During their 25th Anniversary Season in 2011, the Senators selected their All-Time team. If you’ve ever wondered about the pictures hanging up on the first base concourse, that would be their choices for the all-time Senators. Along with those selections, The Patriot-News also polled local baseball “experts” (I was involved hence the quotes) on which former players were the best in franchise history.

However, I’ve often wondered about the best seasons ever compiled by Harrisburg players. So, over the next couple of weeks I am going to go through position by position and select my choices for the greatest seasons as a Senator. (Note: For terms of this exercise, I only considered the position a player played most frequently)

Catcher: Michael Barrett (1999)
First Base: Cliff Floyd (1993)

Moving to second base…
Matt Stairs – 1991
.333 AVG
.411 OBP
.509 SLG
30 2B, 10 3B, 13 HR
87 R, 78 RBI, 23 SB

Don’t think of the portly player who was used primarily as a pinch-hitter in the later stages of his Major League career which spanned a record 13 different teams. Don’t think of him as the mumbling, incoherent analyst on Phillies’ TV broadcasts this season. Instead, try to picture Stairs as a versatile player who could capably play second base, third base, and the outfield. Envision a rendition of himself that could steal 23 bases and tie for the league lead with ten triples. Remember Stairs as the Eastern League MVP during his time with the Senators where he led the league in batting average, OPS, and hits and finished in the top five in six other offensive categories.

The Best of the Rest:
Edgar Gonzalez (2005) .279/.361/.441, 25 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 41 R, 50 RBI, 5 SB
Henry Mateo (2000) .287/.362/.404, 25 2B, 11 3B, 5 HR, 91 R, 63 RBI, 48 SB
Josh McKinley (2003) .288/.367/.467, 33 2B, 2 3B, 15 HR, 82 R, 75 RBI, 17 SB
Jim Reboulet (1987) .319/.402/.351, 10 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 92 R, 44 RBI, 52 SB