Baseball Players and Presidents

A federal holiday honoring George Washington began in 1879, when all government offices in the District of Columbia were closed on February 22, Washington's birth date. In 1971 the Uniform  Monday Holiday Act took effect, moving all federal holidays to designated Mondays. The holiday is now most commonly known as Presidents Day, but is still officially designated "Washington's Birthday." It is celebrated on the third Monday in February (odd, since that means it never falls on Washington's actual birthday), which is why I'm not at work today. To honor the highest office in our nation, I'm putting together a baseball team, made entirely of players who share their surname with a U.S. President.

There have been 38 different presidential surnames (plus a second Adams, Harrison, Roosevelt, Johnson, and Bush, and two separate stints by Grover Cleveland. Of those 38 names, 27 of them have also been held by at least one Major League Ballplayer. The eleven that have not: Polk, Fillmore, Arthur, McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft, Coolidge, Truman, Eisenhower, Reagan, and Obama. There have been 110 different Major League players by the last name of Johnson, including 11 who appeared in at least one All-Star Game.

Top ten ACTIVE presidential players (updated on 2/15/2016):

(Josh Johnson, Jack Wilson Adam Kennedy were the top three on this list when this post was first published in 2013, but none of them has appeared in an MLB game since that year)

1) Austin Jackson
2) C.J. Wilson
3) Kelly Johnson
4) Ian Kennedy
5) Edwin Jackson
6) Matt Harrison
7) Reed Johnson
8) Josh Harrison
9) Jim Johnson
10) Lew Ford

None of them make the team and only a couple of them merit honorable mention at this point.

Here are my choices to fill out the Presidential Team:

STARTING ROTATION:

1) WALTER JOHNSON (1907-1927) - The Big Train won two MVP Awards, holds the all-time record for shutouts, is among the top ten in wins, innings, strikeouts, WHIP, and ERA+, led the league in strikeouts a record twelve times and has a very strong case as the great pitcher of all time, by any name.

2) RANDY JOHNSON (1988-2009) - The Big Unit might have been the greatest left-handed pitcher in baseball history. He won five Cy Young Awards and finished 2nd three other times. He is 2nd in history in strikeouts and 1st in strikeouts per inning. He was a 10-time All-Star and a World Series MVP.

3) WHITEY FORD (1950-1967) - After a fantastic rookie season, Ford spent the next two years serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He returned to baseball in 1953 and pitched in ten of the next twelve World Series. He finished among the top ten in the A.L. ten times apiece in ERA+ and strikeouts.

4) BILLY PIERCE (1945-1964) - Almost as good as Ford, but far less famous because he spent most of his career with the White Sox, instead of pitching in the World Series year after year with the Yankees. Place in the top ten in the A.L. in ERA+ seven times and strikeouts nine times.

5) LARRY JACKSON (1955-1968) - An All-Star in four different seasons, Jackson had good control (top ten in BB rate eight times) and was a workhorse (top ten in complete games eight times). He pitched for the Cardinals during a relative down time and then for the Cubs and Phillies, never reaching the postseason.

Honorable Mention: Babe Adams, Bullet Joe Bush, Guy Bush, Mudcat Grant, Danny Jackson, Josh Johnson, Ken Johnson, Si Johnson, Syl Johnson (the Johnson family has one hell of a rotation), Brickyard Kennedy, Dummy Taylor (he was deaf-mute), Jack Taylor, Lefty Tyler, C.J. Wilson, Don Wilson, Earl Wilson

CLOSER:

MIKE JACKSON (1986-2004) - One WAR (Win Above Replacement) is a very solid season for a relief pitcher. Jackson had ten such seasons, only seven relief pitchers in history have had more than that (topped by Mariano Rivera, with 16). His 1998 season with the Indians was one of the best ever by a closer.

Honorable Mention: Mike Adams, Grant Jackson, Jim Johnson, Chuck Taylor, Brian Wilson

CATCHER:

GARY CARTER (1974-1992) - An eleven-time All-Star, Carter also finished in the top ten of the MVP vote four times. His 324 career home runs are tied for fifth most among catchers, he is among the top ten in most other major categories as well and was also a strong defensive player.

Honorable Mention: Frankie Hayes, Charles Johnson, Terry Kennedy

FIRST BASE:

BEN TAYLOR (1911-1929) - Taylor played in the Negro Leagues, compiling a .318 lifetime average according to the records at Baseball-Reference.com. Also said to have been a fine fielder, Bill James ranked him as the 3rd-best first baseman in Negro League history.

Honorable Mention: Ron Jackson, Cliff Johnson, Nick Johnson

SECOND BASE:

BILL MONROE (1896-1914) - One of the great African-American players from the turn of the century, Bill James put him 5th on his list of the greatest second basemen in Negro League history and Hall of Fame manager John McGraw is reported to have said of Monroe, "He was the greatest infielder I ever saw."

Honorable Mention: Frank Grant, Davey Johnson, Tony Taylor

THIRD BASE:

JUDY JOHNSON (1918-1936) - One of the first half-dozen Negro League Stars to be inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Johnson was a fine fielder and hit for a good average (though not much power). Bill James ranked him as the 2nd-greatest third baseman in Negro League history.

Honorable Mention: Bobby Adams, Howard Johnson, Jud Wilson

SHORTSTOP:

TRAVIS JACKSON (1922-1936) - Jackson spent his entire career with the New York Giants, playing very good defense and finishing in the top ten of the MVP vote four times. Jackson had great power for a shortstop in his days. At the time of his retirement, his 135 career home runs were a record for the position.

Honorable Mention: Donie Bush, Abe Harrison, Jack Wilson

LEFT FIELD:

SHOELESS JOE JACKSON (1908-1920) - Famously banned from baseball for taking money to lose the 1919 World Series, Jackson was an all-time great hitter. He finished among the league leaders in most categories most seasons. His lifetime batting average of .356 ranks 3rd all-time and his 170 OPS+ ranks 8th.

Honorable Mention: Joe Carter, Bo Jackson, Bob Johnson

CENTER FIELD:

HACK WILSON (1923-1934) - He didn't have a long career and never did much but hit, but in his prime, he sure did hit. From 1926 to 1930 his batting line was .331/.419/.612, an OPS+ of 160. In 1930 he set a National League record with 56 home runs and drove in 191 runs, a Major League record that stands to this day.

Honorable Mention: Austin Jackson, Lance Johnson, Willie Wilson

RIGHT FIELD:

REGGIE JACKSON (1967-1987) - Dubbed "Mr. October" after hitting three home runs in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, Jackson was a 14-time All-Star and the 1973 A.L. MVP. He led the league in home runs four times on his way to 563 career long balls (the sixth-highest total at the time of his retirement). He was such a great hitter that few people held it against him when he attempted to assassinate the Queen of England. ("I must kill... the Queen.")

Honorable Mention: Von Hayes, Trot Nixon, Claudell Washington

There you have it, baseball's presidential team!

Internet friend Christopher Kamka (Comcast SportsNet Chicago's stat coordinator) pointed out a few other players who might have been included. These are guys I came across in my research but ultimately decided against (a stickler for my surname rule): Grover Cleveland Alexander and Theodore Roosevelt Lilly are among the players clearly named after Presidents. Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish was clearly named after quite a few people; I'd like to see his name stitched onto a jersey. In a similar vein, Jackie Roosevelt Robinson and Oscar McKinley Charleston may both have been named after a President too (Charleston was born two weeks BEFORE McKinley was elected, so perhaps his mother was a big supporter). Those are two of the very best players in history, and along with Alexander, they could form the foundation of a rival team!

I'll leave you with a few leaderboards:

Most Hits			Most Home Runs			Most Stolen Bases
Rank	Player	H	Rank	Player	HR	Rank	Player	SB
1	Reggie Jackson	2584	1	Reggie Jackson	563	1	Willie Wilson	668
2	Willie Wilson	2207	2	Joe Carter	396	2	Otis Nixon	620
3	Joe Carter	2184	3	Gary Carter	324	3	Donie Bush	406
4	Gary Carter	2092	4	Bob Johnson	288	4	Lance Johnson	327
5	Bob Johnson	2051	5	Deron Johnson	245	4	Mookie Wilson	327
6	Tony Taylor	2007	6	Hack Wilson	244	6	Claudell Washington	312
7	Claudell Washington	1884	7	Howard Johnson	228	7	Von Hayes	253
8	Donie Bush	1804	8	Cliff Johnson	196	8	Tony Taylor	234
9	Joe Jackson	1772	9	Preston Wilson	189	9	Joe Carter	231
10	Travis Jackson	1768	10	Charles Johnson	167	9	Howard Johnson	231

Happy Presidents Day!