With a Team of Reserves Likely For Each Club, Here Is a Literal Baseball Taxi Squad
Hack Wilson's Career Drove Him All The Way To Cooperstown
When the baseball season finally begins, each roster will be larger than any in the past. Instead of having 24 or 25 players active for games, that number will jump to thirty.
Clubs will most certainly have limited off days, as well as weekly doubleheaders, in order to play as many games as possible. That quick pace warrants the need for teams to have more players available, so the extra roster spots will likely be filled by pitchers.
No longer will clubs who suffer injuries have the option of calling up players from the Minors, since all of those farm teams have been cancelled below the AAA level. Instead, the clubs will have to turn to a group of reserves, comprising guys who are close but not quite ready to become regulars in the Big League.
Most baseball pundits are referring to the reserves as a taxi squad, a seemingly fitting metaphor for the players who can be called at any time to fill a club's immediate need. What would be an even better "taxi" squad is a literal one made up of players whose names are associated with cabs.
Here is how a literal taxi squad might look like.
First Base, Chip Hale
Now the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Hale spent seven years in the Minnesota infield before playing out his last year as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Second Base, Josh Vanmeter
Last year the Cincinnati rookie played all over the place, but he most often found himself at second.
Shortstop, Asdrubel Cabrera
His nickname is Cabbie which, after having helped deliver his Washington Nationals to the World Series Championship last year, seems an appropriate moniker.
Third Base, Ryder Jones
He spent 2018 at the hot corner for the San Francisco Giants, and most scouts agree that he will return to the highest level at some point if there is indeed any baseball played in 2020.
Catcher, Joe Tipton
He probably had to tip a ton of cabbies in a seven year Major League career, the first of which he helped the Cleveland Indians to the 1948 World Series championship.
Left Field, Edd Roush
Cincinnati's most feared slugger was always quick to point out that his Reds of 1919 still would have beaten the White Sox, even if eight of Chicago's men had not agreed to throw the Series.
Center Field, Hack Wilson
The only Hall of Famer on this roster, the star of the Chicago Cubs won the Most Valuable Player award in 1927.
Right Fielder, Dave Parker
Two Most Valuable Player awards are just a glimpse of how great the Pittsburgh star was in the back half the Seventies and throughout the Eighties, when he also excelled with the Reds, the Athletics, and several other clubs.
Designated Hitter, Sam Horn
His eight year career saw the left handed slugger serve mainly as a platoon player, but he still flexed enough power to average 26 home runs a year for the Orioles and Red Sox.
Starting Pitcher, Chan Ho Park
More than half of his 17 seasons were spent with the Dodgers, including a 2001 All-Star appearance after having won 18 games the previous year.
