All-Decade Team: First base

First base, in theory, should be one of the easiest positions for a Frontier League team to fill with a quality player. After all, it's one of the toughest positions for a young player to advance through the minor league system. There are so many quality first basemen in the majors (except in Pittsburgh) that many good prospects never make it to the big leagues or they eventually get switched to other positions.

There also are many college first basemen who are excellent hitters but don't have the defensive skills necessary to become a prospect. These guys often get shuffled to the independent leagues.

The Wild Things, as expected, have had some quality first basemen in their first 10 seasons but by no means has it been a position of strength each year (see 2011).

Finding a starting first baseman for the All-Decade team wasn't easy. Two players (Andy Hudak and Nathan Messner) played two seasons here and had similar results. Each put up big numbers in their first years, only to have the batting average dip by at least 55 points in the second go-around.

One of the things I had forgotten about Washington first basemen before I began researching the numbers was just how good of a base stealer Zach Cates (2003) was for a big guy. Cates, a power hitter, swiped 20 bases. He had a big first half of the season but tailed off considerably in the second half, batting only .170 in August.

From a numbers standpoint, the best season (at least part of one) for a Washington first baseman was by Ernie Banks in 2009 when he hit .343 with 19 home runs, both highs for the position. However, Banks was suspended by the team during the season and eventually traded after he played in only 54 games. Banks returned in 2011, but his bat had slowed considerably. He hit only .207 and was traded.

So who is the all-decade first baseman? I'll have to go with a guy who spent only one season in Washington, but it was a very consistent and highly productive campaign by the the best defensive first baseman to play for the Wild Things: Bill Greenwell (pictured).

Greenwell played for Washington in 2004 and put up good numbers, batting .293 with 15 doubles, 13 home runs and 72 RBI. The latter number is the record for Washington first basemen and was third-best total in the league in 2004.

Greenwell led the Frontier League in RBI in 2003 while playing for Mid-Missouri, then was acquired during spring training by Washington in steal of a trade for pitchers Jason Elkins and Brian Dorsey. Greenwell's most memorable game with the Wild Things, oddly enough, had to be the first time he wasn't in the starting lineup. That August night he sang the national anthem prior to the game, then came off the bench to hit a walkoff home run to beat Chillicothe.

All-Decade First Baseman: Bill Greenwell (2004)