Introduction

Ever since the American League became a Major League in 1901, it has always competed with the National League for players, fans, and money. Since 1903, the two leagues have annually squared off in the World Series to determine which was superior. Many all-time great players have shone in the World Series, passing on their legend to this day. But what would happen if all the all-time greats of each league could be assembled onto two teams, an American League team and a National League team, and they played in an all-time World Series? With this idea in mind, I have assembled two all-time teams, which will face each other in a seven game series: 

American League 

Yogi Berra (C, 1946-1965) 

Ivan Rodriguez (C, 1991-2011) 

Lou Gehrig (1B, 1923-1939) 

Jimmie Foxx (1B, 1925-1945) 

Nap Lajoie (2B, 1896-1916) 

Eddie Collins (2B, 1906-1930) 

George Brett (3B, 1973-1993) 

Lou Boudreau (SS, 1938-1952) 

Cal Ripken Jr. (SS/3B, 1981-2001) 

Ty Cobb (OF, 1905-1928) 

Tris Speaker (OF, 1907-1928) 

Babe Ruth (OF/LHP, 1914-1935) 

Ted Williams (OF, 1939-1960) 

Mickey Mantle (OF, 1951-1968) 

Mike Trout (OF, 2011-present) 

Rube Waddell (LHP, 1897-1910) 

Ed Walsh (RHP, 1904-1917) 

Walter Johnson (RHP, 1907-1927) 

Lefty Grove (LHP, 1925-1941) 

Bob Feller (RHP, 1936-1956) 

Satchel Paige (RHP, 1948-1965) 

Nolan Ryan (RHP, 1966-1993) 

Pedro Martinez (RHP, 1992-2009) 

Mariano Rivera (RHP, 1995-2013) 

Justin Verlander (RHP, 2005-present) 

Shohei Ohtani (RHP/DH, 2018-present) 

National League 

Gabby Hartnett (C, 1922-1941) 

Johnny Bench (C, 1967-1983) 

Stan Musial (1B/OF, 1941-1963) 

Albert Pujols (1B, 2001-2022) 

Rogers Hornsby (2B, 1915-1937) 

Joe Morgan (2B, 1963-1984) 

Mike Schmidt (3B, 1972-1989) 

Chipper Jones (3B, 1993-2012) 

Honus Wagner (SS/Util, 1897-1917) 

Arky Vaughan (SS, 1932-1948) 

Mel Ott (OF, 1926-1947) 

Willie Mays (OF, 1951-1973) 

Hank Aaron (OF, 1954-1976) 

Roberto Clemente (OF, 1955-1972) 

Tim Raines (OF, 1979-2002) 

Christy Mathewson (RHP, 1900-1916) 

Three Finger Brown (RHP, 1903-1916) 

Grover Cleveland Alexander (RHP, 1911-1930) 

Carl Hubbell (LHP, 1928-1943) 

Tom Seaver (RHP, 1967-1986) 

Greg Maddux (RHP, 1986-2008) 

John Smoltz (RHP, 1988-2009) 

Randy Johnson (LHP, 1988-2009) 

Max Scherzer (RHP, 2008-present) 

Clayton Kershaw (LHP, 2008-present) 

Jacob deGrom (RHP, 2014-present) 

These rosters were designed not only with the best players in mind, but also in line with each team's strategy. Thus, the American League opted to draft Mariano Rivera, a short reliever, as their closer, while the National League chose John Smoltz, who was a starter for much of his career but saved 154 games mid-career. Likewise, the National League drafted Tim Raines almost exclusively for pinch running duties. 

Obviously there were a lot of tough calls here, as I had to pass over many elite Hall of Famers. Overall, since this is a short, winner take all series, I focused more on players with high peak value instead of compilers who had higher career value. The honorable mentions on the American League side were Sam Crawford, Harry Heilmann, Hank Greenberg, Brooks Robinson, Al Kaline, and Rickey Henderson, while the Senior Circuit's closest cuts were Ralph Kiner, Jackie Robinson, Frank Robinson (no relation), Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, and Steve Carlton. 

I chose to include Pedro Martinez on the American League team and Randy Johnson on the National League team. While each pitcher made more starts in the opposite league, they both reached the height of their success with the league they are representing in the game. 

The two teams will compete head to head in a seven game series using the baseball board game What About Baseball, a fun game that produces alarmingly realistic statistics. I, having no rooting interest but a keen attraction to strategy and statistics, will manage both teams and keep track of the stats. Each new post will recount a game, hopefully with a box score at the end. After the series, I will crown a champion and release the statistics. Let's close this post with the Game 1 probable starters: 

American League: Walter Johnson 

National League: Christy Mathewson 

A fitting duel of righthanded aces to kick off the series. Walter Johnson, the winner of 417 regular season games, pitched in two World Series, going 3-3 with a 2.52 ERA, while Matty, who won 373 games, went 5-5 with an 0.97 (!) ERA in four World Series. In their only pitching matchup, an exhibition game in Oklahoma on October 28, 1913, Johnson beat Mathewson 6-0, striking out eight in a complete game shutout. Will Mathewson even the score?