My All-Time Favorite Players from 1970 and Beyond...

I have decided to compile a list of my favorite old school ball-players who played from 1970 and beyond. Anyhow, I figured it would be fun to start up a list as I’m not really doing much this afternoon and I saw quite a bit of baseball nostalgia yesterday. The list I drew up are players that impressed me, and while they may or may not have been necessarily the best at their respective positions, as a kid or seeing them on video, they left an indelible impression in my mind.

I left members of the Baltimore Orioles off this list, since I’ll have one for them in the next week or so.

Rickey Henderson: The greatest base stealer of all-time, and one of the most dangerous leadoff hitters to ever play baseball, his mixture of speed and power made the game that much more exciting to watch. My favorite thing about him was his uncanny ability to speak in third person.

Dave Winfield: The dude always scared me because of his height and stature (ok, I’m 6’4” as an adult; but when you’re young, when you saw him up close, he might as well been seen a redwood). However, he was a great player with who used all 5 tools with efficiency. He’s a class act and played the game with heart.

Mike Schmidt: He manned the hot corner in Philly, and even though at times he was booed, as most Philly athletes outside of Allen Iverson were, he delivered when it counted.

Goose Gossage: He had the wicked fu Manchu, the glare & the gaze. As we all know, he was a hell of a relief pitcher and I thought honestly he was a bit mad (ok, he looked a bit mad). Could you think of a more intimidating presence on the mound when he played?

Bob Gibson: Although I was not born when he played, I think he’s the man. He was like the enforcer, you know like the guy you’d always pick first in grade school for dodgeball just because you were going to win. With his assortment of pitches and his deadly fastball, the Cardinals more often than not won with him on the mound. The lord of intimidation with scary presence, he never smiled, always showed who was in charge and you always had the chance of getting drilled.

Hank Aaron: The Hammer. As we all know, he is the all-time Major League Baseball home run hitter, but he’s handled the obstacles he faced (racism, death threats before he broke the record) with dignity, class and grace. He’s the epitome of all ballplayers, past or present. Below is a video of Hank Aaron homering.

Nolan Ryan: He was my favorite pitcher to watch back in the day, and I was in awe of him. Even though some of my friends find him to be overrated, you knew that there was a chance something special might happen whenever he was on the mound. The man pitched through 4 decades and more often that not, he was utterly dominant.

My infamous memory of Nolan Ryan was when he got Robin Ventura of the White Sox into a headlock and pummeled a few roundhouses on him, after Ventura charged the mound while being beaned. Considering Nolan was probably at least a good 15 or more years older than Ventura, it was quite amazing to see him to do that and it also cemented Nolan’s reputation as a tough man.

Pete Rose: Although he is banished from the Hall of Fame for life, he was not doubt the hardest working ballplayer I ever witnessed on tape.

Here’s Pete in a commercial from 1977.

Kirby Puckett: Small in stature, but big in power and heart. He looked like an everyman, though a little more built, and played the game with unbridled passion and love. He seemed to always enjoy himself and was no doubt the leader of the Twins in the 80’s and early 90’s.

Ozzie Smith: He was the man in the infield and his defensive wizardry will always live in my mind. He was no doubt, a human highlight film.

Rod Carew: He was another small guy: but boy, could he hit.

George Brett: See Rod Carew and I will never forget his “pine tar incident”.

Frank Howard: He was the punisher down in Washington and hit the ball probably further than any other ballplayers, perhaps outside of Mantle and Ruth.

Tim “Rock” Raines: He may have been the complete ballplayer, and he was amazing to watch.