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Thread: Greatest player you saw live

  1. #76
    Member corkedbat's Avatar
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    Pete Rose came to the Sears store in my hometown to sign autographs that offseason. Asked me if I had ever been to a game at Crosley. I told him about that game and that it was my first.

    Pete kinda grimaced and said "Oh...that one?" But then he spent about 20 minutes recalling the game in minute detail, including every pitch he and Mays saw.

    He signed balls for myself and my sister (in aqua ink). I went home and shagged flies with by buddies with mine that afternoon. My sister still has hers somewhere.

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  4. #77
    Member corkedbat's Avatar
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    Quote Originally Posted by Boston Red View Post
    I feel like Pat Day did that every day at Churchill Downs when I was growing up. Except Derby Day.
    I was playing a "Pick Six" at Keeneland with 4 wins in pocket going into the feature. Pat Day was riding undefeated Derby Winner Winning Colors. She had scared all but three real nags out of the race. She was up 10-12 lengths on the backstretch and still up 8 lengths heading into the final turns then she just QUIT RUNNING, not hurt or anything. The other three glue factory refugees passed her and she finished out of the money. Went off a 3-10 favorite and lost by 15 lengths. And yep, you guessed it...my 6th pick won the final race. Cost me $27K.

    The next week, a horse was running in the feature I had won a good bit of money on in the past so I bet a combination on it even though Day was in the saddle. He hit the top of the stretch with a comfortable lead of several lengths. Problem is, he forgot which finish line they were using. He got to the first FL, stood up in his stirrups and shot his grubby lil fist in the air. Three horses passed him in the last 16th mile to the actual finish line.

    My own fault though. I probably wouldn't have lost that bet had I got my hands on his scrawny lil neck the week before.

    Hated that hobbit. Cost me a lot of money over the years.
    Last edited by corkedbat; 07-12-2020 at 02:31 AM.

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  6. #78
    Man Pills Falls City Beer's Avatar
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    Greatest hitter I’ve ever seen was peak Albert Pujols.
    Greatest pitcher was Pedro Martinez.

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  8. #79
    Big Red Machine RedsBaron's Avatar
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    The great Reds players I've seen play in person is pretty easy: Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, George Foster, Dave Concepcion, Ken Griffey Sr, Cesar Geronimo, [really the entire Big Red Machine], Barry Larkin, Eric Davis, Ken Griffey Jr., Joey Votto---the thing is I can't really recall much about how any of them actually played when I saw them play "live" at Crosley, Riverfront, or GABP. I can vaguely recall Lee May hitting several home runs in a 1969 doubleheader against the Braves.
    As for non-Reds, I know that Bob Gibson, Lou Brock and Ken Boyer were on the 1965 Cardinals team I saw the Reds play in my first ever visit to Crosley Field, but I don't recall what any of them did in the game other than a long foul ball Brock hit. I got Steve Carlton's autograph before that game but I don't think he played.
    I saw Hank Aaron play in the above mentioned doubleheader in 1969 and I saw Willie Mays play in my last ever visit to Crosley in 1970.
    "Hey...Dad. Wanna Have A Catch?" Kevin Costner in "Field Of Dreams."

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  10. #80
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    Not the greatest player I ever saw, but the scariest performance I ever saw was when Jack "the ripper" Clark was with St. Louis and he jacked 4 consecutive pitches into the red seats just on the foul side of the left field pole. Then on the next pitch he struck out.
    "Even a bad day at the ballpark beats the snot out of most other good days. I'll take my scorecard and pencil and beer and hot dog and rage at the dips and cheer at the highs, but I'm not ever going to stop loving this game and this team and nobody will ever take that away from me." Roy Tucker October 2010

  11. #81
    Strategery RFS62's Avatar
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    Willie Mays

    He was Secretariat
    We'll go down in history as the first society that wouldn't save itself because it wasn't cost effective ~ Kurt Vonnegut

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  13. #82
    A Pleasure to Burn Joseph's Avatar
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    Junior Griffey
    Barry Larkin
    Joey Votto
    Roger Clemens
    Jeff Kent
    Craig Biggio
    Jeff Bagwell
    Randy Johnson
    Sammy Sosa
    Mark McGwire
    Barry Bonds
    Albert Pujols

    Michael Jordan as a minor leaguer

    I'm drawing a blank, it's too early, I know there are more of that era.

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  14. #83
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    Best player - Willie Mays, but it was at the end of his career. He wasn’t moving so well.
    Best hitter - Albert Pujols in his prime was the best in his approach and technique. Gary Sheffield has the quickest wrists and best bat speed I have ever seen.
    Best pitcher - Nolan Ryan.

  15. #84
    The pride is back. Assembly Hall's Avatar
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    Tom Seaver.

  16. #85
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    This thread shows how long baseball has been around. Of the greatest 100 players to play the game more than half won't be listed here.

    If we did this with football, we would probably be missing about a third. With basketball, only about 10%.
    "One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."

  17. #86
    Member corkedbat's Avatar
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    Quote Originally Posted by corkedbat View Post
    Actually found the box score for that game.

    https://www.baseball-reference.com/b...96508050.shtml
    Was looking at this box score again and noticed that the Reds starting eight all had .OBP's of .334 or better (in August). Only Harper (.798) & Cardenas (.797) had an OPS of under .800.

    LF Tommy Harper......... .371/.798
    2B Pete Rose............... .391/.854
    CF Vada Pinson............ .340/.818
    1B Gordy Coleman....... .364/.896
    RF Frank Robinson....... .376/.891
    3B Deron Johnson....... .334/.851
    CA Johnny Edwards..... .343/.805
    SS Leo Cardenas......... .362/.797
    Last edited by corkedbat; 07-17-2020 at 07:14 AM.

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  19. #87
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    Cobb
    Mathewson
    Cy Young
    Ruth
    Keeler
    Anson
    Gehrig
    Jackson(the one without shoes)
    GC Alexander
    Walter Johnson
    Wagner
    Lajoie
    Speaker
    Hornsby
    Frisch
    Traynor
    Foxx
    Ott

    Ooops, it's past my bedtime, I'll finish the list at a later date.

  20. #88
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    Barry Bonds was probably the best hitter that I ever saw live, though I'm giving the nod to Junior. Best pitcher I had the opportunity to see in person was Nolan Ryan.

    As a side note, Bronson Arroyo went 7-1 in games where I was in attendance, and looked like a Cy Young award winner nearly every time I saw him live. I'm not necessarily saying that I was his good luck charm, I'm just saying that in games where I was at the ballpark, I have to believe that he performed the best.
    My dad got to enjoy 3 Reds World Championships by the time he was my age. So far, I've only gotten to enjoy one. Step it up Redlegs!

  21. #89
    Be the ball Roy Tucker's Avatar
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    Best players I saw at their peaks where I saw them enough to appreciate them:

    1986-89 Eric Davis. He was absurdly talented and that played out in so many ways. Hitting, power, speed, base running, ungodly defense. Spectacularly good. Just not long enough.

    1972-77 Joe Morgan. Hitting, speed, disruptive base runner, power, and was arguably the best player on teams full of HOF players. And I know there is no such thing, but he seemed to come up big in the clutch.

    And I hate to mention him, but Barry Bonds. He was a ridiculously good hitter. You make just one mistake, one hittable pitch, and it was gone. Walking him was the best strategy because if you didn’t, he’d just kill you. And he killed the Reds all the damn time.
    She used to wake me up with coffee ever morning

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  23. #90
    Big Red Machine RedsBaron's Avatar
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    Re: Greatest player you saw live

    Quote Originally Posted by corkedbat View Post
    Was looking at this box score again and noticed that the Reds starting eight all had .OBP's of .334 or better (in August). Only Harper (.798) & Cardenas (.797) had an OPS of under .800.

    LF Tommy Harper......... .371/.798
    2B Pete Rose............... .391/.854
    CF Vada Pinson............ .340/.818
    1B Gordy Coleman....... .364/.896
    RF Frank Robinson....... .376/.891
    3B Deron Johnson....... .334/.851
    CA Johnny Edwards..... .343/.805
    SS Leo Cardenas......... .362/.797
    The 1964 and 1965 Reds were an interesting contrast. At a glance, the teams largely had the same roster those two seasons, with similar results. In contention each season, going 92-70 in 1964 and 89-73 in 1965.
    However, the '64 team was lead by its pitching: 2nd in the NL with a team ERA of 3.07, the Reds actually gave up the fewest runs in the ten team league with 566 surrendered, fewer runs allowed than the Koufax-Drysdale Dodgers who had Dodger Stadium as a home park compared to hitter friendly Crosley Field. A deep starting staff was lead by O'Toole, Maloney, Purkey and Jay. It was the offense that was mediocre, finishing 5th in a ten team NL with 660 runs scored. The '64 offense was 7th in the NL across the board in AVE/OBP/SLG with .249/.308/.372.
    Ah, but in 1965 the Reds offense was magnificent, leading the NL in runs scored by a wide margin with 825, and also finishing first in AVE/OBP/SLG with .273/.339/.439. That season seemingly everyone hit the ball hard, with several players having career years and nobody slumping in a very deep lineup. Unfortunately, apart from Maloney and Ellis, the pitching largely collapsed, finishing 9th in a ten team NL in ERA with 3.88, and 7th in runs allowed with 704.
    With a deep offense and little pitching depth, Bill DeWitt that winter tried to solve the problem by trading Frank Robinson.
    If someone could go back in time and put the 1964 Reds pitching staff together with the 1965 offense, the team may have won 110 games.
    Last edited by RedsBaron; 07-18-2020 at 07:02 AM.
    "Hey...Dad. Wanna Have A Catch?" Kevin Costner in "Field Of Dreams."

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