Baseball's "P" Team is Stacked with All-Stars and Hall of Famers

There is an adage commonly used for advice, suggesting one mind his P's and Q's. The root of the expression is from the printing business, but it is still a good rule of thumb when one wants to succeed.

When applied to baseball, only half of the expression is necessary. A team will be successful just by minding its P's, or players whose last name begin with that letter. The squad is so good that it had to omit legends such as Boog Powell, Vada Pinson, and Wally Post.

Here is the lineup, featuring half a dozen current Hall of Famers and several more future ones.

First Base - Albert Pujols: Already with several MVP awards, the Cardinals' star has tremendous power while also consistently among the league leaders in batting average.

Second Base - Placido Polanco: The current Tiger has a career batting average over .300, and he has flirted with batting titles for several seasons. He has been among the hardest to strike out and has developed into one of the best two-hole hitters to ever play the game.

Shortstop - Rico Petrocelli: He had unheard of power for a shortstop, blasting 40 in one season during the era of the pitcher. He was also a key piece in the pennant winning Red Sox lineup of 1967.

Third Base - Larry Parrish: He was part of the Expos team that battled the National League Championship series. Parrish had solid power and an underrated glove at the hot corner. He went on to bash over 200 career home runs.

Catcher - Mike Piazza: He holds the career record for home runs by a catcher, but his ability to hit for high average was even more impressive. He was a perennial All-Star in the 90s and 00s, and was he Rookie of the Year during his first season with the Dodgers.

Outfield 1 - Kirby Puckett: Though his career was cut short, Puckett managed to win a World Series, an MVP, and start in consecutive All-Star games. His surprising power and ability to hit for high average made him a fan favorite of the Twins throughout his career.

Outfield 2 - Dave Parker: How is this guy not in the Hall of Fame? He had the greatest outfield arm ever. He won consecutive batting titles for the Pirates. He averaged over 20 homers a season and close to 100 RBI. His Pittsburg teams were always contenders in the NL East. He was an All-Star MVP.

Outfield 3 - Rafael Palmiero: Though he spent much of his career as a first baseman, Palmiero came up to the Majors as an outfielder for the Cubs. He did it all when it came to hitting. He had 500 career home runs. He had 3000 hits. He had a lifetime average close to .300.

Designated Hitter - Tony Perez: He qualifies at both third and first, where he played for the Big Red Machine of the 70s. The Hall of Famer was an RBI machine and had underrated power.

Pitcher 1 - Gaylord Perry: The Hall of Fame hurler reached the two most important milestones for pitchers, finishing with over 300 wins and 3000 strikeouts. Though he earned most of his wins with the Giants, Perry did win the Cy Young award as a Padre and had very good seasons with the Rangers and Indians.

Pitcher 2 - Jim Palmer: The popular Oriole became the face of the organization after leading the team to several World Series championships and winning more than 300 games for them before wearing their bird cap into the Hall of Fame.

Pitcher 3 - Satchel Paige: After spending his prime years in the Negro Leagues, Paige was still able to make an impression in the Majors in his later career.

Relief Pitcher - Troy Percival: The closer for the World Series champion Angels in the early part of the 21^st century, Percival is among the career leaders in saves.