Who is the greatest BB player you ever SAW?

[Mikehealer]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Tom Seaver was the much better pitcher, and could be the best I ever saw in his prime.

I agree, but it would be a coin flip for me between Seaver and Randy Johnson.
And both of them made road trips.

[FUBAR]

Well i'm probably the only person on this board that has never seen a live MLB game. So i don't have an answer. As a fan , the players i wanted to see were Jr, Nolan, Reggie J, Pujols, and Big Mac (ive always been a fan).

Off topic, although i feel left out, i got to see Gretzky play live at least 100 times including hoisting the Cup 3 times in person.. no one has ever dominated his sport like Wayne and it was just magic. But I went to the Oiler games to watch Grant Fuhr.

I got to see Peyton Manning play 1 series against the Seahawks. Hopefully i will get to see him play a complete game live one day!

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Best player all-around was for me was Clemente. Most of the time he'd take the first strike - so in essence his most of his hitting stats were made by having only two strikes to work with. He had the best arm hands down. A true 5 tool player. May runs a closed second.

I also agree that Pedro Martinez was best pitcher in his prime - especially when one considers that he was truly dominating even in the steriod infested hitting era. Maddux runs a close second and Randy Johnson third.

[Peter_Spaeth]

One guesses that if Bill James updates his list again, ARod and Pujols and Bonds will be very near the top.

[dabigyankeeman]

Nobody mentions relief pitchers, how about Mariano Rivera? What this guy has done for so long in the regular season, the playoffs, and the world series staggers the imagination.

[DixieBaseball]

Barry Bonds (Pre-Roid 3 MVP era, and should have had 4, but Ken "Steroid" Caminetti, took one from Bonds early in his career. A lot of folks forget that Bonds was 185 lbs, when he was doing the 30/30 thing every year. His arm was lively from left, he could steal, hit for avg or pwr. He was the best before he took roids. Roids made him better than Ruth. (At least that is what the numbers say...) I would also possibly throw in Pujols, but he has no speed, but may be the best hitter I have ever seen. B/C of Pujols lack of speed, I would give it to Bonds pre-roid era. He won half his MVP's on roids and the other half off. Simply look at his toothpick arms and legs for his first 3 or 4 MVPs.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I have seen, both live and TV, mostly American League games. Brett, Griffey, ARod, Clemens, Pedro, Rivera.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by NashvilleBaseball

I would also possibly throw in Pujols, but he has no speed, but may be the best hitter I have ever seen.

Albert has stolen 11 bases this year so far and 16 twice in his career previously. He's not A-Rod or Barry Bonds in their primes but he's certainly way above having "no speed".

Tabe

[Ladder7]

Originally Posted by FUBAR

...no one has ever dominated his sport like Wayne and it was just magic.

One word, Bobby Orr. Though Wayne was a close second and Mario an even closer third



Back on track, 2004 playoffs... Dave Roberts is the greatest I'd seen (From a barstool on Cocoa Beach), for stealing second. Sparking the greatest comeback in MLB history by ending a thousand year drought. Though the missus and most everyone I knew had written them off, I still did Believe. *whew*

[Peter_Spaeth]

Even though I am from Boston I think anyone who says Orr was better than Gretzky is being overly provincial/nostalgic.

[tbob]

Red Barber (who saw almost every player in the majors from Babe Ruth to Griffey Junior): "If I could have any one pitcher in history to pitch a game for me with my life on the line, there is no doubt who I would want to pitch that one game: Carl Hubbell."
Just thought I'd mention that since no one ever mentions King Carl. I understand that no one here is old enough to have seen him play in person. I just think he never gets his due.

[FrankWakefield]

When I first saw this thread I was thinking Mr. Musial was the greatest I'd seen. But as I mentioned above, after reading through posts and consulting Mr. James' Historical Abstract, Willie Mays must have been the greatest. Musial had a better average, more games, more doubles, more triples, a better on base percentage, a better slugging average, more walks, and Mr. Musial was infinitely nicer when signing an autograph for someone... Willie could play, though. I remember seeing him the first time, knowing about his basket catches and how I shouldn't be doing it. I can still see that first basket catch... and he almost always was in motion when catching a ball; if it was far from him he'd be flying across the outfield grass, if it were only a few steps away he'd wait the ball out and drift over at the last moment. I can see him wheeling around third base, dead set on scoring, hat flying off and arms churning. Willie brought excitement to the ballpark.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by tbob

Red Barber (who saw almost every player in the majors from Babe Ruth to Griffey Junior): "If I could have any one pitcher in history to pitch a game for me with my life on the line, there is no doubt who I would want to pitch that one game: Carl Hubbell."
Just thought I'd mention that since no one ever mentions King Carl. I understand that no one here is old enough to have seen him play in person. I just think he never gets his due.

2 years ago, I was at a dinner and found myself sitting next to an older fellow who taught at a university in California. We got to talking about baseball, and when he told me his age and that the Giants were his favorite team as a boy, I asked him if he'd ever seen Hubbell pitch. His eyes lit up and he told me he saw him pitch many times. He described his motion, his arms, the break of the pitches. I felt like I'd seen him, too. Near the end, he leaned over and said, "you know, I think I saw Bill Terry, too."

[howard38]

Jeremy, it was Terry Pendleton that "robbed" Bonds of an MVP early in his career although in his defense he had an outstanding season and was not to my knowledge linked to PEDs. When Caminiti won a few years later it was Mike Piazza that finished second in the voting and Bonds was fifth.

[JasonL]

was my favorite player, Ozzie Smith. I just never saw such a high level of mastery at playing his position than the performances he turned in every day.

But the most incredible thing I ever saw in person at a game, was Ichiro's right field play. I don't recall the particulars, except that I was attending a Yankees game vs. Seattle in 2002 (I think), seated several rows up and even with the first base bag. A Yankee hitter lifted a deep fly to right field, a runner tagged at third, Ichiro drfits over towards the corner and ctahes the ball. He then made the most amazing throw I have ever been witness to in person. You could almost hear the ball zing past us in a straight line, and the catcher cathes the ball at knee height on the third base side of the plate for the out.

I would like to have answered Kirby Puckett for this question, but unfortunately, I never got to see him play in person. I had centerfield seats for a Twins game at Comiskey, but it was the first game cancelled due to the strike, and the game then lost me for 10 years.

[margoaepi]

During his prime I don't think I saw anyone swing the bat or field the way Vlad did. What an arm on that guy. If only his back had held up and he didn't waste all those years up north.

[Ladder7]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Even though I am from Boston I think anyone who says Orr was better than Gretzky is being overly provincial/nostalgic.

Gawrsh Peter, Orr controlled both areas of the rink. Killed penalties too. He put in some superhuman minutes. Some say, that kid could do everything but fly. I suspect you're too young to have seen his ice capades and are simply trolling.

Of course, as a true 60s Bostonian (not one raised out in the burbs). It's possible, my opinion could be bias'd. Prostalgic Steve

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Ladder7

Gawrsh Peter, Orr controlled both areas of the rink. Killed penalties too. He put in some superhuman minutes. Some say, that kid could do everything but fly. I suspect you're too young to have seen his ice capades and are simply trolling.

Of course, as a true 60s Bostonian (not one raised out in the burbs). It's possible, my opinion could be bias'd. Prostalgic Steve

He could fly.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Hockey News agrees, FWIW.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...he_Hockey_News

[sox1903wschamp]

Originally Posted by Ladder7

Gawrsh Peter, Orr controlled both areas of the rink. Killed penalties too. He put in some superhuman minutes. Some say, that kid could do everything but fly. I suspect you're too young to have seen his ice capades and are simply trolling.

Of course, as a true 60s Bostonian (not one raised out in the burbs). It's possible, my opinion could be bias'd. Prostalgic Steve

Guess I am a burb guy . And how did this discussion get over to Hockey

[bbcard1]

Great thread...two ways of looking at it. One is that there are players with a sustained period on unquestioned greatness...Johnny Bench or Mike Schmidt would probably be those guys for me, though an argument could be made that Albert Puljos is approaching it...and it a gun were held to my head, I may have to hold my nose and say Barry Bonds. Just because you don't want something to be so doesn't mean it isn't.

There have been lots of guys who were greater for a summer or so. There were months/years where Mattingly, Gooden, Eric Davis and Bo Jackson were just incredible...as good as anyone...it just didn't last too long.