I posted this question about a week and a half ago on the Facebook, "Who are your 5 favorite baseball players that never suited up for your team?" It got quite the response, lots of people chimed in with their favorites so I decided I would go through the list and give a few thoughts on each group of 5. Hope the guys don't mind me using them on the blog.
Scott Buskirk: Cal Ripken Jr., Greg Maddux, Ryne Sandberg, Ken Griffety Jr., and Rickey Henderson. Scott is buddy of mine from time in Arizona, we used to work together and we went to some Diamondbacks games together. We talked baseball a lot. Scott now lives in Texas and I think is a Rangers fan, so his 5 guys never played for Texas. His list is the perfect late 80's-early 90's group. All 5 were generational players, considered the best at their position or in the game in general for a while. Rickey Henderson seems to be forgotten by some, he was the Wayne Gretzky of stealing bases, he didn't just set the steals record, he shattered it. If you gave Rickey 939 SBs (one more stolen base than 2nd place Lou Brock) he would have enough stolen bases left over to be 48th all time in steals, no modern player has that kind of record. Just amazing.
Chris Erb: Mickey Mantle, Paul Molitor, Kirby Pucket, Mookie Betts, and Miguel Cabrera. If you read the blog you know who Chris is, he and I talk sports almost daily. He is a Cubs fan and obviously all these guys have won the World Series so they never played for the Cubs. Mantle is all time great, like top 10. Molitor and Pucket were awesome, and even teammates for a few years in Minnesota. Miggy is the best hitter of the 2010s and I know Mookie made the list because he is Chris's dude in fantasy baseball. I gotta talk a little about Molitor. When I was young he was everywhere I looked, first with the Brewers, then he went to Toronto and won the World Series MVP in 1993. He finished his career with the Twins. He has 3,000 hits and the Brewers retired his number, he was an outstanding hitter and I think he sometimes gets forgotten.
Matthew Erickson: Frank Thomas, Jose Canseco, Cal Ripken Jr., Randy Johnson, and Nolan Ryan. Matty is my boy from the Quad Cities, we're radio/internet buddies thanks to Don't Hassle Us We're Local. Matt is a Cubs fan as well you can tell again because all of his guys have World Series Rings. I find this group interesting, you got the old legend Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson, who pitched a lot like Ryan. Frank Thomas and Cal Ripken, 2 upstanding citizens who played the game and retired legends. Jose Canseco on the other hand, well he's more infamous than famous. Canseco has a lot of baggage attached to him. The obvious steroids use, and then the outing of other steroid users has made him a pariah to the game. He did however have his time in the sun, there was no better power hitter in the late 80's than Canseco, plus he was the first 40-40 guy, when I was a kid 40-40 was maybe the biggest thing in baseball, it was so new and crazy. There have only been 4 40-40 guys, and 3 or them used the roids (allegedly) and the 4th is Alfonso Soriano. He became a clown in his later years with the home run bouncing off his head and the time he pitched and then immediately had elbow surgery.
Greg Stietz: Miguel Cabrera, Ivan Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Barry Bonds, and Vladimir Guerrero. Greg is my cousin and much like me grew up in Wisconsin before moving to Iowa as a wise adult. He is a Brewers fan but included the Braves in his exclusion because he was a Braves fan as a younger person. I like Greg's list a lot, and not just because of Bonds. Randy Johnson, Pudge, and Vlad are all in the Hall of Fame, Miggy will be there 5 years after he hangs it up. Vlad is the guy on this list that sticks out because he was different. The dude hit so many terrible pitches, and did damage with pitches in the dirt, he was the best bad ball hitter I've ever watched. Plus, Vladdy had that cannon, he could throw people out from anywhere in right field. He was such a joy to watch and probably didn't get the credit he deserved while playing.
Kyle Bredeson: Barry Bonds, Randy Johnson, Derek Jeter, Andruw Jones, and Clayton Kershaw. Kyle is also my cousin, only he never left Wisconsin and is a Cubs fan. His list has one glaring omission, WHERE IS ROBBY THOMPSON? I'm kidding of course, Robby is related to both of us and Kyle admitted his mistake very quickly. Another Randy Johnson and a 2nd Barry Bonds, but 3 new names. Jeter is on his way to the Hall of Fame, Andruw Jones should get more consideration for the Hall of Fame, and Clayton Kershaw will be there after he retires. Andruw Jones is who I'm going to focus on. There was a time he was the best centerfielder in the game, from 1997-2007 he was a 3+ win player every year, that's really good for playing CF every day, he could get you 30 homers and 20 stolen bases in his early days, and eventually he quit running but hit a few more homers. He eventually left Atlanta and limped around the league for a few years, but for those 10 years he was awesome.
Cody Colden: Ken Griffey Jr., Joey Votto, Edgar Martinez, Mark McGwire, and Randy Johnson. Toby is a garbage human being from my hometown, and he's friends with my step-brother Greg. I coached him in baseball back when he had talent. He is a Brewer fan. His list is interesting as well, usual suspects with Griffey and Johnson. Two sweet swingers in Votto and Martinez. Then it's McGwire, and I have to say thanks for spelling McGwire correctly, if you ever see twitter or social media that talk baseball everyone spells it wrong, it's very annoying. Cody has been a pretty big Edgar Martinez guy online since his run for the Hall of Fame started, he is the best DH of our youth, and one of the best pure hitters the game ever saw. I'm glad Edgar made it to Cooperstown.
Curt Miller: Rickey Henderson, Randy Johnson, Ozzie Smith, Mike Trout, and Ken Griffey Jr. Curt if my wife's cousin, we like to fight on facebook, but love talking sports with one another. Curt is a Cubs fan. I love this list, these 5 guys are all amazing ball players. Ozzie is the best defensive shortstop of his time, I've talked about Rickey. Griffey and Trout are both awesome CFers and then there is the Big Unit. The Unit is by the guy on the most lists, I would've put him on mine but he played a year for the Giants. My favorite part of Randy is the fact he was a late bloomer, he didn't become dominate until he was 26, even then he still lead the league in walks for 3 more seasons. He was just so damn intimidating on the mound. The height plus he threw side-arm, so the ball had to look like it was coming from right field with how far out his arm was. Unit also slayed the Yankees in 2001 which was unbelievable at the time. He also did it for a long time once he got going, which is probably why he's listed more than say Pedro who was just as dominate.
Mike Vander Loop: Greg Maddux, Fred McGriff, Chipper Jones, Ryne Sandberg, and Ken Griffey Jr. Brasi is a college friend and once tried to get me a job as DJ as his home bar in Kimberly, Wisconsin. He's a Brewer fan but from this list you can surmise he watched a lot of TBS as a youth. I'm gonna get right into it, Fred McGriff should be in the Hall of Fame and the fact he isn't is criminal, there should be congressional investigations as to why the Crime Dog isn't in Cooperstown. He has 493 career home runs, just 7 short of 500, and if it wasn't for the strike in '94 and late start to '95 season he would have those 7 bombs and then he could be in the Hall of Fame. I try not to get worked up about the hall anymore and even if Barry Bonds never gets in, he will always be 2nd on my list of snubs after Fred McGriff, it bothers the hell out of me.
Mark Flesch: Cal Ripken Jr., Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Trout, Craig Biggio, and David Ortiz. Mark is my wife's cousin, we play fantasy football together and I've always thought of him as more of a football guy, but his list is awesome. David Ortiz made being a DH cool. You got Biggio who was one of my favorites as kid because he was a catcher who switched to second base and eventually the outfield. I'm gonna talk about Griffey though, he had the prettiest swing ever, I don't think anyone has had a better looking stroke. You know the Jordan Jumpman logo? Griffey's swing is that recognizable, he was the player of our generation. The cool dude in the backwards hat, who had fun and played the game the "right way." I liked Griffey enough but being a Bonds guy he was never my favorite. He was the one who was supposed to break all the records but he instead broke himself and never indulged so he didn't break the game the way Bonds did. Griffey though will always live in the hearts of anyone born between 1975 and 1987.
My List: Roberto Clemente, Cal Ripken Jr., Roberto Alomar, Mike Trout, and Alex Bregman. Roberto Clemente is my favorite player who I never got to watch play. His story is how everyone would love to be remembered, he got hit #3,000 then passed away in a plane crash going to help others. He was truly a great person and ballplayer. Cal Ripken Jr. is who we named our son after, he was so fun to watch and brought a new element to the game, being such a huge shortstop, he changed the game. Robbie Alomar was my dude as a kid, if I wasn't going to catch I wanted to play 2nd like Robby Thompson, and Robbie Alomar was my 2nd favorite 2B after Robby. He was awesome and until that time he spit on the umpire was a good dude to follow. Mike Trout is the best player in baseball and should be everyone's favorite. Alex Bregman is my guy in fantasy baseball and yes he was caught up in the Astros cheating scandal, but he plays third and short and hits the shit out of the ball even though he's a little guy. Just love watching him play the game.
That's what I got from everyone, I've enjoyed this exercise and I've done many variations on Facebook and have had some good conversations about why people feel the way they do. Catch you next time.
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