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sporr · 07-16-2003, 10:41 AM

How We Picked the Legends by Commish Dugan

I am going to give you an idea of how we came up with each legend the best I can from memory. Some decisions were easy, some literally were not decided on for weeks. We tried to come up with a player who would be well known to most people and who spent a considerable amount of time with that team.

ANAHEIM ANGELS- ROD CAREW - He was one of the best hitters ever and the Angels history didn't offer up much competition.

ATLANTA BRAVES- HANK AARON - Dale Murphy was proposed but there was no competion here. Aaron is a legend among legends.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES- CAL RIPKEN JR. - Ripken certainly wasn't the most talented on our list, but when you think of the Baltimore Orioles you think of Cal Ripken Jr. Others considered were Jim Palmer and Frank Robinson.

BOSTON RED SOX- TED WILLIAMS - No brainer here as some consider him to be the best player to ever walk on a baseball field.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX - JOE JACKSON - We considered it mandatory that this man who was unjustly kicked out of baseball be honored by us as the Whitesox legend. Plus he didn't have much competition.

CHICAGO CUBS - ERNIE BANKS - He is Mr. Cub and always will be. We considered Hack Wilson and Billy Williams but the choice was simple.

CINCINNATI REDS - PETE ROSE - Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench were highly considered but Pete Rose won out as he is Charlie Hustle playing the game with all his heart.

CLEVELAND INDIANS - BOB FELLER - Bob Feller is considered to be one of the top pitchers of all time. That and the fact he is from our home state of Iowa made the choice easy.

DETROIT TIGERS - TY COBB - Had we not chosen Ty Cobb he would have come back from the dead and spiked us both with cleats up. Another legend among legends.

HOUSTON ASTROS - NOLAN RYAN - The man with the rubbery rocket arm. Had a batter's career run parallel with his he would have struck that man out in four different decades. Nolan could have been considered for other teams but since Houston lacked another true legend he was put on this team.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS - GEORGE BRETT - He is easily the best player in team history.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS - SANDY KOUFAX - The Dodgers have a rich history of players including Duke Snyder, Gil Hodges, Don Drysdale, and Jackie Robinson. Sandy Koufax simply stands above them all as the best left-handed pitcher ever.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS - ROBIN YOUNT - The choice was between Paul Molitor and Robin. We chose Yount because he spent his whole career in Milwaukee and he won the MVP a couple times.

MINNESOTA TWINS - HARMON KILLEBREW - This was a tough choice between Killebrew and Kirby Puckett. It finally came down to the fact that Killebrew has been out of the game a lot longer and therefore was more of a "legend". Plus he was someone we didn't get to see play and we were curious how he would do.

MONTREAL EXPOS - TIM RAINES - Tim spent a lot of productive years with the Expos. He didn't really have much competition because we considered Andre Dawson more of a Cub.

NEW YORK YANKEES - BABE RUTH - The Yankees have so many quality players like Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio, Lou Gehrig, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, and Don Mattingly that you would have thought the choice would have been hard. Babe Ruth is possibly the best player ever, easy choice.

NEW YORK METS - TOM SEAVER - Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry were considered but Seaver best represented the Mets.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS - MARK MCGWIRE - Jimmie Foxx was penciled in and nearly became the legend til a last second change of mind put McGwire in the spot. McGwire is possibly the most powerful hitter ever and had many injuries not disrupted his career he would have blown the homerun record away.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES - MIKE SCHMIDT - He was the only choice because he is easily the best player in team history.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES - ROBERTO CLEMENTE - He was a true five-tool player and a great humanitarian. We felt these reasons made him the best choice, even over Honus Wagner.

SAN DIEGO PADRES - TONY GWYNN - Tony was, is, and always will be the San Diego Padres. There really was no competition here although we did take a quick look at Dave Winfield.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS - WILLIE MAYS - When you talk about the best player ever, this mans name is always mentioned. No other players were even thought about.

SEATTLE MARINERS - EDGAR MARTINEZ - This team was a potential problem. They had no retired players that we felt were good enough to be a legend. We decided to retire Edgar Martinez from the present day players and bring him back as a legend since he was so close to retiring anyway. Other choices were Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson, but Griffey was too young to retire and Edgar had played more of his career in Seattle than Randy.

SAINT LOUIS CARDINALS - STAN MUSIAL - This was a very tough choice between Bob Gibson and Musial. We couldn't make up our mind between these two until we remembered that Stan is revered like a god in Cardinal land. That was the difference.

TEXAS RANGERS - ROGER CLEMENS - This is the one that had us stumped forever. The team has no real good player in their history other than ones playing at that time and they were all too young to retire. After some thought we decided the next best route would be to take a player that had some history with the state and send him back. Who better than a Texas Longhorn? Roger Clemens was selected because of his college success and his closeness to retirement.

TORONTO BLUEJAYS - JOE CARTER - Joe Carter is the biggest name this team has ever had. He helped lead the Bluejays to two straight World Series victories including one series ending homerun. Fred McGriff was considered but he has spent so much time with other teams that its hard to tell who he belongs to.

07-16-2003, 10:41 AM	#2
sporr Global Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Muscatine, IA Posts: 8,277	How We Picked the Legends by Commish Dugan I am going to give you an idea of how we came up with each legend the best I can from memory. Some decisions were easy, some literally were not decided on for weeks. We tried to come up with a player who would be well known to most people and who spent a considerable amount of time with that team. ANAHEIM ANGELS- ROD CAREW - He was one of the best hitters ever and the Angels history didn't offer up much competition. ATLANTA BRAVES- HANK AARON - Dale Murphy was proposed but there was no competion here. Aaron is a legend among legends. BALTIMORE ORIOLES- CAL RIPKEN JR. - Ripken certainly wasn't the most talented on our list, but when you think of the Baltimore Orioles you think of Cal Ripken Jr. Others considered were Jim Palmer and Frank Robinson. BOSTON RED SOX- TED WILLIAMS - No brainer here as some consider him to be the best player to ever walk on a baseball field. CHICAGO WHITE SOX - JOE JACKSON - We considered it mandatory that this man who was unjustly kicked out of baseball be honored by us as the Whitesox legend. Plus he didn't have much competition. CHICAGO CUBS - ERNIE BANKS - He is Mr. Cub and always will be. We considered Hack Wilson and Billy Williams but the choice was simple. CINCINNATI REDS - PETE ROSE - Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench were highly considered but Pete Rose won out as he is Charlie Hustle playing the game with all his heart. CLEVELAND INDIANS - BOB FELLER - Bob Feller is considered to be one of the top pitchers of all time. That and the fact he is from our home state of Iowa made the choice easy. DETROIT TIGERS - TY COBB - Had we not chosen Ty Cobb he would have come back from the dead and spiked us both with cleats up. Another legend among legends. HOUSTON ASTROS - NOLAN RYAN - The man with the rubbery rocket arm. Had a batter's career run parallel with his he would have struck that man out in four different decades. Nolan could have been considered for other teams but since Houston lacked another true legend he was put on this team. KANSAS CITY ROYALS - GEORGE BRETT - He is easily the best player in team history. LOS ANGELES DODGERS - SANDY KOUFAX - The Dodgers have a rich history of players including Duke Snyder, Gil Hodges, Don Drysdale, and Jackie Robinson. Sandy Koufax simply stands above them all as the best left-handed pitcher ever. MILWAUKEE BREWERS - ROBIN YOUNT - The choice was between Paul Molitor and Robin. We chose Yount because he spent his whole career in Milwaukee and he won the MVP a couple times. MINNESOTA TWINS - HARMON KILLEBREW - This was a tough choice between Killebrew and Kirby Puckett. It finally came down to the fact that Killebrew has been out of the game a lot longer and therefore was more of a "legend". Plus he was someone we didn't get to see play and we were curious how he would do. MONTREAL EXPOS - TIM RAINES - Tim spent a lot of productive years with the Expos. He didn't really have much competition because we considered Andre Dawson more of a Cub. NEW YORK YANKEES - BABE RUTH - The Yankees have so many quality players like Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio, Lou Gehrig, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, and Don Mattingly that you would have thought the choice would have been hard. Babe Ruth is possibly the best player ever, easy choice. NEW YORK METS - TOM SEAVER - Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry were considered but Seaver best represented the Mets. OAKLAND ATHLETICS - MARK MCGWIRE - Jimmie Foxx was penciled in and nearly became the legend til a last second change of mind put McGwire in the spot. McGwire is possibly the most powerful hitter ever and had many injuries not disrupted his career he would have blown the homerun record away. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES - MIKE SCHMIDT - He was the only choice because he is easily the best player in team history. PITTSBURGH PIRATES - ROBERTO CLEMENTE - He was a true five-tool player and a great humanitarian. We felt these reasons made him the best choice, even over Honus Wagner. SAN DIEGO PADRES - TONY GWYNN - Tony was, is, and always will be the San Diego Padres. There really was no competition here although we did take a quick look at Dave Winfield. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS - WILLIE MAYS - When you talk about the best player ever, this mans name is always mentioned. No other players were even thought about. SEATTLE MARINERS - EDGAR MARTINEZ - This team was a potential problem. They had no retired players that we felt were good enough to be a legend. We decided to retire Edgar Martinez from the present day players and bring him back as a legend since he was so close to retiring anyway. Other choices were Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson, but Griffey was too young to retire and Edgar had played more of his career in Seattle than Randy. SAINT LOUIS CARDINALS - STAN MUSIAL - This was a very tough choice between Bob Gibson and Musial. We couldn't make up our mind between these two until we remembered that Stan is revered like a god in Cardinal land. That was the difference. TEXAS RANGERS - ROGER CLEMENS - This is the one that had us stumped forever. The team has no real good player in their history other than ones playing at that time and they were all too young to retire. After some thought we decided the next best route would be to take a player that had some history with the state and send him back. Who better than a Texas Longhorn? Roger Clemens was selected because of his college success and his closeness to retirement. TORONTO BLUEJAYS - JOE CARTER - Joe Carter is the biggest name this team has ever had. He helped lead the Bluejays to two straight World Series victories including one series ending homerun. Fred McGriff was considered but he has spent so much time with other teams that its hard to tell who he belongs to.