Building the ultimate all-decade MLB team

Building an all-decade team for the 2010s was, with one obvious exception, exceedingly difficult. Some tough choices had to be made, with many deserving stars left on the outside. Still, the final product is an absolutely loaded 25-man roster.

Our all-decade team was designed to not only represent the best of the past 10 years, but was built imagining what the ultimate 25-man roster might look like. It's complete with a backup catcher, versatility, and bench power, not to mention a pretty epic bullpen corps. Wins Above Replacement helped determine the roster construction, but it's not everything - awards, rings, and streaks, among others, also weighed into the decision-making.

Here is theScore's 25-man all-decade team for the 2010s.

Starting lineup

Buster Posey, catcher

Posey's crafted a sterling resume that includes three rings, a Rookie of the Year and MVP, multiple defensive honors, and a batting title in 2012 - the first catcher to win an NL batting crown in 70 years. In addition to finishing the decade as the leader in virtually every important category for his position, he's already one of only 12 catchers in the modern era (since 1901) with a career average above .300. Posey's going to go down as one of the greatest catchers ever, and he did most of that work in the past 10 years.

Joey Votto, first base

Votto led the majors in on-base percentage three times and the NL seven times, and he was the only hitter to draw over 1,000 walks in the 2010s. He won an MVP in 2010 and narrowly missed winning a second in 2017. Despite lower hit and home run totals (due to his proclivity at taking walks), Votto still finished the decade ranking third overall in doubles, ninth in hits, and tied for second in wRC+. Though his prickly nature can often rub people the wrong way, Votto's often quiet work over the past decade as a methodical, on-base machine helped him emerge from a very crowded field of first basemen.

Jose Altuve, second base

Although Robinson Cano was the decade's hits leader and topped all second baseman in WAR, Altuve's MVP award served as the tiebreaker. The diminutive Venezuelan defied the odds to reach the majors and became a star hitter, MVP, three-time batting champion, and two-time hits leader. Altuve tallied four straight 200-hit seasons from 2014-17 and had six straight years with 30-plus steals (including a league-leading 56 in 2014). In the era of the strikeout, Altuve never K'd more than 85 times in one season and finished the decade with one of the lowest K rates (11.9%).

Adrian Beltre, third base

Beltre played 21 seasons in the majors, but only became an all-time great third baseman in the 2010s. The lovable star aged gracefully, tallying nearly half of his 3,166 career hits over his final nine seasons while cementing his reputation as one of the greatest defenders the hot corner has ever seen. Though he did not win an MVP, Beltre did make four All-Star appearances and recorded four of his five career 30-homer seasons in the past decade.

Troy Tulowitzki, shortstop

The oft-injured Tulowitzki appeared in only 859 games from 2010-19 before a brief, ill-fated comeback attempt in July. But when he was on, Tulo had few peers at shortstop. Despite all of the injuries, he still made five All-Star appearances this decade, won two Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers, and posted the decade's highest WAR among shortstops. He was always one of the best defenders at shortstop, playing the position with remarkable grace, agility, and ease, despite standing at 6-foot-3.

Mike Trout, outfield

Trout is the best player of the decade, and will likely end up as one of the 10 greatest of all time. If you need any more explanation, you probably don't watch baseball.

Andrew McCutchen, outfield

Cutch has quietly gone about his business to become one of only two outfielders (alongside Trout) with more than 40 WAR during the 2010s. With help from an amazing peak in Pittsburgh that included his MVP season, McCutchen's been a model of consistency. He cracked the .360 OBP mark nine times since 2010 (and four straight years above .400), had an OPS above .950 twice, won four Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove, and finished top-five in MVP voting for four straight years. McCutchen is also regarded as one of MLB's finest citizens and won the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award in 2013.

Mookie Betts, outfield

The 2018 AL MVP is both a superstar and a force on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Betts is a batting champion and two-time runs leader with four straight seasons of 100-plus runs, five straight years of 40-plus doubles, and a 30-30 campaign. On defense, Betts tallied 113 defensive runs saved - one of only four outfielders with 100+ DRS this decade - led the league twice in total zone runs as a right fielder, and leads all active RFs in range factor per nine innings. As hard as it is to believe, he's just getting started.

Miguel Cabrera, designated hitter

Over the past decade, Cabrera bolstered his Hall of Fame resume by becoming a two-time MVP and made history in 2012 as the sport's first triple crown winner in 45 years. He won four batting titles, led the majors in OBP twice, slugged above .600 three times, scored over 100 runs five times, and produced four seasons of 40-plus doubles - and one 52-double campaign. He posted the highest batting average of the decade and tied Votto for the second-best wRC+. With both of his defensive positions filled, DH is the perfect place for Miggy on the all-2010s team.

Bench

Yadier Molina, Robinson Cano, Ben Zobrist, Giancarlo Stanton

Every good team needs a backup catcher - not even the great Buster Posey can do it all himself - and Yadi is a perfect choice for the job. The veteran has earned a reputation as a durable and reliable backstop with a brilliant glove and excellent leadership abilities.

Cano was a no-brainer for the bench after narrowly losing the second base spot to Altuve. Despite his 2018 PED suspension and woeful 2019 campaign with the Mets, he was the decade's hits leader and ranks top-five in WAR.

Zobrist is the wild-card addition to this squad. He broke ground this decade as the first true super-utility star, paving the way for multi-positional players to become the norm while posting a top-five WAR total as both a second baseman and outfielder. Star utility players who get into over 140 games at several positions are now far more common across the sport, and they all owe Zobrist a debt of gratitude. If you're building a bench, you need him on it.

Despite injuries curtailing his playing time, Stanton still hit 308 home runs over the past 10 years - only Edwin Encarnacion and Nelson Cruz hit more. He also owns the decade's single-season homer crown, smacking 59 during his MVP-winning season of 2017.

Starting rotation

Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Chris Sale, Zack Greinke

Kershaw is one of the finest left-handers ever and has won three Cy Young awards to go with his 2014 MVP. He's the decade's pitching leader in WAR, led the majors in ERA four times, had three sub-2.00 ERA seasons, and was a two-time WHIP leader. Fifteen of his decade-high 25 complete games were shutouts. In a homer-heavy era, Kershaw allowed only 155 long balls.

Scherzer, another three-time Cy Young winner, is the decade's strikeout king. His active streak of eight straight 200-K seasons is the second-longest in history (trailing only Tom Seaver's nine), and he led the category three times - including an even 300 in 2018.

Verlander owns a pair of AL Cy Youngs and the 2011 AL MVP, as well as the 2017 ALCS MVP. He was the decade's workhorse, leading in innings pitched - only he and Scherzer crossed the 2,000-inning mark - and second in complete games (20) to Kershaw's 25. Two of his three no-hitters were thrown over the last 10 years.

Sale has never won a Cy Young but has been one of the premier strikeout artists of the decade, entering the 2020s with seven straight 200-K seasons. Like Scherzer, he also has one 300-K campaign (308 in 2017). His 5.37 strikeout-to-walk ratio is not only the best of the decade (minimum 1,000 innings), but also ranks first all time.

Greinke has bounced around, suiting up for six teams in the last 10 years (did you forget about the Angels?), but no matter the uniform, he's quietly been one of the most consistent starters of the era. Included in this decade were five All-Star appearances, six Gold Gloves, and a ridiculous 2015 campaign that saw him post the lowest single-season ERA of the 2010s (1.66) and the second-lowest WHIP (0.84).

Bullpen

Aroldis Chapman, closer

Armed with a devastating fastball that's averaged 100 mph over his career, the "Cuban Missile" is an easy choice for the all-decade closer. Chapman trails in the save category (273), but still posted an impeccable 7.7% home run/flyball rate with only 27 total allowed in the regular season - and never more than seven in a single year. By WAR, he was the best reliever of the 2010s.

Remaining bullpen

Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, David Robertson, Greg Holland

Backing up Chapman are two of the decade's great closers Jansen and Kimbrel, the lone relievers to record 300 saves over the past 10 years. Kimbrel made his case as one of the best closers ever with seven All-Star appearances, four straight years leading the NL in saves, and four Reliever of the Year awards; Jansen, a converted catcher, led all relievers in strikeouts during the 2010s.

Miller brought the "super reliever" back to life this decade during his dominant run for five playoff teams. With an ability to produce in virtually every possible relief situation, he was one of the more feared relievers of the past 10 years.

Before getting hurt and missing most of 2019, Betances became the most dominant strikeout artist to ever emerge from the bullpen. He struck out 100 batters in five straight seasons from 2014-18, the first reliever to ever accomplish the feat.

Robertson was a quiet model of consistency out of the bullpen. You might not have noticed him accruing the fourth-highest WAR among relievers during the past decade.

Holland won both a Reliever of the Year award and Comeback Player of the Year during the past decade while closing for several playoff teams.

Bruce Bochy, manager

The most successful skipper of this decade, Bochy cemented his Cooperstown credentials by guiding the dynastic Giants to three World Series titles in five years, and a fourth postseason berth in 2016. His teams won at least one round in each of their playoff runs this decade. Bochy became the 11th manager to record 2,000 career wins late in the 2019 season.

Coaching staff: Joe Maddon, Terry Francona, Bob Melvin

(WAR source: FanGraphs)