My buddy and I after a few brews started talking about the best baseball player we've ever seen. I thought for a while and considered all aspects. To me the best baseball player of all time is and will always be George Herman Ruth, until some other guy hits 700 homers and wins more than 100 games on the mound that is. Sorry, anyway considering my age 34 and the players I've seen throughout my life I came to the conclusion that the Yankee captain Derek Jeter is the greatest player I've ever seen. I always discounted just how good he was because I hate the jankees but when looking at his career as a whole if there ever was the definition of a 5 tool player surely Jeter is that guy. Thought I'd ask you guys since I consider you all to be superior baseball minds and I'm curious who is the greatest player you've ever seen?
I only started watching in '06 so I don't count. But I'm guessing if all hatred and judgements were put aside I can't see how the answer can't be Barry Bonds.
It's hard to put aside what your brain does know exists, and cheating always does something when comparing one to another. On face value though, no one could really do what Bonds did-it was almost super human. Considering my age, roids use and injury plagued past careers like Mick's, I have to go with Willie Mays. Truly could do everything. When you grew up with CF like Mickey, Willie and the Duke on the local teams, you just automatically say they were clean then, and set the standards for the modern era players and the records they shoot for, whether it's fair or not.
Barry Bonds, without question. Jeter is a first ballot Hall of Famer, and was on some of the greatest teams of our generation, but he's probably not even in the top 5 best players we've seen in the past 20 years.
I'd have to say Barry Bonds too. If you want to look at pitchers, Pedro Martinez had a stretch that was Sandy Koufax'esque and I feel like Randy Johnson wasn't far behind. As far as Dodgers go, Mike Piazza and Orel Hershiser are at the top of the list, along with Rafael Furcal for those 2 weeks he was healthy.
I'd have to go with Bonds as well. Easily the greatest hitter I've ever seen. Also, if we're talking about Dodgers, can't forget about Manny in '08. Watching him was incredible.
Manny in '08 is probably the most dominate 2 months of baseball I have ever seen. Really Manny's entire career puts him right there at the top of best players I've ever seen play, well ahead of Derek Jeter for me.
Bonds. I've hated the Giants for as long as I've been a fan of baseball and the Dodgers, but when I was little, he was one of the first guys that made me say, "Wow." Whether it was hitting, fielding, stealing bases, he was the standard.
sorry can't endorse any of the cheaters just can't but it makes the accomplishments of someone like maddux -- who had to pitch against those roided up behemoths -- just that much more unbelievable
Yup Kemp an hanley have great strokes from that side but Manny is best. I grew up with Ken jr a mariner, Barry a pirate, bash bros on athletics, Eric the red, and cokestraw as a met all playing great baseball when all they had was pills and coke not steroids and hgh.
Maddux had a 22 year pitching career where he was basically never injured, if that doesn't point to roiding I don't know what does. The only person he is fooling is irish.
Prob not. Maddux was so good he made the plate into Swiss cheese. Imo his pitching style was more immune to jacked up hitters. Too much control, too much finesse, to much colmillo.
Unfortunately when I got into baseball, Ken Griffey Jr. was hurt all the time. I used to really like A-Rod until he went to the Yankees and all this stuff came out about him.
