25 For 25: Chicago White Sox 1945-1969

With everything that is going on that has extended out this offseason, I thought I would bring out a new set of 25 For 25 teams. This group is for the years 1945 through 1969 - the end of the war & return of the stars from service, the introduction of integrated baseball, the dominance of the New York teams generally and the Yankees specifically in the 50's, franchise shifts & expansion, and the second "Dead Ball" era. Prior to doing this research, so many of these players I was unfamiliar with, my knowledge largely limited to the Cardinals, the superstars, and what I had read from Bill James & others.

This team will follow the rules that I've laid out before: one player per season, all 25 years of the era; each player can only be selected once per franchise, not in multiple eras (can't pick Greg Maddux for ATL for 1994 & 1995); two players each at most positions (C, 1B, 2B,3B, SS), six outfielders (position based on most games played that year, outfield games combined), five starters (at least half of pitching appearances as GS that year), four relievers; using fWAR, bWAR, Win-Loss % w/avg team (basically Wins Above Average as a rate stat, referred to on B-R as waaWL%), and B-R WPA (note that earlier years are missing up to 30% of data and all seasons are missing at least a little bit, but it should be fairly representative). I will not be working up versions for any of the expansion franchises, as they will only have 8 or 9 seasons (or just one) to choose from.

Sometimes you have to make a choice between two phenomenal players in the same year, sometimes you get stuck with a nobody, sometimes a notable, long-time player gets left off, sometimes you're swimming with options, sometimes it looks like the discount bin at Blockbuster. That's part of the fun for me, making the puzzle pieces fit in the best way available. Please look over my list, tell me what you think, and challenge me on my selections - I look forward to hearing from you. (Link to all of my 25 For 25 posts)

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1945 - Wally Moses OF - 140 G/641 PA, 4.4 fWAR/4.4 bWAR, .519 waaWL%, .295/.373/.420, 15 3B, +1.50 bWPA, 29th-MVP

1946 - Ed Lopat SP - 29 GS/231 IP, 3.6* fWAR/4.8* bWAR, .577 waaWL%, -0.30* bWPA, 13-13 W-L, 2.73 ERA/3.27 FIP, 1.9 BB/9 *(including batting)

1947 - Floyd Baker 3B - 105 G/439 PA, 2.5 fWAR/2.7 bWAR, .513 waaWL%, .264/.375/.313, -0.40 bWPA, 11 Rtot

1948 - Howie Judson RP - 40 G/5 GS/107.1 IP, 0.2 fWAR/0.7 bWAR, .499 waaWL%, +0.70 bWPA, 4-5 W-L, 8/11 SvOpp, 3 Holds, 4.78 ERA/4.45 FIP

1949 - Cass Michaels 2B - 154 G/672 PA, 5.6 fWAR/5.3 bWAR, .522 waaWL%, .308/.417/.421, 101 BB, +1.00 bWPA, All-Star

1950 - Phil Masi C - 122 G/434 PA, 2.2 fWAR/1.8 bWAR, .504 waaWL%, .276/.366/.390, +1.10 bWPA

1951 - Eddie Robinson 1B - 151 G/650 PA, 3.3 fWAR/3.2 bWAR, .509 waaWL%, .282/.371/.495, 29 HR, 117 RBI, +2.20 bWPA, All-Star, 24th-MVP

1952 - Billy Pierce SP - 33 G/32 GS/255.1 IP, 5.6* fWAR/7.4* bWAR, .663 waaWL%, +3.20 bWPA, 15-12 W-L, 1/1 SvOpp, 2.57 ERA/2.84 FIP, 29th-MVP *(including batting)

1953 - Sandy Consuegra RP - 29 G/13 GS/124 IP, 1.5 fWAR/3.0 bWAR, .570 waaWL%, +2.50 bWPA, 7-5 W-L, 3/3 SvOpp, 2.54 ERA/3.78 FIP, 2.0 BB/9

1954 - Minnie Minoso OF - 153 G/676 PA, 7.8 fWAR/8.2 bWAR, .540 waaWL%, .320/.411/.535, 18 3B, 119 R/116 RBI/182 H, +6.00 bWPA, 16 Rtot, All-Star, 4th-MVP

1955 - Jim Rivera OF - 147 G/530 PA, 2.8 fWAR/2.4 bWAR, .505 waaWL%, .264/.352/.401, 25 SB, +0.40 bWPA, 14 Rtot

1956 - Larry Doby OF - 140 G/619 PA, 4.7 fWAR/4.8 bWAR, .522 waaWL%, .268/.392/.466, 24 HR, 102 RBI/102 BB, +2.00 bWPA

1957 - Nellie Fox 2B - 155 G/718 PA, 7.0 fWAR/7.9 bWAR, .539 waaWL%, .317/.403/.415, 110 R/196 H, +3.90 bWPA, 15 Rtot, All-Star, Gold Glove, 4th-MVP

1958 - Sherm Lollar C - 127 G/491 PA, 4.1 fWAR/3.7 bWAR, .518 waaWL%, .273/.367/.454, 20 HR, +4.00 bWPA, All-Star, Gold Glove, 9th-MVP

1959 - Jim Landis OF - 149 G/623 PA, 5.1 fWAR/5.7 bWAR, .527 waaWL%, .272/.370/.379, 20 SB, +1.80 bWPA, 7th-MVP

1960 - Frank Baumann RP - 47 G/20 GS/185.1 IP, 3.0* fWAR, 3.4 bWAR, .537 waaWL%, +4.30 bWPA, 13-6 W-L, 4/6 SvOpp, 3 Holds, 2.67 ERA/3.41 FIP *(including batting)

1961 - Roy Sievers 1B - 141 G/563 PA, 4.3 fWAR/3.6 bWAR, .515 waaWL%, .295/.377/.537, 27 HR, 92 RBI, +2.70 bWPA, All-Star

1962 - Ray Herbert SP - 35 GS/236.2 IP, 5.3* fWAR/5.2* bWAR, .579 waaWL%, +3.20 bWPA, 20-9 W-L, 3.27 ERA/3.31 FIP, All-Star, 29th-MVP *(including batting)

1963 - Gary Peters SP - 41 G/30 GS/243 IP, 7.5* fWAR/7.0* bWAR, .598 waaWL%, +4.70* bWPA, 19-8 W-L, 1/1 SvOpp, 2 Holds, 2.33 ERA/2.34 FIP, 2.78 K/BB, Rookie Of The Year, 8th-MVP *(including batting)

1964 - Ron Hansen SS - 158 G/665 PA, 7.2 fWAR/7.7 bWAR, .538 waaWL%, .261/.347/.419, 20 HR, +1.90 bWPA, 27 Rtot, 16th-MVP

1965 - Hoyt Wilhelm RP - 66 G/144 IP, 1.4 fWAR/3.6 bWAR, .533 waaWL%, +3.00 bWPA, 7-7 W-L, 21/24 SvOpp, 1 Hold, 1.81 ERA/2.75 FIP, 2.0 BB/9, 3.31 K/BB

1966 - Tommie Agee OF - 160 G/689 PA, 6.4 fWAR/6.4 bWAR, .528 waaWL%, .273/.326/.447, 22 HR/44 SB, 98 R, +2.70 bWPA, 18 Rtot, All-Star, Gold Glove, Rookie Of The Year, 8th-MVP

1967 - Joe Horlen SP - 35 GS/223.2 IP, 3.5 fWAR/5.6* bWAR, .596 waaWL%, +4.60 bWPA, 19-7 W-L, 2.06 ERA/3.12 FIP, All-Star, 2nd-CYA, 4th-MVP *(including batting)

1968 - Pete Ward 3B - 125 G/487 PA, 3.3 fWAR/3.0 bWAR, .512 waaWL%, .216/.354/.366, +1.20 bWPA

1969 - Luis Aparicio SS - 156 G/681 PA, 4.6 fWAR/4.7 bWAR, .517 waaWL%, .280/.352/.362, 24 SB, -1.70 bWPA, 10 Rtot

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C - Phil Masi 1950, Sherm Lollar 1958

1B - Eddie Robinson 1951, Roy Sievers 1961

2B - Cass Michaels 1949, Nellie Fox 1957

3B - Floyd Baker 1947, Pete Ward 1968

SS - Ron Hansen 1964, Luis Aparicio 1969

OF - Wally Moses 1945, Minnie Minoso 1954, Jim Rivera 1955, Larry Doby 1956, Jim Landis 1959, Tommie Agee 1966

SP - Ed Lopat 1946, Billy Pierce 1952, Ray Herbert 1962, Gary Peters 1963, Joe Horlen 1967

RP - Howie Judson 1948, Sandy Consuegra 1953, Frank Baumann 1960, Hoyt Wilhelm 1965