Baseball Lineup of the Best Players Whose Name Starts with V

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made the gesture famous when he held up two fingers in the shape of a V. He of course was signifying victory for the allies in World War II. The gesture soon came to represent peace, especially among the hippie generation of the 60s and 70s.

Were Churchill to lead a baseball team filled with players whose last name started with the letter he made famous, his middle and index fingers would probably become permanently fixed in that erect position. His team would include several Hall of Famers, who led their teams to victory many times.

First Base - Mickey Vernon: An All-Star for seven consecutive years, the Washington Senator twice led the league in batting, including a .353 average in 1946. He also had respectable power, clubbing nearly 500 doubles in his career.

Second Base - Jose Vidro: The long-time Expo is a .298 career hitter and averages double figures in homers.

Shortstop - Arky Vaughn: An All-Star for fourteen straight seasons, the Hall of Famer could really rake as a Pirate and Dodger. He hit .385 in 1935, and he ended his career with a .318 average.

Third Base - Robin Ventura: One of the leaders on the contending ChiSox teams of the 90s, Ventura hit 294 homers and drove in 1182 in his career. He also earned five Gold Gloves manning the hot corner.

Catcher - Jason Varitek: The Red Sox captain led mostly with great game calling, but his offense was above average for backstops. He currently is within reach of 200 career home runs.

Outfield 1 - Greg Vaughn: One of the most underrated sluggers of the 90s, the Brewer/Red/Padre hit 355 career homers, including 50 in 1998. He also amassed 1092 RBI during his career.

Outfield 2 - Andy Van Slyke: The popular Pirate and Cardinal hit 164 homers, swiped 245 bases, and came up just shy of legging out 100 triples in his career.

Outfield 3 - George Van Haltren: One of the first sparkplugs to appear in the Majors, he lad the 1890s Giants with 583 stolen bases and a .316 career batting average.

Designated Hitter - Mo Vaughn: The 1995 MVP as a member of the Red Sox, Vaughn for his career slugged 328 homers, drove in over 1000 runs, and hit over .300 from 1994-1998.

Pitcher 1 - Dazzy Vance: The Dodgers hurler was dazzling, winning 197 games and striking out over 2000 in his career. He even won the MVP in 1924 after winning 28 games.

Pitcher 2 - Frank Viola: A key member of the Twins championship team in 1987, Viola ended up with 176 wins and fell about 100 shy of 2000 strikeouts.

Pitcher 3 - Fernando Valenzuela: His unusual delivery and talent spawned Fernando Mania in 1981, when he won Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award. Though the mania faded, Fernando himself went on to win 141 games and getting strike three on a 1764 of the batters who opposed him.

Relief Pitcher - Dave Veres: Veres was a strong closer for several NL teams, saving sixty games during a two year span with the Rockies and Cardinals.