All things considered...

Haven't we all gotten into that argument? Who is the best player you have ever seen or who is the best player ever? I am putting out there my bests...I am editing this blog some as from the comments so far, confusion is reigning. So I am shortening it to the bests I think I have ever seen, no criteria per se, just the best to me and would love to hear what you think the bests are... One thing is that these folks are the best I personally have ever seen play, not necessarily who I might pick for best all time.

Baseball:

Best Outfielder: Best player to me - Carl Yastrzemski, last man to hit the Triple Crown, he's also my fave all time player, was great to watch him when I was younger...

Best infielder have seen - as far as fielding I loved Frank White, the multiple gold glover in KC, hitting was not his forte though, I have to go with Mike Schmidt for best all around. Great fielder, great hitter

Best DH - had to throw this one in to mention Big Papi...has anyone else defined the DH as much as him?

Best Pitcher - Never saw Feller or Gibson or Paige, but for pitchers I have seen I have to go with Clemens and his pre steroids era of 2 20 strikeout games.

Boxing: Best to me is Muhammed Ali/Cassius Clay - whatever you want to call him, he stung like a bee and floated like a butterfly

Basketball: Best to me is 1. Jordan 2. Dr J 3. L Bird

Football: Lots of categories here: QB - go with Favre or Elway; RB - Barry Sanders with apologies to E Smith and W Payton; WR - Hate to say it but Lynn Swann always impressed me; Defense - just lumping them all together...Randy White, Ed Jones, that whole bunch, the Steelers D - Lambert and Co right there too.

Tennis: Bjorn Borg with apologies to McEnroe and Lendl; currently Federer is amazing

Golf: Nicklaus but I think Tiger is going to be the top soon if not right now

Hockey: best hockey player I ever saw was Wayne Gretzky, but I don't watch much hockey

That takes care of the big sports I mostly watch, granted there have been so many players and athletes I have enjoyed watching and still do, but now it's your turn, who is your best of the best?

El Gigante Reputation: 98 Level: Superstar Since: Jan 15, 2008	Posted on: May 19, 2008 6:59 pm Score: 91 Best of the Best "Best" is such an undefined term here. There are those who were offensive dynamos in the outfield, for instance, like Barry, Hank or the Babe. Of these, only Hank came close to trying to play the field. If it's best overall (which is different than "Most Valuable" like the award), I would call it the combination player that is a seven-tooler. In this case, it would have to be Mickey Mantle. In his 18 seasons with the Yankees, Mantle hit 536 HRs, had 1509 RBI, had a 0.298 batting average (messed up 0.300 with his last season), only had 82 errors in the OF (4.56/season) & a 0.982 fielding percentage. PS: Loved Yaz, but he was a bit of a jerk off the field. Tough not to be A-Rod given this same criteria for the infield in his 15 years. He's hit 522 HRs, has 1514 RBI, a lifetime 0.306 batting average, 131 errors & a 0.973 fielding percentage. FYI: Derek Jeter has 197 errors in his 14 years. Can't think of a better pure hitter than David Ortiz for the DH spot. Don Baylor was pretty impressive just leaning in to take the hit on his shoulder, though. Also, Frank Thomas with his 1695 RBI & 516 dongs is pretty impressive, too. I would have to say the pitcher these days I am most impressed by is Greg Maddux. His 350 Wins in 23 years with absolutely no velocity is amazing! All-time...I guess it has to be a measurement like the fielders in all-around performance (ERA, Ks, Wins & WHIP). Probably gonna go with Sandy Koufax. Believe it or not, Roger was a close second. Koufax averaged 14 wins/season & 7.25 losses/season. He had a lifetime ERA of 2.76 (Roger = 3.12) and a WHIP of 1.106. He averaged 200 Ks/season, too. Y'know, Hawk, I'm gonna take a break. You could've made this multiple blogs. I'm exhausted. I'll get back to you. [ Reply to Comment ]
Hawkeye Reputation: 97 Level: Superstar Since: Aug 21, 2006	Posted on: May 19, 2008 7:27 pm Score: 93 Best of the Best El G - Sorry maybe it didn't stand out, but I was looking for the best you ever saw, meaning who has played during your lifetime that you have seen play that you considered the best, not necessarily who you think is the best all time. For me, Yaz was the best I ever saw play, although I admit I am biased a bit there. I wasn't alive when Mantle played, nor really did I ever see Hank play. Hard also to cross eras... I guess just do this: Outfielder - best seen: X, best current: Y then move on if you like. I never got to see Koufax pitch either. And certainly Denny McClain deserves a mention for one season at least...no one has seemingly come close to 30 wins. Still like I say, they were before my time. This is purely who you have seen. [ Reply to Comment ]
El Gigante Reputation: 98 Level: Superstar Since: Jan 15, 2008	Posted on: May 19, 2008 7:39 pm Score: 93 Best of the Best "Seen:" Again, all-around is how I will gauge... Outfielder = Recall brief glimpses of Hank Aaron as a child on ch. 44 in Tampa as kid, so I guess I've seen him. Infielder = Alex Rodriguez DH = David Ortiz (clutch) Pitcher = Roger Clemens (Red Sox years only; tainted after that) with Greg Maddux a close second. Must go collapse now due to overexertion. [ Reply to Comment ]
Amerigo Vespuci Reputation: 96 Level: Superstar Since: Aug 16, 2007	Posted on: May 19, 2008 10:22 pm Score: 92 Best of the Best Best infielder - Boog Powell, Barry Larkin, etc.... What are the criterion? Gold gloves, hitting, running? Each brings their special mix to the table. This is a difficult blog to respond to Hawkeye....It is a huge can of worms. I cannot argue with any of your reasoning. Mine would just be different for my own reasons. BTW - how are you doing, friend? AV

Hawkeye

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