The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as it is formally called, was separated from the USA in 1776 and we do not need to get into the details about why this happened or whether this was a good idea in the first place.
It’s actually not obvious that the entire UK is being represented here; the team is referred to as “Great Britain” in international competitions, including the World Baseball Classic, which they have managed to get a couple of wins in. I believe this point to be in fact moot, as while I will be using the UK as the birthplace source, I can see the cities (in most cases), and I don’t think anyone from Northern Ireland is actually making the club.
With Britain having only recent qualification1 in the WBC, you might expect the majority of their players to come from recent times. But in fact the opposite is the case — most of the players come from the first half-century of baseball’s history, having immigrated to the US in the 19th century or early 20th century.
As of the time of writing, 52 Major League ballplayers were born in the United Kingdom. This Great Britain roster will appeal to Rule B to add 5 of their better players.
Stadium
In 2012, London hosted the Olympic Games. Baseball was not on the program, but they built the London Olympic Stadium as the track and field site, then converted it to be the home of the West Ham United soccer team. Due to the presence of the track around the stadium, it becomes just big enough to host baseball games, and on two occasions, Major League Baseball has played matches on the ground. The stadium is definitely a bit of a bandbox with high offense expected, but it does function.
Manager
Harry Wright of Sheffield was one of the pioneers of baseball and indeed among the first professional players, before the major leagues were even established as a thing. From the National Association’s establishment, Wright managed clubs in Boston, Providence, and Philadelphia up until after the 1893 season, including 6 total pennants. Wright is in the Hall of Fame as an executive/pioneer.
Pitchers
The Starting Rotation
Jim McCormick (Glasgow2, 1878-1887, 4275.2 IP, 2.43 ERA, 265 W, 1704 K, 75.99 WAR) — The greatest Scottish ballplayer in history, and has a case to be in the Hall of Fame (though he is not at present).
Jim McCormick. Credit: Cooperstown Cred Ted Lewis (Machynlleth, Powys, 1896-1901, 1405 IP, 3.53 ERA, 94 W, 378 K, 19.17 WAR)
Danny Cox (Northampton, 1983-1995, 1298 IP, 3.64 ERA, 74 W, 723 K, 10.55 WAR)
George Chalmers (Aberdeen, 1910-1916, 646.1 IP, 3.41 ERA, 290 K, 0.48 WAR)
Vance Worley (Sacramento, CA (USA), 2010-2017, 667 IP, 4.09 ERA, 297 K, 5.3 WAR)
Bullpen (Short Relief)
Harry Wright (Sheffield, 1871-1877, 100.1 IP, 3.68 ERA, 14 S, 6 K, 0.32 WAR) — Wright’s playing days were actually on their way out by the time that the National Association was formed, but he’s still the best bullpen option Britain has.3
Ian Gibaut (Houston, TX (USA), 2019-2025, 172.1 IP, 4.18 ERA, 167 K, 2.4 WAR)
Tristan Beck (Corona, CA (USA), 2023-present, 170.1+ IP, 4.12 ERA, 128+ K, 1.5 WAR)
Tom Waddell (Dundee, 1984-1987, 215.1 IP, 4.30 ERA, 15 S, 118 K, 2.80 WAR)
Lance Painter (Bedford, 1993-2003, 450 IP, 5.24 ERA, 331 K, 1.83 WAR)
Michael Petersen (Middlesex, 2024-present, 83.2+ IP, 3.98 ERA, 85+ K, 0.62 WAR)
Bullpen (Long Relief)
Tom Tuckey (Birmingham, 1908-1909, 162.2 IP, 3.49 ERA, 42 K, -0.32 WAR)
Paul Marak (Lakenheath, Suffolk, 1990, 39 IP, 3.69 ERA, 0.74 WAR)
Batters
The Starting Nine
LF Tom Brown (Liverpool, 1882-1898, 1958 H, 64 HR, 658 SB, .265/.336/.361, 14.82 WAR) — Stats from this era often fail to specify where in the outfield that outfielders played, so we just stick them where it’s convenient. Overall, all of this team’s outfielders would seem to be pretty flexible about where they played.
3B Jimmy Austin (Swansea, 1909-1929, 1398 H, 244 SB, .246/.326/.314, 21.90 WAR) — Will also be the backup at shortstop.
CF Bobby Thomson (Glasgow, 1946-1960, 1705 H, 264 HR, .270/.332/.462, 33.78 WAR) — Played quite a bit of left and third as well, but we need him in the outfield more, so it’s unlikely he’ll move off of center.
Bobby Thomson. Credit: The Guardian DH George Hall (Stepney, London, 1871-1877, 538 H, .322/.337/.451, 10.45 WAR) — Our backup at first base, also available in the outfield (where he mostly played).
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Nassau (Bahamas), 603+ H, 124+ HR, 160+ SB, .243/.313/.446, 13.5 WAR) — Can also be an option in center field.
RF Charlie Hanford (Tunstall, Staffordshire, 1914-1915, 217 H, .280/.323/.414, 2.71 WAR) — Normally a center fielder, but also played right, and we have a center fielder in Thomson.
C Dick Higham (Ipswich, Suffolk, 1871-1880, 549 H, .307/.314/.378, 6.92 WAR) — Played more outfield than catcher, and I’d normally avoid catching someone like this, but we really need every bit of offense and it’s very unlikely we’ll have him doing something other than catching.
SS Dave Brain (Hereford, 1901-1908, 641 H, .252/.292/.363, 11.59 WAR) — Primarily a third baseman, but we have a lot of third basemen and no true shortstops; Brain seems to be the most experienced option at the position.
1B Ed Cogswell4 (1879-1882, 146 H, .294/.328/.349, 2.82 WAR)
The Bench
C Harry Smith (Yorkshire, 1902-1910, 214 H, .213/.262/.255, 0.72 WAR)
2B/3B Hobe Ferris (Trowbridge, Wiltshire, 1901-1909, 1145 H, .239/.265/.341, 16.42 WAR)
OF Trayce Thompson (Los Angeles, CA (USA), 2015-2023, 198 H, .212/.300/.411, 2.9 WAR) — Primarily a right-fielder but played all three outfield positions.
OF Hugh Nicol (Campsie, Stirling, 1881-1890, 813 H, 383 SB, .235/.307/.282, 4.06 WAR) — Nicol is possibly mostly useful to pinch run, but also someone to potentially play anywhere in the outfield.
OF/RP Harry Wright (Sheffield, 1871-1877, 224 H, .274/.307/.336, 0.60 WAR) — Wright has enough to deal with managing and closing so probably won’t bat often, but the overall batting numbers are good enough to be worth mentioning, and he technically did play more outfield than pitcher. Still, he’s more important on this team as a pitcher so will use a pitcher slot.
Honorable Mention
RP Phil Stockman (Oldham, 2006-2008, 11.1 IP, 0.79 ERA, 13 K, 0.39 WAR) — 11 innings just isn’t enough to justify a roster spot here, but those are some very very good 11 innings.
In general, though, I think the team selections are pretty clear and the players picked are chosen as they are for a reason.
Great Britain has had an interesting history with baseball, and hopefully the game will grow. We’ll head back to the US next time…
I originally wrote “success” here but have since thought better of it.
The vast majority of birthplaces on this team are in cities and regions that are identically named or nearly so (perhaps adding -shire). I will omit the regions in such cases but list it when the names are different.
I have some external knowledge and I’d like to add someone else to this bullpen, but I have no coherent way to research that sort of thing, so it would be unfair to add Trevor Hoffman, who I know has an English parent and would have been eligible to play had the WBC existed in his prime (though he might have preferred to play for USA anyway, as he’d likely still be the closer on a much better team).
Unknown birthplace city