October 14, 2023

Erik Reyes

TOP 10 FAMOUS Celebrities Who PLAYED PRO BASEBALL - #1 Is A HUGE HOLLYWOOD ACTOR!!

October 9, 2023

Erik Reyes

mlb, milb

Over the history of the game, there have been thousands of different minor league baseball teams each full of players with a dream of someday making it to the Major Leagues. The vast majority of those players, even though they already beat the odds to make it to the pros, will never make it to The Show. After their minor league careers, most go on to work a normal job or go back to school to finish their degree. Some stay near the game and get into coaching, scouting, or even umpiring. And of course, some stay in the entertainment or sports industry and find success, becoming hugely famous. Most of their fans have no idea that they were once pro baseball players. In today’s video, we’ll be looking at 10 former professional baseball players who went on to become huge celebrities, only not as a baseball player. The only players eligible for this list had to play pro baseball before they were famous. So, we’re not talking about Garth Brooks, Billy Crystal or Tom Selleck getting a celebrity Spring Training appearance. Nor an already famous athlete deciding to switch to baseball like Michael Jordan or Tim Tebow. Also, players who became famous playing baseball who went on to have acting careers like Wes Parker and Nick Swisher don’t count. Today’s video is composed of celebrities who were unknown when they played in the minors and then went on to become famous through a different path. I’ll rank them based on how famous they became after their baseball careers.

#10 Scott Patterson – Actor

Most famous for his roles as Luke in Gilmore Girls and Peter Strahm in the Saw Franchise, Scott Patterson was once a pitcher at Rutgers who was drafted in the 1st Round of the 1980 MLB Secondary Draft by the Atlanta Braves. In 1981, he showed incredible talent, going 14-8 with a 3.23 ERA between Single and Double A. At one point, he won 13 consecutive games and had won two Minor League Player of the Month Awards. He was traded to the Yankees to start the 1983 season and pitched well enough to be added to the 40-man roster, but he was never promoted to the big leagues. At one point, the Rangers took him in the Rule 5 Draft but he was sent back to the Yankees before the end of Spring Training. In 1985, he went 12-4 with a 2.36 ERA, but the Yankees never called him up. He retired after 1986 season, having made four minor league All Star Teams. Patterson took up acting and used his baseball talent to help land a role in Little Big League, in which he portrayed pitcher Scott McGrevey. From there, he picked up guest roles in Seinfeld, Will & Grace, 90210, and many other TV Shows in addition to his many movie roles.

#9 Shaq Thompson – Football Player

A former football and baseball High School star is current Carolina Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson. Thompson attended Grant Union High in Sacramento, California and was named Delta Valley League MVP for his performance on the gridiron. But he also a standout baseball player and was drafted in the 18th Round of the 2012 MLB Draft. He signed to play for the Red Sox organization for a $100,000 bonus and was assigned to the Rookie Ball Gulf Coast League Red Sox, where he found out very quickly that baseball was not the sport for him. Thompson went an incredible 0 for 39 with 37 strikeouts in 13 games, leading to his immediate and permanent retirement from the game. However, it was not the end of his professional sports career as Thompson enrolled at the University of Washington, where he was named a first team All-American and considered one of the best defensive players in College Football. The Panthers selected him in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft and quickly signed him to a four year, $8.8 million contract with $7.7 million guaranteed. He has been a starter for Carolina ever since, although he’s likely to miss all of 2023 due to to a fractured fibula.

#8 Bert Convy – Game Show Host

Remembered as the host of Game Shows such as Super Password and Win, Lose or Draw, Bert Convy was part of the entertainment industry for 35 years. He was also a respected actor who had guest roles in Perry Mason, Hawaii Five-O and The Mary Tyler Moore Show among many others. Before he hit it big in Hollywood, however, Bert Convy was a stand-out athlete there as a student at North Hollywood High School. At just 17 years, he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies to enter their Minor League System as an outfielder. In 1952 for the Salina Blue Jays in Kansas and the Miami Eagles in Oklahoma, he hit .225 with 3 doubles, 2 triples and 11 RBIs. It wasn’t great, but it sure beats Shaq Thompson’s performance. Still, the Phillies released him and Convy went on to attend the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. He began his entertainment career as a singer with 1950’s vocal-band The Cheers before landing several roles in television shows, leading to his appearances on various game shows such as What’s My Line and Match Game. Soon, he became the host of multiple game shows, eventually forming a production company with Bert Reynolds during the 80’s, which helped launch Win, Lose, or Draw, which Convy hosted for the first two seasons. He also stared in several movies and even directed one – the 1986 comedy Weekend Warriors.

#7 Mario Cuomo – Politician

Remembered as the long-time governor of New York City and front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president in 1988 and 1992, Mario Cuomo, in a prior life, was also an excellent baseball player at both St. John’s Preparatory School and St. John’s University in New York. The former outfielder was so good, in fact, that the Pittsburgh Pirates offered him a $2,000 bonus in 1952 to play for their organization. He bonus helped him to purchase an engagement ring for his wife. Through his first 81 games with the Brunswick Pirates, Cuomo showed serious potential, hitting .244 with an outstanding on-base percentage of .383. He had driven in 26 runs with a professional home run on his resume when a pitch struck him on the head. These were the days before helmets and Cuomo was seriously injured, spending 6 days in the hospital. He decided to retire from the game, returning to St. John’s for his degree. He then attended Law School and became a full-time lawyer before being named New York Secretary of State in 1974 by the governor-elect Hugh Carey. Cuomo became the 52nd Governor of New York in 1983 and held the office through 1994. Cuomo remained a baseball fan throughout his entire life.

#6 Chuck Connors - Actor

Coming in at #6 is an actor who has stared in well over 50 films throughout a long and successful acting career – Chuck Connors, who not only played in the minors before his acting career took off, but he is the only person on this list to have actually made it to the big leagues. And to take it a step further, he also made it to the NBA. The man who lived not one, not two but three wild and unlikely dreams, was born in Brookyln in 1921 and grew up a huge Brooklyn Dodgers fan. He ended up as a star baseball and basketball player in High School and accepted a scholarship to play both at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. The Brooklyn Dodgers offered him a contract after two years and Connors couldn’t resist the opportunity. Unfortunately, he played in only 11 games in the minors in 1940 before being released. After missing the 1941 season, he signed with the Yankees for the 1942 season and hit .264 with 5 home runs, showing serious promise until his career was interrupted by World War II. Following the War, Connors tried to enter pro basketball – and succeeded, joining the Rochester Royals, now known as the Sacramento Kings. He was part of their one and only championship run in 1946, before joining the newly formed Boston Celtics. He also resumed his baseball career and found himself back with the Dodgers organization and this time, he played well year after year, making it to Triple-A in 1949. He hit .319 with 20 home runs and 108 RBIs, earning a call-up to the Show, where he was allowed just one at bat. He continued to rake in the minors but did not earn another opportunity in the bigs until 1951, when he hit .239 with 2 homers for the Chicago Cubs. Connors retired after the 1952 season and pursued a career in acting. He was quickly signed by MGM to star as a police captain in a film called Pat and Mike. From there, his career took off quickly and Connors has stared in several classics including Old Yeller, The Big Country, Move Over Darling, and Airplane II. He perhaps most famously played the lead role of Lucas McCain for 5 seasons on the hit show The Rifleman.

#5 Charley Pride – Country Music Star

With 52 Top-10 Hits on the Billboard Hot Country Chart and a Grammy for “Best Country Vocal Performance”, Charley Pride is without a doubt one of the most famous celebrities to have played minor league ball. Before he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000, Pride had a dream of becoming a Major League baseball player. In 1953, he signed a contract with the New York Yankees as a pitcher and entered into their minor league system to play for the Boise Yankees in the Class C Pioneer League. Unfortunately, an injury caused him to lose some zip on his fastball and he ended up getting demoted to the Yankees Class D team in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. After being released from the Yankees organization, Pride went on to play in the Negro Leagues with the Louisville Clippers, but was traded, along with another teammate, to the Birmingham Black Barons in exchange for the Black Barons Team Bus. That’s right, Pride was traded for a bus. In 1956, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, but continued his baseball career after his service time, entering into the Reds organization in 1960, where had a 3.86 ERA in 3 appearances for the Missoula Timberjacks. Even during his baseball career, Pride was known as a great singer and recorded a few songs here and there. But when he made the full-time switch to music, his career took off and with the recommendation of Chet Atkins, Pride signed with RCA Records, releasing his first single “The Snakes Crawl At Night” in 1966. His third single, “Just Between You & Me,” reached #9 on the Hot Country Songs Chart and from there, the rest is history.

#4 Russell Wilson – Football Player

Another multi-sport athlete, Russell Wilson was an all-region, all-district and all-state football player at Collegiate School in Richmond, Virginia. He went on to play at North Carolina State, where he became the starting quarterback, showing immense talent. He also hit .306 for the baseball team with 9 steals and 3 homers. His talent for baseball was solid but his professional future seemed to be with football. Still, the Rockies drafted him in 4th Round of the 2010 Draft. They believed his athletic ability and work-ethic could get him to the big leagues and Wilson agreed. He hit .230 with 2 homers in 30 games for the Tri-City Dust Devils. But he wasn’t giving up his football career – Wilson wanted to play both at a high level. He continued to play football at NC State, and led the ACC in passing yards per game and total offensive yards per game in 2010. In early 2011, much to the disappointment of his football coaches, he announced he would be attending Spring Training to continue his professional baseball career. In 61 games, he hit just .228 with 3 homers although he showed a strong knowledge of the strike zone, working 35 walks. Wilson decided to retire from baseball and transferred to Wisconsin, where he led the Badgers to a Big Ten Championship before being drafted into the NFL by the Seattle Seahawks. He became a star NFL quarterback, leading his team to a Superbowl Championship and making 9 Pro Bowls and counting. He was traded to the Denver Broncos in 2022 and after the season signed a five-year, $245 million extension.

#3 John Elway – Football Player

One of the most famous names in professional football – the Hall of Famer and Broncos legend John Elway – began his pro sports career as a baseball player. He was initially drafted out of High School by the Kansas City Royals in the 18th Round, but decided to attend Stanford, where he played both football and baseball. He was a fantastic quarterback for The Cardinal, but the team never made a Bowl Game during his time there, although they appeared to have clinched one in 1982 when Elway drove his team down the field with seconds on the clock, setting up his kicker for what appeared to be the winning field goal. Unfortunately, there was still 4 seconds left and Cal somehow, with no time left, were able to miraculously avoid tackles while lateraling and pitching the ball all over as they scored the winning touchdown in one of the most controversial and insane plays in college football history. Elway was then selected in the 2nd Round of 1981 MLB Draft, ahead of future Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. He signed for $150,000 to enter into the minors and played in 42 games for the Low A Oneonta Yankees. Elway showed amazing promise, hitting .318 with 4 homers and 25 RBIs, striking out just 25 times in 185 plate appearances. Yankees scout Gary Hughes said that if he had stuck with baseball, “the sky was the limit.. he would’ve been off the charts.” Then, in 1983, he was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the 1st Round of the NFL Draft. Elway made clear he did not want to play in Baltimore and demanded a trade or he would continue his baseball career full-time. The Colts eventually obliged, trading him to Denver, where Elway would play his entire 16-year NFL Career, winning two Superbowls and an NFL MVP in 1987.

#2 The Macho-Man Randy Savage – Pro Wrestler

Randy Poffo - AKA “Macho Man” Randy Savage

Even casual wrestling fans have heard of the great Macho-Man Randy Savage and his trademark flying elbow. Little do most wresting fans know, however, Randy Savage was once Randy Poffo, an 18-year old baseball player who signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a catcher out of High School in 1971. Poffo was converted to an outfielder and hit well in rookie ball, with a .286 average and .420 on-base-percentage. In 1973 with the Class A Orangeburg Cardinals, he hit .250 with a couple homers but knew how to work walks and limit strikeouts. He would’ve likely been a more serious prospect in the analytical age. As it was, he ended up in the Reds organization for his final season, 1974, when he hit just .232 over 131 games with Tampa. He did hit 9 home runs with 66 RBIs and a .304 on-base percentage, showing true talent for the game of baseball, although not enough to make him believe he could reach the big leagues. Randy Poffo had already started his wrestling career during the offseason of 1973 and now, he could focus on it full-time under the character, “The Spider,” similar to Spider-Man. Later, he used his real name but was told that the name “Poffo” didn’t fit some one like himself who wrestled like a savage. So, he changed it to Randy Savage and after becoming popular in some smaller leagues, Vince McMahon signed him to wrestle in the WWF in 1985. The fans loved him even when he was supposed to be a heel – AKA a bad guy – and with Miss Elizabeth as his manager and significant other, Randy Savage became one of the most famous and popular wrestlers of all time.

#1 Kurt Russell – Actor

Coming in at #1 on today’s list is the world-famous actor Kurt Russell, who was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1951. His family relocated to Southern California when he was a child, which gave him some early opportunities in Hollywood. He appeared in several Disney movies during the late 60’s and early 70’s such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Charley and the Angels and Superdad. But, he was also a fantastic baseball player both in Little League and High School. His father, Bing, had also played pro baseball in the late 40’s and Kurt Russell, signed by the California Angels out of High School, would get the opportunity to do the same. The switch-hitting second baseman hit .285 in Low-A for the Bend Rainbows in 1971. The in ‘72 he hit .325 for the Walla Walla Islanders. He went on a tear in 6 games at the Double-A level in 1972, going 9 for 16 with a home run. It looked like he might be on a track to the big leagues when he tore his rotator cuff during a double-play attempt when the incoming runner slid in hard and late. He tried to come back, but could no longer throw properly and his baseball career was over. Now, as an adult, he returned to acting and as it turned out, he was a star-in-the-making. He was nominated for an Emmy for his performance in the TV film Elvis and started to snag major roles in various films. He provided the voice as the adult Copper in The Fox and the Hound and stared in too many movies to list, but some include Big Trouble In Little China, The Thing, Backdraft, Tombstone, Captain Ron and Overboard. He also landed the lead role as “Snake” in Escape From New York and the sequel Escape From L.A. and has been a huge Hollywood star for 6 decades and counting.

August 16, 2023

Erik Reyes

mlb

Top 10 STUPIDEST & SISSIEST "Unwritten Rules" of Major League Baseball

August 16, 2023

Erik Reyes

mlb

If you’re the type that gets your feelings hurt very easily and tends to get overly angry or sad when losing at sports, and you need your opponents to go easy you, you might want to consider a career as a Major League Baseball player, where there are actual unwritten rules to make sure that you never get your feelings hurt, and in today’s video we’ll be counting down the Top 10 Sissiest Unwritten Rules of Major League Baseball, created only to make sure that feelings are kept unhurt, because 20-40 year old men can be very emotional. They’re like children actually - you have to be very careful not to hurt the other teams feelings, otherwise, do you know what happens? They throw a baseball at you as hard as they can. Yes, if you break one of these rules, they’ll go ahead and throw a hard object at you at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour. Then, you must retaliate and throw a baseball back at them. Then, everybody runs on the field and fights each other. So, without further ado, let’s go ahead and jump right into some of the most ridiculous and sissy unwritten rules in Major League Baseball.

#10 No Crying in Baseball

I had to start with the most ironic and hypocritical rule of all – there’s no crying in baseball. Well, literally anyway – you’re not supposed to actually shed tears, but you can certainly cry. And players do all the time, in fact, that’s what this whole video is about. They cry over the other team scoring too many runs, cry over hitters admiring a home run or flipping their bat, they even cry over bunts during multiple situations. Imagine getting mad because your opponent bunts. Anyway, let’s continue the list.

#9 Don’t Rub The Area you Were Hit-by-a-Pitch

Okay, this is another one makes the list because of the pure hypocrisy. Let me get this straight, if you get hit by a 99 MPH fastball and touch or rub the area to get a bit of relief from the pain, you’re a sissy and seen as weak… but if you score 6 or 7 runs and then keep trying to score more by stealing or bunting to extend the lead – you are a big meanie and it hurts our feelings!! I’ll tell you this, if I get hit by a pitch and it hurts and want to rub it a little, I’m rubbing it. That’s a lot less weak than getting mad over my opponent trying too hard because I have no confidence and feel like the game’s already over.

#8 No Stepping on the Pitcher’s Mound
I can kind of understand this one and how if would be annoying for pitchers to have all the players just running over the mound in between innings. So, it comes in as one the least sissiest unwritten rules. Still, if a player ever does cut across the mound while jogging to and from the dugout, a pitcher might completely over-react to another human being having the nerve to step on their mound. Here’s Dallas Braden after Alex Rodriguez took a short cut back to the dugout, crossing over the mound while jogging back the dugout after being throw out during a double play.

#7 Don’t Admire a Home Run

I’m putting this one at #7 because there can be times a player can go a little too far – I do think just standing there and watching it without moving is a bit much – like, you can run now - but in general if a hitter wants to enjoy the moment, celebrate a little, even pimp the homer a little, so what? The score is the score regardless – celebrating doesn’t change that and pitchers are allowed to celebrate, pump their fists, scream in happiness after a big strikeout – so why can’t a hitter do the same after a big home run? Because it’s an unwritten rule, so you better get moving or the pitcher might have something to say. In the case of the legendary Madison Bumgarner, the unwritten rules are even more strict – don’t you dare swing too hard.

#6 No Swinging 3-0 With a Big Lead

Wait, what? Yes, if your team is leading big in a Major League Baseball game and you have a 3-0 count, even if you don’t get a take sign, you’re supposed to take the pitch. Because if you hit a home run, you might hurt some feelings and your own manager might call you out. This happened to Yermin Mercedes when he homered on a 3-0 pitch while his team had a comfortable lead. Tony La Russa was so upset, he said if it were up to him, he’d send up three relief pitchers to hit and make easy outs for the other team. But, does this rule apply to pitchers too? So, if a team has a big lead, do they have to throw a nice slow pitch right down the middle during an 0-2 count or do you still try to strike the hitter out? I’ve never heard of a pitching having to give a hitter an easy pitch, so it doesn’t apply to pitchers, just hitters.

Oh, and if you’re supposed to take it easy on a position player pitching – why? There are plenty of relief pitchers in the bullpen, especially nowadays with the runner on 2nd rule preventing long extra inning games. So, your team chose to give up and put in a position player and then the hitter is supposed to just get out on purpose and not do their best when this is their job, and their job performance is available for every one to see in the form of statistics which could effect their job status or next contract? I don’t think so, every hitter should do their best every at bat regardless of the count or who is pitching.

#5 Don’t Steal a Base when Leading By Too Many Runs

Not quite as stupid as the one after this, but if a runner at first base tries to steal second while leading by 6 or 7 runs or more, it is actually considered breaking the unwritten rules. You can’t try to get in scoring position to add some extra insurance, because apparently the other team has already given up and considers themselves helpless – they could never possibly catch up even though such comebacks have happened before and will happen again. So, I would think that by continuing to push and try to score, it shows respect for the opposing team and their capability to catch up. By not trying, it says – hey, ya’ll are so bad, we don’t even need to steal or try anymore – ya’ll have no chance anyway. Apparently, that’s less disrespectful than actually giving it your all and never counting your opponent out.

#4 Don’t Bunt When Leading by Too Many Runs

This one is even stupider – if you bunt for a hit while leading by too many runs, the other team gets upset. You’re scared of a bunt now? Ok, we’ll just swing away and hit more home runs. A bunt is not a guaranteed hit, and if you can’t defend it properly, that’s your problem. Just throw out the batter, or don’t – it’s not like they can keep bunting over and over. Why would a team be offended by a bunt? The hitter is simply doing their job and trying to get on base and yes, run up the score, to minimize the chance of blowing the lead. If you don’t like it, get some people out – your’e a major league baseball team with Major league pitchers, right? But even if you don’t steal or bunt, even scoring more runs and increasing your lead and be considered “Disrespectful.” You actually have to start taking more pitches, taking short leads, play station to station baseball, don’t try to score on a single from second – just go to third and stay there. Because, after all, there’s no need to score more – the other team sucks anyway and will never catch up. They even agree with that – which is why they’ll get mad if you run up the score too much.

#3 Don't swing at the first pitch if the last two hitters hit home runs.

Why? Because the hitter might actually hit a third home run? And what seems to be the problem?? If you can’t avoid allowing a home run to three straight batters, you might want to think about a career change. Here’s the deal – every hitter in the lineup has a contract that’s going to end, a career they want to continue, and a baseball card full of stats on the back. Every team is in a playoff hunt, at least for a large portion of the season, and trying to win as many games as possible. Every hitter has to take the approach that most helps them and their team, end of story. If two hitters just went deep, I’m going to be up there looking for something to hit and if comes on the first pitch, so be it.

#2 You Offend Us – We Throw a Baseball At You

I know this one will be an unpopular opinion, but Imagine if this happened in another sport. In the NBA, if you get upset you throw the basketball at the opposing player as hard as you can – it’s just a part of the game. In golf, Tiger Woods feels disrespected because Phil Mickelson showed too much flare during a swing – so he throws the golf ball at him as hard as he can, giving him a nice bruise. People would think he went insane. In baseball, it’s completely normal – if offended, you simply hit the batter on purpose, and most fans from what I can tell think this is a precious part of the game. In my opinion, it’s ridiculous and dangerous as if the pitcher misses his target, which they’re known to do, a serious injury could occur. Even if they do hit their target, they are intentionally physically harming another batter with a hard object – you know, in legal terms, something known as “assault” and technically, since at least one player, Ray Chapman, has died from getting hit by a pitch in the past, it could be considered “assault with a deadly weapon.” And it just makes the other team retaliate and do the same thing. Pitchers have been known to throw at batter who simply have done their job well. If a hitter smashes a couple homers, especially if he shows any emotion or doesn’t run out of the box immediately, he’s at risk of getting hit by a pitch – even if it takes years like in the case of Hunter Strickland and Bryce Harper. In that case, a huge brawl ensued when Strickland hit Harper more than 2 years after Harper hit a couple playoff bombs against him and the Giants’ Michael Morse ended up with a career-ending concussion in the dust up. Earlier this season, Ian Happ of the Cubs accidentally hit Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras with his backswing – he immediately apologized and the former teammates hugged. It was an obvious accident but that didn’t stop Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas from intentionally beaning him then getting pissed when he got tossed. Of course you got tossed – you obviously just intentionally hit a guy. Yeah, you not only give the opposing team a free baserunner but you risk ejection and you invite one of your own players to get hit by a pitch, leading to a possible brawl and serious injuries. But hey, it’s just part of the game.

#1 Don’t Bunt to Break up a No-Hitter

My #1 sissiest rule of all makes the least sense to me, because you actually have to try not to hurt the other team’s feelings while you’re the one getting your ass kicked. So, let me get this straight. If I’m an MLB hitter and my team is getting annihilated by a pitcher whose stuff is working like never before, I’m not allowed to get creative and try to bunt my way on to get something going and try to eventually score a run – because God-Forbid I actually do my job and get on base to break up the no-hitter. First of all, if bunting for a hit were so much easier than swinging for one, everybody would be bunting all the time. Second of all, this is Major League Baseball, teams are trying to get into the playoffs, and you have to find a way to win the game – I don’t care if the pitcher has a perfect game going in the 9th inning, if the game is still close, I want my team to try whatever they can to get a runner on base and try to win the game, because after all, you play to win the game.

And that does it for my Top 10 sissiest rules – some of them I understand to some extent, but I thought I’d have some fun with week’s countdown and talk about these ridiculous unwritten rules, many of which really are absolutely pathetic. Let me know what you think, however – I’m sure this will be an unpopular list and many will defend the great unwritten rules of the game – but these are just some of my thoughts, put yours down below.

August 7, 2023

Erik Reyes

mlb, major league baseball

Top 15 Managers in MLB HISTORY...

August 7, 2023

Erik Reyes

mlb, major league baseball

Welcome to another Humm Baby Baseball countdown and today we’ll be countdown my top 15 Managers in MLB History. This is a very tough ranking as it’s not always clear who is most responsible for great teams – is Miller Huggins the reason the ‘27 Yankees were so good? Or maybe it had a little something to do with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig among other great players. Well, for that example, the Yankees struggled before Huggins and then struggled again after – even with Ruth and Gerhig still in the lineup. While managers can only be great if they have great ballplayers to work with, a poor manager will still lose more games than they win even with great players. Knowing how to manage a bunch of MLB players with huge personalities and egos as well as keeping a team motivated through a long grueling MLB season are as important as knowing when to pinch hit, when to make a pitching change and what order to put the lineup in. The best managers are the ones who can stick around for decades, keep the team chemistry positive, help lead their teams to multiple championships and simply bring out the best in their players. Some one who is not a natural leader probably won’t last long at being an MLB Manager. So, here we go with my Top 15 MLB managers of all time – considering their win-loss record, championships, longevity as well as what their players had to say about them. Before we get into the Top 15, here are 5 honorable mentions..

Honorable Mentions

Terry Francona

He is currently approaching 2,000 career wins as the manager of the Cleveland Guardians and has proven himself to be one of the greatest manager of all time. Tito had an average at best start to his managerial career with the Phillies but got a second opportunity with the Red Sox in 2004 and led the team to a World Series ring, breaking the Curse of the Bambino . He led the team to a 2nd World Series title in 2007 and finished his Red Sox managerial career with a 744-552 record before heading to Cleveland where he has won 4 division titles and one pennant along with three manager of the year awards.

Earl Weaver

Weaver is 6th all time with a .583 winning percentage as manager of the Baltimore Orioles for 17 seasons. He didn’t quite reach 1,500 wins much less 2,000 which is why he didn’t make the main list but Weaver was an early version of the modern day manager – he believed in pitching, defense and the three-run home run. He wasn’t as focused on small ball and his strategy paid off as Weaver led the Orioles to 4 American League pennants and a World Series Championship in 1984. And he was notorious for his epic rants and meltdowns when the umpiring was not on point.

Lou Piniella

With over 1,800 wins, Piniella definitely deserves a mention. He is a two-time manager of the year award winner and led the Mariners to a franchise record 116 win season in 2001. Sweet Lou was hired as manager of the Reds in 1990 and took them to the World Series, where they swept the A’s. He managed of 21 seasons all told with 7 playoff appearances, managing the M’s, Reds, Yankees, Devil Rays and Cubs.

Jim Leyland

Another name I just couldn’t find room for in the Top 15, Leyland is one of the few managers to win a pennant in both the N.L and A.L. - and he was the skipper for the Marlins when they won their first World Series in 1997. He led the powerful early 90’s Pirates teams to 3 straight N.L. East titles although they couldn’t get past the NLCS. He repeated that with Detroit, winning 3 straight A.L. Central titles but failed to win it all, although his Tigers did reach the World Series in 2012, but were swept by the Giants. Overall, Leyland was a tough but fair manager who won over 1,700 games along with 3 manager of the year awards.

Bill McKechnie

A former deadball era player, Bill McKenchie was one of the early great managers of the game and would’ve been close to #1 on this list 100 years ago. Known as “Deacon” for his quiet & unassuming demeanor and regular participation in the church choir, McKechnie became the first manager to win a World Series with two separate teams – the Reds and the Pirates. He is 16th all time in Wins and also led his teams to 4 pennants. He was the manager of the Boston Braves in 1935 when Babe Ruth played his final season, a terrible season all around as Ruth lasted only a month before retiring and the Braves lost 115 games. Overall, McKechnie still had a great managerial career with a .524 winning percentage.

Now, let’s get into the Top 15.

15. Bucky Harris

At the young age of 27, Bucky Harris was hired by the Senators to be a player-manager and he led the team to a World Series Championship. He picked up the nickname “The Boy Wonder.” Harris went on to manage 29 seasons, the 4th most in MLB history, wining 2,158 games along with three pennants and two World Series. He won the second title with the Yankees in 1947. He was one of the earliest managers to deploy relief pitchers on a regular basis, not expecting every starter to pitch all nine innings. He was also a great player’s manager, which likely stemmed from managing guys older than he was at the start of his managerial career. “If you can’t play for Bucky, you don’t belong in the major leagues,” said Joe DiMaggio. His won-loss percentage was just .493 and he was fired multiple times, which is normal for most long-time managers. Still, Bucky Harris had a managerial career that got him into the Hall of Fame.

14. Tommy Lasorda

With 1,599 wins, Tommy Lasorda didn’t quite reach 2,000 but no one can deny he is an absolute legend. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers for 20 years from 1976 to 1996, with an amazing ability to get the most of his young talent. During his tenure, nine Dodger rookies won the Rookie of the Year Award. Lasorda’s managerial career started off with back-to-back NL Championships in ‘77 and ‘78. He had a career .526 win/loss percentage, four pennants and two World Series rings – one in 1981 and the other in 1988. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame a year after his retirement and in 2000 he managed the U.S. Olympic Baseball Team to a gold medal. He is in the Top 5 All-Time MLB Managers for the longest tenure with the same team – 21 years as the Dodgers manager and then went on to become Vice President of the team. All told, as a player, manager and front office executive, Lasorda spent over 70 years as a part of the Dodgers organization. According to Orel Hershiser,when playing under Lasorda “Every day was do or die. There was no small day in Tommy Lasorda’s life.”

13. Leo Durocher

One of the most larger-than-life characters in baseball history, Leo Durocher won over 2,000 games as manager of the Dodgers, Giants, Cubs and Astros. His fiery personality and banter with the umps, front office and MLB Executives led to his nickname – “The Lip.” However, despite the controversies, he knew how to manage and in 1941, he led the Dodgers to their first pennant in 21 years. Later, he left to manage the rival Giants and led them to an almost impossible 13 ½ game comeback in late 1951, leading to the famous Bobby Thomson Shot Heard ‘Round The World. Later, his Giants swept the Indians in the ‘54 World Series. He retired with the second most wins in National League managerial history. Based on the amount of years he managed, only one World Series title is a little low, but with overall winning percentage of .540 and over 2,000 wins, Durocher is definitely one of the best managers in MLB history.

12. Dusty Baker

Coming in at #11 is the great Dusty Baker, who beats out Durocher after winning his first World Series title in 2022 with the Houston Astros. Baker now has 2,149 wins - 8th all time – and also has a .540 winning percentage. He has won the Manager of the Year award three times including his debut managerial season in 1993 when he led the San Francisco Giants to 103 wins, but due to the lack of a Wild Card that year, the Giants missed out on the playoffs because the Atlanta Braves won 104. From 2008 to 2013, he managed the Reds and they made their first 3 postseason appearances since 1995. In fact, Baker took every team he managed to the postseason at least once – the Giants, Cubs, Reds, Nationals and Astros. The players he manages have only positive things to say about Baker, who will go down as one of the greatest managers ever.

11. Bruce Bochy

Even before leading the San Francisco Giants to three World Series Rings in 5 years, Bruce Bochy was a great manager for the Padres, leading them to four division titles in 12 years, many of which he had to manage a very young team in a rebuilding process. He won over 900 games with the Padres then over 900 with the Giants, becoming the only manager to win at least 900 games with two separate teams. During the 2010, 2012 and 2014 seasons, he led the Giants to a World Series ring each run despite being underdogs in every single playoff series. This even-year streak ended in 2016 when the Giants lost to the Cubs in the NLDS. Bochy eventually retired but then returned in 2023 to manage the Texas Rangers and, as of this recording, he has led the team to a 59-42 record to lead the American League West. Bochy has 2,062 wins and counting and has improved his career win-loss percentage to .499, still just short of .500, which is the only reason he comes in this low. Based on his performance in Texas, however, he could be moving up very quickly.

10. Casey Stengel

Coming in at #10 is the legendary Casey Stengel, who led the Yankees to the World Series 10 times in 12 years, although obviously guys like Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford may have had a little something to do with it as well. Before he took over the Yankees, Stengel managed the Brookyln Dodgers and Boston Braves, never finishing above 5th place and at the end of his career, he managed a terrible New York Mets expansion team, losing over 100 games each year. Neverthless, his time with the Yankees can’t be ignored and he led several powerhouse Yankee teams to the Fall Classic, winning an unprecedented five consecutive World Championships. In total he led the Yankees to 7 World Titles and 10 A.L. Pennants. Unfortunately, when not managing those stacked Yankee teams, he has a .397 winning percentage, which is why he comes in a little lower than you might have expected. Incredibly, his years with the Yankees still bump his overall percentage up to .508 and when combined with his colorful personality and legendary quotes, Stengel still belongs in the Top 10.

9. Miller Huggins

Huggins began his managerial career during the final four years of his playing career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was credited with helping fix a young Rogers Hornsby’s batting stance. In 1918, he took over a struggling New York Yankees team and helped turn them into champions, leading them to three World Series rings. He was a master at the fundamentals and drilled these principals into the minds of his players. He was also instrumental in several trades and transactions that helped build the Yankee juggernauts of the 1920’s, even though many of his trades were unpopular at the time. He was a great motivator and knew how to handle big personalities. “He was the only man who knew how to keep me in line,” said Babe Ruth. He took the Yankees to the World Series in 1926, ‘27 and ‘28, winning it all in ‘27 and ‘28. He passed away before the end of the season in 1929. Even with Ruth, Gerhig, Tony Lazzeri and other greats, the Yanks finished in 3rd place in 1930. Even though he won just 1,413 games due to his death at just 51 years old, Huggins had a career .555 winning percentage with 6 pennants and 3 world titles.

8. Connie Mack

Imagine a manger from the 1960’s still managing today. That would equal 7 decades of managing Major League Baseball – something only one man has ever done. Connie Mack started out his managerial career in the 1890’s and his final season was 1950, totaling 7 separate decades. He managed for a total of 53 years, including 50 with the Philadelphia Athletics. Because of the sheer number of games he managed, Mack easily comes in at #1 all-time in wins with 3,731. The downside is he’s also #1 in loses with 3,948. Still, Mack is an all-time legend, famous for wearing his trademark business suit standing tall in the A’s dugout for 50 years. He led them through 2 dynasties which included 9 pennants and 5 World Series titles. He was also manager through a few rough patches which might have resulted in a firing had he not been a partial owner of the team. At one point, the A’s had 10 consecutive losing seasons. As a manger, he was easy-going but did demand his players follow a code of conduct, making sure his players composed themselves as professionals on and off the field and demanded that they judge others as an individuals and never on the basis of race or religion. He managed until the age of 87. Overall, Connie Mack is very hard to rank because he has a losing record but he did win his share of games and championships and is certainly #1 as far as longevity.

7. Joe Torre
After an 18-year playing career that included an MVP and 252 home runs, Joe Torre went on to manage five different teams for nearly 30 years, winning a 5th best all time 2,326 games. His first managerial stint did not go too well with the Mets and after five losing seasons from ‘77 to ‘81, he was fired. Things went better in Atlanta in 1982 when he took the Braves to the playoffs for the first time since 1969. Unfortunately, after finishing in 2nd in ‘83 then 3rd in ‘84, he was fired, moving to the broadcast booth for a few years until the Cardinals hired him as manager in 1990. He never made the playoffs and was fired midway through the ‘95 seasons. It was at this point that the Yankees made the surprising choice to hire him to the dismay of most Yankee fans. He had never won a playoff game in 14 years as manager. As it turned out, he hit his stride in New York and won the Manager of the Year Award in 1996, kicking off a Yankee Dynasty that included 12 consecutive postseason berths and 4 World Series Championships in 5 years. He led the Yankees to 6 pennants in 8 years and 10 AL East Championships in 12 years. He finished his managerial career with the Dodgers, winning the N.L. West in 2 out of 3 seasons. Although it’s true he didn’t become a winning manager until he had a stacked roster, he did a great job of handling the big personalities along with the high pressure media and fans of New York.

“He’s a great manager,” said former Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius. “There is more to it than who to pitch and play. It’s managing people, the press… and Joe does that all great. Players follow the tone set by the manager, and Joe is the calming influence of this team.”

Despite his early struggles with the Mets, Braves and Cards, he finished his career with a .538 winning percentage.

6. Walter Alston

He might be the only Hall of Famer who struck out in his only career MLB at bat. That’s because, of course, Walter Alston was inducted for his managing career with the The Dodgers, who had never won a World Series Championship until Alston came on board. Once the quiet and unknown Alston took over the team in 1954, improvements were immediate and in 1955, the Dodgers won it all. They returned to the Fall Classic in 1956, losing in 7 games to the Yankees. Year after year, the Dodgers brought him back on a one-year contract and he ended managing the team for 23 seasons, in both Brookyln and Los Angeles. He led the Dodgers to seven pennants and their first four World Series titles – the majority of their seven overall rings. Even after the retirement of Sandy Koufax in 1966, the Dodgers stayed competitive, wining at least 85 games in each of Alston’s final 8 seasons as manager, leaving the franchise is great shape for his replacement Tommy Lasorda. He won over 2,000 games and had an excellent .558 winning percentage. Alston had an easy-going and calm demeanor, never yelling at or embarrassing his players.

"Walt treats his players like men," said former Dodgers outfielder Dixie Walker. "If he feels a player isn't doing his best he doesn't fine him or cuss him out or sit down and talk with him. He just won't play him anymore."

The strategy seemed to pay off for Walter Alston, who was instrumental in making the Dodgers a top quality franchise they continue to be known as today.

5. Bobby Cox

Bobby Cox is one of just four MLB managers with over 2,500 wins and he was at the helm for the Atlanta Braves teams of the 90’s and 2000’s, leading them to 14 consecutive division titles. Unfortunately, they won just 1 World Series in 1995, which is why he doesn’t come in even higher. He started out as a manager in the Yankees minor league system before the Braves hired him in 1978. He made some improvements to the poor Braves teams of the late 70’s and early 80’s but was eventually fired before moving on the manage the Blue Jays, who had just finished dead last in 1981. He turned the team around, improving year after year until finishing in 1st place in 1985. He returned to the Braves as General Manager in 1986 but when no manager could get the job done on the field, he hired himself as manager in 1990 and took another last place team to the playoffs in 1991, this time all the way to the World Series, where the Braves lost in extra innings in Game 7 to the Twins in one of the greatest Fall Classics of all time. Known as a players manager, Cox treated his players with respect while instilling a winning attitude.

“He was the single greatest influence on me as a player, in terms of teaching the game, respecting the game, carrying yourself the right way on and off the field,” said former Braves pitcher Tom Glavine.

Cox also has a big league record 158 ejections, creating entertainment for the crowd while defending his players.

4. Sparky Anderson

Sparky Anderson managed for 26 consecutive seasons, first with the Reds from 1970 to ‘78 and then from 1979 to 1995 with the Detroit Tigers, compiling an impressive .545 winning percentage and 2,194 total wins. Before starting his managerial career in Cincinnati, the Reds were a good team, winning around 85 to 90 wins per season until Sparky arrived and immediately propelled them to a franchise record 102 wins in his first season. The Big Red Machine made the playoffs in 4 of his first 5 seasons there and won it all in ‘75 and ‘76. They re-broke that franchise record of 102 wins with 106 in 1975. In fact The Reds, who’ve been around since 1869, have won over 100 games in a season just 3 times – all 3 with Sparky as manager. He is hands down the best manager in Reds history, but was mysteriously fired after the 1978 season in which the Reds won 92 games and finished in 2nd place, just 2 ½ games out of 1st. The Tigers immediately began negotiating a deal to hire Anderson despite having already hired a new manager, Less Moss. They fired Moss 1/3rd into his first season after a deal was struck with Sparky, not for under performance but simply because they had gotten Sparky. The Tigers quickly improved as a team and won it all in 1984, which is still their most recent World Series championship. Sparky Anderson posted a winning record in 19 of his first 20 seasons as manager and other than managing some horrible 1990’s Tigers teams, his resume is absolutely stellar.

"He was great at handling great players. He knew the guys to slap and he knew the guys to kiss,' said Bill Gullickson, former Tigers pitcher.

Anderson retired after the 1995 season and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.

Tony La Russa as manager of the Oakland A’s

3. Tony La Russa

La Russa has managed an MLB team in 6 separate decades and is second all-time in wins behind Connie Mack with 2,902 wins. He won over 50% of his games with every team he’s managed – the White Sox, A’s and Cardinals and has a career .536 winning percentage with a 70-58 postseason record. He started out as a minor league manager in the White Sox system before landing the job at the big league level in 1979. From there, the White Sox slowly improved, eventually winning 99 games in 1983, winning the A.L. West. He then headed to Oakland in 1987 to try to improve another struggling team who had finished with a losing record for 7 straight years. He got them to .500 in ‘87 then a World Series in 1988. In ‘89, they won it all, sweeping the Giants in the Battle of the Bay World Series. The A’s won 3 straight A.L. Championships under La Russa, who later managed several great Cardinals teams, leading them to two World Championships – one in 2006 and another in 2011. The Cards finished in 1st place under La Russa 7 times and made the postseason 9 times. He later came out of retirement in 2021, returning to the White Sox, who finished in 1st place in the A.L. Central. Unfortunately, his last tenure with the Sox didn’t go completely smoothly and there were some controversial moments for La Russa, such as calling out his own player for hitting a home run in garbage time with a 3-0 count and a decision to intentionally walk a batter with a 1-2 count. He retired permanently following the 2022 season with 6 pennants, 3 World Series rings and despite the controversies towards the end, is one of the greatest managers in the history of the A’s, Cardinals and MLB in general.

2. John McGraw.

I wanted to go with the great Giants manager John Mcgraw at #1, but he fell just barely short. McGraw managed in 5 different decades and 2 different centuries, beginning his managerial career in 1899 as a 26-year old player-manager of the 19th century Baltimore Orioles franchise. He was one of the most aggressive managers of all time, with one goal in mind – winning at all costs. He loved to steal, hit and run and put the pressure on the opponent. His leadership skills were immediately evident with the Orioles and one year with the Cardinals and after his move to the Giants in 1901, he became one of the greatest managers in the game, turning the Giants into an absolute powerhouse, winning 106 games in 1904, winning the pennant but not playing the World Series because McGraw and the Giants ownership believed the A.L. to be an inferior league. After winning 105 games in 1905, McGraw and the Giants played this time against the Philadelphia Athletics, winning it 4 games to 1. He led the Giants to 3 straight pennants from 1911 to 1913, back-to-back World Series titles in ‘21 and ‘22 and a total of 10 pennants and 3 World Series Championships. McGraw is third all-time with 2,763 wins but his winning percentage of .586 is higher than both and better than any manager with over 2,500 wins. His leadership skills are undeniable and McGraw is in contention as a the greatest manager ever.

1. Joe McCarthy

However, I had to go with Joe McCarthy at #1. Although he comes in 9th all time with 2,125 wins, no manager could claim a better winning percentage - an incredible .615. In fact, Joe McCarthy never had a losing season in his 26-year managerial career. "Never a day went by when you didn't learn something from Joe McCarthy,” said Yankee great Joe DiMaggio. He started out as the manager of the Cubs and took them to the World Series in 1929. William Wrigley Sr., in one of the worst moves of his professional life, fired McCarthy partway through 1930, blaming him for losing the ‘29 series. In 1931, McCarthy was hired by the Yankees, who had only won 3 World Series titles despite getting Babe Ruth in 1920. Under McCarthy, the Yanks went on an absolutely incredible tear, winning eight A.L. pennants and seven World Series rings in 12 years, including four straight appearances in the Fall Classic. He used a low-key approach, rarely arguing with umpires and staying in the dugout for most of the game, even when making a pitching change. He wore no number on his jersey, but had the heart of a teacher, knew how to develop talent and how to handle big personalities like Babe Ruth, who was not a huge fan of McCarthy since the Bambino wanted to be manager. McCarthy won the Manager of the Year award the first year of its existence and went on to win two more. He finished his career managing the Red Sox to 96 wins in 1948 and 1949 before resigning midway through the 1950 season. Overall, he was a winner everywhere he went and based on the resume, the fact that he never had a losing season and has the best winning percentage with over 2,100 wins, I had to put McCarthy at #1.

June 27, 2023

Erik Reyes

mlb

Ranking ALL 28 MLB City-Connect Uniforms WORST to BEST Including PITTSBURGH PIRATES

June 27, 2023

Erik Reyes

mlb

Welcome back to the Humm Baby Baseball Channel and today we’ll be ranking all 28 of the City Connect Uniforms that have been unveiled so far from worst to best.

Wost: The Los Angeles Dodgers (Original Design)

I can hear it now – bro, that’s just cuz you’re a Giants fan. Absolutely. But, seriously, the all blue look just doesn’t do it for me; they look like pajamas on first glance. Also, the text on the cap is too much putting the entire team name on there, it doesn’t even say LA for Los Angeles. It’s cool that the front of the jersey says Los Dodgers, but overall, there’s not much unique about it – you can barely notice the spray paint effect on the sleeves and I get they didn’t wanna stray too far the classic Dodger look. Los Angeles is a city with so much going on; it’s crazy they couldn’t do a little more with their City Connects – I genuinely think these city connects are the worst to come out so far.

#28 The Detroit Tigers

At first glance, I just thought this one looked pretty ugly and reminded me of some of the wacky minor league uniforms during random promotions where they wear a wild looking uniform for one game then auction them off autographed for fans to buy. Of course, they were going to go with a motor city theme, but the tire tracks are a bit much. There’s only dark blue and black, and it could’ve used some hot orange somewhere to make it pop a little more. It just looks cringe to me as a jersey, but many of these city connects don’t have the best jerseys but the cap makes up for it. In this case, this cap literally just says “Detroit” in the most plain font available. I can’t even imagine how this got approved. I can literally make the same cap in 10 seconds on Photoshop Elements.

#27 The Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles decided to go super-simplistic with their City Connect Design and the first thing I thought of when I saw this was the old 19th century jerseys that had nothing but the city name across the chest. The Orioles City Connects do have a colorful mosaic design on the inside – you know, the part that you can’t see. There are lots of abstract explanations to explain all the meaning behind this design, but ultimately, it’s just too plain. I like the attempt to go old school style, but that’s for Turn-Back-the-Clocks games – the City Connect should represent what is exciting and vibrant about the city. I don’t hate the uniforms in isolation but as a City Connect Jersey, it falls short.

#26 The Chicago Cubs

These uniforms are somewhat similar to the Dodgers in the all blue look, but the overall look pops a little better with the navy blue and light blue contrast. It works much better than the Dodgers look. Wrigleyville across the chest is cool and the logo that symbolizes the north, south and main branches of the Chicago River. There’s representation for all the neighborhoods of the city and overall it’s a cool look but like the Orioles, a little too simple although they did more than the O’s. The cap has a simple C with a star in the middle and looks pretty cool as well. Overall, though, I don’t love these unis and they come in at #18.

#25 The St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a very traditional team that almost didn’t even participate in the City Connect Program. Ultimately, they decided to go for it – sort of. The only real issue with this uniform is it looks like a Spring Training uniform. They stuck with the same color scheme and traditional looking logo with the birds perched on the bat, except now it says “The Lou,” a nickname for St. Louis and in the U.K… the bathroom. They did, for the first time, use red as the primary color. The STL is nothing special although it’s a decent logo for the cap. The Cardinals decided to keep things simple, and that’s okay, but for a City Connect, I’d prefer something a little more bold.

#24 The Kansas City Royals

These ones have a similar color scheme to the Cubs, dark blue against light blue – but I like the white trim and white pants to go with it better than the all blue look. The navy blue represents several teams from the past in KC – the Athletics, Moncarchs and Blue Sox among others. And the KC logo is a cool design and the number styling is a reference to the city’s art deco architecture but overall it does come across as fairly simple and plain. Obviously, that can be a good thing; you don’t want to do too much but overall, this one is so-so, just better than the Cubs.

#23 The Los Angeles Dodgers (2024 Design)

Coming up next is the Dodgers new and much improved City-Connects, which are still nothing spectacular but for me an obvious improvement. They maintain the tradition Dodger colors and feel, but use a font that pays homage to the Dodgers original stadium after the move to the west coast, L.A. Memorial Coliseum. The cap is miles better with the interlocking D and LA logos together as one, instead of putting “Los Dodgers” which looked like too many letters to be on the front of a cap. I like the number being a different shade of blue and overall, these look nice, but they’re also nothing mindblowing. But The Dodgers did well to keep it simple while improving the previous design.

#22 New York Mets

Coming in at #22 is the New York Mets, another new reveal this season, and this one took me aback a bit because it looked more like a Yankees uniform than a Mets one. Also, the amount of gray looks a little plain at first sight. However, there are some purple accents representing the 7 line that runs to City Field. I definitely expected the jerseys to say “Queens” instead of “NYC.” After checking them out in a game, though, I have to say overall these look pretty cool. There are lots of features to connect to all of New York City. The pattern of the stripes is cool and I really love the cap with the Queensboro Bridge. Maybe they could’ve used more purple or something to make them pop a little more, but they are definitely not terrible.

#21 The Los Angeles Angels

Next up is the Los Angeles Angels, who went with a surf themed look for their City Connects, which at least represents something about the city. I like the surf-style font across the front but overall, they didn’t take any huge risks. The colors are similar to their normal colors and really, it’s just Angels uniforms with a surf-style feel. The number in the diamond looks cool along with the stripes on the sleeve but overall, despite the overall clean look, nothing really pops too much so this uniform comes in at #21.

#20 Cleveland Guardians

Next up is the Cleveland Guardians, who stuck with the same color scheme for the most part. The “CLE” on the front looks pretty cool with the home plate style lettering that is also used on the name on the back. There are several little details that add an interesting touch, but don’t really effect the overall look except the sandstone pattern, which is nice. The socks have the Guardian Statues but are only visible for players who show their socks, which is not the majority. The cap looks like a normal Cleveland Guardians cap to a non-Guardians fan. If I saw it in their team store, I wouldn’t know it was anything special. Overall, this is a solid look, but it’s also too similar to their regular uniform, although it’s different enough and better than a Spring Training uniform.

#19 The Pittsburgh Pirates

So the newest City Connect uniform comes in a little low, but I really do like the look – because I like the Pirates normal uniforms. This one seems like a cool alternate uniform you might see in Spring Training. It also reminds me of the Salt Lake Bees Triple-A team. However, there is a little more to it than meets the eye; there’s a Three Rivers logo to symbolize the intersection of the three rivers – and a checkered pattern that looks pretty cool although it’s subtle. The font of the PGH across the front looks cool and is patterned after the circular grates in the pillars of the Robert Clemente Bridge. It also has a look representative of the Steel City overall. It’s not a huge departure from their normal colors and look, but overall looks pretty clean.

#18 The Milwaukee Brewers

Moving to #18, we have the Milwaukee Brewers who took a light blue look inspired by the flag of Milwaukee, the summer skies of Milwaukee along with its grilling culture and Lake Michigan. The colors are basically the same as their normal uniform but I look like the look. The cap has the airport designation and the jersey says Brew Crew, the team’s nickname which is pretty cool although I still think every city connect should say the city name somewhere other than the cap or a nickname of the city, not the team. Overall, it’s a clean look but nothing incredibly awesome in my opinion so it comes in fairly low but not near the very bottom.

#17 The Seattle Mariners

At #17 I have the Mariners, whose City Connects seem to be getting pretty solid reception but for me, I don’t find them absolutely spectacular although they definitely look pretty cool. I don’t know the black pants completely work with the blue and yellow – the overall combo looks alright. The jersey took inspiration from or, more accurately, is the same jersey as the old Seattle Pilots with the lowercase Seattle on the front. This is cool but I didn’t think the idea of the City Connect was just to wear throwback jerseys. The trident is a cool Mariners look but again – a logo we already know. So, although this overall look is sweet; I don’t rank it too high as a City Connect because there wasn’t much original or new about it but again, it’s not a bad look overall.

#16 Minnesota Twins

This one definitely gets credit for taking a big swing, but I can’t say it’s a home run. It’s not a strikeout either, though, as it does look somewhat cool with the ripple waves and tribute to the state of Minnesota and its 10,000 lakes, which it blatantly says on the side of the cap. I think the waves could’ve been a little more subtle though. I like the yellow trim and MN logo looks pretty cool as well. The logo on the front of the cap looks pretty sick and the bottom of the brim has a depth map of Lake Minnetonka, a nice touch as well. What hurts it for me most is the blue pants; I would’ve preferred just plain white pants. Overall, this one is pretty slick though.

#15 The Washington Nationals

Coming up next is another City Connect that got a lot of praise – that of the Washington Nationals, whose City Connect uniforms focus on the cherry blossom trees of D.C. and overall look pretty good I must admit. The District of Columbia flag is on the sleeve and socks and I like the WSH graphic across the chest. I am a little surprised they didn’t go for more of a patriotic look being in the national’s capital, but they do that more so with their normal uniforms so it also makes sense that they would focus more on the city itself rather than the nation. I just think overall they look a little plain with so much gray and not much color other than the cherry blossoms, so that’s why it doesn’t get ranked a little higher but I do like them.

#14 The San Francisco Giants

I admit I was not a huge fan of these city connects at first and in fact, I still have some problems with them, but the Giants have jumped all the way up to #11 because I have grown to love seeing these jerseys. Yes, they have grown on me some and I genuinely like the orange and white no black look now, but more importantly, as a Giants fan, they seem to play great baseball in these babies and won 8 of their first 9 games in the City Connects and are currently 22-7 in them. So, it’s no surprise they’ve grown on me – they really do pop and look fantastic; they took a big risk going away from the orange and black while not going too deep into left field by bringing in a new color like green or purple or something which would have been a disaster. The fact that there’s no SF or San Francisco anywhere is weird and we get the Gatorade G instead. The fog effect is cool but there’s so much iconic about San Francisco that wasn’t incorporated so overall they were a disappointment but they’ve definitely grown on me for multiple reasons.

#13 The Atlanta Braves

Next up is the Atlanta Braves City Connects, which only get ranked this high because I love the look of the 1970’s Atlanta Braves uniforms, invoking images of Hank Aaron smashing his 715th career home run, becoming MLB’s Home Run King. The problem, of course, is that they already wear an alternate uniform that looks like this, so the City Connects definitely played it safe. It’s just an alternate style to the already alternate uniform. Still, I like how it says “The A” instead of just “A” on the front and the uniform of course pops and looks awesome, it’s just nothing entirely new. I lived in Georgia back in 2001 and 2002, when the Braves played at Turner Field and loved visiting Atlanta, with the amazing street art, the shops on Peachtree Street, and so many parks and forests around the city. I love Hammerin’ Hank and the look of these but it’s weird the Braves didn’t do much more to represent the City of Atlanta in their City Connects. I fully expected them to have a Peach color and have all sorts of references to the city, but that’s not what we got.

#12 The Boston Red Sox

Speaking of a major departure from the classic uniforms, the Boston Red Sox get the award for the biggest guts of any team by going all out in their City Connect design, becoming the first MLB team to wear a uniform with the main colors being a yellow and blue – with no red at all. Traditionalists mostly hated this uniform and I don’t absolutely love it but I gotta respect the decision to really go for it. I love the addition of the Boston Marathon bib on the sleeve, the stenciled Boston logo on the front, the contrast of the yellow, white and blue, and the bright look that no one could possibly miss. Even the casual sports fan who doesn’t watch much baseball would immediately notice these if the game was on and ask – what team is that?? They’d be shocked to find out it’s the Boston Red Sox.

#11 The Houston Astros

As a space buff myself, I love the direction the Astros took going full Space City other than the full astronaut suit which might have impeded their ability to play baseball. The sleeves have a pattern reminiscent of star charts and the font on the front is just like that of NASA, except it says SPACE CITY. The cap has an awesome logo inspired by NASA Mission Control and the Astros have the best all blue look even though I still don’t love the blue pants but here, it works much better than it does for the Dodgers or Cubs. The Astros City Connects are really awesome overall in my opinion, even though the fan reception was understandably mixed, but again, I love studying space exploration and for a short time in my childhood, I wanted to be an astronaut but sort of changed my mind after being traumatized watching the Challenger disaster live on TV.

#10 Philadelphia Phillies

Just cracking the top 10 for me is probably one of the most controversial City Connects, because the Phillies definitely went bold and different, which I have to give props for. The question is, do they work? The caps are definitely awesome and most fans seem to agree with that. As for the jerseys, I think they look incredible with the bright blue fading to black and yellow accents. The colors represent the city’s flag, and I also love the font that is similar to early historical documents from the early capital of the U.S. From the waist up, I think these look amazing, but I’m not sure about the black pants with the yellow stripe. Overall, these are pretty awesome in my opinion although Phillies fans don’t seem to love them so much from what I can tell.

#9 The Texas Rangers

One of the newer City Connects unveiled on April 21st, the day Texas won its independence from Mexico, this uniform pays homage to old baseball teams in Dallas and Fort Worth while also celebrating the bringing of Major League Baseball to Arlington. The 4-21 date is shown on the uniform, but overall, these have gotten not the best reception but I personally think they look pretty freaking awesome. I thought they were black, white and red, but it turns out the dark color is actually midnight blue, which a friend pointed out to me. Still, these are unique, I like the spur style TX, the rope braid along the pants, which are dark to contrast the light jersey - the opposite of the norm but works good here in my opinion, but again, the fans seem to hate them, so I think I’m in the minority. I liked them enough to buy the City Connect Corey Seager bobblehead and I’m hoping to buy the rest of the collection later on. I would definitely wear the cap too as frequent visitor to the state of Texas, where my family used to live before the move to California, so overall I’m a fan of these and they come in at #9.

#8 The San Diego Padres

Up next is a look I expected from the Miami Marlins, but the Marlins did them one better – literally because they’ll be next in the ranking. But as for the Padres, they probably went as radical as any team besides maybe the Red Sox with these wild uniforms that I have to admit are pretty kick-ass, highlighting the beautiful pink-and-yellow sunsets of San Diego while paying respect to the local culture of Tijuana and Baja California along with the artwork of San Diego. The color scheme does bring reminders of the old Taco Bell, the Miami Heat alternate uniform and Miami Vice, which again is why I sort of expected these for the Marlins, but these colors also fit the local culture of San Diego, and it turned out I liked the Marlins uniforms even more, but these are still really cool and the Pads come in at #8.

#7 Tampa Bay Rays

Next is another 2024 new release, the Tampa Bay Rays City Connects, which are almost everything I would’ve hoped for, especially the neon glow-in-the-dark style green highlights. The faded in the sun style texture is awesome and I love the Tampa Bay font with the flames on the front, although it does seem a little thin with its borders and since its main color is about the same color as the rest of the jersey, it doesn’t pop all that much. The number on the back has the same issue, although I might need to see them in person to know for sure. I usually don’t like colored pants, but the dark style actually looks pretty good in this case. The cap is also absolutely sick and I might order one for myself. Overall, these are fantastic, and my second favorite of the new 2024 releases.

#6 The Miami Marlins

Paying homage to the Cuban Sugar Kings – a former Reds Triple A affiliate that played in Cuba - which makes sense due to the large Cuban population of Miami – these uniforms straight up pop. The Marlins went with a bright-red pinstriped look with a light blue cap. I love the color scheme here and the vivid look overall. Social Media seemed to love these and I can’t disagree – the colors really fit the city of Miami, while keeping some of the colors of the team but changing which is the most prominent. The number pops out in white with the blue trim and these are super cool unis overall and they just make the Top 5.

#5 Toronto Blue Jays

Which leads us to my actual favorite new release, the Toronto Blue Jays City Connects, which use the all black look with red and blue highlights. With the red long sleeve shirt underneath, these things absolutely pop and look really impressive to me, reminding me of a lively lit-up city at midnight. It has a vibrant feel with the Toronto skyline across the front in blue over black just beneath the Toronto logo in red. It reflects the blue of Lake Ontario as well. The cap is fire as well, and this overall look really blew me away and I’m surprised its not getting the best reception from some of the comments I’ve seen. The black pants works in this one to complete the overall look and with the red belt and undershirt, this look is absolutely amazing. The only complaint might be that the name of the back can be hard to read at a distance and the red on Toronto could be a little more vivid to help it pop a little more, but overall I love these City Connects.

#4 The Colorado Rockies

Coming in all the way up at #4 is another hot take because I’ve seen a lot of negative reactions to the City Connects of the Colorado Rockies but I gotta be honest – I really like these uniforms even though some criticize them as looking like college or High School unis, the point of the City Connect isn’t to look like your regular everyday professional uniform – they’re supposed to be extra creative, unique and maybe a little crazy while representing the city – or in this case, the state - the team plays in. The classic green color represents the pine trees and mountains of the state with some white snow on the top of course and the colors also match the state license plate. They also went bold with their look like the Red Sox and Padres, which is appreciated. The hat and circle logo are also pretty cool with some red representing the soil and gold for the sunshine. I don’t know how I feel about the green pants but I like how it is the same color as the mountains on the jersey making them look tall and epic so overall these are pretty awesome to me and they come in very high at #4

#3 The Arizona Diamondbacks

Coming in at #3 is a City Connect that is relatively simple but somehow really works for me. A tribute to the Sonoran Desert and local Hispanic population, the Arizona Diamondbacks goldish sand colored City Connects are still one of my favorites. This one doesn’t say Phoenix or Arizona but it does have the Arizona flag on the sleeve and says Serpientes, Spanish for Snakes with the snake S along with the standard Arizona logo on the cap but over the sand color it looks really nice. The touch of the red number completes the look. When players like Zack Galen add a little more such as this snakeskin belt, I like it even more. Overall, this desert look just looks fantastic and is very representative of the state of Arizona so it gets ranked very high at #3.

#2 The Chicago White Sox

My original #1 on my first ranking was the White Sox and I still really love these City Connects although now they land at the #2 spot. I love the choice to say Southside with the Gothic font, a tribute to the architecture of Chicago. The fans seemed to love them and they sold out quickly. The uniform finds a way make a big departure from the classic uniform while being creative and different yet still maintaining the classic colors of the team. They were the first team to go away from the white pants and for them, unlike some others, that strategy completely paid off and the all black look with pinstripes looks phenomenal. Even the Nike swoosh looks cool on these because it pops with the white and gray trim. Overall, these are simply fire and I love the White Sox City Connect uniforms.

#1 The Cincinnati Reds

But coming in at #1 is the City Connect uniforms of the Cincinnati Reds – a surprising pick probably but I’ve always loved the combination of red and black, especially with black is the dominant color and that’s exactly what these uniforms bring – an all black look with red highlights and the classic C logo but revamped to represent the continuing growth and change in the city of Cincinnati. The uniform also has a patch with the city's motto "Juncta Juvant," which is Latin for "Strength in Unity," and includes a buckeye leaf as a reference to the state of Ohio. Other than that, there aren’t a ton of references to Cincinnati but I’ve never been there and not sure what Cincinnati is famous for other than producing Steven Spielberg which is greatly appreciated. So, I guess that’s a valid criticism but I think this look so awesome and there is just enough references to Cincinnati and Ohio that I still put it at #1 as my favorite City Connect Uniform.

June 1, 2023

Erik Reyes

mlb, major league baseball

Why The EEPHUS Pitch Is So Effective! - The HISTORY Of This Tantalizing & Ultra SLOW Pitch!!

June 1, 2023

Erik Reyes

mlb, major league baseball

The rainbow pitch – moon ball – parachute – skyscraper - but most famously known as the Eephus Pitch – it is a rare but effective pitch that can catch even the greatest MLB hitters off guard and make them look completely foolish. If you’ve ever played slowpitch softball, you’ve faced a similar pitch and likely weren’t overly challenged by its high arc and extremely low velocity. However, when accustomed to triple-digit blazing fastballs, 90 mile per hour changeups and devastating sliders, an unexpected 35 mile per hour blooping rainbow can be quite challenging – and even if a hitter does hit it well, they have to provide all the power.

The pitch was first popularized by Rip Sewell, who played mostly for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 30’s and 40’s. Earlier in his career, Sewell had a wide variety of pitches he threw ¾ armslot including a sinker and sharp slider, most effective against lefties. After a hunting accident in 1941, Sewell had to alter his pitching motion. He was forced to pitch straight overhand. While working on this new motion, he began experimenting with a new pitch – a tantalizing high arcing slow ball that rises as high as 20 feet and descents over the plate on a downward slant. Sewell unveiled it during an exhibition game against Detroit Tigers hitter Dick Wakefield. According to Sewell, Wakfield “started to swing, he stopped, he started again, he stopped, and then he swung and missed it by a mile. I thought every one was going to fall off the bench; they were laughing so hard.” Sewell knew he had a found a new weapon.

Sewell had great control of the pitch but umpires had trouble with it. Umpire Lee Ballanfant said

“Now that damned blooper pitch Rip Sewell used to throw was the hardest thing to judge. You’re supposed to call the ball as it comes over the plate, but what do you do if it comes straight down? He just pushed it up there; wasn’t hard enough to break a pane of glass. It was the damnedest thing you ever saw; I missed a lot of calls. It sure looked big coming up there, and sometimes they’d pop it up because their timing was off.”

The most impressive thing about the way Sewell threw the pitch is that he used the same motion as if he were throwing his fastball. He put three fingers on the ball instead of four and let it come off his fingertips with an extremely massive amount of backspin. Sewell’s teammate Maurice Van Robays came up with the name “Eephus pitch,” and it stuck.

Although Sewell is credited with popularizing the pitch, an earlier pitcher who was known to use it was Bill Phillips, a Reds pitcher whose repertoire included the blooper ball from 1890 to 1903. Another pitcher, Bobo Newsom, one of only 29 players to play Major League Baseball during four different decades, began experimenting with the pitch and starting to throw it in games around 1945, although he mostly threw it to entertain himself and the fans. Sewell, on the other hand, used it frequently – sometimes up to 20 times during a single start.

His most famous use of the pitch came during the 1946 All Star Game. At the plate was perhaps the greatest hitter of all time, Ted Williams. Williams challenged Sewell to throw in the Eeephus pitch. Sewell obliged and Williams fouled it off. Even knowing it was coming, the best he could do – at least on the first one – is foul it off. However, Sewell motioned to Williams that he would give him one more shot at the pitch. On the second Eephus of the at bat – something Sewell would not normally do but this was an exhibition game – Ted Williams smoked one over the right field wall for a home run. It was the only home run Sewell ever game up using the Eephus Pitch.

From the 1940’s onward, the Eephus pitch became part of baseball lingo and although extremely rare, it’s always exciting to see how a hitter will handle the pitch. In the 1970’s, pitcher Steve Hamilton, a side-arming relief pitcher started to throw an occasional Eephus, which got dubbed the “Folly Floater.” In a 1970 game, he threw one to Tony Horton of the Cleveland Indians and the pitch was fouled off. Horton dared Hamilton to give him one more and Hamilton agreed. Horton still couldn’t do much with it, popping it up. He crawled back to the dugout in shame.

However, it is a pitch that must be used rarely – and it’s probably best, especially if a power hitter is at the plate, not to use it in the most critical situations. That brings us to the Bill “Spaceman” Lee, who pitched in the big leagues from 1969 to 1982 and is still pitching today at 76 years old for the famous Savannah Bananas. He had always been a finesse pitcher who induced soft contact and groundballs, but after a shoulder injury during a Red Sox-Yankees brawl in 1976, he had to rely on the slow stuff even more. He developed an Eephus pitch that had various nicknames including “Spaceball” and “Leephus” pitch. Lee was pitching during a game that can’t get more critical – Game 7 of the World Series. It was 1975 and the Red Sox had a 3-0 lead over the Reds with a runner on and Tony Perez at the plate. Lee threw his famous moon ball and it was absolutely blasted over the green monster to put the Reds within a run. Later, the Reds scored two more runs and won the game 4-3.

Another pitcher from the 70’s and early 80s, Dave LaRoche, who mostly threw a fastball and slider, would mix in a high blooper Eephus that became as La Lob. He usually found success with it but there were plenty of exceptions. It is definitely a pitch that flirts with disaster. During the 1980’s, Pascual Perez, who pitched mostly for the Braves and Expos, was known to throw an Eeephus pitch once or twice per game. It almost always caught batters by surprise, but on July 19th, 1988, Astros slugger Glenn Davis may have had the pitch in the back of his mind. When Pascual threw it to him, Davis double-clutched and blasted it out of the ballpark.

A more recent pitcher who had his own version of the Eephus pitch was Orlando Hernandez, known as “El Duque,” who pitched from 1998 to 2007, for the Yankees, White Sox, D-Backs and Mets. He started to throw the pitch at around 50 MPH in 2002, though he had trouble getting the strike call. On August 26th, he tried the pitch against the powerful Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod took it for a ball. Then, Hernandez made a huge mistake by attempting to throw it again. Rodriguez was expecting it, waited on it and obliterated it for a tape-measure home run.

There have also been incidental incidents where the Eephus pitch was accidentally thrown. The Big Unit Randy Johnson, the hard-throwing Hall of Fame lefty, would be the last pitcher you would expect to unleash an Eephus pitch. But in July of 2008, facing San Francisco Giants outfielder Fred Lewis, Johnson was distracted by a loud horn that went off in McCovey Cove just as he was preparing to release the pitch. The result was a beautiful, high arcing Eephus pitch that dropped in for a strike.

Many knuckleballers like R.A. Dickey would inadvertently throw an occasional Eephus when their knuckler doesn’t move and dance around like its supposed to.

In even more recent years, seeing some version of an Eephus pitch is becoming somewhat common due to the more frequent use of position players coming in to pitch during the late innings of blowout games. The position players are likely instructed to avoid injury by not throwing too hard, not doing anything fancy and just getting the ball over the plate. The result is some of the most entertaining Eephus pitches in history, such this one by Brock Holt which was clocked at 31.1 miles per hour, the slowest pitch ever officially recorded in the pitch-tracking era. It does seem, from a fan’s perspective without digging into the advanced stats, that position players who are lobbing in slow pitches have more success than would be expected and usually complete innings without too much damage. This tells me again that hitters have trouble quickly adapting to extremely slow pitches.

Even now however, it’s not only position players who use the Eephus. Other active pitchers known to have thrown the pitch include Fernando Abad, Yu Darvish, Rich Hill, and even Clayton Kershaw.

Another occasional Eephus thrower is Zack Greinke. During a 2023 Spring Training game, Zack Greinke threw an Eephus pitch when he and his catcher were having trouble communicating pitch selection because of technical issues with the pitchcom system. Instead of letting time run out, Greinke threw an Eephus pitch, which ended up being a ball anyway. The Eephus pitch is always fun to see and you never know when one is coming. And despite a few massive bombs off it, it can be very effective. It also sets up a followup fastball which in theory would be very tough to hit due to the extreme difference in velocity.

According to sabermetrician James LeDoux, whose study on the success of the Eephus pitch I will link in the description,

batters make contact with this pitch about as often as every other pitch, making contact with the eephus just 0.33 percentage points more often than an average pitch. The quality of this contact, however, tends to be lower. Despite making contact with this slightly more often, for example, it becomes a hit almost 11% less often. Despite its slow speed, the Eeephus pitch manages to hold its own.

https://jamesrledoux.com/projects/eephus/

The study does seem to debunk the theory that fastballs thrown after an Eephus are more effective than a typical fastball. This, in my mind, would be due to the fact that an Eeephus pitch is so incredibly slow that it has no effect on a hitter’s frame of reference in terms of velocity. Nevertheless, the pitch itself has been thrown occasionally since the 1940’s and is the only pitch where the baseball fan who is watching has time to gasp, process that an Eephus pitch was thrown, wonder what is going to happen, enjoying the suspense, all as the ball makes its long journey into the sky then down towards the plate.

May 26, 2023

Erik Reyes

mlb, mlb stadiums

Ranking All 30 MLB STADIUM NAMES - From Corporate Trash to True Classics!!

May 26, 2023

Erik Reyes

mlb, mlb stadiums

Welcome to another Humm Baby Baseball ranking and today we have a slightly different list – instead of talking about players, we’re going to talk about MLB stadiums, but not necessarily the stadiums themselves, rather the name currently attached to the ballpark. There was a time when stadiums and arenas were typically named in tribute to a person, as a reference to something in the geographical area, or just something awesome and unique. Examples include Candlestick Park, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and Ebbets Field. Sadly, nowadays, the vast majority of stadiums are named after corporate sponsors. This practice became very popular after the Busch family, who owned Budweiser, offered enough money to get the Cardinals to change the name of Sportsman Park. They wanted it to be called Budweiser Stadium, but the commissioner Ford Frick wasn’t too keen on that name for obvious reasons, so they settled with Busch Stadium.

Although this practice goes back a long way, it has become the absolute norm and stadiums frequently change names as sponsors change for a variety of reasons including sometimes scandal and bankruptcy, such in the case of Enron Park, named after the disgraced company Enron. A professional team attaching themselves to a sponsor to such a degree that they give the sponsor stadium naming rights comes with risk of embarrassment, not to mention the possibility that your stadium gets a name that is absolutely terrible. Of course, not all corporate names are terrible and some have become iconic stadium names. Most of the names are not so bad, but there are definitely some exceptions. Today, we’ll be ranking all 30 MLB stadium names from worst to best. The catchier and cooler sounding name, the better. Also, if a stadium has kept the name for long enough for fans to become accustomed to it and embrace it, that helps too. So, let’s get going, starting at #30.

#30 The Chicago White Sox – Guaranteed Rate Field

I don’t care how much money a company offers, there is one thing I can guarantee – my stadium will never be called Guaranteed Rate Field. The name of this stadium went from awesome to bad to horrendous. It originally carried over the name of the legendary Comiskey Park before changing to U.S. Cellular Field. Then, in 2016, a residential mortgage company called Guaranteed Rate – not even a great name for a mortgage company in my opinion - purchased naming rights for 13 years. The new name was mocked on social media, deservedly so, and Guaranteed Rate Field is by far the worst stadium name in MLB and in the history of humanity.

#29 The Miami Marlins – LoanDepot Park

Another stadium that went from a fantastic name – Marlins Park – to a terrible one – LoneDepot Park. The stadium opened in 2012 and had so many unique elements along with a contemporary design, moving away from the retro ballpark trend. It embodied the city of Miami and was named after the team that played there – the Marlins. The name Marlins Park became associated the famous Home Run Sculpture, the South-Beach style swimming pool area, the fish aquariums behind home plate along with many other amazing elements to the ballpark like the Bobblehead Museum. That is, until Derek Jeter, who coincidentally took the first at bat and has the first hit in the stadium’s history, took over the Marlins and decided to sell naming rights. A mortgage company called LoanDepot paid out the cash and got the name – and now this amazing ballpark is called LoanDepot Park – an absolutely horrible name for a baseball stadium. And, by the way, the Home Run Sculpture and Fish Tanks have been removed.

#28 The Seattle Mariners – T-Mobile Park

Well, at least it’s not a mortgage company. Still, while I’m sure T-Mobile provides a great cell phone service, it’s not a good name for a baseball stadium. It was originally called Safeco Field, which is not much better but at least it’s the original name. But before moving to Safeco, the Mariners played in the Kingdome, named after King County. Now, that is an awesome name. But, getting back to modern times, in 2019, T-Mobile took over naming rights of Safeco Field and added their logo all over the ballpark, with colors that completely clash with that of the Seattle Mariners. Maybe by now Mariners fans are used to the new name; I’m not sure – but I know I’m not.

#27 The Milwaukee Brewers – American Family Field

While there is nothing inherently wrong with the name, to me, it just sounds stupid. At first, I thought the Brewers were just coming up with super family-friendly name after dropping naming rights with the Miller Brewing Company. In reality, it’s another sponsor – named after a company called American Family Insurance. Miller Park was a perfect name for the stadium – even though it is named after a beer company, we’re talking about Milwaukee, known for many years as the Brewing Capital of the World. Also, it’s not too unusual to find a beer or two inside an MLB stadium. Now, it has a cringe and generic sounding name from a company based in Madison, 80 miles away from Milwaukee. Which sounds cooler? “Hey guys, I’m going to Miller Park tonight to catch a game, you wanna come?” Or, “Hey guys, I’m going to American Family Field to catch a game, you wanna come?” Pass.

#26 The Atlanta Braves - Truist Park

It felt like the Braves had just recently moved into the appropriately named Turner Field when it was announced they would be moving into a new stadium in Cobb County. There was a nice opportunity to name the stadium after baseball legend Hank Aaron – maybe something simple like Aaron Park. Instead, the new stadium was called SunTrust Park, after a bank – not too terrible for a sponsorship name. However, another risk you take when naming your stadium after a sponsor is that the sponsor merges with another company and changes their name, forcing you to change the name of your stadium. That’s what happened when SunTrust merged with another company, changing their name to Truist Financial Corporation and now the stadium is called Truist Park. At least it’s short and not nearly as cringe as the previous names on the list. But, is Truist even a word?

#25 The Pittsburgh Pirates – PNC Park

While there’s nothing wrong with the name – what does it even stand for? Does any one know? I didn’t until preparing this video – it’s named after PNC Financial Services and the letters PNC came about when two companies merged – the Pittsburgh National Corporation and Provident National Corporation. Don’t these words really remind you of the game of baseball? Me neither. The Pirates onced played at Three Rivers Stadium, a perfect name representing the famous three rivers in Pittsburgh – the Allegheny, the Monongahela and the Ohio. Instead of naming a new stadium after the legendary Robert Clemente, it’s named after a financial company – and the name is not even a word, it’s three random letters. At least White Sox had the guts to go all out with their stupid corporate stadium name.

#24 The Toronto Blue Jays – Rogers Centre

Two things – number one, this stadium used to have one of the coolest names in baseball – the Skydome. It can’t get much better than that, but it can get worse. In 2004, Rogers Communications acquired the Skydome shortly thereafter renamed it Rogers Centre. That doesn’t even sound remotely like a baseball stadium. It sounds like a small arena or convention center at the County Fair.

#23 The Cleveland Guardians – Progressive Field

For one, although I’ve never used them, I’m not really of fan of Progressive Insurance thanks to their annoying commercials. Secondly, this name comes off as weird – you think your stadium is more progressive than the other 29 teams? Thirdly, the stadium once had an awesome name – Jacobs Field, nicknamed “The Jake.” “Hey man, let’s go to the Jake tonight, the Yankees are in town.” Now, it’s like… “Hey man, let’s go to the.. Prog.. tonight.”

#22 The Philadelphia Phillies – Citizens Bank Park

In my opinion, the word “bank” should never be a part of an MLB stadium’s name. Still, this one has a decent ring to it, although had they just called it Citizens Park, that would have been much better. The company isn’t even officially called Citizens Bank, they’re called Citizens Financial Group. Perhaps there were some negotiaions – the bank wanted “Citizens Financial Group Stadium.” The Phillies were like, “F*** that,” and they settled on “Citizens Bank Park.”

#21 The Minnesota Twins – Target Field

Unfortunately, Target is just too famous of a company to associate with anything but the company itself. There’s nothing terribly cringe about it and it’s a halfway cool sounding name, certainly better than Walmart Field or Walgreens Stadium. Target Field has a much better ring to it, which is the only thing that saves it from being much lower on this list.

#20 The Texas Rangers – Globe Life Field

This stadium proves how ridiculous naming rights are – the Rangers were playing at Globe Life Park, but because they moved to a new stadium, the name had to go with them and now their stadium is called Globe Life Field. These names have absolutely nothing to do with the team, the stadium, the geography, baseball legends, or anything of the sort. It’s all about a billionaire company – usually a bank, insurance or mortgage company, paying the team money for naming rights. All that said, this is one of the better insurance/bank/mortgage company names and I don’t totally despise it.

#19 The Houston Astros – Minute Maid Park

This one seems like it should be a lot lower, but somehow the name fits and sounds pretty cool to me, even going back to when it was first announced. This stadium’s naming rights has some history, going back to Enron Field, named after the energy company that went bankrupt in 2001 due to a massive scandal. The Astros had to pay Enron $2.1 million to get out of the deal, changing the name of the stadium to Astros Field. Of course, that wouldn’t last long and naming rights were sold to Minute Maid in 2002. Like Target Field, it’s tough to associate the term Minute Maid to anything else but, well, Minute Maid. However, I don’t completely hate this name.

#18 The San Diego Padres – Petco Park

Although I’ve sort of gotten used to this one, we’re still talking about a Major League Baseball stadium named after a pet supply store. Petco is a company local to San Diego, they work with the team and community more than other corporate sponsors, and it’s not some boring financial company, so all that helps. However, the stadium is amazing with so many unique features that to me it’s still sad they took the corporate sponsor route. And if it wasn’t to be named after something unique about it, another option would have been naming it after the great Tony Gwynn. Instead, we got Petco Park, a name I used to hate a lot more, but after almost 20 years, it’s grown on me a bit.

#17 The Detroit Tigers – Comerica Park

Yes, it’s named after bank, but for whatever reason, I don’t hate the name Comerica Park. It’s not a bank that I’m familiar with as a bank, so when I hear the name, I think of the Detroit Tigers stadium. Also, they haven’t changed the name since it opened, which helps. Of course, I’ll always miss the classic name of the old stadium – simply Tiger Stadium.

#16 The Arizona Diamondbacks – Chase Field

The name is simple and probably an improvement over Bank One Ballpark, its former name. However, it’s strictly a corporate name after the popular bank headquartered in New York. The only reason its ranked this high is because its a short, catchy and simple name – which may have been pure luck. It could have just as easily been named First Option Mortgage Stadium had First Option offered enough dough.

#15 The Colorado Rockies – Coors Field

Although I’m not an alcohol drinker myself, where you find baseball you find beer. There’s no point in denying it, so I might as well embrace the beer stadium names - it’s a lot better than the mortgage company ones. And Coors Field has always been Coors Field – as famous as the Coors name is for its beer production, I associate it more so with the high altitude field where pitchers careers go to die. That said, for a stadium in Denver, I’m not sure any name can beat Mile High Stadium.

#14 The St. Louis Cardinals – Busch Stadium

And the beer stadium names continue. This one only gets ranked higher than Coors because it has a historic name by now, even though I would’ve despised it back in 1953 when it changed to Busch from Sportsman’s Park as I mentioned earlier. Now, we’ve had three Busch Stadiums and whenever I head to St. Louis to watch a Major League Baseball game, I know I’m heading to Busch Stadium.

#13 The Cincinnati Reds – Great American Ballpark

This one is similar to but so much better than American Family Field. It does sound a bit generic but has a better ring to it. It would be even higher if it wasn’t named after an insurance company – American Financial Group which is at least based in Cincinnati. It’s a cool name, though and I like it, so I’m ranking it relatively high.

#12 The San Francisco Giants – Oracle Park

I hate to rank my favorite team’s stadium outside the top 10, but it’s not about the actual ballpark, which is my #1 in all of sports; it’s about the name – or more specifically the constant changing of the name. I grew up going to Candlestick Park, an awesome name for a ballpark named after its location at Candlestick Point. Then, that stadium changed to the God-awful 3Com Park. Then, the Giants moved to Pac Bell Park – not a great name, but I got used to it, until it changed again – to SBC Park – then AT&T Park, which is a terrible name but somehow it became awesome after 3 World Championships playing at AT&T. Then, it changed again and while Oracle Park is a cool sounding name, the company is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Still, I do like the name, it is unique and not a company as widely known as some of the others I’ve already talked about.

#11 The Los Angeles Angels – Angel Stadium of Anaheim

While you can’t go wrong by simply naming the stadium after the team, some of them have a better ring to it than others. Angel Stadium is okay, but the official name, Angel Stadium of Anaheim, reminds me of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, which the team was officially called for a while. Overall, this name is good, especially when just calling it “Angel Stadium” and I applaud the Angels for not going to corporate sponsor route, but it’s not one of my favorites.

#10 The New York Mets – Citi Field

The Mets stadium was named after Citigroup, who are at least headquartered in the same city the team plays in. This name, like Chase Field, short, catchy and simple, but I also think it’s pretty cool – with the word City but spelled c-i-t-i. It’s cool sounding, there’s nothing cringe or offensive about it other than the fact that its a corporate name. The Mets get $20 million a year for the naming rights.

#9 The Oakland A’s – The Oakland Alameda County Coliseum

The A’s stadium gets ranked this high by the skin of their teeth as they only recently pulled the plug on naming rights with RingCentral. There is really one word in its long name that makes this an awesome name – the Coliseum. I’ve always thought the proper name was too long, but the nickname it inspired is awesome – simply the “Coliseum,” which is what it’s been referred to even during cringe sponsorship years.

#8 The Tampa Bay Rays – Tropicana Field

Why do I like this name so much? To me, it somehow fits this dome perfectly. It’s the only non-retractable dome left in baseball, so you always feel like you’re sitting inside a gigantic orange. The Tropicana name and logo fits everything about the stadium perfectly and at this point, I can’t imagine calling it anything else but “The Trop.”

#7 The Kansas City Royals – Kauffman Stadium

Shoutout to the Royals for not taking millions of dollars from some financial company and changing the name of their stadium, nicknamed “The K,” which was named after Ewing Kauffman, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who brought Major League Baseball back to Kansas City thirteen years after the A’s moved to Oakland. He was a major factor in the decision to build a stadium that wasn’t the boring multi-purpose type stadium that was popular at the time. Instead, he helped design a stadium that is still a gem among Major League ballparks despite being built 50 years ago. The Royals are looking to build a new ballpark by 2030, but had they built the typical cookie-cutter of the time, they would’ve left a long time ago.

#6 The Washington Nationals – Nationals Park

The Nationals did possibly the best thing – simply naming the team after the stadium. Unfortunately, they have expressed some interest in selling naming rights, so don’t be surprised if Nationals Park doesn’t stick, but for now it’s a perfect name.

#5 The Los Angeles Dodgers – Dodger Stadium

It hurts me more than it hurts you to rank Dodger Stadium so high, but let’s be honest – it’s a simple yet iconic name that flows smoothly and both the stadium and the name have stood the test of time. There have been rumors that the Dodgers will change the name and do a corporate sponsor but as of now, that hasn’t happened and hopefully it won’t. This name works so well because, just like Yankee Stadium that I’m about to talk about, you don’t have to add at s at the end like for “Angels Park” or “Nationals Park.” It’s simply “Dodger Stadium.”

#4 The New York Yankees – Yankee Stadium

One of the most iconic stadium names of all time – simply Yankee Stadium. Of course, the current stadium isn’t the original Yankee Stadium, but they did the right thing in my opinion by simply carrying over the name. For distinction, it can be referred to as “the New Yankee Stadium.” Still, the name is perfect and can never be changed. It is a reminder of all the greats who played at Yankee Stadium – from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to Joltin’ Joe to Don Mattingly and Derek Jeter, who I trashed earlier in this video.

#3 The Chicago Cubs – Wrigley Field

One of the most iconic stadium names in the world does sound like a corporate name – Wrigley Chewing Gum, right? - but William Wrigley was not only the owner of the gum company, but was also owner of the Chicago Cubs. The stadium, formerly known as Weeghman Park then Cubs Park, was renamed Wrigley Field in 1927. Sure, at the time the owner named the stadium after himself and his gum company, but since then, the Chicago Cubs ownership have actually resisted giving into corporate naming rights, preferring to maintain the classic name Wrigley Field . There’s also the fear that Cubs fans will riot and perhaps cause World War III if they were to change the name.

#2 The Baltimore Orioles – Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Most fans simply call it “Camden Yards,” and that is an absolutely awesome name. They probably couldn’t just officially call it that because Camden Yards is more than just the stadium, but the name “Camden Yards” sounds so much cooler than simply Oriole Park, which would have been great but not too original. When trying to do both, it becomes a little long but still sounds kick-ass – Oriole Park at Camden Yards. And the name fits the scenery perfect. This is definitely one of my favorite stadium names in all of baseball and it comes in at #2.

#1 The Boston Red Sox – Fenway Park

Can it get more simple and historic than “Fenway Park.” While it is true the stadium was named by the Red Sox owner at the time, John I. Taylor, who owned Fenway Realty Company. But at least he wasn’t dumb enough to call it “Fenway Realty Park.” Also, the stadium is in a neighborhood called Fenway-Kenmore and Taylor claimed that was why he called it Fenway Park. Does it really matter at this point? Taylor purchased and developed the land, helping to create the most historic baseball stadium still standing. The name is absolutely perfect and has been the same for 111 years. It couldn’t be any simpler and is synonomous with baseball – no one thinks of anything but baseball when they hear the name Fenway Park. Since Fenway Park has never been called anything else, has such historic value and technically is not a sponsored name, regardless of Taylor’s original intentions behind it, I have to put at #1 in my list of the MLB stadium names worst to best.

Let me know your thoughts on my list and remember, to steal a quote from one of my favorite movie reviewers Sean Chandler, it’s not the right list, it’s just my list.

May 18, 2023

Erik Reyes

mlb, mlb history

The Top 25 Most UNDER-RATED Players In Modern MLB HISTORY...

May 18, 2023

Erik Reyes

mlb, mlb history

Over 20,000 people have put on a uniform in order to participate as a baseball player in a Major League Baseball game. Most of them played a few games at the highest level but never put together a long and successful career. Their names are mostly forgotten by even the most hardcore baseball fans. However, there are a select few other Major League players who went on to become absolute superstars with names that are instantly recognizable to nearly any baseball fan. Many of these legends went on be immortalized in the Hall of Fame. Then, somewhere in the middle is a group of players who did excel at the game for a long period of time, while helping their team win games like few others could, but for whatever reason, they never got the credit they deserved – these are players who were snubbed for awards and All Star Games. They were oftentimes as good or even better than the big stars, but their names never received that type of recognition from the fans. You probably won’t find any of these guys on the cover of a baseball video game, but they were all outstanding players who deserved much more recognition than they received. These are my Top 25 underrated MLB players of the modern era. There are also dozens of under-rated players from the early days of baseball such as Art Fletcher and Ross Barnes, but I’ll save them for another video. This list will include players who made their debuts in 1950 or later. Keep in mind this is not a ranking from worst player to best player, it is a ranking that compares how good the player was to how much appreciation they have received in terms of awards, All Star selections, Hall of fame support and hype with the fans. For instance, Andruw Jones was better than many players on this list, but although he is a major Hall of Fame snub, he did earn 10 Gold Gloves and 5 All Star selections, so he didn’t quite make the list. So, with that said, let’s get into it.

#25 Bobby Bonds

Bobby Bonds was one of the greatest power-speed combo players in the history of the game and is one of only 8 players in the 300-300 club – 300 careers homers and 300 career steals. Although he did strike out a lot, he could also work a walk and retired with a .355 on-base-percentage. He hit 30 homers and stole 30 bases in a season 5 times and is the only player to do it in each league. He also played elite defense, but spent many years in the shadow of the great Willie Mays. Bonds made only 3 All Star Games, and receives even less credit for his great career now because of his son Barry who was somehow even better.

#24 Steve Finley

As a San Francisco Giants fan, when I think of Steven Finley, I think of the 2004 walk off grand slam to clinch the division for the Dodgers and the 2006 season when he would constantly pop out to kill a rally for the Giants. In other words, I don’t have too many fond memories of the man, but I was surprised to see his name as one of the 8 on the 300-300 club list along with not only Bobby Bonds, but also Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, A-Rod, Carlos Beltran, Andre Dawson and Reggie Sanders. During the late 90’s and early 2000’s, he was an absolute machine, crushing home runs and stealing bases while playing elite defense. He retired with over 2,500 hits and 300 home runs yet only made two All Star Teams and received .7% of the vote on the Hall of Fame ballot.

#23 Doug DeCinces

A lot of current baseball fans have likely never even heard of Doug DeCinces, but for about a decade, he was a reliable power hitter for the Orioles and Angels, hitting between 16-30 home runs nearly every year. In 1982 he finished 3rd for the MVP after smashing 30 homers with 97 RBIs and a .301 average but was left off the All Star Team. He also hit one of the most dramatic home runs in Baltimore Oriole history in 1982, officially kicking off “Oriole Magic.” DeCinces only made one All Star Team and although he certainly did not have a Hall of Fame career, he did come close to 250 home runs and had a much better career that most fans remember.

#22 Ron Fairly

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Ron Fairly call Giants games on the radio in the late 80’s and early 90’s, but looking at his playing career, he may have been a better player than broadcaster. Fairly played for 21 years and did just about everything – no pun intended – fairly well. He got worked walks, kept a decent batting average, hit about 13-19 homers a year, while playing excellent defense. In the ‘65 World Series, he hit .379 with 2 homers and 6 RBIs, helping the Dodgers win it all. In his career, he had 1,913 hits and over 1,000 walks with 215 homers and 3 World Series rings. Unfortunately, he only made 2 All Star Teams and his name doesn’t really jump off the page as a great MLB player.

#21 Frank White

Another player who might be remembered more for his broadcasting career than his playing career – Frank White had an incredible glove and could fly on the basepaths while swinging a solid bat. He did win 8 Gold Gloves and made five All Star Games but has received little Hall of Fame support and feels underappreciated. By the mid-80’s, White had developed some pop as well, crushing 22 home runs in back to back seasons and was also clutch in the big moments, winning the 1980 ALCS MVP, crushing a home run in the ‘85 World Series and even hitting a deciding home run in the 1986 All Star Game. He was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame in 1995 but received just 3.8% of the vote in his only year on the National Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot.

#20 Steve Rogers

Although he did make 5 All Star Teams, Steve Rogers is name largely forgotten since his retirement after 1985, possibly due to a relatively short 13 year career and a mediocre 158-152 record. However, many of those losses came in stellar starts where Rogers received almost no run support as a pitcher for the Expos in the mid-70’s. For example, in 1976, he went 7-17, leading the league in losses despite a 3.21 ERA. His team had the lowest batting average, fewest hits and fewest runs in the league. When the offense improved as the 1980’s approached, his record improved and in 1982, he went 19-8 with a league-leading 2.4 ERA and would’ve won the Cy Young if not for the incredible 23-win season by Steve Carlton. He has the most wins in Montreal Expos history and catcher Gary Carter once said Rogers has the best stuff he’d ever seen.

#19 Kenny Lofton

Kenny Lofton comes in somewhat low on this list because he was a popular player who made 6 All Star Teams and won 4 Gold Gloves. However, he only received 3.2% of the vote on the Hall of Fame ballot, falling off in his first year despite having over 2,400 career hits and 600 stolen bases. On the JAWS ranking for center-fielders which measures Hall-of-Fame worthiness, Lofton is 10th All-Time and ranked above several Hall of Famers. He simply helped his teams win ballgames by getting on base and wreaking havoc on the basepaths while playing elite defense for 17 years. Even in his final MLB season in 2007, he hit .296 with 23 steals and a .367 on-base-percentage. His career on-base-percentage of .372 is better than George Brett and Paul Molitor. Yet he never really gets credit for how good he was.

#18 Jose Cardenal

A member of the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame, Jose Cardenal collected over 1,900 hits, 300 steals and hit over .290 in 6 separate full seasons, retiring with a .333 on-base-percentage and a 20.7 WAR. Yet, he never won a single award or made a single All Star Team. In 1973, he was hitting .318 with 104 hits, and 53 RBIs at the break, but was not selected to the All Star Team. He tied with Pete Rose with a .317 batting average in 1975 but was snubbed that year as well. Although he was a fan favorite in Chicago, Cardenal was never really recognized for how good he was, possibly because he was overhyped as the next Willie Mays after hitting .312 with 36 bombs with the Giants Double-A team in 1963. He never worked out in San Francisco but still went on to have a great career and although he may not be Hall of Fame worthy, Cardenal was a lot better than he gets credit for.

#17 Brian Giles

During the late 90’s and early 2000’s when Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and others were putting up video game numbers, another player was quietly smashing well over 30 home runs every year with an average over .300 – his name was Brian Giles and from 1999 to 2002 he averaged 37 homers a year. He also knew how to work walks and routinely had an on-base-percentage well above .400 every year. If a player had that four year stretch today, he would become one of the games biggest superstars. Instead, Giles went practically unnoticed. In 1999, for instance, he smashed 39 home runs with a .315 average and 115 RBIs. There are many seasons in which that would make him the frontrunner for the MVP. In 1999, however, he finished 19th in the MVP voting. An even crazier fact is that Mark McGwire smashed 65 home runs that year – and finished 5th. Giles played for 15 years and retired with a .400 on-base-percentage and 287 home runs. He made just 2 All Star teams.

#16 Tim Salmon

There was no way I could leave the biggest All Star snub in MLB history off this under-rated list. Tim Salmon was a name known by most MLB fans and did carry some star power, but somehow never made an All Star team. Salmon was a Rookie of the Year who had a 14-year career which included 5 30+ home run seasons and 8 years with a batting average over .280. In 1995, he hit .330 with 34 homers and 105 RBIs. His .884 career OPS puts him in excellent company and he is surrounded by Hall of Famers on the all-time list. The only reason he is this low on the under-rated list is because I believe the general baseball fandom appreciated his worth and he is an All-time Angels legend, but since he was never given the chance to shine at the mid-summer classic, I have to include him on this list.

#15 Jimmy Wynn

During the 60’s and 70’s, there were few players who could steal bases, hit for power and get on base like Jimmy Wynn, the Toy Cannon. He brought a ton of power to his 5’10” frame and smashed 291 career homers including 37 in 1967 and one of the most famous tape-measure shots of all time with this bomb that he sent out of Crosley Field onto the freeway. However, he could also work a walk like no one else and held the MLB record for walks in a season until Barry Bonds came along. He set that record in 1969 and also smashed 33 homers but was left off the All Star Team. His career 55.7 WAR puts him above Hank Greenberg, David Ortiz and Fred McGriff. Yet, on the Hall of Fame Ballot, Jimmy Wynn unbelievably received zero votes. As the voters usually do, they simply looked at the name and left his box unchecked instead of doing the slightest bit of research.

#14 Bobby Grich

Coming up next is a vastly underrated player who is only ranked this low because he did make 6 All Star Teams and won 4 Gold Gloves. However, when comparing Grich to other second basemen, he appears to be one of the greatest of all time and gets nowhere close to that type of respect. On The JAWS list for second baseman, he comes in at #8, above Hall of Famers Ryne Sandberg, Jackie Robinson and Craig Biggio. How is that possible? Two reasons – his ability to work a walk and his elite defense. Although he did have power, Grich only hit more than 20 home runs twice, which prevented him from entering into superstardom. However, he worked at least 75 walks 9 times in his career and retired with a .371 on-base percentage. On defense, he was probably the best in the game for a 5 year period. If you believe Jeff Kent should be in the Hall, Bobby Grich is certainly deserving as well as he had an even better OPS+ and was certainly better defensively. Grich had a 71 career WAR compared to Kent’s 55. While I believe both should be in the Hall, Kent seems to get much more support. Therefore, Bobby Grich makes today’s list as one of the most underrated MLB players of the modern era.

#13 Graig Nettles

While the outspoken and charismatic Reggie Jackson got most of the credit for being the power-hitter of the late 1970’s New York Yankees, the quiet and unassuming Graig Nettles was also smashing quite a few home runs while playing elite defense. In fact, he led the league with 32 bombs in 1976. Without him, the Yankees likely would not have made it to 3 World Series in the late 70’s and early 80’s, especially in ‘81 when he hit .500 in the ALCS, taking home MVP honors. He hit at least 20 home runs 11 times during his 22-year big league career. As a big fan of underappreciated players like Nettles, even I was shocked to see that he finished his career just 10 home runs short of 400. Also, if it weren’t for Buddy Bell and Brooks Robinson, Nettles would have won much more than 2 Gold Gloves. He fell off the Hall of Fame ballot after receiving less than 5% of the vote.

#12 Carlos Delgado

Coming up next is another massive powerhitter completely swallowed by the steroid era. It is easy to forget how good Delgado was – he came just 27 home runs short of the magic 500. In the year 2000, he somehow smashed 57 home runs with a .334 batting average and 1.134 OPS yet finished 4th for the MVP. Somehow, he only made two All Star Teams during his career. In 1998, he had 17 homers with a .308 average at the break and was left off the All Star roster. Despite the lack of All Star appearances, Delgado had a clear cut Hall of Fame career in my opinion yet received a mere 3.8% of the vote due partially to the ridiculous 10-player maximum that the writers are allowed to vote for. This rule means by definition if 11 deserving players happen to be eligible for the ballot during the same year, as a voter you are forced to leave one off. Even today, Delgado doesn’t get much Hall of Fame support and is one of the most underrated players of all time.

#11 Tommy Herr

Up next is a player who has never received full appreciation for his abilities, even going back to the draft when his name was never called. He ended up signing as an undrafted free agent with the Cardinals and became one of their most consistent players. His best season came in 1985 when he drove in 110 runs with a .302 average. He also stole 31 bases, being thrown out only 3 times. Herr retired with the best fielding percentage in the history of MLB for second basemen, yet he never won a single Gold Glove. He retired with over 1,400 hits, a .347 on-base percentage and just one All Star selection.

#10 Bobby Abreu

Another player better than most remember is Bobby Abreu, who may have not had the appearance of a superstar but did all the little things right – and some big things, as he smashed 288 career homers including 31 in 2001. Other than the long ball, Abreu compiled 2,470 hits and 1,476 walks. He had an incredibly impressive career .395 on-base-percentage, better than many Hall of Famers including Honus Wagner and Vlad Guerrero. The closer Abreu’s career is studied, the more he looks like he belongs in the Hall of Fame – he could do it all including steal bases, which he did 400 times in his career. He also played elite defense despite winning just one Gold Glove. He was underappreciated during his career, making only two All Star Teams, and so far has been underappreciated on the Hall of Fame ballot, receiving just 15.4% of the vote in 2023, although to be fair the voters from 15 years ago likely would not have voted for some one like Abreu at all.

#9 Rusty Staub

Although he made 6 All Star Teams, Rusty Staub still makes the Top 10 as he has never gotten the appreciation he deserves, except perhaps in Montreal and New York where he was a fan favorite. Staub was one of the hardest working players of all time and despite not being the most naturally talented player, he learned to work the count like few others, get on base consistently and help his team win games. His power came along in his 7th year in the big leagues when he smashed 29 home runs in ‘69 then 30 in 1970. Although he crushed 292 career bombs, his most impressive number might be the number of times he reached base in his career – an insane 4,050 times, more than even Tony Gwynn. Despite this incredible career, he fell off the Hall of Fame ballot for not reaching the 5% minimum after 7 years on the ballot.

#8 Toby Harrah

A mostly forgotten player of the 70’s and 80’s, Toby Harrah could do it all – at least at certain points in his career. He came up as a player without much power who could work a walk like no one else, but eventually decided to start going for the fences and smashed 27 bombs in 1977 while still leading the league with 109 walks. He was also good for around 20 stolen bases a year for most of his career until he slowed down in the 80’s. He did lots of the little things right to help his team win ballgames but was never really recognized as a big time superstar. Still, he retired with an 51.4 WAR, much better than most fans would expect out of Toby Harrah, if they had even heard of him in the first place. He retired with less than 50 hits shy of 2,000 and had 195 career bombs.

#7 Brett Butler

Coming in at #7 is one of my favorite players during the late 80’s, the speedy Brett Butler. He is so underrated than when I google his name, all I get is this girl. (Oh yeah yeah yea yea, the actress). Although he wasn’t a power hitter and never close to a big star, Butler is the guy who gets rallies started and the guy who scores the run when you need it. He had a great eye at the plate, could work a walk or even bunt for a hit in order to get on base. Once on base, he was an instant threat to run and retired with 558 steals, 25th on the all-time list. He covered a ton of ground in centerfield, making all the routine plays and many spectacular ones as well. He hit at least .300 5 times in his career yet made only a single All Star Game and has never been appreciated for how good he was. He retired with an impressive 2,375 hits in his career but received only two votes on the Hall of Fame ballot.

#6 John Olerud

Whenever I think of John Olerud, I remember the one defensive player who always wore a helmet on the field. I had no idea why at that time, but it turns out he had surgery in college for a brain aneurysm, which explains the helmet. Aside from the helmet, however, Olerud was quietly a fantastic player for about 15 years. He ended his career with over 2,200 hits, 500 doubles and 255 homers. He was an elite defensive first baseman and also got on base like nearly no one else, finishing his career with an on-base-percentage just under .400. Because he was not a huge power hitter, he was even more overshadowed than Carlos Delgado during the steroid era. However, he did hit at least 20 homers 5 times and retired with an impressive 58.2 WAR, better than many Hall of Famers including Willie Stargell. Most baseball fans may have had no idea just how good Olerud was and before doing the research, I was one of them, despite being a fan during his era.

#5 Willie Davis

Moving into the top 5, we have Willie Davis, a long-time Los Angeles Dodger whose prime came right in the middle of the pitcher’s era of the 60’s. He was so under-rated after retirement that despite collecting over 2,500 hits over a 17 year career, he was not deemed good enough to even appear on the a Hall of Fame Ballot. Imagine having almost 3,000 career hits in the Major Leagues and not even getting your name on the ballot. Aside from the hits, Davis was an elite defender and one of the fastest runners in the game, leading the league in triples twice and stealing 398 career bases. He took home three gold gloves, helped the Dodgers win two World Series and stayed healthy throughout most of his career, nearly always playing in at least 140 games. Despite all of that, Davis got zero Hall of Fame support, not even appearing on the ballot and to this day, is underappreciated.

#4 Jose Cruz

Up next is a man named Jose Cruz, who had to hit for years at the pitcher friendly Astrodome. He was underrated even during his playing days, possibly because he was a late bloomer who had a few sub-par years in St. Louis. However, by the 80’s, Cruz was a tough out, especially on the road, and did it for many years. In 1983, he led the league in hits. Cruz hit at least .300 6 times and hit so well for so long that he accumulated 2,251 hits in his career with a .284 batting average and .354 on-base-percentage. He was also a solid defender despite winning zero gold gloves. His 54.3 career WAR is higher than several Hall of Famers including Orlando Cepeda and Jim Rice. Had he played in a more hitter-friendly ballpark, there’s no telling what kind of numbers Cruz could have put up.

#3 Willie Randolph

Although he may not come to mind as one of the all-time Yankee greats, Willie Randolph comes in 10th on the All-Time WAR list for time spent with the New York Yankees, above A-Rod, Thurman Munson, Andy Pettite and Bernie Williams. All 9 above him are in the Hall of Fame. Randolph had an incredible knack for getting on base, combined with speed and elite defense. Among second basemen, he has the 5th highest defensive WAR of all time, but never won a Gold Glove – as Frank White and Lou Whitaker routinely won them during Randolph’s prime. In 1980, he drew a league-leading 119 walks and had an on-base-percentage of .427. Randolph retired with 2,210 hits and an incredibly impressive .373 on-base-percentage, one point higher than Kenny Lofton’s. Randolph’s career WAR is tied with Hall-of-Famer Duke Snider and better than Willie McCovey’s and Jackie Robinson’s. Yet, on the Hall of Fame ballot, Randolph got an incredibly disrespectful 1.1% of the vote.

#2 Tony Phillips

Is it possible to play 18 years in the big leagues, collect 2,000 hits, be one of the best defenders at your position and not win a single award? Tony Phillips proves that the answer is yes. One of the best players to never make an All Star Team, Tony Phillips was one of the most versatile players in the league, with the ability to play elite defense almost anywhere on the field. He also had speed and knew how to work a walk – a skillset that seems made for a list like this. He even hit 160 career home runs including 27 in 1995. Despite all he did to help his team win games, Phillips was underrated during and after his career, never receiving a single award of any kind. Since he never won a gold glove or even made an All Star Team, it’s no surprise that he got almost no support on the Hall of Fame Ballot – just one brave voter decided to check the box next to Tony Phillip’s name.

#1 Darrell Evans

Coming in as my #1 underrated player of all time is going to be Darrell Evans, who had an extraordinary 21-year career, bringing massive power and elite defense to the field every day. He won zero Gold Gloves – which can be attributed to playing in the same league at the same time as Mike Schmidt. And, no surprise, he also had a great eye and worked a ton of walks. The difference with Evans as opposed to some one of the players on this list is, he worked walks and hit for massive power, smashing 414 career homers. He has a 58.7 career WAR, a .361 on-base-percentage and averaged 25 homers and 20 doubles throughout his entire career. Somehow, despite all this, he made just two All Star Teams and got kicked off the Hall of Fame Ballot after one year. This makes no sense and in my mind, makes Darrell Evans the #1 underrated player in the history of the game.

And that does it for this week’s countdown; I hope you all enjoyed it; I put a lot of time, thought and effort into this one. I understand there are dozens of other criminally underrated players – I considered hundreds of other players, and even started this as a Top 10 but couldn’t bear to leave off some of these names so it ended up as a Top 25. Comment down below if you can think of other players who should have made or been considered for this list.