The Twelfth 25: A Roster

A brief look back in team form at the last 25 player cards in the 1980 set (#300 through #325) as if constructing a fantasy league team.

Manager - Tom Lasorda

1B - Keith Hernandez
2B - Mike Edwards
SS - Chris Speier
3B - Denny Walling
OF - Dave Parker
OF - Steve Kemp
OF - Claudell Washington
C - Butch Wynegar
DH - Dan Driessen

Glass half full:: Incuded here are the two most recent NL MVPs in Parker and Hernandez, an All-Star performer in Kemp and a Rookie of the Year in Wynegar. Washington at the time was loaded with potential and there are solid veterans in Speier and Walling. You can interchange Driessen and Hargrove at the DH without losing anything.

Glass half empty: Substance issues plague this team as will injuries. Many of the players in the lineup are at their peak right now (1980) and see a bit of a decline after this, despite some longevity.

Bench: Mick Kelleher, Mike Hargrove, Roger Metzger, Johnny Grubb, Mike Anderson

Glass half full:: Good balance of glove men and potent bats off of the bench. Grubb and Hargrove are former All-Stars.

Glass half empty: Can't really complain about this group, however, there isn't a backup catcher which would have been nice.

Rotation
Ron Guidry
Jerry Reuss
Dennis Eckersley
Randy Jones
Larry McWilliams

Glass half full:: Three Cy Young winners here and four left-handed starters. Very solid group, whether it be for 1980 only or for career value. If Jones gets' hurt, Honeycutt come out of the pen.

Glass half empty: Not a dominant righthander unless Jones is on and to be fair Eckersley would win his Cy Young 12 years later.

Bullpen: Rick Honeycutt, Tom Underwood, Bill Castro, Mike Barlow Bob Lacey, Tim Stoddard

Glass half full:: Good balance here of guys that can jump into the rotation if need be, do an inning or two as setup to the closer Stoddard. Underwood and Honeycutt can both start and relieve effectively.

Glass half empty: Stoddard gets the job by default simply because no one else here has experience as a closer. Would have been nice to have a Gossage or Quisenberry, but you can't get greedy.

OVERALL: Nice group here with a Hall of Fame manager (Lasorda) leading the way. This group would be a very competitive team and is stocked with guys with major league pedigrees. The only thing keeping it from an A is the lack of a backup catcher and the fact that this team could have been so much better if not for substance abuse issues.

GRADE: B+