Patch's All-Time Tuscaloosa Baseball Team

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Opening Day for Major League Baseball is here, so to get you in the spirit, Tuscaloosa Patch set out to build an all-time team like you have never seen before.

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Now, before the debate begins — which is part of the fun of doing such a project — it's important I explain how we came to the names on this list. Apart from stats and accolades, each selection had to meet two main requirements to make the list:

1. The player had to have been born in or played some form of organized baseball in Tuscaloosa, Alabama prior to college and/or before their professional debut.
2. The player must have logged at least one appearance in some level of professional baseball — just being a standout college or high school player doesn't factor in to this list.

So, without further ado, let's get started with our Tuscaloosa All-Time Baseball First Team.

Catcher - Lee Evans

Lee Evans stats and facts

• High school/college: Tuscaloosa County High School.
• MLB Draft selection: Pittsburg Pirates, 4th round, 96th overall pick out of TCHS in 1996 Amateur Draft.
• Drafted ahead of: Tike Redman, Alex Sanchez, Brad Penny, Jeremy Giambi, Mark DeRosa, Josh Phelps, Roy Oswalt, Ted Lilly.
• Highest level played: AAA (four seasons)
• Patch baseball card factoid: In 10 seasons in the minors and more than 500 games behind the plate, Evans posted a career fielding percentage of .987.

First base - Andy Phillips

Andy Phillips stats and facts

• High school/college: Demopolis Academy/University of Alabama.
• MLB Draft selection: New York Yankees, 7th round, 231st pick
• Drafted ahead of: Mark Ellis, Marlon Byrd, Prentice Redman, Albert Pujols, Jake Peavy, Brandon Medders, Adam LaRoche
• Highest level played: MLB (five seasons).
• Patch baseball card factoid: He is one of only seven New York Yankees to hit a home run in his first at-bat with the team and the 21st player in MLB history to accomplish the feat.
• Phillips told the Hartford Courant after that big moment: "Obviously, it was a great thrill personally for me. I just wish it came in a game we were tied or put us ahead, or got us closer to where we had a chance to win the game."

Second base — Matt Downs

Matt Downs fast facts

• High school/college: Bibb County High School, Shelton State Community College and the University of Alabama.
• MLB Draft selection: San Francisco Giants - 36th round, 1,076th pick in 2003 MLB Draft.
• Drafted ahead of: Clay Jones, J.D. Martinez and Kyle Gibson.
• Highest level played: MLB (five seasons).
• Patch baseball card factoid: Downs' best statistical season came in 2011 with the Houston Astros when he hit .276 in 106 games, with 10 home runs.
• After getting the call-up to the big leagues, Downs told the Tuscaloosa News in 2009: “I called my parents, my fiance and family and friends to let them know,” Downs said. “After that I went for a walk through the streets of Fresno just to clam down. The hardest part was trying to get some sleep. I didn’t get any and just laid in the bed all night long staring up at the ceiling.”

Shortstop - Tim Anderson

Tim Anderson fast facts

• High school/college: Hillcrest High School/East Central Community College.
• MLB Draft selection: Chicago White Sox — 1st round, 17th pick in 2013.
• Drafted ahead of: Tyler O'Neill, Cody Bellinger, Daniel Wright, Chad Green, Mike Yastrzemski, Luke Voit and Cavan Biggio.
• Highest level played: MLB (still active, Chicago White Sox).
• Patch baseball card factoid: Anderson was selected to his first MLB All-Star Game in 2021 and would finish the stellar season with a .309 average at the plate.
• Anderson told MLB.com during an interview in May 2021: "I want to be here until I’m done. I definitely think about that a lot. I feel like I’m at a point now where I kind of outplayed the last deal, and that’s OK. You won’t hear me complain. ... I know the ultimate goal here. My loyalty lies (in Chicago), and I feel like they are loyal to me as well. But at the end of the day, I understand the business.”

Third base — Butch Hobson

Butch Hobson fast facts

• High school/college: Bessemer High School, University of Alabama.
• MLB Draft selection: Boston Red Sox — 8th round, 185th selection in 1973 MLB Draft.
• Drafted ahead of: Bob Stanley, Jack Clark.
• Highest level played: MLB (eight seasons).
• Patch baseball card factoid: After retiring in 1982, Hobson would go on to become a successful minor league manager and would even serve as manager of the Boston Red Sox from 1992-1994.
• Hobson told reporters in 1977: "I had hoped to be drafted by a major league team when I got out of high school but I never was ... So I signed a grant-in-aid to play football at Alabama. At that time football was more important to me anyhow. But I've been lucky the way things turned out. If I was drafted out of high school I might not have been as ready to play in the majors now and I don't know if I would have gotten married and settled down like I am."

Right field — Ike Boone

Ike Boone fast facts

• High school/college: University of Alabama.
• Highest level played: MLB (eight seasons).
• Patch baseball card factoid: A native of Samantha, Boone's brother Dan also made it to the big leagues as a pitcher. The two brothers were featured on the 1929 roster of the San Francisco Missions in the Pacific Coast League. During that season, Ike smashed a league-record 55 home runs, while Dan hit 46 — the most for a pair of brothers playing on the same team in organized professional baseball.
• New York sportswriter Thomas Holmes said of him: "Ike Boone is Ike Boone, a distinctive individual. Personally, I have never seen anybody or anything on the ballfield remotely resembling him."

Center field — Tike Redman

Tike Redman fast facts

• High school/college: Tuscaloosa Academy.
• MLB Draft selection: Pittsburg Pirates — 5th round, 126th selection in 1996 MLB Draft.
• Drafted ahead of: Alex Sanchez, Brad Penny, Jeremy Giambi, Mark DeRosa, Josh Phelps, Roy Oswalt and Ted Lilly.
• Highest level played: MLB (six seasons)
• Patch baseball card factoid: The older brother of fellow big leaguer and TA standout Prentice Redman, Tike played in 432 total MLB games and posted a career batting average of .281.
• Redman told the Tuscaloosa News in 2004: "As soon as I got to spring training, people like [outfielder] Dave Clark told me to keep doing what I was doing, but there was no time to fool around. I knew this is it or I might not be here."

Left field — George Foster

George Foster fast facts

• High school/college: Leuzinger High School (California), El Camino College
• MLB Draft selection: San Francisco Giants — 3rd round, 55th pick in 1968 MLB Draft
• Highest level played: MLB (18 seasons)
• Patch baseball card factoid: Born in Tuscaloosa and raised in California, Foster is one only 27 players to hit more than 50 home runs in a season, accomplishing the feat during the 1977 season when he led the league with 52 homers and 149 RBIs. For his hitting prowess, he was named the 1977 National League MVP.

Designated Hitter — Doug Duke

Doug Duke fast facts

• High school/college: Central High School, University of Alabama.
• MLB Draft selection: Montreal Expos — 7th round, 174th pick in 1986 June Amateur Draft.
• Highest level played: AAA
• Patch baseball card factoid: After ending his professional career, Duke earned his medical degree at the Kansas City University College of Medicine and Biosciences. He is currently a practicing surgeon and wound care specialist in Dothan.

Starting pitcher — Frank Lary

Frank Lary fast facts

• High school/college: Tuscaloosa County High School, University of Alabama.
• Highest level played: MLB (12 seasons).
• Patch baseball card factoid: The winningest pitcher of all-time against the New York Yankees, Lary surrendered four home runs to Roger Maris during the 1961 season as the Yankee slugger would eventually break the single-season mark held by Babe Ruth.
• Legendary Yankees manager Casey Stengel said of Lary, "who did he ever beat but us?," in response to a reporter asking him why he hadn't named Lary the starter for the 1961 MLB All-Star Game.

Tuscaloosa All-Time Team — Honorable Mention

Pitcher — Bennie Daniels

Bennie Daniels fast facts

• High school/college: Compton High School (California), Compton College.
• Major League debut: Sept. 12, 1957 for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Brooklyn Dodgers
• Highest level played: MLB (nine seasons)
• Patch baseball card factoid: Born in Tuscaloosa before his family moved to California, Daniels started on the mound for the Pirates in the last game ever played at Ebbets Field in 1957.
• An account of his time in the minors appeared in the California Eagle in 1957, with the reporter noting: "He is an extremely fine hitter, and frequently bats in sixth, but it is his pitching which is the rage of the league and causing baseball fans to flock to the Stars game to watch the 6-2 190 pounder's whose curves, fast ball and slides are devastating."

Pitcher — David Robertson

David Robertson fast facts

• High school/college: Central High School/Paul W. Bryant, University of Alabama.
• MLB Draft selection: New York Yankees — 17th round, 524th overall pick in 2006 June Amateur Draft.
• Highest level played: MLB (Still active, Chicago Cubs)
• Patch baseball card factoid: In 2020, Robertson qualified to become a member of the USA baseball team, which went on to win a silver medal at the Summer Olympics after coming up short in the gold medal game to to Japan.
• Rays manager Kevin Cash said of Robertson in 2021: “When he's healthy, he's shown and proven that he's been just a very, very good reliever in whatever role. Whether it's closing, whether it's setup, just coming in to get a guy out and go back out, he'll do everything.”

Pitcher - Lee Rogers

Lee Rogers fast facts

• High school/college: Holt High School, University of Alabama.
• MLB Debut: April 27, 1938 for the Boston Red Sox against the Washington Senators.
• Highest level played: MLB (one season).
• Patch baseball card factoid: A teammate of future Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx, Rogers pitching 51.1 innings in the big leagues in 1938, finishing with a career ERA of 6.14.
• A story in the Dothan Eagle in in 1935 said: "The former Tide slabster has a record to his credit. During his season in the Southern Association he never hit a batter or had a wild throw charged against him. A record for anybody, especially a southpaw."

Catcher — Brett Booth

Brett Booth fast facts

• High school/college: Tuscaloosa County High School, University of Alabama.
• MLB Draft selection: Houston Astros — 34th round, 1,007th pick of the 2013 June Amateur Draft.
• Highest level played: AA
• Patch baseball card factoid: Booth said his favorite memory from his time in the minor leagues was the season he was the "personal catcher" for left-handed knuckleball pitcher Blain Sims. He also provided officially-licensed MLB photos showing the special mitt he used behind the plate to wrangle in the complicated pitch.

Outfield — Jimmy Hurst

Jimmy Hurst fast facts

• High school/college: Central High School.
• MLB Draft selection: Chicago White Sox — 12th round, 321st pick of 1990 MLB Draft.
• Drafted ahead of: Andy Pettitte, Jason Varitek, Jorge Posada, Mark Sweeney.
• Highest level played: MLB (13 games).
• Patch baseball card factoid: Hurst's only career home run at the major league level came during his time with the Detroit Tigers on Sept. 27, 1997. The homer came off of the Yankees' star pitcher David Wells in the bottom of the seventh at Tiger Stadium.

OF/Pitcher — Del Howell

Del Howell fast facts

• High school/college: American Christian Academy, University of Alabama
• MLB Draft selection: Milwaukee Brewers — 15th round, 466th overall pick in 2009 Amateur Draft.
• Highest level played: Single-A
• Patch baseball card factoid: After pitching in 51 career minor league games, Howell ended his playing career and returned to Tuscaloosa to become the head baseball coach at American Christian Academy — his alma mater.

Outfield — Jimmy McMath

Jimmy McMath fast facts

• High school/college: Druid High School
• MLB Draft selection: Chicago Cubs — 2nd round, 22nd overall pick in 1967 MLB Draft.
• Drafted ahead of: Vida Blue, Don Baylor, Steve Yeager, Davey Lopes, Dusty Baker, Chris Chambliss.
• Highest level played: MLB (one season)
• Patch baseball card factoid: McMath appeared in just six career games for the Cubs during the 1968 season, recording only two hits — both singles off of the Phillies' Jerry Johnson and Ron Taylor of the New York Mets.

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