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Constructing a team of players who have been both Padres and Twins

Dilip Vishwanat

Yeah, we're comin' back in with another bombtrack... Okay, maybe this is no "Know Your Enemy", but it is the latest installation of my ongoing series of combined teams, which at this pace should wrap up at some point in 2017 or upon my death, whichever happens first. As always, I started out by using Baseball Reference's multi-team tool to pull up all of the players who suited up for both teams, and then cobbled together a 25-man roster. I based my choices on each player's peak or whole career, not necessarily how well he did with either team. That rule of thumb came in handy for this edition since so few of the 56 players I had to choose from were very good with either team, let alone both. Also, sometimes I'll let my personal preferences bleed into it, which is why Orlando Hudson and Mike Pagliarulo were not even considered for inclusion on this team. Those two are known enemies, much like compromise, conformity, and the teachers who taught me to fight me.

Starting Lineup:

C- Randy Hundley
1B- Phil Nevin
2B- Bret Boone
SS- Jason Bartlett
3B- Graig Nettles
LF- Rondell White
CF- Shane Mack
RF- Dave Winfield

Jason Bartlett makes the team by virtue of two good seasons, neither of which occurred in San Diego. His second season with the Padres was particularly horrendous but unlike his double play partner he was fairly pleasant about it, so he's still alive to me. Even if Shane Mack weren't deserving of his spot in center due to his numbers, which are sneaky-good, I probably would have given him the nod just to put his magnificent, Steve Harvey-like mustache in the lineup.

Bench:

C- Rene Rivera
IF- Chris Gomez
3B/1B/2B- Jeff Cirillo
OF/1B- Jerald Clark
OF- Darrin Jackson

Henry Blanco has been around much longer and his offensive numbers are slightly less atrocious than Rivera's, but I'm going to treat this like a dice game and ride the hot hand. That and the whole pitch-framing business, plus the fact that he seems likeable and has the underdog thing going for him. Gomez and Cirillo provide versatility, and either of them or Clark can fill in at first when Nevin has the day off or shifts over to one of the many other positions he played at some point.

Starting Rotation:

Joe Niekro
Greg Harris
Bob Tewksbury
Jason Marquis
Kevin Correia

This is what brings an otherwise great team back down to earth. The lesser-known Niekro had a solid peak of 12 years with an ERA of less than 4, with six of those years being 3.07 or below. Unfortunately this Greg Harris isn't the ambidextrous one, but he was better than I remember him being- at least until he left San Diego. He went 41-39 with a 2.95 ERA in 5+ years with the Padres, and then 4-25 with a 6.90 in less than three years in Colorado and Minnesota. After Tewksbury and his legendary control, the final two slots were basically a toss-up. I gave Kevin Correia the spot over Jim Deshaies because he's a guy I always root for, and I find Deshaies a bit annoying in his current job as a Cubs broadcaster.

Bullpen:

Craig Breslow
Pat Neshek
Jesse Orosco
Bob Miller
Roy Lee Jackson
Dennys Reyes
Greg Booker

There's not much star power in the bullpen, but everyone there had a strong peak. Breslow and Neshek are both very deserving, but would have made the cut either way due to my fandom. Breslow is one of the smartest guys in the world, and Neshek is a baseball card collector, and that's good enough for me. Orosco appeared in more major league games than anyone else, and the other three just showed up and produced a few good seasons.

Organizational Depth:

C- Rob Bowen, Henry Blanco, Greg Myers
1B- Randy Bass, Justin Huber, Todd Sears
IF- Orlando Hudson, Sean Burroughs, Chuck Baker, Mike Pagliarulo, Sam Perlozzo, Luis Rodriguez, Tim Teufel, Todd Walker
OF- Jarvis Brown, Brian Buchanan, Dave Edwards,
P- Sean Bergman, Keith Comstock, Sam Deduno, Jim Deshaies, Sean Henn, Kevin Jarvis, Bill Krueger, Luis Perdomo, Joe Roa, Dan Serafini, Freddie Toliver, Mark Wiley

What would your team look like? Have at it in the comments.