AL Central Mount Rushmore

We are all familiar with Mount Rushmore. You know, the huge sculpture of our founding fathers chiseled away in South Dakota? This segment will take 6 articles to write, identifying the "Mount Rushmore" of each team. It doesn't necessarily mean I think these are the best players from each franchise, but these are the top-of-mind guys when you think about a team and its history.

Chicago White Sox:

The White Sox were one of the more difficult teams to come up with a list for having lacked some real success for such a long time. The South Side has a long and rich history, but it is more past than present. The majority of their top players were around in the early 1900's. The first representative of the White Sox is Luke Appling. Appling played his entire career with the White Sox at SS and 3B from 1930-1950. He is a Hall of Famer with 2 batting titles, 7 All-Star selections, and a career 77.5 WAR. He wasn't a huge power bat, but he has a career .310 BA with 2,749 hits and all with the same team, which holds a lot of weight. Eddie Collins goes back even further in time playing from 1906 -1930 for 2 different teams. 12 of those years were with the White sox where he accumulated over 2,000 hits and 1,000 runs with the club. Frank Thomas is the third man up. One of the most intimidating hitters of all time, the Big Hurt had himself one heck of a career with the White Sox. He was a 2 time MVP, hit 521 career Home Runs, and was just shy of 2,500 hits all of which lead him to the HOF. The final guy I decided to go with is Big Ed Walsh, known for being one of the most intimidating pitchers of all time. Walsh was a legend when he played from 1904 -1916. His career wasn't very long but he made the most of it compiling a career 1.82 ERA with 195 wins.

Honorable Mentions: Shoeless Joe Jackson, Luis Aparicio, Mark Buehrle

Cleveland Guardians (Indians for History purposes)

The Guardians had quite a few great options to chose from so it was a little tougher to narrow it down to just four. The first guy that has to be on this list is Lou Boudreau. He had a fantastic career with the Indians playing from 1933 -1950 with the club. He hit .297 with 63 Home Runs and had a career 63.1 fWAR. While his stats alone probably wouldn't get him on this list, his managerial career cements him on it as he went on to coach the Indians from 1942-1950, winning the Indians most recent World Series title in 1948. He was also the inventor of the defensive shift that was heavily used for the next 80 or so years. Bob Feller was an outstanding pitcher for a long time. The flame thrower played with the Indians for a total of 16 seasons compiling a 3.25 ERA, 2,581 Strikeouts, and a crazy 279 complete games with the club. Tris Speaker of course has to be in this group. He played with the club from 1916 - 1926 hitting .354 with a 72.7 fWAR and was one of the best players of his generation. Last but far from least, Jim Thome. Another polarizing figure in the batters box, Thome was a prolific power hitter amassing 337 Home runs with the Indians alone. He was a fan favorite every year he played for them largely because he is the Indians franchise leader in Home runs. He also received the Barry Bonds treatment leading the franchise in walks and intentional walks.

Honorable mentions: Nap Lajoie, Kenny Lofton, Omar Vizquel

Detroit Tigers

For a franchise that has been pretty lackluster of late, they have no shortage of quality players who all deserve to be on this list. You could make an argument for 10 plus players but it's my job to narrow it down to four. Starting with the only current player on this list, Miguel Cabrera. After coming to Detroit from Miami, Cabrera has been the most influential player in this franchise hitting 369 home runs, winning back to back MVP's in '12 and '13, and winning the incredibly rare triple crown in 2012. He is a no-doubt future first ballot Hall of Famer and will wear the Tigers cap for eternity. Ty Cobb is one of the most famous baseball players of all time and deserves to be on this list. He played with the Tigers from 1905 -1926 and was one of the most feared hitters of his generation. He had a career BA of .368 and a fWAR of 143.4. Hank Greenberg is up next. Talk about a crazy career that could have been even better, his numbers with the Tigers were absurd hitting .319 with 306 HRs. The original 'Hammerin Hank' was one of the most feared hitters of the mid 1900's. His stats would have been even better too if he didn't miss his age 31-33 seasons being a hero and fighting in WWII. Al Kaline rounds out the list playing for the Tigers from 1953 -1974. He had a standout career finishing with a career BA of .297 and 399 Home runs. Kaline was dubbed "Mr. Tiger" by the time his career ended after being an 18 time All-Star.

Honorable Mentions: Charlie Gehringer, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker

Kansas City Royals

The Royals were a pretty tough team to figure out. There were three very obvious choices in their franchise but choosing the last one came down to 5 other players each with good reason for being here. George Brett is a no-doubter. He played with the Royals for his entire 21 year career (1973 -1993) making 13 All-Star teams, winning 3 batting titles, an MVP, a Gold Glove Award, and 3 Silver Slugger Awards. Alex Gordon is next up and he was the toughest one to figure out. there were a few players who have arguments over him, but one thing you can't argue is what Gordon has meant to this franchise. He didn't have the longest career (2007 - 2020), but it was entirely spent with the Royals. He helped them win a World Series in 2005 and was a 2 time Platinum Glove Award winner. Salvador Perez is the next obvious choice. Since making his MLB debut with the Royals in 2011, he has been one of the best catchers in baseball. He has over 200 home runs and led the Royals to a WS title. He is also a 7 time All-Star and 5 time Gold Glove Award winner and still racking up the stats. The final name on this list is another obvious one, Bret Saberhagen. He was a phenomenal pitcher for the Royals compiling a 110-78 record with a career 3.21 ERA and 1,093 Strikeouts. Without a doubt he is the best pitcher in franchise history.

Honorable Mentions: Amos Otis, Dan Quissenberry, Mike Sweeney

Minnesota Twins

The Twins have employed a lot of sound baseball players. Sure, you could also argue that a few Washington Senators should be on this list, but what current organization they belong to is kind of up in the air between the Twins and the Texas Rangers and I'm going to exclude them (sorry Walter Johnson). First on the list is none other than Rod Carew. He played with the Twins from 1967 -1978 and was spectacular for the club. He had a .334 BA with 2,085 hits and wears a Twins cap in the HOF. Harmon Killibrew was incredibly successful with the Twins. He blasted 475 bombs with the team and amassed 1,325 RBI's and was one of the most feared power bats of his era. More recently, Twins catcher Joe Mauer was once considered the best all around player in the game for a number of years. He finished his 17 year career with a .306 BA, 143 home runs, and 2,123 hits all with the Twins. The final player to make the cut is Kirby Puckett. While he didn't have the longest career, he made his short 12 year stint incredible. He played it all for the Twins and was their best player in the 80's and 90's hitting 207 Home Runs, with a .318 BA and 2,304 hits helping win them win 2 World Series Titles.

Honorable Mentions: Bert Blyleven, Joe Nathan, Tony Oliva

-Cyrus Beermann