The Royals Franchise Deep Four

Of the four 1969 expansion franchises, I've saved the most successful for last. Let's see how strong their all-time teams look.

	P	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1st	Bret Saberhagen	Salvador Perez	John Mayberry	Frank White	George Brett	Freddie Patek	Willie Wilson	Amos Otis	Danny Tartabull
2nd	Kevin Appier	Darrell Porter	Mike Sweeney	Mark Grudzielanek	Kevin Seitzer	Rey Sanchez	Alex Gordon	Carlos Beltran	Al Cowens
3rd	Mark Gubicza	Mike Macfarlane	Eric Hosmer	Cookie Rojas	Joe Randa	Alcides Escobar	Lou Piniella	Lorenzo Cain	Jermaine Dye
4th	Zack Greinke	John Wathan	Wally Joyner	Carlos Febles	Mike Moustakas	U.L. Washington	Bo Jackson	Johnny Damon	Jeff Francoeur

Some of the guys on the first team were far and away the best choices; White, Brett, and Patek all blew away their closest competition. Who would've thought that Mark Grudzielanek and Rey Sanchez would make the 2nd Team?

Corner outfield was a bit tricky, as often is the case. Their right fielders weren't the deepest group, for instance. I only chose Jeff Francoeur for the 4th Team based on one good season that was better than anything any of the other candidates had done, despite spending the rest of his Royals tenure adding negative value. David DeJesus might've been a better choice in left field than either Piniella or Jackson, but he seemed to fit better in center field, where he ended up just missing the cut. If I were doing a 5th Team for the Royals, DeJesus would definitely be there, yes sirree.

Salvador Perez and Darrell Porter are currently pretty close, but I decided to give it to Perez since he's having a great season so far, and if he keeps it up, he should find himself well ahead of Porter by the end of it. And besides, he's already a Kansas City folk hero. Of the young Royals crop currently defending their World Series title, he's the only one who's made it to the 1st Team. Truly a feather in his backward catcher's helmet.

The Brewers Franchise Deep Four

Checking off those 1969 newcomers, we're now on the once-American League expansion franchise Seattle Pilots, who are now the National League Central's Milwaukee Brewers.

	P	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1st	Teddy Higuera	Jonathan Lucroy	Cecil Cooper	Rickie Weeks	Paul Molitor	Robin Yount	Ryan Braun	Gorman Thomas	Sixto Lezcano
2nd	Ben Sheets	Darrell Porter	George Scott	Jim Gantner	Jeff Cirillo	Jose Valentin	Ben Oglivie	Carlos Gomez	Jeromy Burnitz
3rd	Chris Bosio	B.J. Surhoff	Prince Fielder	Ronnie Belliard	Don Money	J.J.Hardy	Geoff Jenkins	Dave May	Corey Hart
4th	Mike Caldwell	Ted Simmons	Richie Sexson	Fernando Vina	Sal Bando	Pat Listach	Greg Vaughn	Marquis Grissom	Rob Deer

Interestingly, there's no position that stands out here as being particularly strong. The Brewers have had a pretty mediocre history. But at least Brewer fans can currently appreciate watching the greatest catcher and left fielder in franchise history while they're still around.