Orioles: I’m a sucker for Ripken’s years of consistency and excellence. I’ll call number two a tie…Frank Robinson was fourth all time on the home run list until this steroid era, and has served the game what, into his seventies? Murray’s 500HR/3000 Hit career puts him in an elite class as well. Neither played their entire career in Baltimore. At four is Brooks, whose great Series against the Reds, his competitive fire, his sawed-off batting helmet bill, and his huge smile as a retired ambassador of the sport rank him high in my book. My son plays Little League with a boy named Brooks. Palmer may still look great in Jockeys (or so my wife tells me), but his was an injury plagued career.
Bosox: Some may argue for some present day stars, but these five are all time greats. Arguably one of the greatest pitchers ever, and one of the greatest hitters. (1) Cy Young’s 511 wins is an unbreakable record. (2) Teddy Ballgame’s .400 batting average and 521 home runs in a career cut short by military service. (3) Yaz had a long career, putting up numbers ranking him high on many all-time lists...including 3514 hits. (4) The Rocket’s late career sustained excellence has overshadowed his powerful early years in Boston. (5) Rice was overshadowed by other stars, but had many monster years.
ChiSox: Last years world champions and this year’s addition of Thome do not a career make, so I’m ok with the exclusions. (1) Thomas had a few season’s for the books back in the early nineties, enough to vault to the top of this unheralded list. (2) Baines’ long career is revered on the south side and could win him this vote. (3) Appling is a HOF SS with a career BA of .310, and (4) 2B Fox is another Hall Of Famer. (5) Beloved Minnie’s claim to fame is just his long career.
Indians: Bob Feller was amazing, but Speaker’s 3514 hits and .345 average are hard to top. Doby places third, if only for becoming the first black in the AL. Nap was no slouch with 3242 hits / .338 BA, placing Averilli fifth. Hard to replace these five Hall of Famers with anyone more recent.
Tigers: (1) The Georgia Peach was one of the greatest ever. (2) Greenberg fought prejudice during his shorter, more productive career, though (3) Kaline put up more homers in his longer career. (4) Second-baseman Gehringer made the Hall with a .320 average, and perhaps (5) Trammell’s managerial stint helped earn him a spot on the list over his running mate Lou Whitaker.
Royals: (1) Hall of Famer Brett stands head and shoulders over these other favored sons. Long time Royals (2) Otis, (3) Sweeney, and (4) White were loved in KC, as was my write in for (5): Bo Jackson, the All-Star game MVP who made quite a splash for several years in left field.
Angels: Here’s a team many may cry for more current choices, but I’m writing in more from the past. (1) Carew’s high average challenged the all-time greats, collecting 3000 hits. (2) Nolan Ryan still hold most of the Halos pitching records, and had four of his no-hitters there. (3) The heroic Baylor spent many years on the other coast. (4) Third-baseman Jim Fregosi was a 6-time all-star and had his number retired…he even managed the Angles. (5) Salmon helped lead them to their only title, placing him ahead of popular pitcher Finely and Olympic hero Abbott.
Twins: The old-school Killebrew was also quite popular back in the day, and he retired at 5th on the HR list…putting him first in my book. The late Puckett wins many popularity contests in the twin cities despite his post career troubles. Had his career not been cut short due to eye trouble, he could’ve piled up several more MVP caliber seasons. Carew’s years with the Twins outshone Oliva. Hrbek doesn’t belong on this list…give me Joe Mauer, Paul Molitor, or centerfielder Tori Hunter.
Yankees: Don’t give me Mattingly or even Mariano, perhaps the greatest closer ever. I love Jeter, Arod, and Posada. Munson and Gossage were mean. Even Whitey Ford was great. But all are overshadowed by the five Hall of Famers listed. (1) The Babe changed baseball as a hitter, and also set records pitching. (2) Gehrig was not only the Iron Man, but his stats rival Ruth’s in many categories; .340 average and behind only Aaron and Ruth in RBI. (3) The popular DiMaggio tops (4) the injury-riddled Mantle, who finished with 536 HRs (was he second on the list at the time?). (5) Loveable Yogi stirred the drink in his day, thought he could be replaced by Whitey or Mariano.
Athletics: Tough call, since these guys all played elsewhere. (1) Reggie gets the nod, since he led the A’s championship teams in the 70’s and was 6th all-time in homers. (2) Eckersley was also an important puzzle piece in the 90’s as the closer. (3) Lefty Grove played in Philadelphia, so ‘hometown hero’ doesn’t fit…though his 300 wins and .680 winning percentage do. (4) The volatile Henderson, the base-stealing king and one of the greatest leadoff hitters. (5) Catfish was popular and a Series hero who took the big bucks from the Yankees.
Mariners: (1) Junior’s years in Seattle were compared to the greats, solidifying a HOF career even with the recent injuries. (2) Ichiro has burst upon the scene compiling all-time numbers himself, a singles hitter in the steroids era. (3) DH Edgar is loved in the Pacific Northwest. (4) Write-In…ARod was worth $250 million when he left Seattle. That trumps Buhner and Moyer to 5.
Devil Rays: How can an expansion team claim end of the line free agents as their greatest player ever? Boggs did provide one of the greatest moments in Rays history with he got his 3000th hit, and the Crime Dog tried to go for his 500th homer. Why not add Jose Canseco? I’d rather Rocko Baldelli get votes. (1) Crawford (2) Huff (3) Boggs (4) Hernandez (5) McGriff.
Rangers: (1) Ivan was a catcher for the ages. Write-Ins…(2) ARod carried Texas while pressured by talk of his salary (was Ryan here much longer than ARod?), and (3) Rafael Palmeiro, he of the 500HR/3000hit club. (4) Ryan was amazing, particularly in his 40’s, but his brilliant career was divided between four teams. (5) Kevin Brown did more damage for Texas than Sundberg and Greer combined. Teixeira, great as is he, is still a baby.
Blue Jays: (1) One last write-in…Fred McGriff. Toronto is where he got his start, he tore up AL pitching for many years, and he was a fan favorite. (2) Alomar was an elite second-baseman, (3) Carter hit the walkoff HR to win the Series, and (4) Stieb and (5) Fernandez were both All-Stars.
No relation to Dale! Lifetime Georgia boy...enjoys visiting the rest of the USA. The CPA is my buddy with a finger on the pulse of MLB. I'm a GT grad who also appreciates UGA. Love the Braves & MLB, tolerate the Falcons, Hawks, & Thrashers. A worker bee enjoying Little League & ballet - my excuse for not having hours to write & research. More ramblings can be found at www.sacrifice fly.blogspot. com
