My Top 10 Favorite Baseball Players of All Time

With the World Series being over and the Los Angeles Dodgers taking home the championship I wanted to post a top 10 list that I never thought I could think of and write and it took me some time to think of but I finally have a list. I want to talk about my Top 10 Favorite Baseball Players of All Time. Now I have been watching baseball since I could walk. I remember when I was a little kid watching the Yankees in the 98 Playoffs and just smiling because it was awesome. Hell even when I got older and started to collect baseball cards and play little league I would be happy and feel awesome because I had a fun time playing baseball and even collecting valuable cards over the years. Baseball has been in my blood for a long time and it’s my favorite sport of all time and I have watched many baseball players over the years. I also learned about many greats as well and you might see a couple of them in this list. I want to do this list justice and I know I write a lot in these top 10 lists but that’s because I’m passionate about what I am writing about and today’s will probably be a long one. These 10 baseball players are players I look up too as a kid and even today as an adult. Obviously I’m not ranking who I think is the greatest of all time but I’m ranking my top 10 favorites. Now a lot of people have a different favorite player so comment below you favorite player of all time in the comments below. Alright batter up folks because you’re in for a big one and let’s grab some popcorn and cracker jacks and rank my Top 10 Favorite Baseball Players of All Time.

My Top 10 Favorite Baseball Players of All Time

10. Babe Ruth (1914 – 1935) – I want to start the list with someone I never got to watch as a kid and learned about growing up as a Yankee fan. He is the Sultan of Swat, the King of Crash, the Colossus of Clout, The Great Bambino, Babe Ruth. I learned a lot about probably the greatest baseball player of all time and watched many videos around him and his playing career. Babe Ruth is the first person I think of when talking about some of the greatest to ever play the game as he was a record holder for many records for many years. Babe Ruth from 1935 – 1974 held the record for most career Homeruns with 714 homeruns. He also held the record for most homeruns in a single season with 60 homeruns until 1961 when Roger Maris at the time beat his record with 61. He also held the record for runs batted in and World Series championships until once again they were broken. He was the record holder for many records and in time they were broken but he was the King of Baseball. Babe Ruth is a 12 time homerun champion, which has never been broken to this day in baseball. During his time of play Babe Ruth was the King and the best player of his time and this as during a time of a golden era of baseball that included Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Hank Greenberg, Rogers Hornsby, Dizzy Dean and Lefty Grove. Babe Ruth started his career as a pitcher for the Red Sox and was really great as a pitcher until he decided to play right field full time and then the legend of the Bambino was born once he was traded to the Yankees. The legendary Babe Ruth was an icon in baseball and to this day everyone knows about Babe Ruth whether it’s from watching baseball and learning the past of the game or from learning the history of the world because Babe Ruth not only was an icon in baseball, he was the biggest sports athlete and iconic name in the world during his time of playing baseball. Plus people who watch The Sandlot will learn about the legend of Babe Ruth. If Babe Ruth played in this era of Baseball every pitcher would be afraid to face him as he would be hitting dingers every night and setting more and more records. Like I said before I never watched Babe Ruth when I grew up but thanks to ESPN, MLB Network, YouTube and anywhere you can find research online I learned about the legend and watched the legend play. The iconic called shot when Babe Ruth pointed to the outfield and then hit a home run to where he pointed became a reason why I fell in love with Babe Ruth. The fact that this man pointed at a spot in the outfield and later hit a dinger over the fences in the outfield is mind blowing and out of this world. Babe Ruth has to be on my list because I wanted to start this list with a legend that I never got to witness. These next 9 I watched throughout my life and they all have left an impact in my love for baseball and Babe Ruth is one of those people.

9. Albert Pujols (2001 - ) – From 2001 – 2010 the name Albert Pujols was all over ESPN and the sports world as Pujols was considered one of the greatest players in the game and to this day he is considered one of the greatest players of not only this century but of all time. Pujols has played in multiple big eras as he came in during the end of the Steroid Era to the Era of baseball today. Pujols is undoubtedly one of the greatest to ever play on the field and without a doubt a first ballot Hall of Famer. I grew up watching Pujols through ESPN highlights and multiple T.V stations. I remember playing MLB The Show and MLB 2K and always wanted to play as Pujols because he was not only an amazing player but a great athlete and I constantly wanted to hit dingers with him though a video game. Pujols had his better years with the St. Louis Cardinals as he won 3 MVPs in the Cardinals uniform and also made 9 All- Star teams, won 2 World Series titles, 6 Silver Sluggers and 2 Gold Gloves. The man was a team leader on and off the field and then his time with the Cardinals ended. He signed a 10 year over 200 million dollar contract with the Los Angeles Angels and while his career has fallen because of a couple of injuries and age he still was able to be known as one of the best to be playing the game. Pujols is entering his 20th season in the major leagues and coming into this upcoming season at the age of 40. He only has a handful of games left in his career but he has been making the best of it the last couple of seasons. Albert Pujols is the active leader in multiple categories of baseball including Runs Batted In (2,075), Home Runs (656) and Hits (3,202). In his 19 year career he is averaging 38 Homeruns with 119 Runs Batted In with a .300 Batting Average. It’s also worth noting that when he became a free agent after the 2011 season I had hope and an idea that the Yankees would sign Pujols, thinking he could play 3rd or DH for the team. Thankfully he had a pretty decent career with the Angels and is a sure lock in for the Hall of Fame when the time comes. Baseball would be a little bit different for me if the great Albert Pujols wasn’t playing the sport. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pssApJuBNY

8. David Ortiz (1997 – 2016) – The saying is keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer. If I had to use that with any context it would be towards this next entry. David Ortiz started his career with the Minnesota Twins but became a legend during his long career with the Boston Red Sox. I hated watching this guy hit home runs off of the Yankees pitchers including the amount of times he did it in the Playoffs, especially in 2004, but at the same time I loved to watch Ortiz take on the Yanks because it was a challenge and mission to strike him out or get him out in any way possible. I grew up watching David Ortiz a lot because of the hundreds of Yankees/Red Sox games throughout the years and let me tell you I know that this guy is loved by everyone. He wasn’t really a fielder, more of a power hitter, hence why he mostly played at Designated Hitter in his long career. While that shouldn’t really matter with my list it is a reason why I have him in this spot, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a great player on the field. Ortiz always came up clutch for the Red Sox when they were down a run or losing and he always somehow got that big hit that they needed. It’s crazy but in a way he was the Babe Ruth for the Red Sox from 2003 – 2016. He was the guy who helped break the curse of the Bambino and helped the Sox when the World Series after 86 years and he was an intimidating hitter, just like Babe Ruth. While he didn’t have the big star power and iconic look like Ruth did, he had the passion on the field and true grit Ruth inspired to many people. Ortiz made the DH role something to not mess with as he became known as the greatest DH of all time. While guys like Harold Baines, Edgar Martinez, Frank Thomas and Paul Molitor made the position of DH special, Ortiz made the position known to be threatening. Ortiz had some great power in his bat and every time he swung the bat it felt like a homerun was coming and sure enough it did. Ortiz ended his career with 541 career homeruns which is 17th on the all time list and it leads all Designated Hitters in that category as well as leading all DH’s in hits and runs batted in. David “Big Papi” Ortiz is a defiant lock for the Hall of Fame when his time comes for the ballot as he was one of the most clutch hitters in all of baseball history and without a doubt one of the greatest batters to every swing the bat. If there is any Red Sox player I loved the most then god damn it I have to say it’s David Ortiz because let’s face it in the end of the day yes he was the enemy but he is such a loveable person and a beloved baseball player. Those Yankees vs. Red Sox games would be so different if he wasn’t in the line up or playing for the Red Sox and while it’s different now I want you to just imagine the Red Sox without David Ortiz. It’s crazy for me to allow a Red Sox player in my top 10 list of all time but I respect him too much and praise him too much to not allow him on it. Plus the man was a goat so I have to have him on the list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILPz_49cs3w

7. Randy Johnson (1988 – 2009) – MLB has had some amazing strikeout pitchers over the years including Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, Roger Clemens and recently Justin verlander, Max Scherzer and Chris Sale. However none of them can strike out batters like The Big Unit Randy Johnson. At 6 ft 10 inches, Randy Johnson was an intimidating pitcher on the mound and can easily strike you out in just 3 pitches. He was scary to face as everything he throws feels like its going 100 mph. In his career he has 303 career wins, a pretty decent ERA of 3.29 and he is ranked 2nd in all time strikeouts with 4,875. If the strikeout numbers don’t scare you now then here’s a pretty scary stat you should know. In his 22 year career, Johnson struck out 300 batters or more 6 times and 200 batters or more 13 times. Want an even scarier stat, he led the league in strikeouts 9 times and that’s only because they were seasons where someone else had just a bit more strikeouts so imagine if he struck out more batters. Johnson played a long time and even won many awards. He is a former World Series MVP back in 2001 with the Diamondbacks, won the Pitching Triple Crown (leading the league in ERA, Wins and Strikeouts) back in 2002, a 10 time All-Star and won 5 Cy Young Awards, in which 4 of them came 4 years in a row from 1999 – 2002. The man was filthy on the mound and even though he could be wild from time to time because of his scary pitching delivery, he still found a way to make you swing the bat and strike out. Hell the man threw a perfect game at the age of 40 and struck out 20 batters at the age of 37. He was having amazing stats later on in his career and still was filthy. If there is any pitcher I would never want to face it have to be Randy Johnson because let’s face it I would strike out and be afraid to swing. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015 with 97.3 % of the vote in his first year on the ballot. I don’t know about you but he is one of baseball’s greatest players of all time and in my opinion the greatest pitcher of all time. And he isn’t even my favorite pitcher of all time but I still know that he is the greatest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtERj3kYd6c

6. Alex Rodriguez (1994 – 2016) – In 7th grade I made a 10 page paper about Alex Rodriguez and why he is one of the greatest players of all time. I literally wrote about his life in Dominican Republic and Florida playing little league and then his baseball career and I got an A+. I grew up watching Alex Rodriguez in the Yankees uniform and I always got to witness a homerun while attending a Yankee game with Rodriguez in the lineup. I know he has many people that hate him because he used PED’s but I am not one of those people. He was one of my role models growing up and playing little league. I used his batting stance for my first year in little league and I actually at the time was a good hitter. Alex Rodriguez was the first MLB jersey I got when I was a younger and he was also the first baseball player I would collect for baseball cards. Alex Rodriguez became a Yankee legend after he was traded to the team in 2004 and later after he signed a huge contract of 10 years and 275 million dollars. A-Rod has some big numbers in his career as well and while people will say that he cheated to get those numbers they are still pretty filthy career numbers. In his career A-Rod hit for .295 and had 3,115 career hits, 2,086 career runs batted in (3rd all time), 329 career stolen bases and 696 career homeruns (4th all time). A-Rod made 14 All-Star games, won 2 Gold Gloves, 10 Silver Sluggers, 4 Hank Aaron Awards and 3 MVP Awards. He was one of the greatest players in the game in the 2000’s and is a sure lock in for the Hall of Fame when that time does come. His last few years in baseball were plagued with injuries but if he didn’t miss any time from injuries and a 2014 from suspension then he possibly could have been the all time Runs Batted in leader and Homerun leader. He averages however 42 Home runs a season with 121 Runs batted in and a .295 batting average. He was a really great player on the field and he always came up clutch when the Mariners, Rangers and Yankees needed him. He could of gone a couple of more seasons to be honest but I’m happy he retired when he did because he played his heart out on the field and did enough for the game and like I said before he is a lock in for the Hall of Fame. The PED scandal might be a problem with the votes but in time I know he will be a Hall of Famer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6c0BK4IpXE

5. Ichiro Suzuki (1992 in Japan – 2019 in MLB) – There have been many great Japanese players in the MLB over the years but no one can hold the mantle from the greatest Japanese player of all time, Ichiro. Ichiro Suzuki is honestly one of the best players in the 2000’s and this century and he got better with age until his final few years when he was used more as a backup for the Marlins and then Mariners. But for what it is worth Ichiro was the man to talk about when he first signed with the Seattle Mariners in November 2000. I want to talk briefly about his time in Japan because while guys like Ken Griffey Jr., Sammy Sosa, Frank Thomas and Derek Jeter were making names for themselves and becoming some of the greatest names in baseball history, Ichiro was making his name known in Japan and can be added in to that list of stars as he had some filthy stuff in Japan. While he was in Japan he hit .353 with 1,278 hits, 118 homeruns, 529 runs batted in and 199 stolen bases from 1992 – 2000. He made 7 straight All-Star games in Japan from 1994 – 2000, won 3 MVP’s, 7 straight Gold Gloves from 94 – 2000 and won 7 straight batting titles from 94 – 2000. The guy was the best hitter in Japan and once he came to America and was a part of the MLB he continued to show off his amazing talent. His rookie year was one of the greatest rookie years ever for a professional baseball player as he not only won the Rookie of the Year award, but he won a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, won the Batting Title, made the All-Star team for the American League, led all of baseball in stolen bases and won the AL MVP. Not bad for a rookie year but that’s just the beginning. He holds the record for most hits in a single season with 262, made 10 straight All-Star teams and won 10 straight Gold Gloves from 2001 – 2010 and he won 2 World Baseball Classics with Team Japan in 2006 and 2009. From 2000 – 2010 Ichiro averaged a .331 Batting Average, 224 hits, 26 doubles, 7 triples, 9 homeruns, 56 runs batted in and 38 stolen bases. His first 10 seasons in baseball were amazing and he was a 5 tool baseball player. He hit for contact, got on base, was a great fielder, had amazing speed and had some decent power when it was needed. Ichiro was always a great player and while after 2010 he wasn’t the same player due to age as he came in the 2011 season at age 37. Either way he still put up some pretty decent numbers and was still one of the most respected and loved players. I remember watching him up close in personal, live on TV and in highlights and the guy was playing like he was in a video game. You know damn well when Ichiro was traded into the Yankees I was going crazy as we had the greatest hitter in baseball today and while he wasn’t the Ichiro years prior, he was still the legendary, iconic Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro retired in 2019 with the Seattle Mariners while the team was playing a game in Japan. During his time in the MLB Ichiro hit 3,089 hits, the most of the century so far and if you add in the numbers with Japan, he leads the all time hits with 4,367. Ichiro had some of the greatest moments in baseball history and there will never be another player from Japan, United States or any country that will have a successful career in baseball like Ichiro. Yes there have been better players in MLB history but to do what Ichiro did in both MLB and Japan in almost 30 years is pretty crazy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmIcXX7Dcv0

4. Andy Pettitte (1995 – 2013) – The Yankees probably have had some of the greatest pitchers of all time play for their team. Roger Clemens, Don Larsen, C.C Sabathia, Ron Guidry, Mike Mussina, Whitey Ford, the list goes on and on but out of all of the starting pitchers to put on this list and to say is my favorite of all time, we need to look into the Core. Andy Pettitte is considered by many Yankee fans to be the best starting pitcher in Yankees history. He is in the top 5 of all pitching categories for the Yankees and during his time playing for the team he was dominating. Pettitte career gets talked about sometimes in a negative way thanks to the HGH scandal and multiple times he uses performance and enhancement drugs and for what it’s worth yes it’s not the right thing to do but at the same time you can’t overlook those moments with his career alone because Pettitte was dominate with or without HGH. Pettitte only had a handful of seasons where he had an ERA lower than 3.50 as he was a guy who gave up some runs and had pretty high ERA. Nothing above a 5.00 ERA but still they were drastically high for an Ace pitcher. Also in his long 18 years career Pettite had 16 seasons where he had double digit wins, as the two seasons where he didn’t have double digit wins was when he got injured in the middle of the season. I remember watching Pettitte a lot as a child and later as a teenager and let me tell you it is an honor to be able to go to multiple Yankee games where he was the starting pitcher and an honor in general to be able to grow up and watch him throughout his playing career. I idolized Andy Pettitte so much, like to the point where when I was in little league I wanted to wear the number 46 aka his number. Pettitte never won the Cy Young award as he had multiple seasons where he should have won but he also had a high ERA those times and wasn’t as filthy and amazing as the winners of those years. But he does have an ALCS MVP, and 5 World Series rings to make up for it so I guess you can say he never really needed a Cy Young to prove how great he was. In his final game in his career Pettitte threw a complete game against the other team he played for, the Houston Astros. It was an awesome game that I was able to witness and watch on television and seeing the emotions from Pettitte was very heart breaking as for the second time in his career Pettitte was retiring and hanging up the cleats. In his career Pettitte has a 3.85 career ERA with a record of 256 – 153 with 2,448 strikeouts. He is known as one of the most dominating pitchers in the postseason with an all time lead of 19 wins in the postseason and upon Yankee’s pitching records he is first in strikeouts, tied first in games started with Yankee icon Whitey Ford and 3rd in wins with 219 wins. He also never finished a season in his career with a losing record. The man has many milestones added into his resume and in time will hopefully become a Hall of Famer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv4sawlQSXU

3. Mariano Rivera (1995 – 2013) - *Enter Sandman by Metallica plays* Now coming from the bullpen, the Yankees Closer, number 42 Mariano Rivera. Hearing those words countless times from both Yankee Stadiums are moments I will never forget. Hearing Enter Sandman for when The Sandman comes from the bullpen and jogs to the mound to close the game and get the save will always play in my head each time I watch a Yankee game at the stadium or on television. Who knew a young starting pitcher from Panama would become the greatest Closer of all time. While Pettitte might be my favorite starting pitcher of all time, my favorite pitcher of all time is Mariano Rivera. The 5 time World Series champion had a storybook career and he left a ton of hearts broken when Rivera closed the game and helped to defeat your favorite team. You might hate the Yankees but every person can respect and say the greatest closing pitcher of all time is Rivera. Rivera was the final person to ever wear 42 on his jersey as the number is retired from baseball thanks to the career of Jackie Robinson and Rivera was lucky enough to shine light to the number 42 and bring greatness into wearing the number on his uniform. In a 19 year career Mariano Rivera made 13 All-Star games, won 5 World Series rings as said before but in those 5 World Series he also won a World Series MVP. He also is a former ALCS MVP back in 2003, won 5 Rolaid’s Relief Man award, led the MLB in saves 3 times, and holds the record for career saves with 652 Saves. Look I can list off his accomplishments and say he holds records in baseball and postseason history but there is one accomplishment he holds that never has been done before in the history of baseball. Mariano Rivera is the only baseball player ever to be voted in unanimously to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is the only player in baseball to have 100% of the vote into the Hall of Fame. That is enough to prove how great of a player he was in the MLB and why Rivera is without a doubt not only the greatest closer in baseball history, but one of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game. No one since he debuted and since he retired has been dominating from the bullpen like Rivera did and yes he had his up and down moments in his time during his career but he continued to constantly be the most dominating closing pitcher in baseball history. He was my favorite Yankee pitcher ever and I am honored to be able to watch him live constant times and witness many memories of his playing career. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i344g8ip_sI

2. Ken Griffey Jr. (1989 – 2010) – One of the most respected and beloved players in MLB history, Ken Griffey Jr won the hearts of many for many years and became one of the greatest players to play the game. Griffey career took off during the 1989 season and from there he became the most unstoppable bat at the plate. From 1990 – 1999 Griffey Jr accomplished so much that he was able to make the All-Century team. In those 10 years Griffey made 10 All-Star teams, won 10 Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Sluggers and won the AL MVP in 1997. He became the face of baseball as everywhere you looked you saw his face. Nike and Nintendo ads, video game covers, cereal boxes, movies, television, etc. The man was such an icon with the MLB in the 90’s and he was only 30 when he accomplished all these accomplishments and we were heading into the new millennium. Griffey’s final 10 years in his career were plagued with injuries but he still was able to make a couple more All-Star games, but when he was on the field and holding the bat he made you remember who he was and why he was one of the greatest to ever play the game. I respect the shit out of Griffey Jr. as I grew up watching him and in time became a big fan to the point where I made a big project around him in 8th grade and studied him really hard because I wanted to make sure I did it right and got a great grade. Then when I played little league and finally stopped doing A-Rod’s batting stance I decided to make my own stance and was inspired by Griffey Jr. to use his batting stance and make it my own in little league. I was more of a pitcher and wasn’t a great hitter but it sure was fun trying to be like Junior. In 2016 Ken Griffey Jr. was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.32% of the vote. In his career Junior hit .284 with 2,781 hits, 630 homeruns, 1,836 runs batted in, 184 stolen bases and a slugging percentage of .538. Griffey Jr. had a fabulous career and even though the end of his career was plagued with injuries he still was able to show that he can still play the game even if he was limited with games being played. I miss seeing Griffey hit monster homeruns and making amazing catches in the outfield, hopefully one day we will get another player like him. Until then we have the memorable memories he left on and off the field. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPTwvW2kxVs

1. Derek Jeter (1995 – 2014) – Now batting for the New York Yankees, the Shortstop, Number 2 Derek Jeter, Number 2. Hearing that before every Jeter at bat was remarkable. I must go back into the Core and talk about my favorite player of all time as no other player played a bigger influence on me like Derek Jeter did. Where do I begin? Derek Jeter played his entire career with the Yankees and in 2003 he became the Yankees captain. Derek Jeter has had many moments on the field that is considered amazing from the diving catch into the stands against the Red Sox, the flip play against the Oakland A’s, hitting a game winning home run in the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks gaining the nickname Mr. November, or even hitting a homerun as his 3,000th career hit. Everything this man has done in the MLB has been incredible and out of this world. Derek Jeter never won the MVP, ridiculous I know, but he has many awards to his name including 14 time All-Star, 2 Hank Aaron awards, 5 Gold Gloves, 5 Silver Sluggers, Rookie of the Year award, World Series MVP and 5 World Series championship rings. Derek Jeter also holds many records with the Yankees as he leads the team with all time plate appearances, at bats, hits, total bases, singles, doubles, stolen bases, strikeouts and games played. He also has played well in the postseason as he holds the postseason record in games played, hits, plate appearances, at bats, singles, doubles, triples, runs scored, total bases and strikeouts. The man is literally a video game character because in his whole career Derek Jeter never had a bad season as he literally was amazing every year, not including years he got sidelined with season ending injuries. I remember his final year in 2014 and just being sad every game because I knew my favorite player was going to retire. I remember going to Yankee Stadium on Derek Jeter Day and seeing him being honored up close. It was very awesome to always have the privilege to go to a Yankee game at Yankee Stadium and watch my hero. I remember one time we went to a game and parked in the parking lot right next to the old Yankee Stadium and right across from us was Derek Jeter. I didn’t get to meet him but to be that close to my hero is something I will never forget. The same can be said about his final game in Yankee Stadium and in baseball. In his final game in Yankee Stadium Jeter hit a walk off base hit and got a standing ovation from not only the crowd but both the Yankees and Orioles. Then in his final game in baseball he faced the Yankees biggest enemy, the Boston Red Sox. He only played 3 innings and in his final at bat he got an infield hit and then got a standing ovation from the Boston crowd. I remember crying that day and I watched the highlights of that day the next day on Quick Pitch and cried even more. In his 20 year career Derek Jeter hit .310 with 3,465 hits, 544 doubles, 358 stolen bases, 260 home runs, 60 triples, 1,311 runs batted in and in 2020 Derek Jeter was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.75% of the vote, 1 vote shy of being unanimous. Tip the cap to the Captain and #RE2PECT because he is the greatest Shortstop, Yankee and Baseball player of all time and I know it’s my opinion but many people can agree with me. Jeter was one of the most respected players ever to play the game. I am so happy to be able to grow up with a hero and an icon like Derek Jeter and I hope the generation of kids today can find a player like Derek Jeter today and become inspired by them. Derek Jeter will always be my favorite of all time. Thank You Captain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nltYNIbogTQ

Honorable Mentions:

Mike Trout (2011 - ) – Mike Trout is this generation’s best player in the sport and if his career goes really well this next decade he could be the greatest of all time. In the 9 years he has played so far Mike Trout has made 8 All-Star Games, won 7 Silver Sluggers and 3 MVP’s. He is only 29 years old and is just entering the prime off his career. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pJNTJfDh90

Roy Halladay (1998 – 2013) – Doc Holliday was one of the greatest pitchers of my generation and during that time he posted 203 wins and over 2,000 career strikeouts while making 8 All-Star teams and winning 2 Cy Young awards. As much as I hated watching him crush the Yankees I enjoyed being able to witness a true legendary pitcher. Rest In Peace Doc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGQYER9nLQU

Mike Piazza (1992 – 2007) – Mike Piazza was one of the best catchers during his time of playing baseball. I grew up watching him in his later years but when he was younger and playing for the Dodgers and Mets the man was a legend as he was the best hitting catcher in the game. He’s a 10 time Silver Slugger and made it into the All-Star game 12 times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jqg5-BBumI

Willie Mays (1951 – 1973) – Willie Mays might be the greatest player in baseball history. He won 2 MVP’s, 12 Gold Gloves, made it into 24 All-Star games (Most all time), has over 3,200 career hits, 660 career homeruns, 1,903 career runs batted in and played in time period where guys like Mickey Mantle, Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Pete Rose, Stan Musial and Jackie Robinson were making names for themselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWl5uZafO2A