Baseball Past and Present presents the all-time dream team:

Over the past two months, I conducted a project having people vote on nine-player all-time dream teams. The idea was for voters to pick a team to win a one-off, sandlot game, the ultimate cosmic playoff. This wasn’t about a 25-man roster or designated hitters or relievers, just finding nine players to win a game. I received more than 600 votes in all from a mix of baseball figures, fellow writers, and others.

In looking at the final list, I get the feeling that old-time players dominate too much. Mike Schmidt and Johnny Bench are the only somewhat modern players to make it. Can you make a case for Rickey Henderson over Ted Williams? Can you make a case for Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, or Randy Johnson over Walter Johnson? We’ve seen a number of fantastic shortstops play the game in the last 20 years. All were bigger, stronger, and likely faster than Honus Wagner. Joe Morgan or Rogers Hornsby? In general, we tend to romanticize the players of the early days. It was easier for them to dominate their leagues as the game developed.

In general, I believe the greatest players are playing right now.

There is also a charity benefit connected to the project, so check that out as well.

826 Valencia is a non-profit based in San Francisco, with locations across the country that teach journalism to kids ages 6 to 18. While hundreds of volunteers regularly help out, more help is needed. An average of 85 students a day visit the various writing centers, and 826 constantly needs support: $100 buys a week’s worth of supplies for a writing lab; $500 can fund a workshop, and the list of necessities goes on. For more information, please visit 826valencia.org.