Say hey! Willie wins the vote!
The "say hey kid" ran away with the
vote as baseball's best outfielder. Not surprising from a guy who
led the National League in stolen bases four times in his career.
Four times is not a lot you say for the best outfielder ever?
Well considering he also led the NL in slugging percentage six
times and ranks third all time on the career homerun list with
660, I say that's enough speed. Not to mention his legendary
defense, the pinnacle of which was the catch in the '54 series. I
can't say I agree with the results of this poll though.
The guy I voted for, Hammerin' Hank Aaron, didn't
even finish in the top ten. He has to be the most
underappreciated baseball god that has ever lived. Now I know
that underappreciated god is an oxymoron, but think about it.
Here's a guy who hit over .300 fifteen times in his career, who
has to be the most consistent power hitter in history as he never
hit fifty homers in a season yet finished with 755 in a 22 year
career, won three gold gloves, and averaged ten stolen bases a
year for his career. Yet all you ever think of when you think of
Hank Aaron is 755. I hear that he wasn't as flashy as Mays
because that wasn't his style. He would never make a diving catch
like Mays because chances are he would have been camping under it
without diving anyway.
George Herman Ruth is the answer to my all time
favorite baseball trivia question. Which pitcher holds the record
for most career homeruns hit? People forget that he was a pitcher,
with his most memorable record being 29 scoreless innings pitched
in the World Series. Scoop said it best when he said that while
all these other guys were great for humans, Ruth obviously came
from the planet Krypton. Scoop is the stat man, so I will let him
dazzle you with Ruth's accomplishments.
I wasn't really surprised to see Junior finish so
high, although I don't necesarily agree with it. He is the best
player without question that I have ever personally seen, but how
will history judge him? If he were to tear both ACL's in Spring
Training next year and never play again, has he done enough
already to merit his third place finish or is his spot based on
projected stats over the next decade as well? He was the Gist's
choice and I asked him the same question and he couldn't answer
it. He just said "400 homers before age 30, first player to
ever do that". Well really like 398 but close enough I guess.
His contemporary rival, Bonds, finished with a measly five votes.
Bonds has three MVP's and will become baseball's only member of
the 500-500 club (homers and stolen bases) so his finish well
below Junior is a mystery to me but that's why we have the poll.
Danny "Suits" Sparrow equaled Barry
Bonds and Rickey Henderson and beat out such greats as Frank
Robinson and Reggie Jackson. Strangely enough, I have not been
able to find any stats on him on the net. Just another example of
the lack of information from the poorly documented Negro Leagues
and the even rarer case of the missing stats of the only white
man ever to play in the Negro Leagues. Anyone that can almost
outrun light (damn that grand slam breakfast!) and kick Ty Cobb's
ass deserves a spot on the All Century team. Here's to you Suits.
The next poll is a bit more risque in nature.
Which actress has the best "bermuda triangle"? Again,
she has to have shown it in either print or on film and it must
be a mainstream actress. Playboy models don't count as we can't
run their pictures so no McCarthy or Anderson. Comments on
omissions should go to the_gist@hotmail.com
as he came up with the nominees and should take the heat for
anyone left out of the poll. Perhaps the good Uncle will be kind
enough to lend some pics again and I will include the top five in
the commentary.
Comments and suggestions to lawdogusc@hotmail.com.
Keep those emails coming. Just because the schedule's changed
doesn't mean I don't want more suggestions.
Poll
Topic: Best Outfielder of the 20th Century
|
| Willie
Mays |
 29.3% - (151 Votes) |
| Babe
Ruth |
18% - (93 Votes) |
| Ken
Griffey, Jr. |
8.9% - (46 Votes) |
| Ted
Williams |
7.7% - (40 Votes) |
| Joe
DiMaggio |
7.3% - (38 Votes) |
| Roberto
Clemente |
6.2% - (32 Votes) |
| Mickey
Mantle |
5% - (26 Votes) |
| Ty
Cobb |
2.7% - (14 Votes) |
| Stan
Musial |
2.5% - (13 Votes) |
| Al
Kaline |
1.7% - (9 Votes) |
| Hank
Aaron |
1.3% - (7 Votes) |
| Carl
Yastrzemski |
1.3% - (7 Votes) |
| Pete
Rose |
1.3% - (7 Votes) |
| Rickey
Henderson |
0.9% - (5 Votes) |
| Barry
Bonds |
0.9% - (5 Votes) |
| Danny
"Suits" Sparrow |
0.9% - (5 Votes) |
| Tony
Gwynn |
0.7% - (4 Votes) |
| Cool
Papa Bell |
0.7% - (4 Votes) |
| Reggie
Jackson |
0.7% - (4 Votes) |
| Duke
Snider |
0.3% - (2 Votes) |
| Mel
Ott |
0.1% - (1 Votes) |
| Frank
Robinson |
0.1% - (1 Votes) |
| Tris
Speaker |
0.1% - (1 Votes) |
| Harry
Heilmann |
0% - (0 Votes) |
| Goose
Goslin |
0% - (0 Votes) |
| Billy
Williams |
0% - (0 Votes) |
| Al
Simmons |
0% - (0 Votes) |
| Lou
Brock |
0% - (0 Votes) |
| Oscar
Charleston |
0% - (0 Votes) |
| Paul
Waner |
0% - (0 Votes) |
| Willie
Keeler |
0% - (0 Votes) |
| Joe
Medwick |
0% - (0 Votes) |
| Willie
Stargell |
0% - (0 Votes) |
| Ralph
Kiner |
0% - (0 Votes) |
Total Votes: 515 |