All-2000’s: Capricorn

My personal favorite Capricorn player happens to be the top-scoring All-2000’s Capricorn player: Hall of Fame outfielder Rickey Henderson. It’s not just because the career leader in runs scored and stolen bases (and times caught stealing) played the majority of his career for my favorite team – the Oakland Athletics – but because one of my earliest baseball video game memories involves his digital avatar in Triple Play ’96 for the Sega Genesis. Whenever I would play the game with my biggest baseball fan friend at the time (who is also a Cancer, since we share a birthday) we would have Rickey drop down a drag bunt, and then erupt in wild hoots of mock indignation whenever the umpire had the audacity to call him out at first base.

But enough with childish anecdotes; let’s move on to the best Capricorn players to have made their sign’s starting roster at any point in the last two decades.

The numbers columns from left to right are: total career points, points-per-season, and points-per-game.

The top-scoring Capricorn infielder is Albert Pujols, who is also the second-highest-scoring All-2010’s player overall (behind Leo A-Rod). While The Machine is having a resurgent 2021 season with the Dodgers, it’s unlikely that he’s got enough left in the tank to catch Rickey (they’re separated by almost 4,000 points). However Pujols can widen the gap between him and the number two option on the first base depth chart, Jason Giambi, who, like Rickey, went from the A’s to the Yankees as the first team change of his career.

It’s too bad that these two occupy the 1B/DH slots, since the next two Capricorn hitters are accomplished primary designated hitters: Edgar Martinez and Edwin Encarnacion. However, both of these sluggers also qualify at third base as a secondary position, which is why I’ve bucked the historical-accuracy-over-roster-building trend and listed them both at the hot corner. Meanwhile, shortstop Hanley Ramirez is another generational talent from the Dominican Republic, along with Pujols and Encarnacion.

The dates columns from left to right are: first year in MLB, last year in MLB, and total years in MLB.

I didn’t list a second baseman in the infield section, because Alfonso Soriano had a much more impressive career than Delino DeShields, and he played almost 40% of his career games at second with the Yankees and Rangers, before moving to left in 2006 with the Nationals. When Matt Holliday was on the Cardinals, I’ll venture to bet that there was not a better Capricorn 1-2 punch better than him and Pujols in all the Majors. Mike Cameron would provide tremendous defense in center field between Henderson and Holliday. And rounding things out, Victor Martinez is the third-highest-scoring All-2000’s catcher, behind Ivan Rodriguez and Mike Piazza.

A player needs at 20% career appearances at a position for me to include it in the POS2 column.

The top two All-2000’s Capricorn pitchers are both left-handed starters, and there’s a chance that we could see a changing of the guard at the top of the leaderboard in the next couple of years. Cole “Hollywood” Hamels hasn’t signed with a team for 2021, as he’s still working his way back from an injury, while Jon “Tacoma” Lester is currently pitching out of the Nationals rotation. He joins another lefty, Dallas Keuchel of the White Sox, as the only other active starter in the top 11 point-scorers (although I guess you can’t rule out a return from Rick Porcello sometime down the line). Yet another southpaw, reliever Zack Britton, is the only active Capricorn bullpen arm in their top six point scorers.

The rest of the Sea-Goats rotation is nothing to write home about: outside of the three lefties I mentioned above, no starter has averaged more than 50 points per game in their careers. A.J. Burnett comes the closest (with 48 exactly) and Kevin Millwood has had a couple of big years, but in general this sign is more known for workhorses than true aces. That is not the case in the bullpen, however, with single season saves leader Francisco Rodriguez backed up by Cy Young Award winning Eric Gagne, and Brad “Lights Out” Lidge, not to mention 80’s and 90’s stopper Rick Aguilera.

Next time, we will finally draw the All-2000’s project to a close, with the lowliest of Fantasy Astrology Baseball League teams: the Aquarius Water Bearers.