Now, to put this in context…I listen to ESPN on the radio (1370 AM locally for those of you that are interested) and it comes in just a little bit louder than the Rap station that is right next to it so…well, more often than not, I can understand what the hell they are saying.
They came up with a good relevant baseball question last night, and one I would like to propose to you.
I want everyone to put out their all time all star team, …starting with the year 1970 and on…mainly because, I didnt see Mays play, I didnt see Ruth play (neither did you), and well, …you get the point.
So lets start with 1970 and go from there (hence the reason for the “*” in the heading):
I want 1 position player from every postion, 1 thru 9, along with a right handed pitcher, a left handed pitcher, and…well yes, a DH. I absolutely despise the DH but its good for conversation no?
Here are my picks by position: (1=P, 2=C, 3=1b, 4=2b, 5=3b, 6=SS, 7=LF, 8=CF, 9=RF)
1. Roger Clemens (Righty)…yeah, he may have a needle in his ass but cummon. Its hard to deny what the man has done, steroids or not.
1. Sandy Koufax (Lefty) …yeah, well, he may have had a short career but when he was on it was “lights out!”
2. Johnny Bench …Ok, I know Piazza is the all time prolific offensive player in the history of the game at that position, and I love him for it…but lets face it, he didnt have the defensive skills to match. Johhny will turn it on and turn our good starting rotation into a great starting rotation.
3. Albert Pujols …Cummon, gimme an argument on that one!
4. OK, here is where it gets tricky. I know everyone is expecting me to say Joe Morgan but I am going to go with Roberto Alomar. He only had a few good years during his prime…and then got the flu one day and managed to clear out his phlegm on an umpires face. That part aside…when you consider gove work along side of what you can do in the box…he was the best I have ever seen. I know Morgan stole a ton…but that has a lot to do with the manager as well.
5. Mike Schmidt…but Chipper Jones might have something to say about that before he retires…so might David Wright.
6. Alex Rodriquez …people forget that he was a shortstop once. I love Jeter with all of my heart…and I once thought that Garciaparra might have been beter than both of them. At the time though, I didnt realize that he was more brittle than Chipper Jones.
7. Barry Bonds …I know the “juiced up” Bonds played better than anyone else in the history of the game…but lets take a look at the skinny Bonds…the one prior to the McGuire/Sosa era…he wasnt so bad either. Steroids or not, he is the most prolific offensive player I have ever seen on the field…and probably ever will. He is the perfect combination of speed and power. No other player in the “history” of the game has ever reached the 400/400 plateau….(that is 400 HR’s and 400 steals to you science geeks that might happen to read this article.) ….but Barry reached the 500/500 plateau…and might have even reached even higher had he not turned the juice on. He is the absolute best I have ever seen…Pujols is close.
8. Ken Griffey Jr. …Griff’s main problem is…well, hell. He gets hurt to damned much. But when he was younger and when he wasnt hurt…no pitcher in either league wanted to face him. He can go back on a ball as well as anyone, he can leap, dive…hell, he used to be worth the price of admission just to watch him play defense. I would have loved to have witnessed his career come to an end without all of the injuries that he has endured and to see what kind of numbers the “Kid” could have put up.
9. This is kind of a toughie! …I guess, off the top of my head, I am going to go with Ricky Henderson because I need a leadoff hitter and why not start w/ the best?
10. DH …Manny Ramirez…one of the most prolific right handed hitters of our day…and one of the most entertaining outfielders of our day…thats why he is my DH.
So, if you got the mojo to put your team up on the board then I am all ears! 
First group exempting probable cheaters. Second accepting probable steroid users & cheats.
1. Greg Maddux RHP. No need to elaborate.
1. Steve Carlton LHP. Koufax was done in ’66, buddy.
2. Johnny Bench. Piazza is the greatest offensive catcher in history, but also the worst defensive.
3. Jeff Bagwell. Check his career stats….a young Bagwell was the present day Albert Pujols, except better.
4. Morgan. The underrated Jeff Kent was close.
5. Schmidt. Best ever.
6. Barry Larkin. Second is Ozzie Smith, whose defense alone made him akin to the average shortstop hitting .330.
7. Rickey Henderson. No one else is close in LF (he only played 27 games in RF, jadarm, with three of those filling in during the late innings.).
8. Griffey. One of the few times that the experts correctly predicted a phenom (remember the heralded Mets young arms in the 90s, with Bill Pulcipher leading the way?)
9. Albert Belle. The stats don’t lie, he was dominating. Mostly played LF, but a few seasons in right qualify.
Including Cheaters:
1. Roger Clemens
1. Carlton.
2. Bench.
3. Mark McGwire.
4. Morgan.
5. Mike Schmidt. Chipper is second.
6. Alex Rodriquez. Too bad that I can’t include Ripken, but his was longevity instead of dominance. Same goes for Yount.
7. Barry Bonds. Easy.
8. Ken Griffey.
9. Pete Rose. Sorry, Sammy, Bonds & Griffey were better and you can’t argue against 4,000 hits.
10. DH …Manny Ramirez. Canseco, 2nd.
Interesting point: throughout the entire steroid saga, who’d have thought that the truth telling machine was Jose Canseco?