Who Is Your Favorite MLB Player Since 1950 ?

[joelbc1]

Joe Pepitone

You mean "The Harmonica Man" Joe Peppitone? (No harmonica after losing!)

 

[Hawksit]

Osborne Earl Smith

 

[HawkFantastic]

Nope. NY Yankee “Joe, You Coulda Made Us Proud” Pepitone. Read the book. His and the exploits with The Mick are legendary.

 

[ClarindaA's]

Osborne Earl Smith

You want his autograph

 

[SCHawkFan]

Billy Williams.

 

[LuteHawk]

At this point we have 4 Super Stars who have
gotten 3 votes:

Mickey Mantle, Ryno, Stan Musial, Kirby Puckett

Where more than 1 player was listed, I took the
first one mentioned.

 

[Tom Paris]

Most of the folks on HROT were not born before the 1950's
so it would be a fair starting point to chose your favorite.

My personal favorite is New York Yankee Hall of Famer
Mickey Mantle. He won 7 World Series Rings, won one
Triple Crown, and hit over 500 career home runs. He was
the greatest switch hitter in MLB history.

Who is your favorite MLB player?

 

[ghost80]

Never knew Jim Croce also played baseball.

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...ZjbAhVSjK0KHRC1DJcQMwg0KAQwBA&iact=mrc&uact=8

 

[Kinnick 4 Prez]

Mickey Mantle. What he did on the field before his injuries were amazing. OP mentioned some of his stats. Had he not torn up his knee and taken better care of himself he may have been the best ever.

 

[ANYCHawk]

11-12 Verlander. You expected to see a no hitter every fifth day

 

[3boysmom]

AINEC

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

You mean "The Harmonica Man" Joe Peppitone? (No harmonica after losing!)

Wasn't that Phil Linz?

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

The "Duke"of Flatbush.

 

[HallofFame]

AND

Jim Edmonds & Rick Ankiel

 

[Hawkeye_311]

 

[joelbc1]

Wasn't that Phil Linz?

I thought it was Pepitone.....but I am a Yankee hater....but I know Linz did something....and it was the harmonica! this getting old is tuff....

 

[joelbc1]

The "Duke"of Flatbush.

There were some guys who could really outfield in NYC back in those days! 3 of the best.....

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

There were some guys who could really outfield in NYC back in those days! 3 of the best.....

And as good as he was, Duke was a distant third.

 

[Tom Paris]

Never knew Jim Croce also played baseball.

Don't tug on Superman's cape.

 

[joelbc1]

And as good as he was, Duke was a distant third.

One of my earliest baseball memories is Willie Mays making the catch on Vic Wertz' drive to center. I was an Indian fan in my youth.....then the next season I was Ted Williams hit a homer in Kansas City, and I became a Sox fan.
I imagine I have seem May's catch 100 times since...and he has never dropped it once!

 

[Obviously Oblivious]

Charlie Hustle was my favorite when I was a kid so he’ll always have a soft spot in my heart. I know he’s a jackass now but he still deserves to be in the HOF.

Rickey, Ryno and Rizzo all deserve a mention too.

 

[LuteHawk]

Phil Linz......Harmonica man
Joe Pepitone.....Hair Dryer man

 

[LuteHawk]

In the 1950's there were 3 centerfielders who got
some attention in New York City

Willie Mays of the New York Giants
Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees
Duke Snider of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

 

[nu2u]

IMO Willie Mays is hands down the greatest all-around baseball player post WWII. One of the greatest fielders ever, strong arm. very good base runner/stealer, almost 3300 total hits including 660 home runs, career .302 hitter. Mays would have likely been the first player to break Babe Ruth's home run record if he had not been drafted into the Korean War for two years after his NL Rookie of the Year season.

A few players may have arguably been better power hitters, some better hitters for average. one or two better fielders and others better base stealers but no one had the whole package like the say hey kid. Willie Mays could do it all.

 

[bagdropper]

I'm with HallofFame here with Rick Ankiel. Greatest OF arm I've ever seen. Some of these are just silly, especially the throw at the 2:30 mark against the Rockies.

The best "arm talent" I've ever seen. A shame he never wanted to pitch.

 

[anon_89hvcc2uyzmki]

Chippah Jones

 

[lonestar50]

Frank Thomas. Didn't care for the White Sox much but I followed every at bat of his when I was a kid. Would listen to the radio when he was at bat and turn it off when he wasn't.

 

[ANYCHawk]

I'm with HallofFame here with Rick Ankiel. Greatest OF arm I've ever seen. Some of these are just silly, especially the throw at the 2:30 mark against the Rockies.

The best "arm talent" I've ever seen. A shame he never wanted to pitch.

View embedded media

And yet ask him to throw it 60 feet.

Lookin' like 50 cent out there

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

IMO Willie Mays is hands down the greatest all-around baseball player post WWII. One of the greatest fielders ever, strong arm. very good base runner/stealer, almost 3300 total hits including 660 home runs, career .302 hitter. Mays would have likely been the first player to break Babe Ruth's home run record if he had not been drafted into the Korean War for two years after his NL Rookie of the Year season.

A few players may have arguably been better power hitters, some better hitters for average. one or two better fielders and others better base stealers but no one had the whole package like the say hey kid. Willie Mays could do it all.

Always looked at Mays/Mantle/Aaron vs. Musial/Williams as contemporaries. Mays clearly the best all around. Williams lost most of 5 prime years. Musial lost 1945. He had 425 hits combined on either side of the year he missed. Musial had 200 more doubles, 37 more triples, higher OBP, OPS, Slugging % and 30 points on his batting average. He struck out even less than the " eye " Ted Williams. 22 year careers for both.

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

One of my earliest baseball memories is Willie Mays making the catch on Vic Wertz' drive to center. I was an Indian fan in my youth.....then the next season I was Ted Williams hit a homer in Kansas City, and I became a Sox fan.
I imagine I have seem May's catch 100 times since...and he has never dropped it once!

Hopefully he never does!

 

[SoMplsHawkI]

Only one pitcher named?

I'll add two that were better (with all due respect to Verlander):

Bob Gibson
Sandy Koufax

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

Only one pitcher named?

I'll add two that were better (with all due respect to Verlander):

Bob Gibson
Sandy Koufax

Koufax's run from '62 - '66 was off the charts. Of course injury took him out of the game after only 12 years. Gibson never had Koufax's " stuff " but had the will, endurance and in three WS appearances pitched 27 innings in each. Randy Johnson should be in the mix before Verlander. With the DH his ERA would likely be right there with the greatest of all time. The thread should have separate columns for every day players and pitchers.

 

[joelbc1]

Koufax's run from '62 - '66 was off the charts. Of course injury took him out of the game after only 12 years. Gibson never had Koufax's " stuff " but had the will, endurance and in three WS appearances pitched 27 innings in each. Randy Johnson should be in the mix before Verlander. With the DH his ERA would likely be right there with the greatest of all time. The thread should have separate columns for every day players and pitchers.

What I respect ore about the old guys (put Warren Spahn in there too) is that they finished what they started. There are more than friends of mine who spent many a late summer night huddled up to the radio listening to Harry and Joe call Gibson vs. Koufax games. Generally they were epics. And once started....they were usually finished by the same 2 pitchers.

 

[SoMplsHawkI]

What I respect ore about the old guys (put Warren Spahn in there too) is that they finished what they started. There are more than friends of mine who spent many a late summer night huddled up to the radio listening to Harry and Joe call Gibson vs. Koufax games. Generally they were epics. And once started....they were usually finished by the same 2 pitchers.

And in about an hour and a half

 

[SoMplsHawkI]

Koufax's run from '62 - '66 was off the charts. Of course injury took him out of the game after only 12 years. Gibson never had Koufax's " stuff " but had the will, endurance and in three WS appearances pitched 27 innings in each. Randy Johnson should be in the mix before Verlander. With the DH his ERA would likely be right there with the greatest of all time. The thread should have separate columns for every day players and pitchers.

Don't forget Gibson had an ERA of 1.12. That's pretty good stuff. (Not to denigrate your opinion of Koufax.)

 

[LuteHawk]

Sandy Koufax and Warren Spahn were southpaws
who never wasted a pitch. They wanted to get some
outs as soon as possible. Today, some MLB pitchers
like to nibble around the corners of the plate which
can lead to walks. Both Koufax and Spahn are in the
MLB Hall of Fame for a reason.

 

[BGHAWK]

Sandy Koufax

 

[WorldSeriesChamps2015]

MadBum

Joe Buck just jizzed his pants.

 

[Uwe.Blab]

Most of the folks on HROT were not born before the 1950's
so it would be a fair starting point to chose your favorite.

My personal favorite is New York Yankee Hall of Famer
Mickey Mantle. He won 7 World Series Rings, won one
Triple Crown, and hit over 500 career home runs. He was
the greatest switch hitter in MLB history.

Who is your favorite MLB player?

I have a lot of them but I am going to stick to guys I actually watched. Bucky Dent, Willie Randolph, Ron Guidry, Sparky Lyle, Don Mattingly, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Dave Winfield, Edgar Martinez, Miggy Cabrera, Pedro Martinez, Dwight Evans, Dale Murphy, Craig Biggio, George Brett, Frank White, Thurman Munson, Willie Wilson, Robin Yount, Justin Verlander. And of course Derek Jeter.

Picking just one though: Paul O'Neill.

 

[Mattski]

The Big Hurt Frank Thomas. Except for when he had to throw the ball then he made my eyes bleed.