Give us your all time personal favorite starting lineup!
 

Ok enough debate over who is the greatest, let's see your all time personal favorite starting lineup. Just make sure they played the position, no listing 3 OF, they need to be their true outfield position. Feel fee to add any anecdotes as to why you made the picks that you did.

I'll start...

LHP - Jerry Nyman - Because I got to meet him and he signed all of my cards and told me the pitch by pitch of him striking out Mantle in 69.

RHP - Nolan Ryan - I'll never forget watching him beat up Ventura when I was a kid

C - Mike Piazza - Grew up watching him play and he was a Met. Has some great stories in his book as well.

1B - Tie - Frank Thomas & Mo Vaughn - Had Frank's Gottlieb pinball machine for a while and it was a ton of fun. Thomas was 1b to Griffey's 1a in the 90's. Vaughn signed a card via TTM when I sent it to him just before he was named MVP in 95, still have it to this day.

2B - Ryne Sandberg - Because it was great trivia that he started his career in my hometown of Helena, Montana.

SS - Rey Ordonez - The reason that I became a Mets fan in the first place. It seemed like he was on the Sportscenter plays of the week every week and he signed my card TTM at the height of his popularity.

3B - Tie - George Brett & Wade Boggs - The beers, the chicken, the s**t stories, classic.

LF - Rickey Henderson - The greatest AB's of all time, terrorized the pitch count. A top tier agitator who could change the game at a moments notice. Doesn't hurt that he was a Met :D

CF - Ken Griffey Jr. - Between Griffey and Frank Thomas, they were the 90's

RF - Gary Sheffield - I loved his batting stance and he played for my hometown Helena, Montana team.

RP - Rod Beck - There is nobody that I'd rather face less in their prime. I felt fear just watching him pitch on TV.

LHP Billy Pierce
RHP Jim Palmer
C Elston Howard
1B Eddie Murray
2B Bobby Richardson
SS Luis Aparicio
3B Brooks Robinson
OF Frank Robinson
OF Hank Aaron
OF Jackie Jensen

Starting Pitcher - Warren Spahn
Relievers - John Franco and Dennis Eckersly
Catcher - Gary Carter
1B - Jimmie Foxx and Will Clark (tie)
2B - Jackie Robinson
SS- Cal Ripken
3B - Robin Ventura
Left - Rickey Henderson
Center - Willie Mays
Right - Babe Ruth

RHP - Catfish Hunter
LHP - Frank Tanana
RP - Goose Gossage
C - Gary Carter
1B - Lou Gehrig
2B - Joe Morgan
3B - Brooks Robinson
SS - Alex Rodriguez
RF - Reggie Jackson
CF - Mickey Mantle
LF - Wes Covington

RHP - Verlander - Along with Big Hurt maybe my top two favorite players ever
RHP - J.R. Richard - a BEAST before a stroke took him down,,,,think of a RH Randy Johnson in his day (honorable mention - The Bird...for his one healthy season he brought magic...and domination
RHP - Ryan - Robin Ventura...along with Brett and Carew...and maybe Reggie...my fave 70s/80's guys
LHP - Randy Johnson - probably the one guy I would least wanted to have faced
LHP - Mickey Lolich - Cards fans may not like this one...a total bulldog and vastly underrated..if not rarely mentioned
RP - 1984 Willie Hernandez.....if for a full career...tough Fingers had/has a great stache...but probably Mariano...boring I know...scratch that...Smoltz...a Faser, MI native...and Tiger that got away
C - Lance Parrish - was my favorite Tiger growing up and his stats are VERY close to Carter and Fisk (his contemporaries) but he never gets mentions in the same sentece...BS
1B - Frank Thomas (Honorable mention - Rod Carew...just loved every aspect of his game as well)
2B - Sweet Lou - Arguably better than Trammell...but not as much of a HOF/media darling (Honorable mention - Roberto Alomar...just loved every aspect of his game)
3B - George Brett
SS - Trammell (honorable mention - Derek Jeter as we were recruited in the same class at UM)
OF - Rickey Henderson
OF - Ty Cobb
OF - Kaline
DH - Miggy - Triple crown for Tigers...nuff said

all time best lineup?
 

People are hitting on the biggies. I can't imagine an "all-time best" lineup
without the all-time RBI leader and HR leader, though (and no, Bonds
ain't it). Hank needs to be in the OF. Trent King

Mathewson
Hubbell
Marichel
Bumgarner
RP:’The Beard
Posey
Will the thrill
Tim Cullen
Schmidt
Brandon Crawford
Al Bumbrey
Willie Mays
Mel Ott
DH- Willie McCovey

Can't have a team without a manager, I'll nominate Earl Weaver just to watch him kick dirt on an umpires shoes one more time.

P Sandy Koufax
C Roy Campanella
1b Willie Stargell
2b Bill Mazeroski
SS Honus Wagner
3b George Brett
LF Babe Ruth
CF Willie Mays
RF Roberto Clemente

again: Personal Favorite Starting-Nine:

SP-Sandy Koufax
C-Johnny Bench
1B-Freddie Freeman
2B-Julio Franco
SS-David Eckstein
3B-Chipper Jones
LF-Hank Aaron
CF-Mickey Mantle
RF-Roberto Clemente


No. Not the Best, just my Favorite Starters.

I'd have Billy Wagner as my closer.



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Great lineup! I love the Franco pick.

LHP- Randy Johnson
RHP- Pedro Martinez
C- Johnny Bench
1B- Jimmie Foxx
2B- Joe Morgan
SS- Alex Rodriguez
3B- Mike Schmidt
LF- Ted Williams
CF- Willie Mays
RF- Hank Aaron
Manager: Sparky Anderson

Nice lineup! Seems like an all time great lineup rather than a personal favorite, but I suppose either would make sense.

I take it to mean players I’d like to watch for one game - the most entertaining…

Pitcher: Mark Fidrych (for one year he was pure joy to watch)

Reliever: Goose Gossage (the Pete Townshend of relievers - don’t mess with him when he’s on stage or he might just kill you)

Catcher: Mickey Cochrane (won 5 pennants in 13-year career. "He was the greatest fighting spirit on the ball field." He's there to win and will do anything to make it happen.)

1st Base: Norm Cash (once went to bat with a table leg against Nolan Ryan and could hit the ball over the roof at Tiger Stadium)

2nd Base: Germany Schaefer (Schaefer was a pioneer of baseball clowning and is the reason you can’t steal bases backwards)

3rd base: Pete Rose (Another winner, complete with head-first slides)

Left Field: Babe Ruth (he played LF almost as much as RF and of course is baseball)

Center Field: Ty Cobb (who could be more fun to watch)

Right Field: Reggie Jackson (the straw that stirs the drink)

Manager: Billy Martin (who’s gonna kick dirt on the umpire any quicker? And he might even fight Reggie by the 5th inning.)

My favorites by position:

Lefthanded Pitcher: Warren Spahn
Righthanded Pitcher: Christy Mathewson
Relief Pitcher: Mariano Rivera

Catcher: Roy Campanella
1st Base: Stan Musial
2nd Base: Nap Lajoie
SS: Pee Wee Reese
3B: Mike Schmidt

LF: Minnie Minoso
CF: Willie Mays
RF: Roberto Clemente

Manager: Gil Hodges

Great lineup! Hodges as skipper is a great choice!

P Randy Johnson
C Paddy Livingston
1B Orlando Cepeda
2B Jackie Robinson
3B Eric Chavez
SS Omar Quintanilla
LF Fred Lewis
CF Willie Mays
RF Babe Ruth

Favorite, not best or even good :D

I love the Yankees and this line up would murder anyone in the series:

SP - Whitey Ford
C - Yogi Berra
1B - Lou Gehrig
2B - Tony Lazzeri
SS - Derek Jeter
3B - Red Rolfe
OF - Mickey Mantle
OF - Babe Ruth
OF - Joe DiMaggio
DH - Don Mattingly

all time favorite
 

Whew! Tough, I'm sure I'll miss someone:

RHP- Bob Gibson
LHP- Sandy Koufax

1B- Hal Chase
2B- Rod Carew
SS- David Concepcion
3B- Eddie Mathews

OF- Hank Aaron
OF- Roberto Clemente
OF- Ted Williams

C- John Bench

Apologies to: Campy, Tony Gwynn, Tom Seaver

Since these are favorites, I can only hope no one presumes to know them
better than me. (I know, I know...hope is a poor strategy).

Trent King

Favorites correction
 

I knew I’d forget a biggie! I’ll change my 3B to Jim Thome. That is all- Trent King

Greta lineup! My favorite would be:

Lefthanded Pitcher: Clayton Kershaw
Righthanded Pitcher: Bob Feller
Relief Pitcher: Satchel Paige

Catcher: Roy Campanella
1st Base: Albert Pujols
2nd Base: Bobby Richardson
SS: Pee Wee Reese
3B: George Brett

LF: Ted Williams
CF: Mickey Mantle
RF: Babe Ruth

Manager: Gil Hodges

RHP Nolan Ryan - got to see him pitch at old Tiger Stadium when I was a kid in the early 90s. He was magnificent. Still dominant into his mid-40s, just incredible.

LHP Rube Waddell - the stories about him are legendary, I'm endless fascinated by him. And when he actually felt like pitching, he was the best in the league.

C Josh Gibson - the Babe Ruth of the Negro Leagues, career .374 avg with multiple .400 seasons, it's a travesty he never got to play in the majors.

1B Carl Yastrzemski - I freaking love this guy, his 73 "Mutton Chop Yaz" is one of my favorite cards. And one of the best hitters of all time, 67 triple crown. A feat no one accomplished again until Miggy in 2012.

2B Lou Whitaker - I just attended his number retirement ceremony at Comerica back in August, and being able to yell "Loooooooooouuuuuuuu" for the first time since I was a kid brought tears to my eyes. He meant so much Tigers fans.

SS Alan Trammell - Lou and Tram were the greatest 2B/SS duo in history, they have every meaningful record. I got to meet Tram at a card show when I was a kid in the 80s, and I still have the picture displayed in my man cave.

3B Harmon Killebrew - I think they should call him "the Logo" like the NBA does Jerry West. Come on, look at the MLB logo and tell me that's not the Killer in his classic stance locked and loaded ready to unleash on that hapless ball.

OF Bo Jackson - my favorite player to watch as a kid, both in football and in baseball. When Bo wielded a bat, it was like a medieval executioner preparing to behead a criminal. And I've still never seen anyone approach his cannon arm, throwing guys out at home from the outfield at will. That awful injury he suffered in the Bengals game robbed us of possibly greatest pure athlete of all time, in his prime.

OF Rickey Henderson - the most exciting baserunner I've ever seen. I tried to emulate him in little league, but yeah, not so much. Ha! It's not that he was the fastest runner exactly, but his instincts were just incredible. And as a leadoff man, he could hit with power. I saw him hit his share of dingers over the years. I loved that he stayed in the league for so long. He was one of those guys who was there in my earliest baseball memories in the mid-80s, yet was still in the league into my 20s. An institution of the game.

OF Mickey Mantle - I watched as much of him as I could on video tape growing up, and was fascinated by him. They used to play this tv show from the 50s/60s in reruns on Saturday mornings called "Home Run Derby," and seeing him hit and crack jokes and his whole personality, I just idolized him. My buddies and I would play homerun derby in the lot down the street, and I always wanted to be Mantle. His presence still loomed large over the game then, and when he passed in 95, all of us baseball obsessed kids felt it. Nowadays, you can watch entire games on youtube which is awesome. Seeing him in the early 50s is really a sight, so much speed down the base path. Like just about everyone in the hobby, I love the Mick, and that's that.

Again I will limit my favorites list to guys I saw play:

LHP Ron Guidry
RHP Fergie Jenkins
C Thurman Munson
1B Joe Mauer (cheating a little bit I know)
2B Rod Carew
SS Derek Jeter
3B Mike Schmidt
OF Frank Robinson
OF Kirby Puckett
OF Tony Oliva

RHP - Ryan
LHP - Grove
C - Berra
1B - Gehrig
2B - Joe Morgan or Hornsby
3B - Schmidt
SS - Honus Wagner
OF - Ruth
OF - Cobb
CF - Mays

DH - Ted Williams

Manager - Billy Martin

Oh yes, nice to see those special Tigers listed here. My favorite has to be Charlie Paw Paw Maxwell from the early 1960s. As a young Tiger fan, my thrilling memory of Paw Paw was him launching one of his many Sunday homers into Briggs (Tiger) Stadium’s upper deck.

Lhp Lefty Grove
Rhp Walter Johnson
C Johnny Bench
1B Lou Gehrig
2B Rogers Hornsby
SS Honus Wagner
3B Brooks Robinson
RF Ty Cobb
CF Willie Mays
RF Ted Williams
M Bruce Bochy

1) ichiro OF
2) gwynn OF
3) ruth DH
4) gehrig 1B
5) bonds OF
6) jeter SS
7) pudge C
8) boggs 3B
9) jackie 2B

SP) clemens
RP) rivera

Here is mine:

SP - Tom Seaver
RP - Paul Boris
1B - Bill White
C - Jeff Torborg
2B - Bobby Richardson
SS - Derek Jeter
3B - Nick Esasky
OF - Mickey Mantle
OF - Al Kaline
OF - Dave Kingman

Manager - Gil Hodges

Umpires - Frank Umont, Nestor Chylak, Ed Sudol and Augie Donatelli

Mike

Quote of the Year!!!
 

Truly :)

LHP Ron Guidry

RHP Nolan Ryan

Relief Pitcher - Tie between Goose and Mariano

C Thurman Munson

1B Don Mattingly

2B Willie Randolph

SS Derek Jeter

3B Graig Nettles

LF Rickey Henderson

CF Bernie Williams

RF Tie between Dave Winfield and Paul O'Neill

DH Don Baylor

Manager - Billy Martin

Bench Coach - Don Zimmer

TV/Radio Announcers - Phil Rizzuto, Ken Singleton, Jim Kaat