Sports
25 Baseball Legends Who Are Most Popular
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Oct
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Without a question, when we talk about the most adored players in the game’s history, we are referring about people who are far from average.
These are some of the greatest players in the game’s history who connected with the audience. These players are well-liked by the general public, and not only by their home crowds.
Some players just gained the respect of fans across the league by their on-field performance, while others simply drew people to them regardless of the team they were representing. Or perhaps it was a combination of the two.
Here are 25 baseball players who, for whatever reason, are regarded as being on par with everyone else in the sport.
No.25 Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn has to be among the first names mentioned when you ask someone to rank the top 10 hitters in baseball history. I would seriously question the sanity of the guy you are conversing with if he is not.
Gwynn, a 15-time All-Star and career.338 hitter, was respected by fans and rival players all around the league because of the professionalism and decency with which he conducted himself. The ear-to-ear grin he frequently carried on his face showed how much he truly loved the game.
No.24 Willie McCovey
No.23 George Brett
George Brett has never been seen to take a play off. Brett was a hard competitor who occasionally lost his cool, as with the infamous “Pine Tar Incident,” but he only ever played at full speed, which won him fans and earned him the respect of both his teammates and rivals.
Brett, an American League MVP in 1980 after hitting.390 and a 13-time All-Star, spent more than two decades in Kansas City, turning singles into doubles and serving as the team’s inspiration for their 1985 World Series victory.
No.22 Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Yastrzemski’s career would make a great subject for a movie, but you’d probably be booted out of the office if you tried to propose the idea.
Not only does the Long Island, New York, potato farmer’s son succeed one of the game’s all-time best players, but he accomplishes it in Boston of all places. And he creates his own illustrious career?
Yaz was the first player to accumulate more than 3,000 hits and 400 home runs only in the American League. He was an 18-time All-Star, three-time American League batting champion, and the final player to earn the Triple Crown in 1967.
No.21 Duke Snider
Duke Snider, an eight-time All-Star who played with legends of the game like Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, and Roy Campanella, was the inspiration behind the Brooklyn Dodgers and stood out above his brilliant teammates.
Given the success of the New York Yankees, some may argue that New York has become spoiled. However, in the 1950s, the city not only had three teams—the Yankees, Dodgers, and New York Giants—but each team also boasted a center fielder who would go on to be inducted into the Hall of Fame: Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider, and Willie Mays.
Even though Mays may have been the most exciting player, no one could agree on which of the three was the best.
No.20 Pete Rose
With his all-out, working-class style of play, Pete Rose won over admirers across the nation and earned the moniker “Charlie Hustle.”
Baseball’s all-time leader in hits, Rose is currently banned from the sport owing to baseball betting when he was a manager and active player. He is also not allowed into the Baseball Hall of Fame, where he rightfully belongs.
No.19 Willie Stargell
Willie “Pops” Stargell was a legend in western Pennsylvania for more than 20 years as the undisputed manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The National League MVP in 1979 at the age of 39, Stargell fostered a sense of family among his teammates, inspiring the phrase “We are Family” and earning him the moniker “Pops.”
“Stargell’s Stars” were the stars on the cap, and he gave them out to players after games in a manner similar to how high school and collegiate football teams decorate their helmets with stickers. His colleagues, including Al Oliver, took great delight in wearing the stars that were given out for good plays.
No.18 Yogi Berra
No.17 Hank Aaron
Hank Aaron, who is still widely regarded as the career home run leader, had a 23-year career during which he was selected to the All-Star team 21 times in a row, from 1955 through 1975.
Baseball’s all-time leader in RBI (2,297), total bases (6,856), and second-most career home runs (755), Aaron handled adversity with grace and style as he chased Babe Ruth’s then-record 713 career home runs in 1974.
In my own experience, years ago, my father and I were eating lunch at the now-defunct “My father pointed out a table in the rear to me at Mickey Mantle’s in Manhattan. Do you recognize that person?”
When I turned to look, I noticed a group of adult guys barely eating at a table and appearing to be mesmerized by a gigantic man who was holding court. Hank Aaron was there.
I apologized for bothering him as we walked over to the table, but I was unable to think. I simply shook his hand and said, “Thank you, Mr. Aaron, it’s an honor,” despite the fact that his hand was enormous in comparison to mine. I was only 12 or 13 at the time. We left after he expressed his appreciation for our visit.
A gentleman both on and off the field, Hank Aaron.
No.16 Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig went to work every day for more than 14 years, doing the same thing every day: getting up.
Gehrig, however, set a record by playing in 2,130 straight games without missing a day, which set him apart from other players and made him the working class’s hero.
No.15 Ozzie Smith
Ozzie Smith, a model professional who mesmerized audiences everywhere with his feats of athleticism on the field, changed the way shortstops played defense.
Nicknamed “According to “The Wizard,” Smith had another reason for performing his acrobatics: “I consider myself to be an artist on the field. I look for opportunities to do something unique for the audience at every game.”
Over the course of a 19-year career that began in San Diego but took off in St. Louis, he had his fair share of huge hits and noteworthy events, but probably none larger than his game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning during Game 5 of the 1985 NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
No.14 Roberto Clemente
When Roberto Clemente’s plane transporting aid to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua crashed on December 31, 1972, he was already a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
The best throwing arm in the history of the game belonged to Clemente, a quiet, restrained superstar who was a 12-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner. Only a fool would try to advance on the bases while he had the ball in his grasp.
No.13 Cal Ripken Jr.
Cal Ripken Jr., the driving force behind the Baltimore Orioles for more than two decades, had a phenomenal career that included wins for Rookie of the Year, American League MVP twice, and 19 straight All-Star appearances.
Oh, and he ended Lou Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 straight games played, which many thought to be the most unbreakable record in all of sports.
However, Ripken won over both his teammates and fans with the way he went about accomplishing things.
No.12 Willie Mays
Willie Mays was a two-time National League MVP, Rookie of the Year, and 24-time All-Star who is best known for “the catch” more than anything else. Ted Williams once remarked, “They invented the All-Star game for Willie Mays,” in support of this idea.
Mays, who was arguably the best center fielder to ever play the sport, is still well-liked today, more than 50 years after his career’s peak.
Mays joined Mickey Mantle in working for the Park Place Casino (Bally’s now) in Atlantic City not long after being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Mays and Mantle were prohibited from participating in organized baseball, according to the baseball commissioner at the time, Bowie Kuhn, who claimed they had broken the league’s prohibition on gambling.
No.11 Ted Williams
Ted Williams, who is considered to be the game’s all-time greatest hitter and a 17-time All-Star, spent almost 20 years guarding left field for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
His lifetime on-base percentage of.482 is not only the highest in the history of the game, but it is also blatantly ludicrous. His lifetime average of.344 is among the highest in history. Ted Williams virtually reached base in every at-bat, if you think about it.
Consider this while you’re thinking about it: He concluded his career with 2,654 hits, including 521 home runs. Williams sacrificed three of his prime years to serve his country in World War II, a brave decision that almost cost him his life.
Without that detour, how much great could Williams have been?
No.10 Ichiro Suzuki
Although it may sound absurd, this is the case.
Ichiro Suzuki has had the greatest global influence in baseball history, second only to Babe Ruth.
Ichiro, who was already a baseball superstar in his native Japan before making his way to Seattle in 2001, grabbed the attention of baseball fans all over the world by amassing at least 200 hits in each of his first 10 seasons, a feat that not even Babe Ruth had accomplished.
Ichiro, a brilliant defensive player with one of the greatest throwing arms in game history, earned the American League MVP and Rookie of the Year trophies in 2001. From that year until 2010, he participated in 10 straight All-Star Games.
No.9 Kirby Puckett
No player better personified the expression “for the love of the game” than Kirby Puckett did from his debut in 1984 until his final spring training in 1996. Puckett, who was hardly ever seen without a smile on his face, was instrumental in the Minnesota Twins’ 1987 and 1991 World Series victories.
No.8 Mickey Mantle
A drawing of Mickey Mantle would do instead of a written definition if the word “five-tool-player” were in the dictionary. Mantle was capable of doing anything, and he typically outperformed everyone else in size and quality.
The only players who can compare to how adored Mantle was and still is in New York and the sports world are Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Derek Jeter.
Many people believe that Mantle’s 1951 World Series knee injury, which he sustained when his cleat got caught on a drainage pipe, was actually a torn ACL. At the time, the damage could not be surgically treated as it is able to be now.
No.7 Jackie Robinson
After breaking the color barrier in baseball in 1947, Jackie Robinson had to endure things that no one else should have to. Whether it was his teammates, other players, or spectators, Jackie was repeatedly subjected to racial epithets, death threats, and a total lack of respect.
Being elected the National League’s Rookie of the Year in 1947 and their MVP in 1949, Robinson remained dignified and unwavering in the face of opposition, never retaliating with the same hatred and venom that people directed at him.
No.6 Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter, affectionately referred to by Yankees supporters as “the captain,” has had one of the most successful careers of any player to make their debut in the previous 20 years.
As the only New York Yankee to reach the milestone of 3,000 hits, Jeter has distinguished himself by conducting himself with grace, dignity, and a quiet assurance that has won over not only Yankees fans and women across the world, but also his teammates, rivals, and anybody involved in the game.
Jeter became the face of the game, a shining example of someone who plays the game “the right way,” while other superstars of his age saw their names and legacies ruined by steroids and other performance enhancing chemicals.
No.5 Ernie Banks
Ernie Banks, the first black player to suit up for the Chicago Cubs in 1953, didn’t take long to win over the city and then the entire nation.
His outgoing nature and unrestrained passion for the game made him a popular figure; he was an 11-time All-Star and the 1958 and 1959 National League MVP winner.
No.4 Ken Griffey Jr.
No.3 Stan Musial
Stan Musial, a 24-time All-Star, with a lifetime batting average of.331 with 475 home runs and 3,630 hits. He was widely considered as one of the friendliest, most sincere players the game has ever seen, winning three National League MVP awards and placing second in four more.
No.2 Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio captured the nation’s attention, whether it was for his performance on the field or his personal life.
One of the most unbreakable records in all of sports is his 56-game hitting streak from 1941, which others have tried to match but have never come close to doing.
“Joltin’ Joe,” a three-time American League MVP and an All-Star in each of his 13 seasons on the field, wowed spectators with his clutch hitting and superb fielding.
DiMaggio missed three of his peak playing years while serving his nation in World War II, like so many of his contemporaries.
No.1 Babe Ruth
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