I am going to list the Top 50 according to the Sporting News and their panel, and then list my top 50 using their top 50, and then finally amending the Top 50 by inserting players that I think should be on it, and taking out the ones who I feel shouldn’t be.
Here is the list according to 100 Former players, former GM’s, and baseball analysts surveyed by the Sporting News:
1. Albert Pujols
2. Alex Rodriguez
3. Johan Santana
4. Manny Ramirez
5. Hanley Ramirez
6. Chase Utley
7. Roy Halladay
8. Derek Jeter
9. Mariano Rivera
10. Chipper Jones
11. Ryan Howard
12. Grady Sizemore
13. David Wright
14. Justin Morneau
15. Jimmy Rollins
16. Josh Beckett
17. Mark Texeira
18. Dustin Pedroia
19. Tim Lincecum
20. Evan Longoria
21. Lance Berkman
22. Jose Reyes
23. Carlos Beltran
24. Ian Kinsler
25. Zack Greinke
26. Josh Hamilton
27. Alfonso Soriano
28. Miguel Cabrera
29. CC Sabathia
30. Ichiro Suzuki
31. Brandon Webb
32. Ryan Braun
33. Dan Haren
34. Francisco Rodriguez
35. Matt Holliday
36. Kevin Youkilis
37. Vladimir Guerrero
38. Jake Peavy
39. Joe Mauer
40. Carlos Quentin
41. Jason Bay
42. Chad Billingsley
43. Cliff Lee
44. Torii Hunter
45. Victor Martinez
46. Roy Oswalt
47. Carlos Delgado
48. Carlos Zambrano
49. Cole Hamels
50. Brian McCann
Looking at this list, the two biggest names that stand out to me are Grady Sizemore at 12 and Kevin Youkilis at 36. Sizemore that high and Youkilis that low is both asinine and insane. The next biggest one that stands out, Derek Jeter at 8, followed by Mariano Rivera at 9. I guess this is the lifetime achievement award by the national media/Yankees bias. I could see if this was written in 2000, but not now. There are other picks I disagree with, but those are the ones that I think are BS and question the credibility of some of these guys. Ok, here is my Top 50, using the Sporting News’ Top 50:
1. Albert Pujols - no problem with this pick whatsoever
2. Manny Ramirez - PED or not, no one besides the guy at No. 1 that I’d rather have up in a clutch situation, hell, I’d probably take my chances with him over Pujols, but I’m factoring in age and I can’t give a suspended guy the No. 1 slot
3. Chase Utley - clutch, seems to get better every year, and now has a ring to his name
4. Justin Morneau - great hitter, another guy that seems to get better each year, slightly under the radar in Minnesota
5. Roy Halladay - CY Young contender every year, model of not just consistency, but winning
6. Alex Rodriguez - would be higher if he could be counted on to get a clutch hit in the playoffs
7. Ryan Howard - high strikeouts and not the greatest average, but feared by every pitcher when the game is on the line
8. Hanley Ramirez - possibly higher if he wasn’t stuck in Florida
9. Miguel Cabrera - got lost in the shuffle on a bad Tigers team last year but easily one of the most underrated great hitters in the game
10. Ian Kinsler - unique combination of average, power, and run producer, not too many in the mold of this guy
11. Kevin Youkilis - with a runner on, two outs, in a tie game in the bottom of the 9th, I feel good if this guy’s coming up
12. Johan Santana - a World Series ring would bump him up, but arguably one of the top 3 pitchers in the game
13. Jimmy Rollins - the veteran leader of the world champs
14. Evan Longoria - has future MVP written all over him
15. Mark Teixeira - new Yankee Stadium is going to be a perfect fit, he’s starting to turn it around already
16. Alfonso Soriano - catalyst of the Cubs offense, can hit for average and power out of the leadoff spot
17. Ryan Braun - quickly becoming an MVP candidate for years to come
18. David Wright - huge expectations, good numbers, but not those of a supposed savior of a team
19. Zack Greinke - has been almost unhittable, the anchor of an up and coming staff
20. Tim Lincecum - so young and already has one Cy Young under his belt
21. Jason Bay - has thrived since getting out of Pittsburgh
22. Chad Billingsley - the ace of more than likely a division winning team
23. Joe Mauer - maybe a little higher if not injury prone, great hitter though when healthy
24. Chipper Jones - see no. 22
25. Carlos Beltran - as of a couple nights ago, there were only four games this guy hadn’t gotten a hit in this year
26. Jose Reyes - maybe a little high, even at 25, but the potential to be so much higher is there
27. Josh Hamilton - they have this one about right, way higher if not for the regular DL stints
28. Lance Berkman - one of the most underrated players in the game and he’s been producing for years now
29. Dustin Pedroia - I don’t know, to me an MVP should have the ability to end the game with one swing, and this guy doesn’t
30. Derek Jeter - the longer the Yankees go without winning the Series, the further Derek Jeter falls on this list, not as clutch as years past and overrated defensively
31. CC Sabathia - when on, one of the best, but from years of watching him in Cleveland, be prepared for that one inning almost every game where the game could get busted open or the lead shrunken or evaporated (also highly combustible in the playoffs)
32. Josh Beckett - under 30 years old and has two rings, but seems to be slightly regressing, I don’t think he’s been healthy for awhile now and that’s a shame, one of the most clutch playoff pitchers when he is
33. Torii Hunter - seems to get better with age
34. Victor Martinez - the leader of the Cleveland Indians, all around great hitter that is just getting better, plays the game the right way, and takes losing personally
35. Jake Peavy - would be higher if not for playing in San Diego, turned down a chance to play in Chicago, not sure why?
36. Matt Holliday - solid player with power, unfortunately not enough to carry the lowly A’s
37. Ichiro Suzuki - makes contact, good arm from the outfield, a tough out
38. Cliff Lee - looking like the Cliff Lee of ‘08 lately, one of those guys with a little bit of attitude, doesn’t like to lose, and isn’t afraid to call you out (not always a good thing, but in my opinion I just think the guy plays with a lot of emotion, and that’s not always bad)
39. Brandon Webb - nasty stuff, one of if not the best sinkers in the game
40. Dan Haren - consistent, good chance the D-Backs will be in the game when he’s on the hill
41. Cole Hamels - the ace of the world champs, great change up, if he can stay healthy will be an all-star for years to come
42. Carlos Zambrano - wins a lot of games and strikes a lot of guys out
43. Roy Oswalt - has been a winner his whole career
44. Mariano Rivera - lifetime achievement award
45. Vladimir Guerrero - see entry no. 44
46. Grady Sizemore - Peter Gammons pre season 2007 MVP continues to regress from ave., to stolen base ability, still too young with a lot of potential, but something is just off right now
47. Carlos Quentin - should probably be higher, injury to start the year hurts his ranking, but looks like he’ll be a consistent power hitter for years
48. Carlos Delgado - getting older and injury prone, lifetime achievement award, but was a great player
49. Brian McCann - good player, with no more Braves games on TBS, I don’t get to see him much, but there are definitely more deserving players
50. Francisco Rodriguez - not thrilled with having multiple closers in the top 50, and this guy isn’t the best one
Ok, here is who I’m taking out and putting in. First, here’s who’s gone from the list:
-Grady Sizemore
-Vladimir Guerrero
- Roy Oswalt
-Mariano Rivera
-Francisco Rodriguez
-Brian McCann
-Carlos Delgado
-Carlos Quentin
-Carlos Zambrano
Who takes their place:
-Ryan Zimmerman - right now he’s a top 25 guy
-Carlos Lee - top 30 guy
-Adam Dunn - top 30
-Michael Young - top 30
-Adrian Gonzalez - top 35
-Raul Ibanez - top 40-45
-Jonathan Papelbon - top 40-45
-Nick Markakis - top 40-45
-Aaron Hill - top 45-50
Others receiving votes:
-James Shields
-Aramis Ramirez
-Matt Kemp
-Hunter Pence
-Nate McClouth
-Clayton Kershaw
-Derek Lowe
-Prince Fielder
-Jay Bruce
-Ryan Ludwick
-Jermaine Dye
-Carlos Pena
-Carl Crawford
Anymore and it will turn into a top 100 pretty soon, there are a lot of guys you can argue you can plug in place of anyone in the 51-100 slots (the Upton brothers, etc.), but that’s what’s fun about the list, no two people would have the same top 50. I also want to point out in this survey Todd Jones picked Derek Jeter as his number one player. Wow, and the Sporting News is cutting this guy a check! It doesn’t look like our buddy Peter Gammons participated in this poll, but if he did, here’s what I think the top of his list would look like:
1. Pedroia
2. Youkilis
3. Ellsbury
4. ARod
5. Papelbon
6. Jon Lester
7. Derek Jeter
8. Jason Varitek
9. Jason Bay
10. Tie- Mike Lowell and David Ortiz
“Peter, I wanted to know your top ten in the game?”….. “I know, that’s what I gave you, I know how to read, I’m a Hall of Famer son!”
“Well ok, you are ESPN’s top baseball guy, so that in itself is enough to call me crazy for even questioning you, I’m sorry Peter. Hey, next time you talk to Arod, can you ask him which spray on tans are less abrasive to sensitive skin? Summer is right around the corner and I want to be prepared.”
Gammons - “That is a real tan. Alex spent a lot of time with his cousin in Mexico working on that thing this off season, you’re really a hack aren’t you? You’re from Ohio huh, how are your Indians doing this year?”
Me- “About as good as your Grady Sizemore for MVP prediction in 2007. You are no Sheldon Ocker sir.”
See you in my next installment. Email the author at bvee10@gmail.com.
Keywords: Boston Red Sox., Cleveland Indians, Major League Baseball
