The Show.

Recently, as I scrolled through ESPN.com, I stumbled upon an article by Buster Olney about who he thinks are the 15 most irreplaceable players in baseball. Unfortunately, I was not able to see the list because you have to be an ESPN "Insider," to see it (and to no surprise, all it takes to be an insider is about 7 bucks a month.) So I thought to myself, instead of paying ESPN to see this list, why not make my own? After all, I think my list may be a little different than Buster's (for example, I'm only going to put the top 12, not 15), although I guess I'll never know how differnt our list's will be unless I become an exclusive insider.

Now, when I'm talking irreplaceable, I'm talking about guys who are leaders and producers - guys who, if I were a GM, I would never think about trading. I realize that this list will be disagreed with, and it may even infuriate people, but that's what makes it fun, right? One last point about the list: some may notice that no starting pitchers are on the list. This is because a starting pitcher is literally replaced every game, and no matter how good a starting pitcher may be for a game, he is inevitably replaceable. For each player I'll provide a few key stats, (and now keep in mind these stats don't count for everything) so without further ado, THE LIST:



Albert Pujols
- 30+ home runs in first 9 seasons in the league.
- Career average of .332
- .322 postseason average
- 5 Silver Slugger awards
- 3 NL MVP awards
- 100+ RBI's every year in the league







Joe Mauer
- Career average: .325
- Batted .365 in 2009
- 2 Gold Glove awards
- 3 Silver Slugger awards
- 2009 AL MVP
- *Minnesota product - hometown hero!*







Derek Jeter
- 5 World Series rings.
- Career average: .316
- 4 Gold Gloves
- 4 Silver Slugger Awards
- In 138 postseason games: 55 home runs, .313 average.







Ichiro Suzuki
- Career average: .333
- Gold Glover award every year since 2001
- 2001 AL MVP
- Averages 1.4 hits a game in his career








Mariano Rivera
- Inning to hit ratio: 1/0.76
- Inning to home run ratio: 18/1
- Over 1000 strikeouts in less than 1150 innings pitched
- 5 AL Relief Man awards







Ryan Howard
- Averages 48 home runs a year
- Averages 148 RBI's a year
- 2006 NL MVP
- Averages 104 runs a year








Ryan Braun
- Averages 37 home runs a year
- Averages 119 RBI's a year
- 2 Silver Slugger awards
- 26 years old







Evan Longoria
- Averages 33 home runs a year
- Averages 115 RBI's a year
- 1 Gold Glove award
- 1 Silver Slugger award
- 24 years old







Hanley Ramirez
- Career average: .314
- Averages 27 home runs a year
- 2 Silver Slugger awards
- Averages 42 stolen bases a year
- 26 years old







Miguel Cabrera
- Currently batting .337
- Career average: .313
- Averages 33 home runs a years
- Averages 119 RBI's a year
- 2 Silver Slugger awards
- Currently leads AL in home runs (20) and RBI's (68)







Chase Utley
- Career average: .294
- Averages 105 RBI's a year
- 4 Silver Slugger awards
- Averages 110 runs a year
- Averages 29 home runs a year







Vladimir Guerrero
- Career average: .322
- Current average of .336
- Averages 36 home runs a year
- Averages 117 RBI's a year
- 4 Silver Slugger awards
- 2004 AL MVP