I'm currently reading "Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend" by James S. Hirsch, and it's a fantastic book. In it, Hirsch writes about how Willie, even into his mid to late 20s, would play stickball in the streets of Harlem with neighboorhood kids, would take them to get sodas, and was really just one of the guys. How freaking cool is that? Here's this phenom, a guy that's been on the cover of Time magazine and is developing into a cultural icon, and you're playing ball with him in the street and going to the convenience store with him.
What ballplayer from the past or present would you most want to spend a day with playing stickball and drinking sodas?
I'm going to give a Reds player, and a non-Reds player. Reds player: Barry Larkin. He was how I identified with this ballclub throughout my youth. Barry Larkin was the Reds, from the day I was born until I was a sophomore in college. Hanging out with him on a personal level would be way too cool.
Non-Reds division: Reggie Jackson. Sure, he was one of the biggest asses you could ever meet in your life. Arrogrant, brash, cocky. But I'd love to hear stories about George, Billy, Charles Finley, and all the other insane characters this guy shared a baseball career with. Not to mention, he was quite the character himself.