Five all time favs in MLB

[SLAYER]

Hitters

1- Roberto Clemente- The greatest all around player I ever saw. His fielding and arm alone was worth the price of admission

2- Don Mattingly- Just hit and hit and hit, plus a class guy too bad his back cut his career shaort

3- The Mick- another one whose numbers would be crazy except for injuries

4- Griffey Jr.- see above

5- Al Kaline- The heart of the Tigers in their day.

 

Stan the Man- greatest I never saw.

 

 

Pitchers

1- Sandy Koufax-

2- Bob Gibson- They are the reason the mound and hence pitching in MLB is poor compared to the their time

3- Whitey Ford-

4- Ron Guidry-

5- Jack Morris-

 

How did I forget Nolan Ryan.

Edited July 8, 2008 by SLAYER

[tbimm]

Wow. I like this thread. I will think some about it and put a list together.

[Pope Flick]

I'm going to run with my natural bias, slant a touch towards my home team and also try to pick players I've seen in person....

 

Hitters:

Johnny Bench - I was in StL as an 8 year old, and he hit a line drive into the second deck of Busch. The ball was just coming off it's peak and still, to this day is the hardest hit ball I think I've ever seen. It was a SHOT.

Carlton Fisk - dude was a beast, and a lot of fun to watch.

Eddie Murray - never saw him play, but this guy still seems to get little respect for what he actually accomplished: 3000/500.

Cal Ripken - Maybe saw him play once. But I'll never forget his trot on the night he broke that record. Still gives me chills.

Sammy Sosa - I know, I know. Here's the first of the homer slant. This is a favorites list, and I saw some wild games he hit some long balls in. Regardless of taint (and nothing's been proven on him, though he stinks to high heaven) those are some fun baseball memories (1998 I'm most fond of).

 

Pitchers:

Nolan Ryan - if you ever saw him pitch, you heard that extra POP of the leather that no pitcher I've seen has duplicated. If you never heard it, I don't think you ever will.

Greg Maddux - I'm a small dude (5'10" 170) and still bigger than him. 2 years ago he was in LA for the Dodgers, and was pitching against Barry Bonds. First time a 300 game winner vs 700 Hr hitter. EVER. Barry smokes a line drive on the 5th pitch or so, and Maddux (of many GG's) comes off the ground about two inches and spears that f'er right out of the air....and tosses it to first for an around the horn. One of the coolest plays (literally) I've ever seen. pwnage.

Carlos Zambrano - homer pick, but he's my favorite player in the game because he used to walk to the back of the mound and scream at himself when he got in a jam. He's gotten over that, but now he's taken to arguing to be left in so he can BAT before taking the bench as a pitcher - like he did the other day. That's a gamer. Pure and simple.

Hideo Nomo - I was out here for 'Nomo-mania' and he was pretty damn good for a little while. I saw him throw a 1 hit gem, and his windup is hilarious.

Rivera/Wettland 1996 - I don't like the Yankees (or Red Sox for that matter) but I respect the 1996 team immensely for what these two foolios did: went 70-3 with a lead after the 6th inning, or something ridiculous like that. If they appeared in the same game, the Yankees were 29-2. Remember - Wetteland was so good Rivera was the set-up guy if you are a baseball fan, you cannot deny the genius of turning the match into a 6 inning game.

 

 

I still laugh my ass off at this 21st Century baseball story: Aaron Boone goes yard in the 11th inning of the 2003 ALCS to beat Boston as a Yankee. He tears his knee up early in 2004 playing pickup basketball and is out for the year and cut for violating his contract (which led to the NY acquisition of ARod) He's an Indian in 2005 for his first appearance against the Sox since his HR - and happened to be in Boston. They plunked him on his very first AB - and I think it was the 1st pitch. THAT's baseball!!

 

I also have it on good authority how Mike Scott got away with scuffing the balls when he was an Astro in the 80's. It was never him, it was the catcher who had a piece of metal on his shin guard. He'd scuff the ball when he cocked to throw back to the mound. Scott was willing to take the heat, and no one ever figured it out. (one of my HS buddies in Houston became a local sports reporter years afterwards and found out).

Edited July 8, 2008 by Pope Flick

[Menudo]

My favorites will obviously be Pirates, so, I'll do a Pirates list and then a non-Pirates list. My group starts in the early 80's, as that is the first re-collection I have of watching any baseball.

 

Pirates Hitters

 

Willie Stargell - I was young during his solid years, and saw him play beyond his prime, but, that said, he is still my favorite Pirate that I got to see.

 

Andy Van Slyke - I loved watching this guy play. He went all-out, all the time. Great fielder, solid hitter.

 

Barry Bonds - Like most, my opinion of this guy has gone downhill, but, when he was with the Pirates, I got that feeling that he would hit a HR each

time he was at the plate. I haven't had that feeling for a player since.

 

Brian Giles - This guy was hitting a lot of HR's out of PNC Park at a time when the Pirates fans didn't have much to cheer about.

 

Bill Madlock - The 'Mad Dog' was a phenomenal hitter.

 

Honorable Mention: Dave Parker, Mike Lavalliere, Jay Bell, Johnny Ray, Bobby Bonilla, Tony Pena

 

Pirates Pitchers

 

Doug Drabek - The most consistent Pirate pitcher in my time as a fan.

 

Kent Tekulve - Loved the sidearm delivery, and he was a great closer

 

John Candelaria - The 'candy man' was a great pitcher

 

Bob Walk - Not the most talented pitcher, but, always solid and a good announcer now

 

Rick Rhoden - Very solid starter

 

Honorable Mention - John Smiley, Randy Tomlin, Tim Wakefield, Zane Smith, Don Robinson

 

Non-Pirate HItters

 

Tony Gwynn - Loved watching him hit

 

George Brett - Always admired the fire that he played the game with

 

Wade Boggs - See Tony Gwynn

 

Ken Griffey Jr. - The prettiest swing in all of baseball

 

Ryne Sandberg - His production at 2B was unheard of

 

Non-Pirate Pitchers

 

Nolan Ryan - He is out in front by quite a bit. He was phenomenal.

 

Randy Johnson - He was just plain nasty and one of the most intimidating pitchers ever.

 

Rollie Fingers - Hey, I was young, and I loved the moustache.

 

Fernando Valenzuela - That wind-up was entertaining enough on it's own, but, he was great.

 

Greg Maddux - Just a surgeon on the mound. Phenomenal.

[Gopher]

I'm only old enough to remember back to the early 80's, so....

 

Puckett - Homer pick, but he really had no weakness in his game, except for maybe that he swung at too many bad pitches (but still hit most of them).

Gwynn - Pure hitter.

Dawson - In his prime, nobody was feared more by pitchers.

Brett - Definition of intense.

Sandberg - Not sure why I have two Cubs on this list, but this guy was fun to watch as well. More of a dominant hitter than Ripken, who I also considered, due to his longevity.

 

Eckersley - Closest thing I have ever seen to "unhittable."

Rivera - Next closest thing, but was dominant for a longer period of time.

Ryan - Nothing needs to be said.

Morris - Should be in the hall of fame, and his 10-inning game 7 was the best pitching performance I've seen in the last 25 years, and possibly the best ever, in my opinion.

Maddux - Gave him the slight edge over Pedro, but they're both HOFer's.

[SheikYerbuti]

That I've seen:

 

Vlad - Best bad ball hitter I've ever seen. And he swings like a lumberjack with no gloves. No pitch is safe when he's up.

Manny - A mental case for sure, but the man is a beast, plain and simple.

Jeter - So clutch. . .my favorite of the modern Yankees.

A-Rod - It's so much fun rooting for him to pass Bonds, which he should do within the next 5 years barring injury.

Reggie Jackson - 6 words say it all: "The Straw that Stirs the Drink"

 

That I never saw:

 

Wouldn't it have been great to see Babe Ruth?

 

 

That I've seen:

 

Dwight Gooden - I was 14 in 1986. . .what a Summer in NY that was.

Nolan Ryan - If I remember correctly, Reggie said he had to decide whether or not to swing before he released the ball.

Randy Johnson - One scary mutha.

Johann Santana - I mean, these last 4 years have been as close to a Koufax like run that our generation will ever see, right?

Josh Beckett - No matter what uniform he's wearing, he's a straight up Yankee killer. And while I don't like it, I respect it. You could say the same of Schilling, but he's such a tardfest I can't include him, ever.

 

That I never saw:

 

Wouldn't it have been great to see Babe Ruth?

[whoopazz]

And not one mention of Clemens yet

[SheikYerbuti]

And not one mention of Clemens yet

 

I thought about Clemens, as well as Mark Mcgwire but there's just too many questions about the validity of their numbers. Add his d-baggery and Bonds is right out of my list.

[Cyclones]

Mine will be Blue Jay loaded since I grew up in Northern Ontario and love the Jays.

 

1. Joe Carter - not much explanation necessary here, he hit one of the most memorable dingers of all time and the biggest in Jays history. A nice guy and class act too.

2. Roberto Alomar - came over in the same trade as JC from the Padres (for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez, a fleecing that got the Jays two WS titles.) Robby hit a homer in the 9th off Eckersley in the 1992 ALCS that essentially ended Eck's career - he was never the same again.

3. Ken Griffey Jr. - injuries cost him a shot at the record Bonds holds now, and he did it naturally. Beautiful swing.

4. Jesse Barfield - my favorite Jay from the 80s, led the AL in homers one year and had a CANNON of an arm from the outfield. Helped lead Jays to their first division title in 1985. Formed a great outfield with Lloyd Moseby and George Bell that had the Jays competitive each season.

5. Barry Bonds - juice or not, watching Bonds rake in 2001 was insane. If someone threw him a strike, it was out. Best hitter I've ever seen.

 

Pitchers, same thing;

 

1. Dave Stieb - dude is a Jays legend, had two no hitters broken up in the ninth with 2 outs in a one week span before finally getting a no-no a couple of years later. Led a potent Jays staff throughout 80s.

2. Roy Halladay - my current favorite Jay, guy is nails, throws a billion innings, and has been loyal to us.

3. Roger Clemens - same as with Bonds, juiced, but the guy came to Toronto in 1998 and won the pitching triple crown along with Cy Youngs two years in a row, and at the time I loved him for heading north.

4. Mariano Rivera - surest thing in the post season for 10 years. Best cutter I've ever seen.

5. Jimmy Key - similar to Stieb, played a vital role in the Jays success through 80s/early 90s. Smooth lefty with really nice stuff. Loved watching him pitch.

[SLAYER]

Mine will be Blue Jay loaded since I grew up in Northern Ontario and love the Jays.

 

1. Joe Carter - not much explanation necessary here, he hit one of the most memorable dingers of all time and the biggest in Jays history. A nice guy and class act too.

2. Roberto Alomar - came over in the same trade as JC from the Padres (for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez, a fleecing that got the Jays two WS titles.) Robby hit a homer in the 9th off Eckersley in the 1992 ALCS that essentially ended Eck's career - he was never the same again.

3. Ken Griffey Jr. - injuries cost him a shot at the record Bonds holds now, and he did it naturally. Beautiful swing.

4. Jesse Barfield - my favorite Jay from the 80s, led the AL in homers one year and had a CANNON of an arm from the outfield. Helped lead Jays to their first division title in 1985. Formed a great outfield with Lloyd Moseby and George Bell that had the Jays competitive each season.

5. Barry Bonds - juice or not, watching Bonds rake in 2001 was insane. If someone threw him a strike, it was out. Best hitter I've ever seen.

 

Pitchers, same thing;

 

1. Dave Stieb - dude is a Jays legend, had two no hitters broken up in the ninth with 2 outs in a one week span before finally getting a no-no a couple of years later. Led a potent Jays staff throughout 80s.

2. Roy Halladay - my current favorite Jay, guy is nails, throws a billion innings, and has been loyal to us.

3. Roger Clemens - same as with Bonds, juiced, but the guy came to Toronto in 1998 and won the pitching triple crown along with Cy Youngs two years in a row, and at the time I loved him for heading north.

4. Mariano Rivera - surest thing in the post season for 10 years. Best cutter I've ever seen.

5. Jimmy Key - similar to Stieb, played a vital role in the Jays success through 80s/early 90s. Smooth lefty with really nice stuff. Loved watching him pitch.

 

Almost included Steib on my list. Saw many a Blue Jay game in my time, my ex is from there and went for 2-3 weeks every summer. Caught my first BB from a D. Iorg foul at the old Ex. Love that city.

[Cyclones]

Almost included Steib on my list. Saw many a Blue Jay game in my time, my ex is from there and went for 2-3 weeks every summer. Caught my first BB from a D. Iorg foul at the old Ex. Love that city.

 

Yeah, TO is a great town. The Skydome kind of sucks. I miss the Ex.

[Azazello1313]

nice thread. I feel obliged to stick to players I have watched during my lifetime.

 

hitters:

barry bonds - a prick? yeah. a cheater? yeah. best hitter I have ever seen? without a doubt. his swing is the perfect economy of baseball motion, the perfect motion for generating maximum bat speed in the shortest time.

griffey jr - a more pure power stroke, but another baseball swing surely designed by God himself.

manny ramirez - guy just rakes. love to watch him hit.

will clark - another sweet, sweet swinging lefty

tony gwynn - I never loved that he so consciously avoided hitting for power, but feel privileged for having been able to watch his cerebral approach to hitting for a lot of years.

 

hon mention: vinny castilla, larry walker, eddy murray, albert pujols, don mattingly, julio franco, ricky henderson, cal ripken, robin yount, paul molitor, miguel cabrera, aramis ramirez, andre dawson, jim rice, bo jackson.

 

pitchers:

pedro martinez - in his prime, the way the ball just jumped out of his hand -- amazing

roger clemens - loved watching him in the 80s when he was the pure flamethrowing stud

dwight gooden - for a short time, simply awesome

nolan ryan - used intimidation better than any other pitcher I've watched. poor robin ventura.

mark davis - this is my obscure choice, even though he did win the NL cy young in 1989. for like a year and a half he had the best curveball I've ever seen.

 

hon mention: fernando valenzuela, johan santana, john smoltz, kerry wood, josh beckett, hideo nomo, dontrelle willis, carlos zambrano

[Ramhock]

Tom Seaver

Steve Carlton

Mike Marshall

Bruce Sutter

Jesse Orosco

[Bier Meister]

1. bonds

2. rickey henderson.... had very good pop. loved watching him turn a walk into a triple.

3. gwynn... amazing swing

4. griffey jr

5. boggs

 

 

hm: jeter, mattingly, bench, griffey sr, foster, will clark, ryan sandberg, mark grace, manny, yaz, a-rod, pudge, posada, mccovey, helton

 

 

 

1. maddux

2. randy johnson

3. pedro

4. smoltz

5. eckersely

 

hm: jr richards, clemens, schilling, ryan, pettite, nen, dave stewart

[SLAYER]

1. bonds

2. rickey henderson.... had very good pop. loved watching him turn a walk into a triple.

3. gwynn... amazing swing

4. griffey jr

5. boggs

 

 

hm: jeter, mattingly, bench, griffey sr, foster, will clark, ryan sandberg, mark grace, manny, yaz, a-rod, pudge, posada, mccovey, helton

 

 

 

1. maddux

2. randy johnson

3. pedro

4. smoltz

5. eckersely

 

hm: jr richards, clemens, schilling, ryan, pettite, nen, dave stewart

A JR sighting for two or three years he was awesome. was definately on the road to the hall before injury cut his career short.

[keggerz]

Schmidt

Boggs

Carew

Rose

Bonds

 

Carlton

Ryan

Seaver

Clemens

Maddux

 

and if we were to add fielders:

 

Schmidt

Ozzie Smith

Sandberg

Garry Maddox

Griffey Jr.

Edited July 10, 2008 by keggerz

[Zooty]

Garry Maddox

 

So smooth

 

M. Schmidt- all-time favorite, bare-handing balls at 3rd

P. Rose- played baseball they way you should (except for the whole betting on it part)

R. Henderson- I wanted to be Ricky when I grew up

Reggie Jackson- even more when he swung and missed

K. Griffey Jr- Sweetest swing ever

 

Pitchers

 

S. Carlton- won 27 games for a team that only won 65

Valenzuela- And the crazy wind-up

N. Ryan- any game could be a no-hitter

M. Rivera- most dominating closer- ever

M. Williams- the whole "wild thing" deal was funny till game 6

[keggerz]

So smooth

 

M. Schmidt- all-time favorite, bare-handing balls at 3rd

P. Rose- played baseball they way you should (except for the whole betting on it part)

R. Henderson- I wanted to be Ricky when I grew up

Reggie Jackson- even more when he swung and missed

K. Griffey Jr- Sweetest swing ever

 

Pitchers

 

S. Carlton- won 27 games for a team that only won 65

Valenzuela- And the crazy wind-up

N. Ryan- any game could be a no-hitter

M. Rivera- most dominating closer- ever

M. Williams- the whole "wild thing" deal was funny till game 6

i almost put Ricky in over Carew and I probably should have because as a staunch phils fan as a kid i

had an As helmet and put Rickys number on it.....as far as Maddox goes he was what made me want to be a CFer...his nickname was truly appropriate: The Secretary of Defense.....also, a few years ago i was having dinner at a place right across from Rittenhouse Square(cant remember the d@mn name but its the one with the big circular bar in it) and Maddox was at the table next to me and as bad as I wanted to talk to him and

ask him for his autograph I just let him enjoy his dinner in peace

[tbimm]

This is tough and not off the cuff. These are my favorites and in no way do I think they were all the best at what they did.

 

Offense:

Clemente

Schmidt

Kingman (Even as a Cardinal fan I loved watching him break windows on Waveland)

Yastremski

Rose (Sorry, the best hitter the game has ever seen)

 

Pitchers:

Gibson ( I don't remember much seeing him live but all the footage I have seen explains why he was so feared)

Ryan ( The man was so much like Gibson that I don't feel cheated)

Maddux (Did more with his limited speed than anyone ever will again)

Sutter (As a Cub and Cardinal he was just nasty)

JR Richard (Was a shame his career was cut short. Maybe the hardest thrower ever.)

[piratesownninjas]

Mark McGwire

Nolan Ryan

Ivan Rodriguez

Dean Palmer

Tony Gwynn

[Azazello1313]

defense:

ozzie smith

pudge rodriguez

vlad guererro

griffey jr

larry walker

craig nettles

andruw jones

[Cyclones]

Graig nettles

 

Just sayin.

[Pope Flick]

defense:

ozzie smith

pudge rodriguez

vlad guererro

griffey jr

larry walker

craig nettles

andruw jones

 

 

If you're going to put Vlad in there, you have to mention Jesse Barfield he had better range than Vlad and an absolute cannon for an arm. One of those 'he can throw a strike from right field" cannons.

[Azazello1313]

If you're going to put Vlad in there, you have to mention Jesse Barfield he had better range than Vlad and an absolute cannon for an arm. One of those 'he can throw a strike from right field" cannons.

 

vlad's arm isn't as strong as it was a few years ago, but his first few years in the bigs I don't think I've ever seen a stronger arm. not the most accurate, but wow. I sorta remember barfield. you know another guy I just remembered was raul mondesi. hugh gun. larry walker was one of the best as far as combining arm strength and accuracy. you know who else should definitely be on my defense list is ichiro. dude's like 160 and throws as hard as almost any of these other guys, and he never misses. wish I coulda watched clemente.

[SheikYerbuti]

you know who else should definitely be on my defense list is ichiro. dude's like 160 and throws as hard as almost any of these other guys, and he never misses.

 

There have been a few times in the past couple of years where they've put a position player in to pitch in a mop up situation. The Seattle broadcasters often mention that Ichiro always volunteers to pitch a few innings, but they won't let him. They say he can just about hit 90 on the gun with pretty good control. . . .wow.