Daniel Corrigan | May 16th, 2020
Baseball has not been in the Olympics since the 2008 games in Bejing but will be returning to the Olympic Games in Tokyo (which has been postponed due to the Coronavirus.)
Bryce Harper was recently on the Starting 9 podcast and talked about the possibility of bringing back Major League players for the Olympics. So that begs the question, who would be on a Team USA Dream Team?
With this article, I will look at who will be manning the Infield. My roster will include a combination of talent and personality.
Catchers (2): J.T. Realmuto, Adley Rutschman
Realmuto is the slam-dunk choice to be the team’s primary catcher. Rutschman will be the only non-MLB player on this list. While Mitch Garver and Buster Posey are the better players at this time, Rutschman is the best catching prospect in the game and the Olympics would be the perfect time to bring more hype to his much-awaited debut into Major League Baseball.
First Base (1): Pete Alonso
Alonso hit 53 home runs his rookie season, breaking Aaron Judge‘s rookie record. Alonso is young, he is fun, he is full of personality, and he has an awesome nickname, the Polarbear. While one first-basemen is not enough for the roster, my second-basemen will cover that.
Second Base (2): Max Muncy, DJ LeMahieu
The best part of both of these players is they can pretty much play anywhere, especially LeMahieu. If for whatever reason Alonso needs a day off or a defensive substation, insert one of Muncy or LeMahieu. Also, these are the two best American second-basemen, so, win-win.
Shortstop (2): Trevor Story, Tim Anderson
This was the hardest position to come up with. The best shortstops in the game are not Americans, except for Story. You are talking about a guy who is young, hits for power, and has a decent glove. With Anderson, you get the batting champion who is probably THE most fun player in the league. Can you just imagine Anderson hitting an absolute rocket off the best in the World and flipping the bat all the way back to America?
Third Base (2): Nolan Arenado, Alex Bregman
Arenado is a clear choice here. He is without a doubt, the best third-basemen in the game. Hits for average, power, and is a gold glover, I mean what else could you ask for? On the other hand, Bregman had his coming out party last season. If Mike Trout did not exist, he would be a World Series Champion (I know, I know) he would also be an MVP. Also, Bregman brings more of a personality to the team than Arenado.
In the next installment, I will be looking at the outfield spots. There is so much talent in baseball at these positions, that there will be some obvious snubs on my team, but making cuts is the hardest part of the job.
Questions and comments?
thescorecrowsports@gmail.com
Hit us up on the Socials:
Twitter@thescorecrow
Reddit at u/TheScorecrow
Facebook at The Scorecrow
Instagram at The Scorecrow
Check out our Facebook Group where you can read and post articles at The Scorecrow
Reddit Group where everyone can post without fear of being banned at The Scorecrow
Follow Daniel Corrigan on Twitter @Corrigan_Tweets
Main Image Credit: [getty src=”652626112″ width=”594″ height=”357″ tld=”com”]