Countdown to Release OOTP 18

[Germaniac]

Originally Posted by Caporegime

Magic Number is 27.

This 6'8" Aussie enjoyed a 10 year career in the majors, primarily as a lefty specialist. He didn't throw particularly hard....well, he didn't throw his pitches particularly hard, I should say. The (well-deserved) punches he threw at Armando Benitez during this epic bench clearing brawl in May, 1998 were undoubtedly the hardest things he ever threw during his 2 1/2 years with the Yanks, and probably throughout his entire career.

#27 Graeme Lloyd:

I was at Yankee Stadium that night ... which is quite an accomplishment for a German

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by rjl518

A lot of people believe that Carlton Fisk was the best catcher to don ANY uniform.
Mike Piazza is the best hitting catcher in baseball history.
But was Carlton Fisk the best overall catcher in baseball history?
You can make an argument for that.

He's certainly in the discussion. I would put Bench and Carter ahead of him, but he's definitely an all-timer.

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by cavebutter

Is it fair to hold it against a player that he merely became very good instead of great? #27, Matt Kemp was so frustrating for Dodgers fans. He would follow great years with average years over and over again. Every time it seemed that he was going to break out of his shell to become the superstar he was meant to be, he'd revert to merely being a good outfielder.

In 2011, he was robbed of the MVP by a cheater. That was a great year for Mattie. I was always rooting for him, loved the joy in his game when he was going good. Sadly, the video loop that plays in my head is Kemp whiffing on a slider low and away 1069 times.

You could say he was robbed of the MVP by a cheater, or you could say he was robbed of the MVP by absolutely dumb writers who backed the wrong player. Either one or both work for me.

[Germaniac]

I wish I had the chance to watch him live - "Pistol Pete" Reiser

[Sam_15]

26 days left, and we have another jersey retiree. Affectionately called 'Chicken Man' because he ate fried chicken before every game, this guy is one of the best pure hitters ever. He hit .338 in a Red Sox uni and won a staggering 5 batting titles in 6 years from 1983-1988. Maybe I should eat fried chicken before going in to work every day? Seems like it works. #26 Wade Boggs

[actionjackson]

Mets fans can hate him all they want to, but you can't deny his greatness. Definitely a top 10 all-time second baseman. Slightly past his prime now, but his prime was spectacular. Chase Utley #26

[Caporegime]

Down to 26 days.

This colorful gentleman was certainly one cool customer under pressure. Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, with his trademark high leg kick, very quickly established a reputation in MLB as being a "big game" pitcher following his harrowing defection from Cuba, and rightfully so. His postseason stats, and his four WS rings, speak for themselves:




El Duque:

[actionjackson]

Three Blue Jays come in at #26.

The first one wore the number for a decade. He was the first 100 RBI man in club history with 104 in 1983. Unfortunately it was kind of all downhill after that for him, but he was a part of the 1985 team that brought so much joy to this city and country. Willie Upshaw #26

Next up, we have a pitcher who had to go to another "bird team" to unlock his ace potential. He wound up having a good career as it was, but oh my what could've been had the injuries not been so numerous. Maybe without the injuries he never gets to St. Louis and he stays here to form a big three with Roy Halladay and Kelvim Escobar. If ifs and buts... Chris Carpenter #26

When I first saw this guy's beautiful left handed swing, I thought he was ticketed for stardom and he has flashed it in brief spurts, but never been able to completely put it all together. He (and Aaron Hill for that matter) will always have 2009 to hang his hat on, but I wish there could've been more. One of those one dimensional guys that got frozen out of this year's free agent class. He is not afraid to speak his mind, which has gotten him into trouble a time or two. Adam Lind #26

[Germaniac]

One of the greatest all-or-nothing-hitters in history - Dave Kingman

Okay, most of the time it was "nothing" - fun fact, in 1982 when he won the NL Homerun title with 37 (along with a .204 Batting Average), the NL Cy Young Award winner Steve Carlton batted .218

[rjl518]

26 Days Left

Since someone stole my Dave Kingman, i will present to you...

Terry Leach

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by rjl518

26 Days Left

Since someone stole my Dave Kingman, i will present to you...

Terry Leach

The only time I went to Shea Stadium, he pitched a complete game 3-hit shutout against the Giants and the Mets coasted to a 7-0 win. Interestingly enough, he only made 21 GS in his career, and yet he had 3 complete game shutouts. You never know what you're gonna see when you go to the ballpark. Boxscore here.

[Caporegime]

Magic number is now 25.

For the first three years of his Yankee career, Mark Teixeira was everything the Yankees had hoped he would be when they signed him before the start of the '09 season. Injuries more or less plagued him for the remainder of his career, which is a pity. He was probably just two or three more 30 HR, 100+ RBI seasons from serious HoF consideration.

[Caporegime]

Oops! I hit the send button on my last post at 11:59 pm. NOW the magic is 25.

I hope no one here is superstitious.

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by Caporegime

Magic number is now 25.

For the first three years of his Yankee career, Mark Teixeira was everything the Yankees had hoped he would be when they signed him before the start of the '09 season. Injuries more or less plagued him for the remainder of his career, which is a pity. He was probably just two or three more 30 HR, 100+ RBI seasons from serious HoF consideration.

I agree with you re: HoF. Just on the outside looking in. He had some magnificent seasons though. Do not undersell how great he was defensively either, but even with that still just outside.

Ironically, my favourite Tex moment came this past season when he bat flipped against my team on his final road HR of his career in what was a very emotional game with two bench clearing incidents. I wasn't very happy with my team that night, and even though that HR brought about a very costly loss, it still seemed like justice had been served. Instead of keeping our eyes on the prize we got into a hissy fit over Donaldson getting grazed in the elbow pad. That's what the freakin' elbow pad is for isn't it? To top it all off, we lost an extremely valuable reliever for the second year in a row either during postseason or heading towards it when Joaquin Benoit came up lame in one of the scraps. Stupid. Congrats on a very good career Tex. Here's hoping life after baseball is good to you.

[actionjackson]

This guy is an absolute icon. From the follow through on his swing in the first picture to the iconic bat point that always let the pitcher know where the ball was going to go if he didn't make a good pitch in the third picture. How about the fielding play in the second picture as he tags out Red Sox' baserunner Dwayne Hosey while still in the air back in his days at third base? Who knew he was such a nimble athlete? I was at the game at the then SkyDome when he put a ball into Sightlines Restaurant. If you've seen games at the dome from back then, you remember Windows Restaurant. Sightlines is the restaurant above Windows (Windows no longer exists, and is now Hipster Haven). Yeah. Deeep CF. Like, I thought it was going to hit the Jumbotron CF. What a blast! I've never heard a bad word said about him yet, and I hope I never do. Jim Thome #25

[actionjackson]

Excuse me while I take over this thread for a little while, as the number 25 seems to have been significant through every era of Blue Jays' baseball.

The first guy hit the first two HR in Blue Jays' history. The pic is a still shot of the first HR that he hit off Ken Brett of the White Sox. He got Brett in his next at bat too, but it was all downhill from there. Unfortunately, he committed suicide at the end of 2004. Still, you never forget your first right? Doug Ault #25

This guy doubled as a very effective reliever (at least in 1981 and 1982), and he would sometimes sing the national anthems in full uniform for us (though this looks like he's doing it for a road game which is even cooler), as the second picture shows. He's got a cool last name too, if I do say so myself. Roy Lee Jackson #25

[Sam_15]

Few 25s for the Sox - we'll have to start on a pretty somber note. This guy was a local, raised in east Boston, and appeared destined for stardom, hitting 104 home runs by his age 22 season. Tragedy struck when, in a horrific accident, he took a pitch to the eye in 1967. He missed the rest of the season and the next, and came back and played for a bit, but soon lost all vision from his left eye. Health issues compounded and he died in 1990. Rest in peace, #25 Tony Conigliaro.

[actionjackson]

Tony C had a pretty fine career in my now 43 year random debut historical. Like almost HoF fine.

[Sam_15]

Next, two modern Sox, the first of which added a veteran presence for a while. He came from the Marlins and maintained a steady presence in our lineup, always seeming good for .280-20-80 numbers, roughly. He was instrumental in the 2007 world series...does it get any more so than winning the world series MVP? #25 Mike Lowell

Second, a guy who really broke out this year, and though he slumped a bit toward the end, I'm still excited to see where he goes. Early on, he smelled like a bust...failing to reach the Mendoza line in his first two years. His glove alone allowed him to stick around, but this year it was for much more than that. Hopefully you keep the ball rolling, #25 Jackie Bradley Jr.

[actionjackson]

On we go to the World Series years and just beyond.

The first player was as smooth as they get in CF. He would run down damn near anything if it stayed in the park, and pull back the shots that were bidding for HR just because he could. His long, loping strides were unmistakeable. In the old, old days, he would've had the nickname "Death To Flying Things" because every ball hit to CF went to die in his glove. We just called him "Devo". Our version of "The Catch" is the first picture, which would've resulted in a triple play if Bob freakin' Davidson hadn't blatantly blown the call. Thanks a lot "Balkin'" Bob! Geez! Devon White #25

This guy is the cream of the crop of #25s in our history. I have a great gif of his four HR game that features each HR as it was hit, punctuated by the epic bat flip (more like a bat whip) after number four, which was an absolute rocket to CF off the top of Windows Restaurant and back down into play. Sadly it is too big to post on these boards, but it is awesome. A member of our Level of Excellence, but not good enough to be a HoFer. A HoF person though, with a smile to match. He also wasn't afraid to take a stand, by taking a seat for "God Bless America", against the US invasion of Iraq and against the use of the island of Vieques, a tiny island just off the mainland of his beloved Puerto Rico, as a weapons testing site, which resulted in elevated cancer rates and other illnesses there caused by the uranium depleted shells. Amazing that we get so sick of hearing nothing but cliche drivel from athletes, and then when they step outside of that, we want them to stop or zip it. The one and only Carlos Delgado #25