SN 140: Baseball's All-time Team USA vs. All-time Team World

Major League Baseball has existed in some form since 1876, when the National League was first founded. The Sporting News has been here for nearly all of the sport's incredible history.

From the very first World Series in 1903 to the doorstep of a new season in 2026, SN has covered the greatest players on the diamond from all eras, from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.

As baseball grows worldwide, more talent is coming from outside the United States. Recent Hall of Fame classes have included players from Puerto Rico, Japan, the Dominican Republic and even Curacao.

How does baseball's collection of international talent stack up against the greatest American players of all time? Crafting the ideal USA or World roster is an exercise with no easy choices. All-time greats, including generational talents and MLB record-holders, came up short.

From Cy Young, Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb to modern stars including Derek Jeter, Clayton Kershaw and Mike Trout, a number of greats did not make the cut. All have a reasonable case, and that's a testament to the rich history of baseball and the fun challenge of assembling the rosters.

As The Sporting News turns 140 years old, we take a look at what all-time All-USA and All-World teams might look like, as voted on by a staff panel.

Sporting News at 140: A Celebration

United States

Catcher

• Johnny Bench

Bench was narrowly chosen as the USA's catcher, with Mike Piazza, Yogi Berra and Josh Gibson also receiving consideration.

While Piazza has the offensive edge at his peak, Bench is as close to the complete package as one could want at the catcher position. A terrific defender behind the plate, Bench won two MVP awards and two championships with the Reds along with 10 Gold Gloves. His bat wasn't anything to ignore, either. Bench twice hit at least 40 home runs in a season, finishing his 17-year career with 389 home runs and more than 2,000 hits.

In a lineup of juggernauts, Bench gives the United States a catcher without a true weakness.

First base

• Lou Gehrig

Eighty-seven years after ALS ended his MLB career and later his life, Lou Gehrig remains the gold standard among American first basemen and was selected for this team unanimously.

The Yankees legend led MLB in home runs three times and RBI four times, posting an OPS north of 1.000 in 11 consecutive seasons from 1927-37 and earning two MVP awards. Gehrig finished his career batting .340 and almost certainly would have reached 3,000 hits if his playing days weren't cut short at age 35.

It would be tough to pick against Gehrig as the USA's all-time first baseman, even with so many powerful hitters in the position's history. Iconic power bars Jim Thome and Frank Thomas both spent large portions of their careers as designated hitters, making the distinction with Gehrig fairly straightforward.

SN 140: Lou Gehrig's iconic speech

Second base

• Rogers Hornsby

Debuting in 1915, Rogers Hornsby was one of baseball's defining players during the 1920s. He led the NL in hits four times, home runs twice and OPS 11 times, helping lift the sport out of the dead-ball era with a bat that could do just about everything.

Hornsby was a two-time MVP and seven-time batting champion, winning the 1926 World Series with the Cardinals and batting at least .400 in three different seasons. He finished his career with 2,930 hits, 301 home runs and a 127.3 WAR, cementing himself as an all-time great.

At a position not necessarily known for offense today, Hornsby remains the gold standard. He was chosen over Joe Morgan, who likewise won a pair of MVPs and helped define the "Big Red Machine" era in Cincinnati.

Morgan had a career WAR just shy of 100 along with 2,517 hits and 268 home runs, which rank as some of the best all-time marks for a second baseman but still come in behind Hornsby. Morgan's contact bat and defense made him Hornsby's top challenger, but Hornsby's unbelievable production made him the ultimate choice. 

Third base

• Mike Schmidt

Phillies great Mike Schmidt receives the nod at third base over George Brett, Chipper Jones and Brooks Robinson, giving the United States its first 500-home run hitter. Schmidt was a three-time MVP, 12-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner in an 18-year career spent entirely in Philadelphia. 

Schmidt led the NL in home runs eight times and hit more than 30 home runs in 13 different seasons. A model of consistency, he hit between 31-38 home runs in 10 of those seasons. Schmidt finished his career with a stellar .908 OPS and 548 home runs along with 2,234 hits, cementing himself as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

While Schmidt had a shorter career than Brett, Jones and Robinson, Brett didn't flash the kind of consistent power Schmidt had, while Jones and Robinson finished more than 20 WAR behind Schmidt and didn't reach the same home run milestones. Schmidt is as close to the total package at third base at the United States' disposal.

Imagn Images

Shortstop

• Alex Rodriguez

Shortstop was one of the most fascinating positions to choose from for two reasons. Derek Jeter, Honus Wagner and Cal Ripken Jr. are among the American greats who have played the position. Jeter's five championships stand tall, as does Ripken's unbreakable streak of consecutive games played. Wagner, meanwhile, was one of the faces of baseball in the early 20th century, recording 3,420 hits in the dead ball era.

The most raw talent, however, might belong to Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez could fit both the USA and World rosters, by World Baseball Classic eligibility standards. Given Rodriguez was born in New York and went to high school in Miami, he was chosen as Team USA's representative.

Rodriguez's career will always be clouded by steroid use, but his talent from day one was undeniable. Rodriguez was a legitimate MVP contender by age 21 as a shortstop in Seattle, batting .358 in his first full MLB season, and he kept that elite production going for about a decade-and-a-half until suspension and injuries derailed the latter portion of his career. While he spent a significant portion of his career at third base, he didn't move off the position because he wasn't capable.

Rodriguez was a three-time MVP and won the 2009 World Series with the Yankees, finishing his career with 3,115 hits and 696 home runs. If talent trumps all, he gets the nod over Jeter for Team USA.

Outfielders

• Willie Mays
• Barry Bonds
• Aaron Judge

Outfield was without a doubt the most difficult position to nail down, even with three spots (and the designated hitter role) available. Willie Mays, Ted Williams and Hank Aaron are all legends of the past, but Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, Aaron Judge and even Mike Trout are hard to ignore from more modern times.

Ultimately, Mays, Bonds and Judge were selected as Team USA's three outfielders. 

Mays is one of baseball's all-time great players, with two MVP awards, 660 home runs, 12 Gold Glove awards and a championship as a Giant. An All-Star in 19 consecutive seasons, Mays led MLB in home runs three times, stolen bases four times and OPS twice. He had a .940 career OPS and 3,293 hits, including 525 doubles, and he routinely dazzled in centerfield.

For all of the steroid controversy surrounding Bonds, baseball's all-time home run leader made the team. Bonds' numbers were otherworldly, if his 762 home runs were any indication. While steroid allegations cloud his most dominant stretch of four consecutive MVPs from 2001-04, Bonds had already posted a 1.000 OPS or better in nine consecutive seasons before those years and had three MVPs under his belt. Bonds has a career on-base percentage of .444 and would give the USA lineup a modern bat who could strike fear into any pitcher.

Judge earned his way onto the roster by the narrowest of margins, but that is a testament to the great talent available among the OF candidates. While his legacy is still being written and a championship is still the goal, Judge has proven nearly all he can prove as a hitter. He already tied an MLB record with four 50-home run seasons and has three MVP awards under his belt, with some arguing he deserved another for his stellar rookie season.

Judge's peak over the last four years is historic. Not only has he posted four consecutive seasons with an OPS north of 1.000, but he became the first player to post an OPS+ of 200 or better over a full season since Barry Bonds — doing so three different times. Given the era, Judge's accolades and production are up there among the all-time greats, and he stands among them on the USA's all-time roster.

Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Ken Griffey Jr. are among the outfielders who didn't crack the roster. Ruth's revolutionizing of the game as its first great power hitter made him a legend, but his obvious defensive concerns in the outfield and the slew of power bats who came after him made him a casualty.

With Griffey and Williams, it might come down to preference. The power of Bonds and Judge at their peaks is hard to top, even by Griffey, while Mays was so proficient in just about every aspect of the game that he could not be left out. With that being said, the case can be made that Williams' peak would be viewed differently had his career not been interrupted by military service during World War II.

Designated hitter

• Hank Aaron

A right fielder for most of his career, Hank Aaron slides into the DH role due to the glut of outfielders at the United States' disposal.

Aaron was MLB's all-time home run leader before Bonds with 755, and he mashed for parts of three decades. "Hammerin' Hank" was an All-Star in 21 consecutive seasons, hitting 40 or more home runs on eight occasions and at least 30 home runs in 15 seasons. Aaron won the World Series with the Braves in 1957, earning his only MVP award the same year, and he continued to hit for tremendous power for another 16 years. 

SN 140: Remembering Hank Aaron's record-setting HR

Pete Rose had a legitimate case to be Team USA's designated hitter with the all-time hits record and the lack of a true position. Rose and Aaron each held one of baseball's most prestigious records when they retired, and longevity was a strength of both players. Home runs count more than singles and doubles, however. Aaron had a career OPS nearly 150 points higher than Rose, and all that matters from a DH standpoint is what kind of value a player can provide at the plate.

Starting pitchers

• Randy Johnson
• Greg Maddux 
• Walter Johnson

Randy Johnson was by far the panel's top choice for three starting pitcher slots on Team USA. The lanky left-hander overcame serious control issues early in his career to become everything one could want in a big-game pitcher, leading his league in strikeouts nine times and posting four consecutive 300-strikeout seasons right in the heart of the steroid era.

Johnson was a five-time Cy Young Award winner, carried a career 3.29 ERA and might be the last pitcher to ever win 300 games. He also won the World Series with the Diamondbacks in 2001 as part of a rotation headed by Curt Schilling. 

After Johnson, another pitcher from the same era was chosen: Greg Maddux. Maddux was a much different type of pitcher, dominating with pinpoint control despite not necessarily overpowering hitters, but the results are hard to argue. Maddux won four consecutive Cy Young Awards in the 1990s and won a World Series with the Braves. From 1992-98, he had a sparkling 2.15 ERA and led his league in innings four times. While his dominance didn't have the longevity Johnson's did, his peak puts him onto Team USA.

The toughest choice between both rosters might have been the third starting spot, with several different pitchers considered, from Cy Young and Sandy Koufax to Tom Seaver and Clayton Kershaw. Ultimately, Walter Johnson's dominance in the early 20th century won out.

Johnson was a two-time MVP with 417 wins across 21 brilliant seasons, leading MLB in ERA four times and strikeouts seven times. While he spent the majority of his career pitching in the dead ball era, Johnson claimed one of his MVPs after it. Johnson's 110 shutouts are almost certainly an unbreakable record. 

Relief pitchers

• Trevor Hoffman
• Billy Wagner

Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner are on the roster as Team USA's two relievers, with Wagner narrowly edging out Dennis Eckersley. 

Hoffman was a seven-time All-Star and baseball's all-time saves leader for five years until Mariano Rivera set a new high-water mark. A Padre for more than 15 years, Hoffman had a sub-3 ERA in 12 of his 15 full seasons in San Diego, including a brilliant 1.48 ERA and 53 saves when the Padres won the NL pennant in 1998. Team World would be hearing "Hells Bells" at the end of the game with Hoffman in the bullpen.

It took some time for Wagner to get his due from Baseball Hall of Fame voters, as he had to wait until his final year of eligibility to receive an invitation to Cooperstown, but he is a player whose track record exceeds his popularity. Wagner had a career 2.31 ERA and 422 saves, posting an ERA higher than 2.85 only once in 16 seasons. He recorded at least 30 saves in nine different seasons and was a seven-time All-Star. Wagner's selection over Eckersley may come as a surprise, but he and Hoffman dominated the same era between the late 1990s and the 2000s. 

Eckersley enjoyed a dominant five-year stretch from 1988-92 that can stand up against any reliever, winning an MVP, Cy Young Award and World Series in that span. He spent the first 12 seasons of his career as a starter, however, and was a pedestrian relief arm at best over his final six seasons. Such a small sample size of excellence as a reliever makes for a fun debate compared to longer stretches from Hoffman and Wagner.

World

Catcher

• Ivan Rodriguez

While catcher was a point of division on the American side, no one disagreed on Puerto Rican-born Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez as the World's catcher.

The Hall of Famer was a 14-time All-Star, 13-time Gold Glover, AL MVP and World Series champion across a two-decade career. Rodriguez had well above-average power for his position and an excellent contact bat; he hit at least .300 in 10 different seasons. While not necessarily an on-base machine, as he rarely walked, Rodriguez's multi-talented bat and prowess behind the plate make him a shoe-in for the World roster.

First base

• Albert Pujols

Also unanimous was Albert Pujols, who went down as one of the best pure hitters in baseball history.

The first 10 years of Pujols' career were breathtaking. He hit at least .310 with 32 or more home runs each year, winning three MVP awards and posting an OPS better than 1.000 eight times in that span. Pujols was a two-time World Series champion with the Cardinals, and he hit .326 across more than 1,800 games in a St. Louis uniform.

While the second half of Pujols' career was rockier as injuries and age crept into the picture, he is one of four players in MLB history with at least 700 home runs and ranks 10th all-time with 3,384 hits.

Second base

• Rod Carew

With Robinson Cano's star faded due in part to steroid suspensions, Rod Carew was a slam-dunk choice for the World at second base. The Panama-born Hall of Famer was an All-Star in 18 of his 19 seasons, leading the league in hits twice and reaching the 3,000-hit milestone in his final season.

A Twins great who finished his career with the Angels, Carew earned AL MVP honors in 1977 and hit better than .300 in 15 of his 19 seasons, leading the AL in batting average seven different times and the entire league four times. 

Third base

• Adrian Beltre

Beltre and Miguel Cabrera were both strong candidates to be the World's third baseman, though Cabrera's move to first base later in his career might have complicated his candidacy. It's hard to go wrong with either one.

Beltre debuted at 18, but few would have predicted he would be a Hall of Famer until a late-career surge. The Dominican-born star went from a good all-around third baseman to a great one in 2010, when he enjoyed a resurgent season with the Red Sox and went on to spend eight strong years in Texas. Beltre had an .865 OPS with the Rangers, batting .304 with earning three more Gold Glove awards. He finished his career with 477 home runs and reached the 3,000-hit milestone in 2017.

Beltre and Cabrera reached similar milestones, with Cabrera hitting more home runs than Beltre, but Cabrera was viewed more as a pure hitter during much of his career while Beltre was viewed more as an all-around third baseman.

Shortstop

• Francisco Lindor

While today's great shortstops come from all over the globe, most of the greats at the position are American. Francisco Lindor is changing that.

Lindor is still active, but the Puerto Rican-born Mets star has built himself a case for the Hall of Fame even as he heads into his age-32 season. A talented defender who provides value even when his bat isn't hot, Lindor has six 30-home run seasons over the first 11 years of his career. He already has 279 home runs and 1,664 hits to his name with plenty of runway left, though an MVP eludes him. 

Luis Aparicio has a case to be one of baseball's greatest international shortstops with a Hall of Fame career that saw him earn nine Gold Glove awards, but he didn't have the power Lindor had. Lindor might be frustratingly streaky at times, but when he is hot, he is as close to a complete player at this position as you can find. 

Lindor has represented Puerto Rico well on the world stage already, and he would be the World's representative at shortstop.

Outfielders

• Roberto Clemente
• Ichiro Suzuki
• Juan Soto

The World's outfield brings three different eras together, with Puerto Rican-born Roberto Clemente, Japanese-born Ichiro Suzuki and Dominican-born Juan Soto all chosen.

Clemente and Suzuki were each unanimous choices. Clemente was an 11-time All-Star with the Pirates, winning 12 consecutive Gold Gloves and putting himself among the game's all-time great contact hitters. He led the league in batting average three times and finished with exactly 3,000 career hits before a tragic plane crash cut his life short.

On the topic of contact hitters, Ichiro's bat-to-ball skills are just about unmatched. He won AL MVP honors in his first season in the majors, batting .350 for the Mariners, and he would lead the AL in hits seven times. Ichiro still holds the single-season hits record with 262, and he reached the 3,000-hit milestone despite not debuting until age 27. Combined with his hit total in Japan, Ichiro racked up 4,367 professional hits in his baseball life, more than any player in the sport's history. 

No one was more meticulous about the art of hitting, and Ichiro would be an excellent leadoff hitter for the World lineup.

As it turns out, the Mets have two active players on the World roster. Juan Soto is easily the youngest player on either team at just 27, but his brilliance over the first eight seasons of his career is impossible to ignore. Soto's blend of power and patience makes him one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball, with a career .417 OBP and 40-home run power. He heads into his age-27 season with 244 home runs, putting 500 and 600-home run milestones on the table if he can stay mostly healthy. Soto also has a championship under his belt with the Nationals and hit the home run that sent the Yankees to the World Series in 2024.

The book is still being written on Soto's career, but his selection is one that should age well. 

Soto was chosen over Vladimir Guerrero, who posted an OPS north of 1.000 three times and finished his career with 449 home runs and 2,590 hits. Guerrero is a Hall of Famer, but Soto is already within 17 WAR of him before his age-27 season and has an on-base ability that makes him a unicorn in this era of baseball. Had Guerrero been a stronger defender, he might have an advantage over Soto. With both primarily known for offense, it's hard not to bet on Soto's bat.

Designated hitter

• Shohei Ohtani

Even with David Ortiz and Edgar Martinez available, Shohei Ohtani was a unanimous choice to be the World's designated hitter.

The four-time MVP is in the midst of one of the best peaks in baseball history, whether you include his pitching or not. Ohtani has led his league in OPS in each of the last three seasons, hitting more than 50 home runs in back-to-back seasons and averaging 46.6 home runs per year since 2021.

Ortiz could have a case simply because of his otherworldly postseason success, but a great of Ohtani's caliber couldn't be left out of the lineup.

Starting pitchers

• Pedro Martinez
• Shohei Ohtani
• Fergie Jenkins

Don't get too comfortable as a DH, Ohtani. The Dodgers star is also one of three starting pitchers chosen for the World roster, alongside Pedro Martinez and Fergie Jenkins.

Martinez was a unanimous choice after a career that saw him win three Cy Young Awards and carve up lineups right in the heart of the steroid era. The Dominican-born ace led the league in ERA five times and had more than 3,000 strikeouts, putting together a brilliant seven-year peak with a 2.20 ERA and 0.94 WHIP from 1997-2003. If that was the Martinez the World team got, it would be hard to match.

Ohtani certainly doesn't have the track record that Martinez does on the mound, as multiple elbow surgeries and innings limits have kept him to only 100 starts in eight seasons, but what he's been able to do as a pitcher is impressive. Ohtani has a career 3.00 ERA and averages 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings, topping out at 219 strikeouts in only 130.1 innings in 2022. With the stable of arms not quite as deep on the World side, those flashes Ohtani has shown get him the nod.

SN 140: Shohei's NLCS gem, on the mound and at the plate

Jenkins, born in Canada, slides in alongside Martinez and Ohtani after a Hall of Fame career of his own. The Cubs great won a Cy Young Award in 1971 with the help of brilliant control, and he led baseball in complete games four times across his 19-year career. Jenkins had a career 3.34 ERA and 3,192 strikeouts.

Relief pitchers

• Mariano Rivera
• Kenley Jansen

The greatest closer of all-time was a shoe-in for the World, as Panama-born Mariano Rivera was a unanimous selection.

Rivera was a 13-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion with the Yankees, posting a career 2.21 ERA and an MLB-record 652 saves across 19 seasons. Rivera had a sub-3 ERA in 17 of his 18 seasons as a full-time reliever and a sub-2 ERA in 11 of them, dominating hitters with his cutter in the most critical moments of games. He was somehow considerably better in the postseason, where he had a 0.70 ERA and 0.76 WHIP over 141 innings.

Kenley Jansen, still active with the Tigers, was narrowly chosen over Aroldis Chapman for the final spot in the bullpen next to Rivera. Like Wagner, Jansen's career might be overlooked because some of the other closers of his era had better peaks, but the body of work speaks for itself.

The former Dodger has a career 2.57 ERA and 476 saves, putting him on track to rank third all-time in saves when all is said and done, and he's rarely had an off year. Jansen has 10 seasons with a sub-3 ERA and four with a sub-2 ERA across 16 years in the majors, earning four All-Star selections and winning the 2020 World Series with the Dodgers. Jansen also has a career 2.20 ERA in the postseason over 65.1 innings.

Chapman is more dominant when at his best, but his "off" nights far exceed Jansen's, and their career totals place them in the same tier. 

SN 140: Ranking the greatest moments in sports history