski (Greg Loezinski)
Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Joe Carter)
Orioles: Boog Powell (Ken Singleton)
Rays: Evan Longoria (Evan Longoria)
Red Sox: Carl Yastrzemski (Roger Clemens)
Yankees: Aaron Judge (Babe Ruth)
Guardians: Buddy Bell (Albert Belle)
Royal Family: George Brett (George Brett)
Tigers: Howard Johnson (Al Kaline)
Twin: Rod Carew (Bert Blyleven)
White Sox: Carlton Fisk (Paul Konerko)
Angels: Mike Trout (Frank Tanana)
Astros: Jose Cruz (Craig Biggio)
Athletics: Rollie Fingers (Bert Campaneris)
Mariners: Julio Rodriguez (Alex Rodriguez)
Rangers: Mike Hargrove (Toby Harrah)
Six repeat choices. Maybe I’ll try this again in five years. We’ll see where I stand then and where MLB stands. And where my brain is located.
#Thinking #exercise