All-2000’s: Sagittarius
I must admit that the winter signs have always proved the most enigmatic to me in terms of Astrology Baseball. Sagittarius (encompassing parts of November and December) always seems to have a stable of superstars at their disposal, but except for one random year (2008), the Archers haven’t been especially relevant in the FABL standings. This year is no different, with the likes of Ronald Acuna Jr., Javier Baez, and Byron Buxton just not quite enough to stay competitive with Leo in the Fire Division. Here’s how their All-2000’s roster stacks up, looking at career stats of any player who has made the starting lineup in the last two decades.
The top All-2000’s Sagittarian is Craig Biggio, a second baseman by trade, but who actually started his career as a catcher, and also spent some time in the outfield. (Craig’s son Cavan, an Aries, follows in his father’s versatility footsteps, as he’s eligible for multiple positions for the Blue Jays.) Biggio the elder has two solid options behind him on the depth chart at the keystone: speedster Ray Durham and slugger Chase Utley. Jimmy Rollins, a longtime teammate of Utley’s on the Phillies, leads the way at shortstop. Rollins is second overall in infield fantasy points, but it’s former Mets captain David Wright who has the highest points-per-game average in the infield. Just behind him is Mo Vaughn, who scored fewer career fantasy points than Tino Martinez (in four fewer seasons), but was a more effective batter when on the field.
The numbers columns from left to right are: total career points, points-per-season, and points-per-game.
Directly behind Biggio in offensive points is Larry Walker, the top-scoring All-2000’s Canadian player, with about 6,000 more points than the still-active Joey Votto. Walker is one of only two members of the All-2000’s Sagittarius offense born outside the continental United States. The other is Puerto Rican backstop Ivan Rodriguez, who has the most fantasy points among All-2000’s catchers. The rest of the SAG outfield would be comprised of Reggie Sanders in the non-Walker corner and Vernon Wells in center, with Cliff Floyd on hand as another tough lefty slugger.
The dates columns from left to right are: first year in MLB, last year in MLB, and total years in MLB.
The top All-2000’s Sagittarius pitcher is also the top All-2000’s relief pitcher (and arguably the best closer of all time) Mariano Rivera. The Panamanian has a pretty incredible stable of ninth-inning arms behind him in the bullpen, with Joe Nathan, Jonathan Papelbon, and Robb Nen, each of whom have average more than 25 points-per-game in their careers. The Archers are actually still fairly deep at reliever, with current full- or part-time closers Ryan Pressly, Ian Kennedy (who’s listed as a starter in this depth chart), the Rogers twins (Taylor and Tyler), Kendall Graveman, Josh Staumont, and Adam Ottavino.
A player needs at 20% career appearances at a position for me to include it in the POS2 column.
Sagittarius has a very impressive number one starter in Mike Mussina, but the rest of their pitching staff is comprised more of workhorses than true staff aces (with the exception of the performances that earned “Big Game” James Shields his nickname). Chuck Finley, Kevin Appier, and John Burkett all played in the 80’s, the most of any group of top-ten pitchers except for Scorpio (4) and Aries (also 3). In addition to the above-mentioned Ian Kennedy, Ervin Santana is the only other active SAG pitcher, who is currently in the midst of a comeback with Kennedy’s former team, the Royals (also the former team of Appier and Shields). It’s sad to think how much higher Darryl Kile might have made it on this list, had he not tragically passed away at the age of 33.
Next time, we enter the final quarter of the zodiac wheel, kicking off our final three with the Taurus Bulls.