My Favorite Baseball Players

As long as we're picking the best players, and the best names, here's my favorite players: guys who made/make me smile and admire because they played the game with style, skill and no excuses:


P: Luis Tiant

C: Manny Sanguillen

1B: Don Mattingly

2B: Phil Garner

SS: Cal Ripken

3B: Ken Caminiti

LF: Brian Downing

CF: Kirby Puckett

RF: Roberto Clemente

Hmmmmmm.... I'm very surprised about some class acts who were omitted from your list.


Barry Bonds

John Rocker

Darryl Strawberry

Shoeless Joe Jackson

Joe Dimaggio


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natedogg

moose scowran

mickey mantle

no neck williams

enos slaughter

stan musial

ryan duran(threw faster than nollan ryan)

yoggi berra

jolton joe

ted williams

bobby richardson

You're dating yourself. I remember a lot of those players. I remember how hard Duren threw, with those big thick glasses, scared the hitters to death. Richardson sermonized at Mantle's funeral; he's a minister, I believe. Stengel once said about him, Look at that guy, doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't curse, doesn't womanize, and he still can't hit .250.


I was at a Dodgers/Yankees World Series game in 1963 (I was 10 and a big Yankee fan, still am) and Skowron, who had been traded to the Dodgers after about 8-9 years with the Yanks, hit a home run against for the Dodgers against us. Almost 40 years ago, and I can still see it clearly.


What is is about baseball that stays with you like that?

Pete Rose

Gaylord Perry

Joe Rudi

Gene Tenace

Tom Seaver

Yaz

Johnny Bench

Joe Morgan

Al Hrobosky

Lou Brock

Brooks Robinson

Frank Robinson

Roberto Clemente

“Pops” Stargell

Sammy Sosa

Sandy Koufax

Don Drysdale

Willie Mays

Mickey Mantle

Yogi Berra

George Brett

Tony Gwynn

Dennis Martinez

Oral Hersheiser

Cal Ripken

Eddy Murray

Luis Tiant

Sonny Seibert

Were you at the Koufax Ford game? Moose knocked one out in that one. It was one of the highlites of my life, and probably of his. Hated the yankees but loved the Moose. He couldn't lay off of high fast balls, and would tomahawk them over the fence.


Saw both Clemente and Sanguilian play many times. In the old Forbes Field, Clemente would play the caroms off the right field wall to perfection. This is the field John Cole alluded to where Owen Wilson hit 36 triples in the early 1900's. Sanguilian was the fastest running catcher I've ever seen for his first couple of years.

honus wagner

pete rose

mike schmidt

larry bowa

richie hebner "the hacker"

garry maddox

dave cash

steve carlton

bob booooooone

greg gross "clutch hit in 80 playoffs"

so i'm a homer, these are some of my favorite players :o)

You gotta add Peewee Reese in there for his uncompromised acceptance of Jackie Robinson during Jackie's rookie year. As a southerner in that era, it took a couple of big ones to do that.

I was at game 3, Podres vs. Al Downing. Dodgers won 4-1.


My only memory of Forbes field is seeing Yogi look up to see Mazeroski's home run go out. Sad moment for us Yankee fans

Good to see El Tiante on your list too. Remember how he'd come to the stretch position, sort of bouncing his hand up and down seemingly interminably until they finally came to a rest?

(Sort of like Sergio Garcia gripping a golf club.)

He pitched a shutout in his first game against the Reds in the 1975 series, but the next game he pitched he had absolutely nothing, yet won the game 5-4 (I'm pretty sure) with grit and guile. One of the greatest pitching performances I've ever seen.

thinks Ozzie Smith was the greatest shortstop of all time?

Luis Tiant began his major league career in Cleveland. Ah what a staff, Tiant, McDowell, and Siebert but the Indians never won the pennant though. Later on I was glad to see him get to pitch in the post season.

You aren't the only one. One person I can think of who shares your opinion is Bob Costas.

He may well have been the greatest fielding shortstop of all-time. But his hitting, compared to Honus Wagner and Arky Vaughn, to name two, drops him below them.

P Bill Lee

C Mike Sciosia

1B JT Snow

2b Charlie Gehringer

3B Brooks Robinson

SS Mark Belanger

LF Sandy Amros (for "the catch")/Benny Agbayani (cuz I grew up with him)

CF Duke Snider

RF Dwight Evans


Can you tell I'm a dodger fan/ex-pitcher (love the defense)