Who's the face of the team - American League Central

Only two divisions left! 

Between Spring Break and coaching baseball, life has been a little busy. It's taken me longer to get this post written than I had hoped. It was difficult to  find the time to just sit and write.  With that said, I'm just going to jump in and give you my picks for the face of the team - American League Central.

Just for a quick reminder, my definition of the face of the team revolves around who is the one player that first comes to mind when a team is mentioned. I decided that I'd do my all-time faces of the teams, as well as the current face of the team.

Chicago White Sox

Larry Doby, Carlton Fisk, Luke Appling and Joe Jackson are just a few of the great players who have played for the White Sox. I've always loved reading about and learning about the those guys from early years of baseball like Doby, Appling and Joe Jackson. Despite my love for the history of the game, I feel as if my choice had to be someone more recent and that is Frank Thomas. When I think of the White Sox, I think of Big Frank Thomas. That is one huge man. I remember watching games when he came to bat and thinking he looks like he's swinging a toothpick because he was so big. 

The current face of the team is Luis Robert Jr. I was trying to decide between Robert Jr and Dylan Cease and then Cease was traded so it made it easy.

     

I chose the 2004 Topps of Thomas because I always seem to remember him with that picture of the follow through of his swing and leaving the box. 

I went Luis Robert Jr's rookie card because I like the design and colors of the card. It's a clean looking card.

Cleveland Guardians

Picking the all-time face of the team for Cleveland was extremely difficult. Not because I didn't know who it could be, but because there were so many choices. Player-manager Nap Lajoie, such a major influence on the team they were actually called the Naps; Larry Doby, who broke the color barrier for the American League and Hall of Famer Tris Speaker roaming centerfield. Cleveland was also the stomping ground for a number of great players like Shoeless Joe, Gaylord Perry, Satchel Paige and the more recent Hall inductee Jim Thome. My choice for the all-time face of the team is Bob Feller. I struggled choosing between Thome and Bob Feller. I went with Bob Feller he always seems to come to mind first when I think of the history of Cleveland and I always seem to remember Thome with other teams like the Phillies and White Sox. 

Jose Ramirez has played his 11 year career with Cleveland and has become the current face of the team.

     

 I am a big fan of the 1953 Topps set. I don't have many and doubt that it is something I will ever collect, but I really like the cards. The Bob Feller is one of my favorites. 

I have to be honest, I don't know that much about Jose Ramirez. I just know he is a 5 time All-Star and 4 time Silver Slugger winner. I need to pay a little more attention to Ramirez and the Guardians for that matter.

Detroit Tigers

When I think of the Tigers, two players quickly come to mind. Denny McLain and his 31 game win season and Al Kaline. 18 time All-Star and 10 time Gold Glove winner, Easy choice. I also remember players like Mickey Lolich and Norm Cash and Miguel Cabrera, but they aren't as memorable to me as Mr, Tiger, Al Kaline. 

I got the current face of the team down to two players; Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene. I'm going with Spencer Torkelson because I think he has a higher upside. I know it wouldn't take too much to get me to switch to Greene though.

     

I've always liked the '56 Topps cards, but over the years they've lost a lot of their luster for me. I used to think if I ever were to collect a vintage set it would be '56 Topps, but now I'm pretty sure I'd choose something else. All that to say, I do really like this Al Kaline card. I wouldn't mind having this one in my collection.

Spencer Torkelson doesn't have a lot of choices seeing how his rookie card was 2022. The thing is, I like the '22 set so it was easy to pick this card.

Kansas City Royals

Out of all of the teams in the American League Central, this one is the absolute easiest one to do. George Brett is the all-time face of the Kansas City Royals. No discussion needed. 

The current face of the team is just as easy. Bobby Witt Jr. Next. 

     

The 1980 set has always been one of my favorites. Probably because that was the year that I first got into collecting. To be honest, There aren't a lot of George Brett cards that I really like the design and the picture on the card. I started to go with the '75 Topps card, but that one always gets used, so I went with what I think is the second best.

This is my favorite Bobby Witt Jr. card to date. The action shot of him diving to a base is greatness. 

Minnesota Twins

This one is a little more difficult than the other teams of the AL Central except Cleveland. Bert Blyleven, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Joe Mauer, Torii Hunter and Justin Morneau always come to mind when I think of the Twins, but the number one player for me is always Kirby Puckett. Kirby played his whole career with Minnesota and was a 10 time All-Star, 6 time Gold Glove winner, 6 time Silver Slugger and a career .318 hitter. I could have easily picked any of those other players and would have been able to defend my choice pretty easily, but when I sat down to write this, it was always Kirby.

I have to admit that I don't know much about the Twins. They faded into the background for me after the Joe Mauer-Justin Morneau era. The current Twins have a pretty young roster and there are several options for current face of the team. I went with Royce Lewis. I could have gone with Carlos Correa, but I think Lewis is the one fans would rather see. 

     

I love this 1991 Topps Kirby Puckett. I remember him as always smiling. He seemed to really love playing the game. He was fun to watch and boy, could he hit.

Royce Lewis is a player that I'm going to keep my eye on. I chose the '23 Topps card because I like seeing that Future Stars on the card to remind me to keep watching for him.

Well, that's it for the American League Central! Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Up next, the American League West. Home of the World Series Champion Texas Rangers!

Peace,

Michael

Isaiah 40:31