NL East Mount Rushmore

Back to our latest edition of, "who should be memorilized in stone" and thrown onto the organizations Mount Rushmore. The NL East is LOADED with great names deserving to be on this list. The Braves, Mets, and Phillies all have rich histories and it is tough to narrow down to just four. The Marlins, however, are one of the newest organizations in baseball limiting its seletions to players after 1993. The Expos moved to D.C. allwoing that listto include some of our favorite Expos within this division.

Atlanta Braves

Easily one of the hardest teams to narrow down. The Braves have as much star power as any organization, so please don't roast me too hard! The no-doubter on this list is none other than Hank Aaron. One of the most recognizable names in all of baseball and one of if not the most prolific power hitters of all time. Aaron leads the Braves in about every offensive statistical category you can think of including home runs (733), RBI's (2,202), and hits (3,600). He is an absolute legend famoulsy breaking Babe Ruth's homerun record. Next up is Chipper Jones. He is easily one of the best 3rd baseman to every play the game and if it wasn't for Aaron, would hold a ton of the franchise records. As a Brave, he hit .303 with 468 HR's, and 1,623 RBI's. He was an eight time All-Star and won the 1999 NL MVP. Next up, Eddie Matthews played 15 years for the club slugging 512 home runs, 1,453 RBI's, and is thought to be one of if not the best 3rd baseman in history. The last spot was the toughest one to fill, there are so many who deserved it including Greg Maddox and Warren Spahn, but I decided to go with John Smoltz for the final spot. While Maddux and Spahn had better numbers, Smoltz meant more to the franchise and I'll admit, has a little recency bias (sorry Spahn). Smoltz always seemed to stay healthy and the entire time he pitched he was widely regarded as one of the best starting and relief pitchers of his era. He had a 210-147 record with a 3.26 ERA, 53 complete games and 144 saves in his long career with Atlanta.

Honorable Mentions: Greg Maddox, Dale Murphy, Warren Spahn

Miami Marlins

We go from a historic franchise into one of the younger ones with far less legitimate options. Jeff Conine leads off our list. His nickname is "Mr. Marlin" so it was impossible not to put him on here. He didn't have the greatest career in the world, but the Marlins haven't exactly had many main stays. Conine hit for a solid .290 BA with 120 Home runs and helped the club win 2 World Series titles in 1997 and again in 2003. Hanley Ramirez is up next. He played for the club from 2006-2012 and was elite in that time frame. He had a BA of .300, slugged 148 home runs, and amassed 1,103 hits. He also won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2006. Next up is none other than Giancarlo Stanton. His time with Miami was magical, playing from 2010-2017 with the club. In that time he hit 267 home runs and won a MVP in 2017. He is the franchise leader in home runs, RBI's, Extra base hits and slugging percentage. Finally we have Dontrelle Willis. You can't think of the Marlins without thinking of one of the coolest windups in baseball history. His leg kick was always one of the most entertaining things to watch. He played with the club only from 2003-2007, but he was fantastic during that span. He compiled a 68-54 record with a 3.78 ERA for Miami. He also was the NL ROY in 2003. The D-Train was always a fan favorite and deserves to be on this list.

Honorable Mentions: Miguel Cabrera, Jose Fernandez, Josh Johnson

New York Mets

The Mets have a handful of guys that were in contention for their Mount Rushmore. Overall however, this was one of the easier lists to narrow down 4. Starting with Dwight "Doc" Gooden. He played from the Mets from 1984-1994 and over those 11 season he was phenomenal. He compiled a 147-85 record with 1,875 strike outs and a 3.10 ERA. He won a CY Young award during the 1985 season and helped the Mets win the 1986 World Series. Mike Piazza is One of the best offensive catchers in the history of baseball as a true underdog story. He is the only player you will see representing a team in this segment that was drafted in the 62nd round. He played with the Mets from 1998-2005 and during that time he had 220 home runs, a .296 BA, and 655 RBI's. Third in the group is Pitcher Tom Seaver. Widely regarded as one of the best pitchers in the history of the game, he was a 10 time All-Star with the Mets. His 198-124 record is nothing crazy, but his 2.57 ERA and 2,541 K's with the club are unbelievable considering he played in 12 of his seasons with the Mets. He also won NL Rookie of the Year in 1967 and has 3 NL CY Young Awards. Captain America, David Wright, Rounds out the Mets Rushmore. If it wasn't for a rash of injuries, he could have easily been one of the best 3rd baseman ever. Even with the injuries he had a fantastic career with the Mets hitting .296, with 242 home runs and 970 RBI's.

Honorable Mentions: Jacob DeGrom, Jerry Koosman, Darryl Strawberry

Philadelphia Phillies

Leading off our Phillies group is Steve Carlton. The Left-handed pitcher played for the Phillies from 1972-1986 and was one of the best of his generation. He compiled a 241-161 record with an ERA of 3.10 and 3,031 K's. He won an incredible 4 NL CY Young Awards and was an 8-time All-Star for the club. He was also a huge part in helping the Phillies win their first ever World Series in 1980. Jimmy Rollins is up next and with a .267 BA and 216 home runs, he's more than deserving. Rollins was a Phillie from 2000-2014, he won 4 Gold Glove Awards and a NL MVP in 2007. He is also the teams all time leader in hits with 2,306. Third in the group is the most obvious one, Mike Schmidt. Many believe Schmidt is the best 3rd baseman in the history of baseball and have a good reason for thinking so. Playing with the Phillies from 1972-1986, he amassed 548 home runs, 1,595 RBIs with a .268 BA. He won 3 NL MVP Awards, an insane 10 Gold Glove Awards at the hot corner and was a 12 time All-Star. The final man up is second baseman Chase Utley. He and Rollins were arguable the best MI combo for many years in Philadelphia. During his tenure from 2003-2015, Utley hit .282 with 233 home runs and 916 RBI's. He was one of the best hitting second baseman of all time and was a key part in helping Philly bring home the 2008 World Series.

Honorable Mentions: Grover Cleveland Alexander, Ryan Howard, Robin Roberts

Washington Nationals

The Nationals are one of the tougher ones to come up with a perfect list. They have two very obvious players that should be here, but it was a dog fight for the last two. Starting with one of the obvious ones, Gary Carter. Carter played with the then, Montreal Expos, from 1974-1984 and again for 1 year in 1992. During his time, he was the best catcher in baseball hitting .272 with 215 home runs and 794 RBI's for the Expos. He made the All-Star team 7 times and won 3 Gold Gloves. The second player on this is the other obvious one in my opinion and that's Andre Dawson. He played for the Expos from 1976-1886 winning ROY in 1977 and earning 6 Gold Glove Awards. He had a career .280 BA while slugging 225 home runs and getting 1,575 hits. The first tough one on this list, I went with Tim Raines Sr. He played with the Expos from 1979-1990 then came back for a year in 2001. He was an incredible table setter for the club hitting .310 with 1,598 hits. He is likely the last player to enter the HOF with an Expos cap on. Finally, I felt it would have been wrong to make this without having a representative of the Washington Nationals, So I decided to go with Max Scherzer. While he did not play with the club for too long (2015-2021), what he did in his time was special and will always be remembered in DC. Scherzer won 2 NL CY Young awards and finished in the top six on four other occasions. He also made the All-Star team every season as a Nat and helped them win a World Series in 2019.

Honorable Mentions: Vladimir Guerrero Sr, Steven Strausburg, Ryan Zimmerman

--Cyrus Beermann