The Best Players I Ever Saw

MLB Team

1B - Don Mattingly (New York Yankees) - We might as well start with my favorite player of all-time and childhood idol back in the mid-1980's. Donny Baseball was the perfect nickname cuz this guy was just an old-school, blue-collar ballplayer. The contrast of his low-key persona with the big city atmosphere surrounding the team he spent his entire career with made him an icon. But back problems cut his career short and by 1995 he retired... his career bookended by Yankee World Series appearances, he never played in the fall classic (and his only playoff appearance came in his final season). Truly one of the classiest players of the modern generations of players.

2B - Roberto Alomar (SD, Tor, Bal, Cle, NYM, ChW) - With all due respect to Ryne Sandberg, Roberto Alomar was the best complete second baseman I ever saw. As a Yankee fan, I saw plenty of him during his days in Toronto, Baltimore and Cleveland. He was an unbelievable defense player - great agility, tremendous balance and a flair for the great play. Offensively he was a solid .315, 20HR, 95RBI, 100R, 30 SB player - the best pre-Derek Jeter #2 hitter. He didn't seem like the most likeable guy (hitting a low point after spitting in an umpire's face), but he was still fun to watch play.

SS - Derek Jeter (New York Yankees) - I know most non-Yankee fans supposedly hate Jeter, but deep down I know they all wish he was on there team. Alomar-type offensively with less power and a higher average, Derek is one of the modern generations best clutch hitters. Where Boston's David Ortiz hits more walk-off homeruns, more of Derek's clutch hits come when the game means the most. Never revered for his defensive, nobody can grab a ball in the hole, leap to pivet in mid air AND deliver a strike to first better than Jeter.



3B - Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia Phillies) - This one was close with the Royals' George Brett (another all-time great clutch hitter), but Mike Schmidt had more power and a better glove. Like Mattingly, he had that classic ballplayer demeanor. Not flashy (except with his glove in the field, not media savy, just a bad-ass ball player. World Champion, 3-time MVP, 8 NL Home Run titles and 10 Gold Gloves - including 9 in a row (1976-1984). Never one to put up a .300 average, however he played during the modern day 'dead-ball' ear where must power hitters in his class hit below his .267 career average.


LF - Jim Rice (Boston Red Sox) - The one non-Hall of Famer who deserves to be enshrined more than any other, Jim Rice was probably the most feared hitter in the American League during the late 70's and early 80's. With Dwight Evans and Fred Lynn, Jim-Ed was the backbone to one of baseball's greatest outfields. Played his entire career in Boston before retiring in his mid-30's - never reaching the statistical levels of most Hall of Famers. But that should take away from just how nasty this dude was. He consistently hit .300, 30HR, 100RBI, 100R seasons during one of the 'dead ball' eras in baseball history.

CF - Ken Griffey Jr (Seattle Mariners & Cincinnati Reds) - Junior burst onto the scene as a teenager in the early 90's crashing into outfield walls and hitting back-to-back homers with his dad. By the late 90's he was hitting 50+ homers a season and winning an MVP (1997). His later years in Cincinnati were injuried laden, but he still had one of the sweetest swings in the game and when healthy was still very productive. Jim Edmunds and Andruw Jones have since filled the void for a must-watch centerfielder, but in his 20's he was the best complete player in the game... and one of the best in baseball history.

RF - Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal Expos & Anaheim Angels) - I've been in awe of Vlad since he that day early in his career with Montreal when he threw a perfect strike... in the air... from the warning track in right field... directly in the catcher's glove in time to apply the tag!! That's just sick. At the plate, this guy swings at anything - hitting a low & way outside pitch 400ft with ease. That being said, it's pretty amazing Vlad has never struck out 100 times in a season. In fact, other than his rookie season (95) he's never had more than 88 in a year. Probably the best all-round player in the game today: rocket arm, good glove, decent speed and contact hitter with explosive power.


DH - David Ortiz (Minnesota Twins & Boston Red Sox) - An average player in his early days in Minnesota, Ortiz became Big Papi in Beantown and a regular on Sportscenter with his dramatic walk-off hits. Benefitting from having Manny Ramirez waiting on-deck while he's at the plate, Ortiz has made the most of it and like Jim Rice before him became the most feared hitter in baseball... and in the process makes us forget about his lack of defensive skills. Snubbed in 2005 for the MVP for his lack of everyday play in the field, Ortiz is everything you want a designated hitter to be - and then some.


C - Ivan Rodriguez (Texas, Florida & Detroit) - Unfortunately, Johnny Bench retired when I was 10 years old, so I never saw the legendary Red play in his prime, but during my time watching the game, Pudge was the best catcher in baseball. Although Mike Piazza put up better power numbers, Rodriquez was a contact hitter - but a clutch one - and his defensive skills were unmatched. Went to south Florida for a year and won a World Series, then helped bring the Detroit Tigers back into contention. A first ballot Hall of Famer - some ol' schoolers say he might even be better than Bench behind the plate... a suggestion that was baseball taboo beforehand.

RHP - Greg Maddux (Chicago Cubs, Atlanta & Los Angeles) - Tough pick here - as you could argue that Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens were better, but I'll take the Greg Maddux of the mid-90's over either of them. In case you forgot: in the four years from '92-'95 -in which he won an unprecedented 4 consecutive Cy Young Awards - the Mad Dog was 75-29 (19-2 in '95). ERA's... 2.18, 2.36, 1.56, 1.63!! Since Babe Ruth changed baseball with the homerun in 1920, only Bob Gibson ('68) and Dwight Gooden ('85) put up a better ERA than Maddux's 1.56 in 1994. And only Luis Tiant ('68) joins the list better than his 1.63 in 1995. And oh yeah, he has 15 gold glove awards too and 343 career wins including the postseason.

LHP - Randy Johnson (Seattle, Arizona & New York Yankees) - Usually when I think of lefthanders, I think of the crafty-veteran types: Tom Glavine, Jimmy Key, Andy Pettite or Al Leiter. But the Big Unit was just a bad-ass fireballin' lefty with an unhittable slider. He began his career in Arizona by winning 4 straight Cy Young Awards, giving him 5 overall ('95-Seattle). His days in the Big Apple weren't what us NYY faithful had hoped for, but in his prime Randy Johnson was the most feared pitcher in the game.

CL - Mariano Rivera (New York Yankees) - Asking who's the best closer in baseball from 97-2005 is like asking who was the best NBA player in the 1990's. Or who's the best NFL linebacker of all-time... we all know the answer. Like Michael Jordan and Lawrence Taylor before him, The Sandman redefined his position and set a level of standard that might go unmatched into eternity. The successful life of a closer is somewhere around 3 years (see Mitch Williams, Mark Wohlers, Bobby Thigpen, Keith Foulke, Eric Gagne among countless others). Not only was Mariano successful and productive, he was more effective the bigger the game. For a time from 1998 to 2003 he was darn near unhittable.

If I had to field a squad of players I young enough to only read, watch and hear about - the pre-1980 squad would go something like this:

1B - Lou Gehrig

2B - Rogers Hornsby

SS - Ernie Banks

3B - Brooks Robinson

LF - Ted Williams

CF - Willie Mays

RF - Babe Ruth

DH - Mel Ott

C - Josh Gibson

RHP - Walter Johnson

LHP - Sandy Koufax

CL - Rollie Fingers