Faces of the Franchise

Every Monday on MLB.com, they do a fun little column with some sort of list including one player from every team.  Last week, they did the best names on each team.  This week, they've got the longest tenured player on each team who's only been a member of that organization.  Some of them are the franchise icons you'd expect.  Others were a bit of a surprise.

Anyway, that got me thinking about who would be considered the face of the franchise for all 30 clubs.  Some are really easy (Joey Votto, Yadi Molina, Clayton Kershaw), for some teams it was more difficult (MadBum or Buster?  Harper or Scherzer?).  But this is who I came up with...

Orioles: Manny Machado-For now, Machado's the guy in Baltimore.  That is until he's traded at the deadline or signs somewhere else in the offseason.  When that happens, it'll become Chris Davis.

Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia-Somebody had to take the reins when David Ortiz retired.  Why not the only other guy who was in Boston when they were still cursed?  Soon, Pedroia will be gone and Mookie Betts will inherit the crown.

Yankees: Aaron Judge-Out of all the Baby Bombers, Judge is by far the best known.  He's the one who took the baseball world by storm last season.  He's the one that has his own section of fans at Yankee Stadium and the one that has people showing up in judge's robes and white wigs.

Rays: Chris Archer-Evan Longoria held this title until he was traded to the Giants over the winter.  Which means the title has been passed to Chris Archer.

Blue Jays: Josh Donaldson-Same deal in Toronto as Tampa.  Jose Bautista is now playing third base in Atlanta.  Although, Donaldson was already starting to take over as the Blue Jays' biggest name/most important player last season.

White Sox: Jose Abreu-Chris Sale was the guy until he changed his Sox last year.  In the absence of an obvious replacement, I'm going with Abreu, who's probably the biggest name they've got on the South Side.

Indians: Francisco Lindor-We're living in an era of some pretty great shortstops.  And you'd be hard-pressed to find one better than Francisco Lindor.  He's the Indians' best player, and it's not really a coincidence that the Indians got good as soon as he entered his prime.

Tigers: Miguel Cabrera-He's been a Tiger for so long that most people forget Miggy won his only ring as a rookie with the Marlins in 2003.  But he's been in Detroit for more than a decade and will be wearing a Tigers hat on his plaque in Cooperstown.

Royals: Salvador Perez-There are only a handful of players left from their World Series team.  One of them is Sal Perez, who's arguably the most important player on the roster.  That's why he gets the nod over Alex Gordon.

Twins: Joe Mauer-One of the easier ones.  Mauer's from St. Paul, was drafted No. 1 overall by the Twins and has spent his entire career playing for his hometown team.  Kinda like Minnesota's version of Cal Ripken.

Astros: Jose Altuve-Plenty of options in Houston.  But I'm going with the guy who's been there the longest.  The guy who endured all of the losing, only to become the AL MVP and the heart and soul of a World Series winner.

Angels: Mike Trout-Duh.  He isn't just the Face of the Angels.  He's the Face of Baseball.

Athletics: Marcus Semien-By default he gets it because he's the only guy on the A's I could name at the top of my head who I know has been there for more than 20 minutes.

Mariners: Felix Hernandez-Believe it or not, King Felix made his debut as a 19-year-old in 2005.  His numbers have definitely slipped over the past few years, but he's still a franchise icon.  And there was that span when he was the only guy that made the Mariners worth watching.

Rangers: Adrian Beltre-Beltre doesn't get much fan fare, but he's a future Hall of Famer who's done most of his damage with Texas.  The Rangers have been his team for a while.

Braves: Freddie Freeman-Atlanta's on the verge of being really good, mainly due to all of their really talented young players.  But it's their veteran first baseman, Freddie Freeman, who has lasted from the last time they were good until now.

Marlins: J.T. Realmuto-Realmuto's the only guy left after their latest roster purge.  As a result, he gets the "Face of the Franchise" nod left vacant by Giancarlo Stanton.

Mets: Jacob de Grom-Sorry David Wright fans, this title goes to people who are actually capable of physically stepping on the field and playing in game (he does understand that he's allowed to retire, right?).  And, seeing as the Mets are all about starting pitching, the choices really came down to de Grom and Syndergaard.

Phillies: Rhys Hoskins-Yes, this is probably the most obscure name of the 30 on this list.  But that's what happens when you have as much roster turnover as the Phillies have had.  Jake Arietta and Carlos Santana are better players than Hoskins, but they haven't been in Philadelphia long enough.  None of them are Cole Hamels, though.

Nationals: Bryce Harper-Two reasons why I went with Harper over Scherzer.  1. Harper's been a National from Day 1, while Scherzer came over as a free agent.  2.  Harper's the one people either love or hate, which means he draws significantly more outside attention.

Cubs: Kris Bryant-Bryant is right up there in Mike Trout, Bryce Harper territory.  The best player on one of the best teams in the game.  And to be the Face of the Chicago Cubs is a pretty cool thing.  The general consensus is that Bryant is just that.

Reds: Joey Votto-It's become a running joke on MLB.com that the correct answer for anything involving the Reds is "Joey Votto."  That's certainly the case here.

Brewers: Ryan Braun-Braun's had a very interesting career.  He was the best player on the Brewers when they were really good about 10 years ago, then he had that steroid suspension and receded into the shadows for a few years, only to reemerge and get back near his previous levels.  And he's been a Brewer through it all.

Pirates: Starling Marte-Pittsburgh's still looking for that franchise player to replace Andrew McCutchen.  They have a lot invested in Starling Marte, including hope that it'll be him.  With Gerrit Cole in Houston, he really is the most logical candidate.

Cardinals: Yadier Molina-When they make a list of the greatest Cardinals of all-time, Yadi's name will be right up there with Musial, Gibson, Ozzie and Albert.  He's more than just the current face of the franchise.  He's a franchise icon.

Diamondbacks: Paul Goldschmidt-They've only been around for 20 years, so the sample size is somewhat small, but Goldschmidt might be the greatest position player in Diamondbacks history. 

Rockies: Nolan Arenado-Arenado and Charlie Blackmon haven't quite reached Walker and Helton status yet.  (In fact, I'm not even sure they're Tulo and CarGo.)  But they'll be in Colorado together for a while.  Arenado's my choice as Face of the Franchise, though, because he's been there longer and is the better player.

Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw-Another one that falls into the "Duh" category.  Kershaw and the Dodgers are so intertwined that you can't possibly picture him signing with another team when he becomes a free agent after the season.

Padres: Wil Myers-San Diego doesn't have a Tony Gwynn or a Trevor Hoffman or even an Adrian Gonzalez anymore.  Chase Headley's back, but he's not quite ready to reclaim his "face of the franchise" mantle.  I'm giving it to Wil Myers right now, but don't be surprised if Eric Hosmer claims it before long.

Giants: Madison Bumgarner-If you said that Buster Posey is the Face of the Giants and not Madison Bumgarner, you'd definitely have an argument.  MadBum's the straw that stirs the drink, though.  He's the ace.  He's the one who single-handedly won a World Series.  He's the one that the Giants are completely lost without.  He's my choice.