Mr. Base-a-ball

I have been talking a lot lately with friends about baseball and about which players suck and which ones are awesome, who we love to watch and who we'd rather stare at a melting turd than see play. It got me to thinking about who my favorite players are and have been throughout my life. I figured I would make a list of my favorite professional baseball players both past and present who I've had the privilege of riding along with during their careers. Before I begin I just wanted to note that I am both a Giants and a Red Sox fan. If they ever played each other in the World Series, I would probably root for the Giants (unless they had A-Rod, Derek Jeter or anyone from the 2002 Angels playing for them). 

1. Manny Ramirez - it was really hard for me to put Manny here because he is a Dodger now and I am a Giants fan and therefore, am predisposed to hating any and all Dodgers. But having watched him all those years on the Red Sox and winning two rings with them gives him a special place in my heart. "Manny being Manny" is the term used when referring to his antics on and off the field. Some examples include leaving games during pitching changes to pee inside the Green Monster, leaving paychecks for hundreds of thousands of dollars on top of his locker and forgetting to cash them for years at a time, and playing left field with a water bottle in his back pocket just to name a few. Manny is one of the best hitters of all-time and is one of the most underrated players in the game. 

2. Will Clark - No player meant more to me as a kid than "Will the Thrill." He was the Giants in the late 80s and early 90s. He was an exceptional hitter and it scares me to think of what he might have done in the new ball park compared to the shit hole that was and still is Candlestick.I think he would have easily reached the 500 home run club. Will could have been number one on this list, but when I was a kid I asked him for his autograph at Candlestick before a game and he told me he didn't have time. I will never forget that Will Clark!

3. Barry Bonds - Say what you want about "Baroid," but the dude is responsible for 90 percent of my most thrilling baseball moments and he was the only guy in any sport ever that got cut-aways during other teams games (some of them in different sports).  Sure, he was a dick, probably took a ton of roids (speculation), and didn't know when to say when in terms of retiring, but the guy is probably the best hitter of all-time (I hear you moaning Ted Williams fans) and arguably the best to ever play the game. My one regret for Barry was that he was such an asshole to the media because they basically pinned the whole steroid era on him and it sucks because he was a Giant. Is it really cheating if everyone around you is doing the same thing?

4. Wade Boggs - When I was a kid playing baseball, Wade was in his prime. I remember playing on the Red Sox in little league and fighting dudes to get number 26. One of the first real books I remember reading with my dad was The Techniques of Modern Hitting. One thing was for sure, Wade could hit. He was a career .330 hitter with over 3000 hits. His mustache was also pretty dope and a lot of chicks probably got rides on that thing in Tampa. Problem with Wade was he was an ass. He was one of the first big name Red Sox to jump ship for the Yankees and when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame he wanted to wear a Tampa Bay hat. Those were pretty low class moves. But hey, he was on Cheers. 

5. Rickey Henderson - Growing up I did not like the A's one bit. Every time we did one of those little league days at the Coliseum I would root for the other team. But for some reason, I loved Rickey Henderson. I had his posters on my wall, wore his neon green batting gloves, and had a shirt from when he won the MVP. However, it wasn't until much later that I came to appreciate the true gem that is/was Rickey Henderson. The John Olerud incident, Rickey not liking it when Rickey has to wait for Rickey's limo, the tenure/ten year's story, and the signing bonus are all great Rickey stories. Did you know that Rickey played for the A's four different times? 

6. Matt Williams - Matty should have been the first to break Maris' record but he was fucked by the strike in the mid-90s. Matt always just seemed like a classy guy and someone you wanted to emulate. Plus, he didn't fit the mold of other power hitters during the same time period. He was a tall, lanky dude who could hit the piss out of the ball. I was happy to see him get a ring in 2001 (even though it was with Arizona). 

I am just gonna end it here because I could make cases for dozens more, including Bo Jackson, Roger Clemens, Kevin Mitchell, David Ortiz, Mike Schmidt, George Brett and Dion James (only because he lived next door to my friend and I struck him out during a wiffle ball game in 1997). I just don't have the time to get it all down right now.