About Spring Training: Hail To The Chief
By Tim Kabel
February 15, 2025
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Presidents’ Day is Monday. So, I thought I would do something a little different today. I wanted to see if I could make a team of Yankees who had the same last name as United States Presidents. Let's see what we have.
Let's start off by listing all the presidents:
GEORGE WASHINGTON | 1789-1797
JOHN ADAMS | 1797-1801
THOMAS JEFFERSON | 1801-1809
JAMES MADISON | 1809-1817
JAMES MONROE | 1817-1825
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS | 1825-1829
ANDREW JACKSON | 1829-1837
MARTIN VAN BUREN | 1837-1841
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON | 1841
JOHN TYLER | 1841-1845
JAMES K. POLK | 1845-1849
ZACHARY TAYLOR | 1849-1850
MILLARD FILLMORE | 1850-1853
FRANKLIN PIERCE | 1853-1857
JAMES BUCHANAN | 1857-1861
ABRAHAM LINCOLN | 1861-1865
ANDREW JOHNSON | 1865-1869
ULYSSES S. GRANT | 1869-1877
RUTHERFORD B. HAYES | 1877-1881
JAMES A. GARFIELD | 1881
CHESTER A. ARTHUR | 1881-1885
GROVER CLEVELAND | 1885-1889 / 1893-1897
BENJAMIN HARRISON | 1889-1893
WILLIAM MCKINLEY | 1897-1901
THEODORE ROOSEVELT | 1901-1909
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT | 1909-1913
WOODROW WILSON | 1913-1921
WARREN G. HARDING | 1921-1923
CALVIN COOLIDGE | 1923-1929
HERBERT HOOVER | 1929-1933
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT | 1933-1945
HARRY S. TRUMAN | 1945-1953
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER | 1953-1961
JOHN F. KENNEDY | 1961-1963
LYNDON B. JOHNSON | 1963-1969
RICHARD M. NIXON | 1969-1974
GERALD R. FORD | 1974-1977
JIMMY CARTER | 1977-1981
RONALD REAGAN | 1981-1989
GEORGE BUSH | 1989-1993
WILLIAM J. CLINTON | 1993-2001
GEORGE W. BUSH | 2001-2009
BARACK OBAMA | 2009-2017
DONALD J. TRUMP | 2017-2021 / 2025-
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR. | 2021-2025
Now, let's see which Yankees players matchup:
Claudell Washington-OF
Chance Adams-P
David Adams-IF
Stan Jefferson-OF
Dave Madison-P
Zach Monroe-P
Grant Jackson-P
Reggie Jackson-OF
Wade Taylor-P
Zack Taylor-C
Alex Johnson-OF
Billy Johnson-3B
Cliff Johnson-C, 1B, DH
Darrell Johnson-C
Deron Johnson- 1B, 3B, OF
Don Johnson-P
Hank Johnson-P
Jeff Johnson-P
Johnny Johnson-P
Kelly Johnson-2B
Lance Johnson-OF
Nick Johnson-1B
Randy Johnson-P
Roy Johnson-OF
Russ Johnson-IF
Charlie Hayes- 3B
Archie Wilson-OF
Craig Wilson-1B, OF
Enrique Wilson-IF
George Wilson-OF (Dennis the Menace’s neighbor)
Justin Wilson-P
Kris Wilson-P
John Kennedy-IF
Ian Kennedy-P
Otis Nixon-OF
Ben Ford-P
Mike Ford-1B
Whitey Ford-P
Chris Carter-1B
Homer Bush-2B
Lou Clinton-OF
You could field a pretty good team out of this collection of players. The starting rotation would be anchored by Whitey Ford and Randy Johnson. Ian Kennedy would be a solid number three starter. After that you'd have to hope for a lot of rain. If you went with Otis Nixon, Claudell Washington, and Lance Johnson in the outfield, you would be strong defensively with a great deal of speed. Reggie Jackson could be the DH if he wasn't in rightfield. There are enough candidates for catcher to have someone adequate back there. Charlie Hayes could be the third baseman, and Cliff Johnson or Chris Carter could play first base. Enrique Wilson could be the shortstop and Kelly Johnson could play second base. Grant Jackson and Justin Wilson would anchor the bullpen with some of the other pitchers joining in. Obviously, it wouldn't be a great team but, it might win more games than you would suspect.
If only Mudcat Grant had played for the Yankees.
Cool concept.