'My Favorite' Nine

Recently I ran through my favorite Red Sox players by position. So I thought I would give it a try but for non-Red Sox players. As a huge baseball fan, I follow all of baseball, and not just the Olde Towne Team. The team listed is the team I indentify the player with most.

c-Mike Piazza, New York Mets (92-07). OK, so he wasn't the greatest fielder of all-time (probably very rarely the best fielding catcher in any game he played) and he'd be lucky to throw out my 2-year old. But man could he hit. He was awesome every season from his rookie of the year season (1993) until he turned 34 (2003). That is quite a peak, and I needed a couple of mustache guys to make the team.

1b-Will Clark, San Francisco Giants (86-00). Will the Thrill had one of the purest swings you've ever seen. I loved watching him play, as the Giants were good during much of his tenure with the team. His power numbers don't look gaudy by 1990s standards, but he was a guy who hit for average, walked a lot, and provided some pop. He also won a gold glove in 1991. Honorable mention: Wally Joyner, California Angels.

2b-Ryan Sandberg, Chicago Cubs (81-97). He was just awesome to watch. In 15 seasons with the Cubs he made only two playoff appearances, but he made 10 All-Star teams, won 9 Gold Gloves, and ranked in the top ten hitters in the NL (measured by OPS+) three times, pretty remarkable for a slick-fielding 2b. (For comparison, Roberto Alomar only hit the top 10 once.)

3b-Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies (72-89). My wife and I used to watch a lot of the Game Show Network. We once saw an old Family Feud pitting the 1980 World Series teams against each other, the Phillies and the Royals. It was high comedy, and Schmidt (dressed like a 1980 fashion model) was the best. Oh yeah, he also won three MVPs and played Gold Glove defense. But he makes my team because of his performance on Family Feud.

ss-Barry Larkin, Cincinnati Reds (86-04). What if I told you that the only shortstops of my lifetime with better offensive numbers are named A-Rod, Nomar and Jeter? What if I told you he was a better hitter than Cal Ripkin? What if I told you he was a 12-time All-Star and a 3-time Gold Glove winner? So why isn't he talked about in the best five shortstops of all-time? That's a complete mystery to me. This guy was Derek Jeter, but didn't play in New York (and he was a better fielder).

lf-Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants (86-07). OK, I know some of you will hate Barry forever for taking steroids, for being a jerk, for whatever. But I saw him at PacBell one summer, and he hit two out, including one into the bay. It was one of the highlights of my baseball-loving life. He's probably the best hitter in the history of the game, or at least in the discussion with Ted Williams and Babe Ruth.

cf-Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle Mariners (89-current). Speaking of pure baseball swings, the Kid has one of the greatest. I even betrayed my Red Sox at one point and bought a Seattle Griffey shirt, and I usually tried to make at least one game when he was in town. The magic kind of disappeared for me when he left Seattle, though he did have one very good season for the Reds (2005). Still, I'll always remember that slick-fielding, power-hitting kid patrolling center in Seattle. Honorable mention: Kirby Puckett, Minnesota Twins.

rf-Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies (89-05). This one was tough because no rf's jumped out at me. I almost did a cop-out and put Kirby Puckett in here, but decided against it. If I told you that Walker was one of the best 100 hitters in the history of baseball, would you think so? I do (not that I've ranked them all). When he won his MVP in 1997, he was awesome: 178 OPS+ and 33 stolen bases. He may not have the career stats to get into the Hall, and many hold Coors Field against him, but even when you adjust for his homepark advantage, he was truly an awesome hitter.

dh-Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox (90-current). If you take out Barry Bonds' four best seasons, Frank Thomas' strike-shortened 1994 is possibly the best hitting season of my lifetime, next to Jeff Bagwell's similarly awesome 1994. He was a 2-time MVP. He finished 1 or 2 in OPS+ in the AL a whopping seven straight times (91-97), one of the greatest peaks of all-time. While everyone waxes philosophical about Manny Ramirez being the greatest right-handed hitter of the past 30 years, you could easily make the case the Big Hurt was better (or at least every bit as good).

sp-Orel Hershiser, Los Angeles Dodgers (84-00). Before I moved to Boston in 1987, I was a Dodgers fan, and the Bulldog was, by far, my favorite player. Is he a Hall of Famer? No, his peak was too short and he only had one really good season after he turned 30. But when I was ten, I thought he was the best pitcher in the game.

sp-Jim Abbot, California Angels (89-99). I saw Jim Abbott in person at Fenway in 1989, and I was blown away. Here was a guy with only one fully-functional arm pitching in the majors. The guy even skipped the minors and went straight to the Angels out of college in 1989. He had two awesome seasons, three really good seasons. I will always admire his career.