Shohei Ohtani and Francisco Lindor lead 2024 All-World team

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With the postseason in the middle of its all-out October frenzy, I thought it would be a good time to look back at the past six months of the regular season and create an All-World lineup. We’re talking all nine positions, plus DH and reliever. To make this a little more challenging, I gave myself a couple of ground rules:

1. The player must have been born outside the United States (As Puerto Rico has its own World Baseball Classic team, we are counting P.R., too.)

2. Each country/territory can only be represented once. So, if Shohei Ohtani is our DH (spoiler alert: He very much is) then that means Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Shota Imanaga cannot be our starting pitcher.

Here’s the team I put together. If you make your own team, I would love to see them.

C: William Contreras - Venezuela

The younger brother of Cardinals catcher Wilson, this Contreras set career highs in home runs (23), RBIs (92), and games played (155) – 119 of those he started behind the dish.

1B: Vlad Guerrero Jr - Dominican Republic

While we could technically call this Canada as Guerrero was born in Montreal while his father was playing for the Expos, a quick office poll found that most thought this would be cheating. A bounceback season saw Guerrero set a career-high with a .323 batting average – just nine points behind Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. for the American League batting title – while adding 30 home runs, 103 RBIs, and cutting his strikeouts to double-digits for the first time in a full season.

2B: José Iglesias - Cuba

Iglesias may not have been with a big league team until the end of May, but he made up for it once he arrived in Queens. Playing primarily second base, Iglesias became an immediate sparkplug for the Mets -- and not just on the field, either. While his .337 average was a career-best in any year he had more than 200 plate appearances, it was his song, “OMG,” that became a rallying cry for the team as they thrust themselves back into the postseason race.

SS: Francisco Lindor - Puerto Rico

If not for a certain DH out in Los Angeles who was doing things the game had never seen before, Lindor stood a good chance to win the National League MVP Award. Lindor came one stolen base shy of a 30/30 season while continuing to flash a solid glove at the game’s most important defensive position.

3B: Isaac Paredes - Mexico

A pull-happy slugger, Paredes may not win many batting titles, but he provides plenty of pop from the hot corner. The Cubs acquired him from the Rays at the deadline with an eye to the future as Paredes is due to enter arbitration for the first time this winter. His 50 home runs over the past two seasons puts him ahead of big name stars Matt Chapman and Nolan Arenado.

LF: Jurickson Profar - Curacao

Profar may have made news this week for his remarkable home run robbery fakeout against the Dodgers, but the 31-year-old was an integral member of the Padres lineup all year. Profar was elected to his first All-Star Game during a year that saw him set career highs in OPS (.839), home runs (24), RBIs (85), while also leading the league in hit-by-pitches with 18.

CF: Jazz Chisholm - Bahamas

Though the Yankees turned him into a third baseman after acquiring him in July, Chisholm spent most of his 2024 season patrolling center field for the Marlins. Given a fresh start in New York, Chisholm finished the season with a career-best 24 home runs while swiping 40 bags for the first time in his career, too.

RF: Tyler O’Neill - Canada

Gifted with some of the meatiest biceps in the Major Leagues, O’Neill put that strength to good use, leading the Red Sox with 31 home runs despite appearing in only 113 ballgames while battling a variety of maladies. A free agent going into next year, the Burnaby, Canada native will be high on any team’s wishlist that needs a little more oomph in their lineup.

SP: Samuel Aldegheri - Italy

Hey, become the first person in the game’s history to do something and you can make this list, too! Becoming the first player born and developed in Italy to reach the Major Leagues, Aldegheri made more history when he collected his first victory for the Angels, defeating the Rangers with six innings of one-run ball on Sept. 6th.

RP: Tayler Scott - South Africa

After bouncing between three teams last season, Scott -- whose glove features an image of the South African flag on it -- found Houston to his liking this summer. Scrapping the offspeed stuff in favor of his low-90s fastball, the righthander posted a 2.23 ERA and struck out 71 batters in 68 2/3 innings, more than doubling the 46 frames he had tossed for six teams between 2019-23.

DH: Shohei Ohtani - Japan

The first ever 50/50 season that very nearly became a 50/60 season?! Yeah, there’s no contest here. Special billboards -- one for every home run and stolen base -- went up in Japan, with one fan making sure to see every single one within hours of them going up.