Your Field of Dreams (Baseball fans)

[gesser]

I just watched Field of Dreams again for the 100th or so time on TV tonight. I have both DVDs and think it's a great movie. Anyway, I once remember reading on a fan site about his 'field of dreams'. He wrote down his starting 9 he'd want to see if he had his own Field of Dreams and a extra starter and closer.

I thought it was cool as a baseball fan and FOD fan. Here's my list (my list is of mostly living players unlike the true FOD):

1-Pedro Martinez "He was the greatest pitcher I ever got to see live. I'll never forget what he did for the Sox throwing a gutty 7-inn relief no-hitter to clinch the ALDS against Cleveland in Jacobs. He was magical that night and the pain he went through was unreal (torn labrum?). Also, his 17-k performance in the Toilet. It was a one hitter and his only hit was a HR to Chili Davis. What a performance. And what he did in the postseason in 2004 was awesome. Best pitcher I've ever seen."

2-Johnny Bench "Greatest (Piazza?) power hitting catcher and on a baseball dynasty."

3-Lou Gerhig "This one was tough. My other choices were Jimmie Foxx, Cap Anson, Jim Thome, and Harmon Killebrew. However, I went with the Iron Man because of the mystique that came with his streak and his tragic death. However the guy was no slouch at the plate either."

4-Jackie Robinson "This one was easy. There's no other player out there I'd rather meet than the man who broke the color barrier. It would be an honor. Not the best slugging second basemen, but he was a great hitter nonetheless and they say he was incredibly smart out on the field. He saw things that no one else did."

5-Kevin Youkilis "I wanted to put my former favorite player who was a SS, John Valentin, but I went with Youkilis. My fascination with Kevin began when I first heard of "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis. I found it so interesting how Billy Beane worshipped this guy and Theo did too. I am just praying Theo doesn't deal Youkilis, but I'm afraid it's 50/50. I love Bill Mueller too, so I really don't know. The 3B crop is thin IMO and I'd really like to see Youkilis play on my FOD."

6-Honus Wagner "First, I'd ask for him for one of his baseball cards and sell it for a hunk of change. But Honus was incredible. Wagner was a stand up person and had a great combination of speed and hitting with RISP. With those skills, you can account for many runs which is the name of the game.

7-Ted Williams "I'd love to see him play in his prime. Just watching him take BP would be incredible. Bad guy? Sure, but I'd get over it. Greatest hitter to ever play this game. Barry Bonds should be ashamed that he was ever mentioned in the same breathe as Teddy Ballgame."

8-Ty Cobb "Easily the most loaded position to pick from. Mantle, Mays, DiMaggio and Speaker were others I considered. I'd want Cobb out on my field to mix it up. I'd love to see the look on Youkilis's face when he came into third spikes sharpened and spikes up right into him. I'd love to see Pedro throw a 98mph heater into his ear hole. I'd love to see Cobb buckle like a little girl with Pedro's 80mph curve."

9-George Ruth "Easy pick here. I'd want him to pitch too."

SP-Randy Johnson "Would the Babe bail on a 95mph slider?"
SP-Walter Johnson "The best pitcher, statistically, of all time."
SP-Sandy Koufax "Greatest Jewish player ever (Sorry Hammerin Hank) and incredible home pitcher"
SP-Greg Harris "I'd want him to switch pitching hands in an inning"

RP-Mariano Rivera "In his prime, he would saw off Babe's lumber"
RP-Billy Wagner "Wonder if Teddy could catch up to 105mph gas."

[cnick]

Wow, that's a list.

SP - Bob Gibson
OF - Joe Dimaggio
OF - Roberto Clemente
OF - Willie Mays
1B - Harmon Killebrew
2B - Rod Carew
SS - Ozzie Smith/Ernie Banks (I really can't decide)
3B - Brooks Robinson
C - Carlton Fisk
DH - Reggie Jackson
Utl - Pete Rose (Forget the ban. He could play anywhere on the field)

P - Bob Feller
P - Nolan Ryan
P - Satchel Paige
p - Greg Maddux

CP - Dennis Eckersley

And they play at Wrigley or Fenway, no other place.

[exjersey1]

I'll do mine with only guys I've seen play, and since their home is Yankee Stadium, the DH is in play.

Batting Order:

LF Rickey Henderson
2B Joe Morgan
CF Willie Mays
3B Mike Schmidt
1B Mickey Mantle
DH Henry Aaron
RF Roberto Clemente
SS Ernie Banks
C Yogi Berra

My 4 SP's will alternate righty/lefty:
Bob Gibson
Sandy Koufax
Tom Seaver
Steve Carlton

Closer is The Goose

.................
edit:
Bullpen (and Spot-Starters) and bench to round out 25-man roster:
Jim Palmer
Randy Johnson
Catfish Hunter
Lee Smith
Mariano Rivera
Rod Carew
Pete Rose
George Brett
Johnny Bench
Lou Brock
Vladimir Guerrero

[nordicrunner]

OF Rickey Henderson
2B Jackie Robinson
OF Ken Griffey Jr. (i know, the past few years have been tough. but hes been my favorite player from ever since, and im talking mid-late 90s Mariners era).
3B Mike Schmidt
1B Lou Gehrig
DH Henry Aaron
OF Roberto Clemente
SS Ozzie Smith (some may choose Ernie, but i always like Ozzie as a player)
C Yogi Berra or Josh Gibson

Pitchers:
Satchel Paige
Nolan Ryan
Greg Maddux
Bob Gibson
Walter Johnson

Closer:
Dennis Eckersley

wow, this is hard. there are so many that im leaving out.

[Dyenimator]

We're playing on "The Corner". Good old Tiger Stadium, on the corner of Michigan & Trumbell. The only park where the flag pole was in play, the second deck hung over the field, the only two-leveled bleachers, the birthplace of "the wave", the place where The Bird captivated the city for the summer of 76. Home of the best seats in baseball, the first few rows of the upper deck in right. It brings a tear to my eye even thinking about it...

1B Mickey Mantle
2B Jackie Robinson
3B Brooks Robinson
SS Honus Wagner
OF Shoeless Joe
OF Ted Williams
OF Ty Cobb
C Johnny Bench
DH Babe Ruth

P Mark "The Bird" Fidrych
P Lefty Grove
P Walter Johnson
P Sandy Koufax

[gesser]

Hmm, I'd really want Shoeless Joe on my bench.

I'd make Cal Ripken the bat boy. He could'nt hold anyone's jock on my team...well maybe Youkilis's. He was a good player for many years, and he had a spattering of excellent years. However, I wouldn't even say Ripken's a top 25 SS of all time. Miguel Tejada might be better than him when it's all said and done. I always thought Ripken breaking Gerhig's streak was a joke. I wonder if Cal ever thought about how games when he went 0-4 from exhaustion might've just hurt his team's chances. With Gerhig, you can't make that claim as his team's were dominant.

Plus, I heard the guy's an absolute moron. I'll admit he's a "good guy" when it comes to representing the game though.

My Cal Ripken Jr. rant is over.

[minibee]

I officially love this thread. I like everyone's choices too, but geez, I'm biased. All of these guys (minus Koufax) are Yankees. This is my Yankee all-star team. If I remotely sided with any other team, men like Ted Williams, Honus Wagner and certainly Ozzie Smith would be there. I'm an evil, evil person, so I just like Yanks.
Perhaps someday I'll make an all time, all team lineup, that day is not today, i'm feeling particularly New Yorkish.

FB: Don Mattingly or Lou Gherig

SB: Alfonso Soriano

TB: Wade Boggs

C: Yogi Berra or Jorge Posada

SS. Derek Jeter

RF: Reggie Jackson or the Babe

CF:Mickey Mantle or Dimaggio

P: Lefty Gomez

P: Sandy Koufax

P: Randy Johnson

[nordicrunner]

He was a good player for many years, a...I wouldn't even say Ripken's a top 25 SS of all time.

even if you don't like ripken, i don't see how he isn't one of the 25 greatest SS of all time.

[KenA55]

So who's everybody's manager?

[exjersey1]

So who's everybody's manager?


Casey Stengel, of course.

[jrun]

So who's everybody's manager?

Tommy Lasorda, of course.

Or Bobby Cox.

[gesser]

Jimy Williams.

Gotta love his quotables.

[gesser]

even if you don't like ripken, i don't see how he isn't one of the 25 greatest SS of all time.

I'll make you a list later tonight. I'm really busy right now.

But, I look at greatness as being damn good for whatever period of time. If the guy was dominant for 5 years then mediocre, I still consider him great. I also think people who play for a long time are great too, as it takes great skill to keep your skills.

Like I said, I would say Tejada will surpass Ripken in my eyes in a year or so.

[Dyenimator]

Manager: Billy Martin

[Dyenimator]

I officially love this thread. I like everyone's choices too, but geez, I'm biased. All of these guys (minus Koufax) are Yankees. This is my Yankee all-star team. If I remotely sided with any other team, men like Ted Williams, Honus Wagner and certainly Ozzie Smith would be there. I'm an evil, evil person, so I just like Yanks.
Perhaps someday I'll make an all time, all team lineup, that day is not today, i'm feeling particularly New Yorkish.

FB: Don Mattingly or Lou Gherig

SB: Alfonso Soriano

TB: Wade Boggs

C: Yogi Berra or Jorge Posada

SS. Derek Jeter

RF: Reggie Jackson or the Babe

CF:Mickey Mantle or Dimaggio

P: Lefty Gomez

P: Sandy Koufax

P: Randy Johnson


*cough* bandwagon *cough*

[nordicrunner]

Ernie Banks, Robin Yount, Arky Vaughn, Honus Wagner, Joe Cronin, Ozzie Smith, Lou Boudreau, Luke Appling, Gay-Rod, Jeter, Nomar, Joe Tinker, Barry Larkin, Miguel Tejada, Mark Belanger, Ryne Sandberg, Phil Rizzuto, Pop Lloyd, Pee Wee Reese, Omar Vizquel, Dave Concepcion, Willie Wells, Luis Aparicio, Bobby Wallace.

25 shortstops. some of whom, i would put behind ripken on an 'all-time' list.

personally, i never like Ripken myself, i thought he was a fruitcake. but i can't deny his longevity and thats what makes him great. 19 All-Star games, 2 AL MVP awards, ROY, and at various points, was best in the league in HR, RBI, Avg., 2B, 3B, total bases.

i will agree with you that his fielding is not strong at all, in fact, he sucked. he only won that 2 times.

[exjersey1]

i will agree with you that his fielding is not strong at all, in fact, he sucked. he only won that 2 times.


Gold Glove not always awarded to guy with the highest fielding percentage.

And just for comparisons, I looked up Ripken's career FP and compared it to some other SS's that have been mentioned.

He fielded at .977 for his career, exactly the same as Marc Belanger. That's not as high, but pretty close, to Ozzie Smith's .978, and not really close to Banks' .986 (although Ernie played a lot of 1B late in his career to help that number) or Omar Vizquel's amazing .983. But Ripken is higher than Rizzuto at .968, Dave Concepcion at .972, and Alan Trammell at .976.

[Dyenimator]

That proves my point exactly that Alan Trammell is/was better than Ozzie Smith.

[makelldog]

My guys are playing in the Kingdome (the noisest stadium I have ever been in) and at the time they played with the teams listed.
1B-Lou Gehrig (Yanks)
2B-Jackie Robinson (Dodgers)
SS-ARod (Mariners)
3B-Frank Robinson (Orioles)
C-Yogi Berra (Yanks)
DH-Ted Williams (BoSox)
OF-Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners)
OF-Mickey Mantle (Yanks)
OF-Willie Mays (Giants)
P-Randy Johnson (Mariners)
Closer-Dennis Eckersley (A's)

P-Roger Clemens (BoSox)
P-Sandy Koufax (Dodgers)
P-Greg Maddux (Braves)
P-Warren Spahn (Braves)
Manager-Lou Pinella

[cnick]

Any team with [g]A[y]Rod, Jr, and The Unit in their "Mariners Prime" is doomed to fail. They couldn't win when it counted, ever.

[exjersey1]

3B-Frank Robinson (Orioles)



?????????????

[makelldog]

Yeah I know he only played 13 games at 3rd base his whole career, but he is in there for his bat...1966...49 HR, 122 RBI, .316, .637 slg.
As for the Mariners never winning when it counted...well Randy Johnson was hurt for a while, they beat the Yankees in '95 and almost went to the World Series, they just didn't have the pitching after Johnson to get there, but Johnson was dominant routinely clocking his fastball over 95 mph (98 was the norm).

[cnick]

almost went to the World Series

But they didn't and always underachieved before and after that. Those three are jinx, especially ARod.

[gesser]

even if you don't like ripken, i don't see how he isn't one of the 25 greatest SS of all time.

Well, finally got my finals out of the way, so I have some time to do this.

First off, my original comment had a shred of hyperbole in it. However, my definition of greatness is an intangible feeling that I get when I hear a name. Ripken is on my list, but pretty low.

No particular order
1. Derek Jeter- 4 time World Champ, 5 times to the WS (Ripken, one time winner)
2. Alex Rodriguez- best power, speed, gold glover
3. Nomar- had a better three year stretch than Ripken ever had. Ripken's greatest BA's .323, .318, Nomar's: .372, .357. .372 is unreal in today's game with so many RP specialists
4. Omar Vizquel- 9 time Gold Glover (Ripken 2)
5. Miggy Tejada- his last five years have been awesome (34/150, 27/106, 34/131(MVP), 31/113, 30/115), Ripken only had one 30+ HR year and four 100+ RBI years
6. Edgar Renteria- both are even IMO, with Renteria having more potential. Renteria has more hits in his career at this age. What Renteria loses in power, he makes up with in speed. Renteria bats for a better average, better OBP, and already has 2 GGs like Ripken did in his whole career.
7. Honus Wagner- 9 100RBI yrs, 3 time MVP, .327 career average
8. Arky Vaughan- most SO in a season: 38!!! then 26. 12/94, 19/99 years in that era were huge. Led league in BA, 7 times and OBP 8 times.
9. Ernie Banks- 500 HR Club. 43/102, 47/129, 45/143, 41/117 are four of the greatest years by a SS ever. Only ARod can touch that.

10. I could make an argument for others that are equal to Ripken, but I'll say he's #10. So he cracks the top ten, but is no way as great of a player as people make him out to be.

Here's BaseballReference's ten players who compare best to Ripken:
1. Winfield
2. Yount
3. Kaline
4. Eddie Murray
5. Yaz
6. George Brett
7. Harold Baines
8. Tony Perez
9. Andre Dawson
10. Palmeiro

Those guys are good, but you don't think of any of those guys as all time greats. The first six are in the HOF, but would any one say these were the best to ever play their position, or even in the top 3 at their position? Brett maybe, but third is weak and ARod and Rolen will change that.

Basically my point is that Cal Ripken Jr. is not great. He's very good. People overrate his value due to his consecutive game streak. Part of me thinks it's very selfish of him to pursue that streak, but it's undeniably a tough tough streak. However, it does not make him any more of a talent.

[MoMo]

When the thing that really separates you from the pack, and from the players who came before you, is your incredible toughness, endurance and resilience amid consistent (decade after decade) good play, you think you're gonna give up and not go for the streak? I don't think so.

[exjersey1]

When the late Earl Weaver had Ripken move from 3B to SS, he told him that he had just gone from being a good baseball player to a lock HOF'er.

[gesser]

When the thing that really separates you from the pack, and from the players who came before you, is your incredible toughness, endurance and resilience amid consistent (decade after decade) good play, you think you're gonna give up and not go for the streak? I don't think so.


So would you say AC Green's the great NBA player ever? While Ripken put up better relative numbers than Green in his sport, they still weren't the best of all time or top 5.

[decastella]

c - tony pena
1b - don mattingly
2b - bill mazeroski
ss - ozzie smith
3b - mike schmidt
lf - joe dimaggio
cf - mickey mantle
rf - roberto clemente

sp - sandy koufax
rp - kent tekulve

simply my favorites -- nothing more...