Joe Dimaggio
For many reasons, but primarily for the quote below, when a reporter asked him why he was hustling so hard in a late-season, meaningless game.
“There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best.”
Lou Gehrig
Ryne Sandburg. Or Greg Maddux. Probably tied now.
Willie Mays Hayes
Ted Williams
Mark Grace. He’s also my first mancrush.
Ryo Hayakawa ( 早川 涼 )
What?
Jim Rice.
Should be in the Hall of Fame.
My first thought was Johnny Bench followed closely by a “no wait” Tom Seaver.
Roberto Clemente/Willie Stargell in a dead heat.
Brooks Robinson
And the entire 1979 roster of the Pittsburgh Pirates can bite me, as can Sister Sledge. If I never hear “We Are Family” again, it’ll be too soon.
But I’m not bitter or anything.
Tim Wakefield
Brooks for me too. And I was at game 7 in '79. I can still feel the pain.
The wizard Ozzie Smith.
One of the lasting memories I have is of my father and uncles screaming at the television “HIT THE GOD DAMN BALL!”
Ditto. A friend put together a collage of his baseball cards, which is now on the living room wall above the entertainment center.
I stopped paying much attention to baseball when he retired.
Hank Aaron, followed closely by Willie Stargell.
Mickey Mantle.
Teddy Ballgame. Vlad Guerrero if I had to pick someone I’ve actually seen (on TV).
Johnny Bench.
If I’d been allowed just a little bit of thinking, I might have come up with, oh, Joe Morgan, George Foster, Dave Concepcion, etc.