Spring training has started and the games don't mean anything, so let's have some fun with baseball history. Let's say you were to make up two All-Star teams of 10 players each, eight position players and two pitchers. Then add a closer. Do this for all 30 teams. Detroit's two All-Star teams, for example, might look like this:

CA Lance Parrish (Bill Freehan)
1B Hank Greenberg (Norm Cash)
2B Charlie Gehringer (Lou Whitaker)
3B George Kell (Billy Rogell)
SS Alan Trammell (Dick Bartell)
LF Harry Heilmann (Bobby Veach)
CF Ty Cobb (Chet Lemon)
RF Al Kaline (Sam Crawford)
RHP Tommy Bridges (Jack Morris)
LHP Hal Newhouser (Mickey Lolich)
RP John Hiller

I cheated by putting Harry Heilmann in left field but that's OK. This is a subjective list, of course, but both these teams are pretty good. My question is, how many of today's teams have NO players on their roster who would crack the Top 21? Who could not possibly crack the Top 21?

1) Detroit, obviously
2) Baltimore (no one even close)
3) Cleveland (Vizquel is close, but Joe Sewell and Lou Boudreau are tough competition)
4) Minnesota (they're all too young)
5) Philadelphia (Abreu's terrific but I can't put him ahead of Gavy Cravath or Chuck Klein yet)
6) Milwaukee (Sexson needs a couple of years to pass Boomer Scott)
7) St. Louis (unless we just put Albert Pujols in the outfield right now)
8) Los Angeles (can we put Shawn Green in the outfield? probably not yet)

Teams that barely make it are San Diego (Trevor Hoffman is clearly their best closer); Oakland (I'll give Miguel Tejada the edge over Jack Barry).

I haven't made a complete list for every team, but I know that the Yankees will have Jeter on their list; the Red Sox Garciaparra; the Blue Jays Carlos Delgado; anybody for the Devil Rays; Frank Thomas in Chicago; Mike Sweeney in KC; Edgar Martinez in Seattle; Palmeiro in Texas; Salmon in Anaheim; Maddux in Atlanta; Piazza with the Mets; Luis Castillo in Florida; Vladdy in Montreal; Bagwell/Biggio in Houston; Larkin in Cincy; Sosa with the Cubs; Brian Giles in Pittsburgh; the Big Unit in Arizona; Bonds in SF; Walker in Colorado. And there are others, of course, who will also make the lists.

OK, now I'll make it even easier. Which teams have no players on any team in baseball who would make this list?

BALTIMORE:

CA Rick Dempsey (Chris Hoiles)
1B Eddie Murray (George Sisler)
2B Bobby Grich (Del Pratt)
3B Brooks Robinson (Harlond Clift)
SS Cal Ripken (Bobby Wallace)
LF Ken Williams (Baby Doll Jacobson)
CF Brady Anderson (Paul Blair)
RF Frank Robinson (Ken Singleton)
RHP Jim Palmer (Mike Mussina)
LHP Dave McNally (Mike Cuellar)
RP Tippy Martinez

Mussina is the only active player who ranks among the Orioles' greatest. I was a little surprised that Mussina made the list, but then, the Browns/Orioles don't have a great history of pitchers. Mussina ranks third in wins behind Palmer and McNally, and there really isn't another right-handed pitcher who is even close to him.

LOS ANGELES

CA Roy Campanella (Mike Piazza)
1B Gil Hodges (Steve Garvey)
2B Jackie Robinson (Steve Sax)
3B Ron Cey (Jim Gilliam)
SS Pee Wee Reese (Maury Wills)
LF Zack Wheat (Pedro Guerrero)
CF Duke Snider (Willie Davis)
RF Carl Furillo (Babe Herman)
RHP Dazzy Vance (Don Drysdale)
LHP Sandy Koufax (Fernando Valenzuela)
RP Ron Perranoski

For a franchise that has been around as long as the Dodgers, they really haven't had a lot of great outfielders; Green could probably make this list in a couple of years. For now, Piazza is the man.

MINNESOTA

CA Earl Battey (Muddy Ruel)
1B Harmon Killebrew (Kent Hrbek)
2B Rod Carew (Buddy Myer)
3B Ed Yost (Ossie Bluege)
SS Joe Cronin (Cecil Travis)
LF Goose Goslin (Heinie Manush)
CF Kirby Puckett (Clyde Milan)
RF Tony Oliva (Sam Rice)
RHP Walter Johnson (Bert Blyleven)
LHP Jim Kaat (Frank Viola)
RP Rick Aguilera

The question is, will any of the current Twins ever make this list? Torii Hunter is very popular today and Clyde Milan is mostly forgotten, but Milan was an awfully good player for a long time. Radke and Milton still have a long way to go.

CLEVELAND

CA Steve O'Neill (Jim Hegan)
1B Jim Thome (Hal Trosky)
2B Nap Lajoie (Bobby Avila)
3B Ken Keltner (Al Rosen)
SS Lou Boudreau (Joe Sewell)
LF Larry Doby (Albert Belle)
CF Tris Speaker (Earl Averill)
RF Elmer Flick (Manny Ramirez)
RHP Bob Feller (Bob Lemon)
LHP Sam McDowell (Herb Score)
RP Doug Jones

The Indians, of course, are just at the end of one of the most successful decades of their history. Two players (Thome, Ramirez) make the list; otherwise, almost all of these players were from before 1950.

MILWAUKEE

CA Charlie Moore (B.J. Surhoff)
1B Cecil Cooper (George Scott)
2B Jim Gantner (Fernando Vina)
3B Paul Molitor (Don Money)
SS Robin Yount (Jose Valentin)
LF Ben Oglivie (Greg Vaughn)
CF Gorman Thomas (Robin Yount)
RF Jeromy Burnitz (Sixto Lezcano)
RHP Bill Wegman (Pete Vuckovich)
LHP Ted Higuera (Mike Caldwell)
RP Dan Plesac

I'm cheating a bit by putting Robin Yount at two positions, but who else am I going to put in centre? Danny Manning?

For a team that hasn't been around very long, the Brewers' glory years sure seem like a long time ago. Vina, Valentin, Vaughn and Plesac (and maybe Surhoff) are still around, but none of them has played with the Brewers for a long time.

PHILADELPHIA

CA Bob Boone (Darren Daulton)
1B Dolph Camilli (John Kruk)
2B Tony Taylor (Mickey Morandini)
3B Mike Schmidt (Dick Allen)
SS Larry Bowa (Granny Hamner)
LF Sherry Magee (Del Ennis)
CF Richie Ashburn (Cy Williams)
RF Gavy Cravath (Chuck Klein)
RHP Pete Alexander (Robin Roberts)
LHP Steve Carlton (Curt Simmons)
RP Tug McGraw

Next to Mike Schmidt, the Phillies' best third sackers have been Willie Jones, Dick Allen and Scott Rolen. Jones had a long, good career; Allen only played parts of four years at third base and made a huge number of errors, but was a peerless hitter. Rolen's kind of in between, a better defensive player than Allen and a better hitter than Jones.

ST. LOUIS

CA Ted Simmons (Tim McCarver)
1B Mark McGwire (Keith Hernandez)
2B Rogers Hornsby (Red Schoendienst)
3B Ken Boyer (Whitey Kurowski)
SS Ozzie Smith (Marty Marion)
LF Lou Brock (Joe Medwick)
CF Curt Flood (Ray Lankford)
RF Stan Musial (Enos Slaughter)
RHP Bob Gibson (Dizzy Dean)
LHP Harry Brecheen (Howie Pollet)
RP Bruce Sutter

A great franchise whose only weakness has been left-handed pitching. It takes a great player to crack this list, but Albert Pujols (and perhaps Jim Edmonds) may yet do it.

I would say that there are no active players in the game today who would make the Top 21 for either the Tigers or the Twins. The same is true of Philadelphia, except that you can make a case for Rolen. For the Cardinals, it depends if Ray Lankford still has a job.