All-Royalty Team
Recently, I spent a couple of weeks putting together and rolling out the Charlotte Knights All-Decade Team (2010–19). If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, you can do so here: All-Decade Team (2010–19). Today, I’m happy to put together the “All-Royalty Team” — a compilation of the
Recently, I spent a couple of weeks putting together and rolling out the Charlotte Knights All-Decade Team (2010–19). If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, you can do so here: All-Decade Team (2010–19).
Today, I’m happy to put together the “All-Royalty Team” — a compilation of the best players in Major League Baseball history with royalty-themed names or nicknames.
So, what’s a royalty-themed name you ask? Knight, King, Queen, Prince, Duke, Earl, and Power, are just a few. Enjoy!
All-Royalty Team
Manager: Earl Weaver
Weaver compiled 1,480 wins as a major league manager with the Baltimore Orioles over the course of 17 seasons. He guided the Orioles to a World Series Championship in 1970 and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. His number 4 has been retired by the Orioles.
C: Earl Battey
Battey made his major league debut on September 10, 1955 and went on to appear in parts of 13 seasons at the MLB level. A four-time American League All-Star, Battey appeared in 1,141 games and hit .270 with 969 hits, 104 home runs, and 449 RBIs.
1B: Prince Fielder
Over the course of a 12-year MLB career, Prince Fielder compiled a .283 batting average with 319 home runs and 1,028 RBIs. The son of former major leaguer, Cecil Fielder, was a six-time All-Star and a three-time Silver Slugger Award-winner.
2B: Jeff King
King spent parts of 11 seasons in the majors from 1989 to 1999. Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates as the first pick of the 1986 MLB June Amateur Draft. In 1996, King hit a career-high 30 home runs with 111 RBIs. A season later, he added 28 home runs with a career-high 112 RBIs. For his career, he hit .256 with 154 home runs and 709 RBIs.
3B: Ray Knight
Knight was a World Series hero with the New York Mets in 1986. He came up big in both game six and game seven. For his efforts, he was named World Series MVP that year. Overall, Knight was also a two-time All-Star over the course of his 13-year playing career. Knight later went on to manage three seasons with the Cincinnati Reds (1996–97, 2003) and compiled 125 wins.
SS: John Knight
From 1905 to 1913, Knight appeared in 767 over the course of his eight-year major league career. At 6'2", Knight was taller than the average shortstop and considered by some to have been the tallest man to have played shortstop at the time. He hit a team-high .312 with the New York Highlanders in 1910.
OF: Duke Snider
Edwin Donald “Duke” Snider had a tremendous 18-year major league career from 1947–1964. An eight-time All-Star and a two-time World Series champion, Snider will be remembered in his early career as one of the stars of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He finished his career with a .295 batting average, 2,116 hits, 407 home runs, and 1,333 RBIs. “The Duke of Flatbush” was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.
Kelly played in the 1800s, so I forgive you if you never heard of him. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945. Here is an excerpt from Cooperstown on Kelly…
“He led the league in batting for the first time in 1884, hitting .354 for the season. Kelly won the batting crown once again in 1886, a year that could be considered his best. Over the season, he hit .388, and also led the National League with 155 runs scored and a .483 on-base percentage.
The King stole at least 50 bases for four consecutive years and swiped a career-high 87 bags for the Braves in 1887. In one game he stole six bases, and on multiple occasions he stole five in a game. Kelly was one of the first players to regularly steal third base and home, something he also often did in succession.
Kelly won eight pennants with various teams in his 16 seasons in the game and he also hit better than .300 eight times. He led the league three times in both doubles and runs scored, and is one of the few NL players to have scored a record six runs in a game. Though he primarily played right field with frequent appearances in left, in his career Kelly played every position on the diamond, even trying his hand on the mound.”
OF: Earl Averill
Averill was a six-time American League All-Star over the course of his 13-year major league career. He compiled 2,019 hits, 238 home runs, and 1,164 RBIs from 1929 to 1941. He was hit .300 over better five times in his career and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.
DH: Dave Kingman
Over the course of his 16-year career, “King Kong” Kingman, who was known for his long home runs, clubbed 442 dingers from 1971–1986. A three-time All-Star and two-time home run leader, Kingman hit a career-high 48 home runs in 1979 with the Chicago Cubs. He once hit a home run over 530 feet!
UTIL: Vic Power
Born Victor Pellot, fans of Major League Baseball will certainly remember the name “Vic Power” for his solid 12-year career. A six-time All-Star and a seven-time Gold Glove Award-winner, Power finished his career as a .284 hitter over 1,627 games played. A Puerto Rican native, he was considered as one of the island’s best players of all-time.
SP: Carl Hubbell (King Carl)
One of the finest pitchers in MLB history, Hubbell compiled a 253–154 record with a 2.98 ERA in 535 games over the course of his Hall of Fame career from 1928 to 1943. He was a nine-time All-Star, a two-time NL MVP, and a World Series champion in 1933. He tossed a no-hitter on May 8, 1929 and had 260 career complete games. In the 1934 All-Star Game, he struck out five future Hall of Famers — Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin — in succession. He was the first player in the National League to have his number retired.
SP: Earl Whitehill
From 1923 to 1939, Whitehill accumulated 218 wins over 17 solid seasons on the mound. He won more than 10 games for 13-consecutive seasons and won a season-best 22 in 1933 as a member of the Washington Senators. He finished ninth in the AL MVP voting that season and finished in the Top 10 in strikeouts in eight seasons.
SP: Felix Hernandez (King Felix)
A six-time American League All-Star and a Cy Young Award-winner (2010), “King” Felix Hernandez has put together a solid career since 2005. He has won at least 10 games in 10 seasons and notched a season-best 19 wins in 2009 with the Seattle Mariners.
RP: Ted Power
In 13 seasons at the major league level, Ted Power appeared in 564 games and tossed 1,160 innings pitched. He compiled 68 wins and finished with a 4.00 ERA. Power also made 85 starts over the course of his career, but mainly came out of the bullpen.
RP: Zach Duke
Duke pitched in parts of 15 seasons in the majors and was a National League All-Star in 2009. He appeared in 570 career games and made 169 starts.
RP: Ray King
King was a solid reliever over the course of his 10-year big league career. He posted a career 3.46 ERA in 593 career games pitched from 1999–2008. He made a career-best 86 appearances in 2004 with the St. Louis Cardinals and posted a 5–2 record with a 2.61 ERA
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Gentry will be remembered best for helping the New York Mets win their first-ever World Series Championship in 1969. He proved to be a solid contributor to the Miracle Mets, winning 13 games during the regular season and two more games in the playoffs. He won game three of the World Series after throwing 6.2 shutout innings against Jim Palmer and the Baltimore Orioles. Overall, he started 138 games over his career and finished with a 3.56 ERA.
In 1909, he hit .315 and finished fourth in the American League behind legendary players Ty Cobb (.377), Eddie Collins, (.346) and Napoleon Lajoie (.324). He accumulated 1,026 hits over the course of his nine-year career from 1907–1915.
Nicknamed “Big Game James”, Shields won 145 games over a 13-year major league career. He led the American League in games started three years straight (2013–15) and led the AL in completes games and shutouts in 2011.
In his first major league season, King posted an 11–4 record with a 3.51 ERA and three complete games over 138.1 innings pitched with the Detroit Tigers in 1986. A few years later, he went 12–4 with a 3.28 ERA in 25 games started with the Chicago White Sox in 1990. Overall, he made 113 starts over a seven year MLB career.