This is our hardest era to assess to date, for obvious reasons. At this point, we have 45 players (!) advanced to our great MLB GOAT debate, and it’s time now for the PED(-free) Era of the 2000s and early 2010s. We’re not going to waste column inches on cheaters here, so if a name is “missing” from these analyses below, you can do a search on the site for the name and find an explanation previously given for omission.

Catcher: This is really not even a discussion, as Joe Mauer (9th in positional ranks based on 55.2 WAR) takes the cake here, readily, although we will mention Yadier Molina (19th, 42.3) or respect’s sake. Both players were clean, without any abnormalities in their career arcs or statistical trends. Mauer finished in the positive range for dWAR (3.0), and he also won three batting titles, which is nuts. Molina was a 9-time Gold Glove winner, and none of them were suspect (although maybe he didn’t deserve them all). Mauer wins the era, of course, and he will be advanced to the finals.

First Base: There are two studs here to consider, and both are considered clean with normal career peaks and declines. They are, of course, Albert Pujols (2nd, 101.7) and Miguel Cabrera (13th, 67.5). Both finished with negative gloves, though, and that hurts them—Cabrera, especially (-21.0 dWAR). He really should have been a designated hitter; his oWAR (77.8) would put him in the Top 10 all time, positionally. That being said, we just can’t advance him or slide him over to the UTL spot. Or can we? Let’s slide him for now, as Miggy did play the outfield and third base, too. Pujols (-4.1 dWAR) is therefore easy to entrench here for the era, as well as for the finals, even though he, too, played a lot of different positions in his distinguished career.

Second Base: We have just one candidate here, who will not be advanced. Chase Utley (15th, 64.5) had a fine career which included a World Series title and six All-Star selections. We also would have given him our 2008 NL MVP nod. We’re not sure how he never won a Gold Glove (17.3 dWAR, including an MLB-best 3.5 dWAR in 2008). In a six-year span (2005-2010), he totaled 14.1 dWAR—and never won a GG. Robbery!

Shortstop: We think he’s always been very overrated, but Derek Jeter (10th, 71.3) is the only worthy (clean) player of this era at this position. Finishing with -9.4 dWAR, though, he somehow managed to win five GGs—including 2005 when he posted -1.8 dWAR. Having a negative glove over a career at this position disqualifies any shortstop from being advanced, though.

Third Base: We have a quiet, under-the-radar candidate here in Adrián Beltré (3rd, 93.5). We gave him our 2004 NL MVP trophy, too. With 27.0 dWAR for his career and 3,000-plus hits, as well, he’s an easy selection here for the era—and for advancement to the finals. But we also want to mention Scott Rolen (10th, 70.1), who was inducted today into Cooperstown. He had a great career, obviously, also in an understated way.

Left Field: Someone has to get the nod here, and that will Lance Berkman (22nd, 52.0). He’s obviously not getting advanced, but this is a position that has been pretty weak in terms of clean players and this century of stars. This is the briefest analysis we’ve done yet in this miniseries. Yikes!

Centerfield: We have only two players to discuss here, as others are still playing who might normally fall into this era. So, it’s just Carlos Beltrán (8th, 70.1) and Andruw Jones (14th, 62.7). With just 2.0 dWAR for his career, Beltrán barely gets the nod era-specific here. Jones did win 10 GGs (all deserved), and he may find his way to Cooperstown eventually. Neither player would get advanced, obviously, despite UTL status.

Right Field: This is all about Ichiro Suzuki (21st, 60.0) and no one else. In just 10 seasons starting at age 27, he set MLB on fire, really. The fact he even made it to 3,000-plus hits and 500-plus steals is stunning, considering he collected almost 1,300 hits in Japan before ever coming to the U.S. From age 27 to age 36, Suzuki topped 205 hits in every season, while also winning two batting titles and 10 GGs (not all deserved). We advance him, because even though his career WAR is low, his career might have been so much more …

Pitchers: We have two starters here, who aren’t still active, but neither will get advanced. But that’s not insulting to Roy Halladay (47th, 64.2) or CC Sabathia (55th, 62.3). One thing you’ll notice is that modernity has been harsher to starting pitchers, in terms of career WAR—even with the guys still active who we will discuss next time out. As for relievers, it comes down to Mariano Rivera (2nd, 56.3) and Trevor Hoffman (13th, 28.0). Rivera’s WAR is inflated due to his team’s winning ways that started before he become a closer—and have continued after his retirement, too. Next to Jeter, he’s the most overrated player we’ve ever seen. Yet we will have to advance Rivera for now, and he gets the singular nod for this era, too, although we really don’t think he’s much better, if at all, than Billy Wagner (14th, 27.7). Sometimes? Right place, right time.

Utility Player(s): Cabrera is the only one here, and we will advance him, because of his Triple Crown—the only one in our lifetime to achieve it. Winner of four batting titles, he also has played the game right, while also taking the field for two different teams at four different positions (1B, 3B, LF, RF). We advance him, despite the atrocious glove. We will worry about that later. By the way, he’s the first active player to get advanced to our finals, as well, even though he should retire (sadly).

In brief review for the moment, our PED(-free) GOAT lineup is as follows: C Mauer, 1B Pujols, 2B Utley, SS Jeter, 3B Beltré, LF Berkman, CF Beltrán, RF Suzuki, SP Halladay, SP Sabathia, RP Rivera, and UTL Cabrera. Of course, six of these players get advanced to the GOAT finals, and we still have one more era—the current one, of sign stealing—to consider. So, stay tuned for that fun adventure!