Ballplayers

Here's my list of all-time favorite baseball players. This list includes only players I have seen play the game (in person or on television) live. Who is on your top 10 list of favorite ballplayers? Let me know in the comments section of this post.

10. Daniel Ortmeier
Played collegiately at Texas-Arlington, helping Mavericks to 2001 NCAA Tournament. Now an infielder and outfielder for the San Francisco Giants.

9. John Smoltz
Former Detroit farmhand was traded to Atlanta in a trade deadline deal in 1987 for Doyle Alexander, who led the Tigers to the AL East crown that year. Smoltz, who struggled in the minors for the Tigers, found new life with Braves, winning a Cy Young award and becoming one of the top hurlers of his era, both as a starter and reliever.

8. Pete Rose
I struggle with this one, as he turned out to be one of the people you would be least likely to call a role model. The fact is, though, when I was a kid, Charlie Hustle was one of my favorite players. I always checked the box score to see how he did at the plate. The all-time hits leader in big league history, his all-out play on the field is legendary. Unfortunately, so are his gambling and poor decision-making abilities. But, in a more innocent time (for me, not him), Pete Rose was one of my favorites.

7. Rickey Henderson
The all-time stolen base leader. When I was a kid in Sacramento, Calif., all the kids on my street used to copy Rickey's batting stance. The greatest leadoff hitter in big league history, Henderson changed the game when he was on base, making him one of the most exciting players of my lifetime. Rickey also loves to refer to Rickey in the third person. Rickey stories are everywhere, and most seem to be about his disinterest in any person other than Rickey. My favorite: when he signed with the Seattle Mariners, legend has it Rickey walked up to John Olerud (who would wear a helmet while he played first base due to an injury incurred when Olerud was in college) and told him, "Hey, I like that helmet. I used to play with a guy in New York who wore one like that." Olerud replied, "Yeah, I'm John Olerud, and we were teammates in Toronto, too." Henderson says that never happened, but even if it didn't, it's still a funny story.

6. Curtis Granderson
From here on out, it's all Tigers, all the time. This is the only current Tiger in my top 10. The centerfielder is one of the most exciting players in the game today, routinely providing highlight catches in the field, and setting the table as Detroit's leadoff hitter. In 2007, he became just the second player in MLB history to collect 30 doubles, 20 homers, 20 triples and 20 stolen bases (Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins became the third later in the year). He's also a great role model and even writes a blog for ESPN.com.

5. Jack Morris
This begins my 1980s Detroit Tigers portion of the blog. Morris is my all-time favorite pitcher, and was the winningest pitcher in Major League Baseball in the decade of the 80s. He went on to win World Series crowns with both the Minnesota Twins and the Toronto Blue Jays, but I'll always remember him as a Tiger. He helped lead Detroit to the 1984 World Series title in a year he also tossed a no-hitter. As a Minnesota Twin, he outdueled another pitcher on this list, John Smoltz, by throwing a 10-inning shutout in Game Seven of the '91 Series.

4. Lance Parrish
The Tigers' catcher provided the power in the middle of the order from 1977 until about 1986. It seemed like he was an All-Star every year when I was a kid, and while he was with the Tigers, he was always considered one of the best catchers in baseball.

2. (tie) Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell
These two belong together on the list. The heart of the Tigers throughout the 80s and into the 90s, Whitaker and Trammell are still recognized as the longest running keystone combination in MLB history, playing just under 2,000 games alongside one another. Both joined the Tigers in 1977 and spent their entire playing careers in The D. Whitaker was Detroit's second baseman until 1995, and Trammell, who spent most of his career at shortstop but was also used as an outfielder late in his career, played one year longer. Both of these guys were named to multiple All-Star teams, and Trammell was the 1984 World Series MVP. Trammell also spent three years as the Tigers' manager, from 2003-06.

1. Kirk Gibson
My all-time favorite athlete, Kirk Gibson was an All-American wide receiver on Michigan State's baseball team and an All-American outfielder on MSU's baseball team when I was really young. He was drafted by the Tigers and eventually called up to the big league club in 1980. Sure, he hit one of the most famous home runs in baseball history when he took Dennis Eckersley deep in game one of the '88 World Series (video here), but I'll take the one he hit off Goose Gossage in game five of the '84 Fall Classic that put the series away for Detroit (video here). The ultimate no-nonsense player, Gibson was the 1984 ALCS MVP, and, as a member of the Los Angeles Dodger, was named 1988 National League MVP.

Others Receiving Votes (in no particular order): Willie Hernandez, Dan Petry, Aurelio Lopez, Tom Brookens, Darrell Evans, Dave Stewart, Bobby Higginson, Mark McGwire, Carney Lansford, Terry Steinbach, Magglio Ordonez, Todd Jones.