The Only Active Greatest Player In MLB Franchise History Is Mike Trout

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Aaron Judge is having an immortal season in the middle of an incredible career. If he doesn't get hurt, he's already a lock to win his 3rd AL MVP award. Having said all of that, he's somewhere between the 6th and 9th best player in Yankee history. That's obviously not Judge's fault. The Yankee history is just that rich.

So who are the greatest players in MLB franchise history that are still active? It's a tougher list than it may sound. Think about how accomplished Miguel Cabrera was. He doesn't come close to what Ty Cobb was able to achieve. Bryce Harper isn't anywhere near Mike Schmidt. For the 16 original AL/NL franchises especially, it's an incredible difficult thing to do.

Let's take each division one at a time in the American League and see if anyone is able to be the best player in franchise history (and who comes the closest):

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AL East

Rays: Evan Longoria

Orioles: Cal Ripken, Jr.

Red Sox: Ted Williams

Yankees: Babe Ruth

Blue Jays: Roy Halladay (?)

The Yankees, Red Sox and Orioles all-timers is going to be tough to crack. Especially if the Red Sox keep trading away their best hitters. Longoria isn't a Hall Of Famer but was a very good player for Tampa Bay for a long time. The Rays have only been around since 1998 but no active player is even in the top 10 in WAR. We're years away from anyone even seriously being considered of taking down Longoria.

Which leaves us with the Blue Jays. The best player by WAR for the Jays is Dave Stieb, who was a very good pitcher for a long time. But Roy Halliday was so much more dominant and is my pick for best player in Jays history. You could also make a good case for Roberto Alomar. I'm guessing some people might even say it's Carlos Delgado.

That it's that up in the air means that it's also up for grabs. Now that Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. signed the big extension to say in Toronto, I think he's easily got the best chance in the entire division to be the greatest player in Blue Jays history.

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AL Central

Tigers: Ty Cobb

Guardians: Bob Feller

Senators/Twins: Walter Johnson

Royals: George Brett

White Sox: Frank Thomas

If you want me to just count the Twins as their own organization, then the answer is Kirby Puckett for me (although some people might say it's Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew or Joe Mauer). It doesn't matter for this exercise. Who's the best option? Royce Lewis? He's well over a decade away at best.

Not only is no active player the best in franchise history in the AL Central, no one is even remotely close. I don't think Bobby Witt, Jr. has much (if any) chance to have a better Royals career than George Brett but he's the closest among any player on any of these teams.

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AL West

Astros: Craig Biggio (Or Jeff Bagwell)

Mariners: Ken Griffey, Jr.

Rangers: Ivan Rodriguez

Angels: Mike Trout

A's: Rickey Henderson

This is an interesting division. You can make a real case for either Bagwell or Biggio. I'm more of a Biggio guy but I understand the Bagwell people. For the sake of this exercise, let's say that we're both right. The question here is can Jose Altuve catch both of them?

When you consider post-season success, you can make a case that Altuve is already the greatest player in Astros history. Two World Series wins and an AL MVP. The only negative you can make is that hasn't played long enough to eclipse Biggio/Bagwell. Altuve "only" has 2,306 hits and 240 home runs. He is signed for 4 more seasons. If he can even play decently for those 4 years, he'll be the all-time Astro.

The Rangers case is also intriguing. It's Pudge but let's say Corey Seager finishes his career with the Rangers. He already won a World Series there and is in the middle of his 4th strong season in Texas. He's also signed for 6 more seasons. He plays out that contract with success and he'll pass Ivan Rodriguez. 

Mike Trout is the finally the first (and only?) greatest active player in franchise history. It's not even particularly close. Who is next? Maybe Shohei Ohtani but he was only there for 6 seasons. Nolan Ryan was the guy before Trout but he only played with the Angels for 8 seasons. Tim Salmon? 

I know he's hurt all the time and not as great as he once was but it's pretty cool that if you see Mike Trout play, you can say you're seeing the best ever Angel.

We can tackle the National League next and see if there if there is anyone at all who can wear the crown for their team.