Ki Holmes                                                                     "Big Play" Ray Payne                                                       Yaki Saunders

 

Atyp-Thread Vol. 1:  Outfielders

 

Ki: Hey fellas, after watching the all-star game and the Rickey Henderson Hall of Fame induction, I started to daydream about the days of my youth. You know, OUR generation of baseball.  Can each of you name your favorite outfielders that played from 1978-present.  Let's start off with selecting our favorite left fielders. I'm going to go ahead and throw it out there, BARRY!  Please note that I am willing to defend both skinny and big head Barry. Who do you all got and why?

 

Yaki: Greatest left fielders of OUR generation?? Bonds is definitely in the discussion, and I have two more that I would add to the conversation, and they are Rickey Henderson and Manny Ramirez..  Henderson is the greatest lead-off hitter of all-time and the greatest base stealer of all-time. Ramirez is probably one of the four of five greatest right handed hitters ever to play the game.

 

Ray:  Rickey Henderson (No disrespect to Barry): Ten time All-Star, 1990 MVP Gold, 1991 Glove Award. Plus, Rickey Took Oakland A's to the ship! He won the Series with the Blue Jays too, but I'll always remember him with the A's. My man made the Jheri curl cool & stylish. Outside of being a great outfielder, he's on the all-time list for BOTH stolen bases and hits.  One of the greatest dual-threat athletes to ever grace the diamond.  I wasn't a great hitter as a kid but thanks to watching Rickey, I loved to steal bases. Base stealing added a certain level of excitement to the game back in the 80’s.   I wonder what Ricky's 40 yard dash time would have been?

 

Ki: It seems to me that if Barry spoke in 3rd person like your 2 picks, he might have had a chance?  Are YOU CRAZY? You all are just as clownish as your candidates. How are you gonna leave 762 homeruns off of the Atypical Generation All-Time Outfield?  Juice or no juice, he bringing that Vitamin B. B stands for base hits, boldness, and brazen ballerism. Please don’t forget that Barry has more gold gloves than Rickey and Manny being Manny, COMBINED. 8! Did you all forget about the MVP trophies? I guess all it takes is a Jheri Curl or some dookie dreads and that will pique your interests. Yall disgust me. Yaki, can you make your final decision on your left fielder? <sigh>

 

Yaki:No disrespect to Barry or Rickey, but I’ve never heard of Barrywood or Rickeywood, there is a Mannywood though. What Ramirez has accomplished is mind boggling.

 

-       9 straight seasons of 30 or more HRs & 100 RBI (Only Babe Ruth  has  more)

-       21 grand slams (2nd only to Lou Gehrig)

-       2-Time World Series Champion

-       12-Time All-Star

 

And I saved the best for last because it’s what separates Manny from Barry and Rickey or anyone else.

The POST SEASON:

 

Manny is arguably the greatest post season hitter of all-time. His 15 game LCS hitting streak ties Pete Rose and his 28 home runs and 74 RBI is 1st all-time, let me repeat that, 1st ALL-TIME. Did I mention that he also has a World Series MVP? He does it when the lights are on, when it counts the most, and that’s what separates the all-time greats from the GREATEST.

 

Ray: Gotta agree with Yaki on the one point that "Big Head" Barry's individual statistical accomplishments, while eye-popping, never seemed to translate into postseason success.  To steal the phrase from former NFL coach Herm Edwards "You play - to WIN - the game".

While Balco Barry's numbers are good, he could never be the catalyst to lift his team into a World Series Banner.  While I will plead guilty to falling into the hysteria surrounding him hitting homeruns into the cove, what else does he have?  Tons of stats, no Rings.  And finally while Big Swoll Barry was an outstanding player in his own right, the original criteria was "Left Fielder".  Truth be told Barry wasn't really a great outfielder in the latter years of his career.  Some games he was actually a liability on D.  His outrageous ability to smash balls out of the park made him an exception to the rule though.  P.S. My player nominee won't have an asterisk by his name in the HOF.

 

Ki:  Hi haters!  So I guess 8 Gold Gloves don’t count? 7 MVP trophies! The next closest person with multiple MVP trophies only has 3.  Big Head…I mean Mr. Bonds more than doubled that.  Regardless, it looks like we split on the Left Field.  I got Bonds, Yaki is going with Manny and Ray is sticking with Mr. Jheri Curl man.  Hey, before we go to the next topic of centerfield, did you know that Ted Williams was of Mexican descent? His mother was a Mexican-American from El Paso Texas.  Yaki,  go ahead and pick your centerfielder. I predict we will all have the SAME dude. We BETTER!

 

Yaki:  We all know who the greatest center fielder of our generation is, but I’m going to veer off a little to the left with my sentimental pick. He’s from Chi-city so I guess I’m a little biased. He wasn’t the biggest, fastest, or strongest, but he played center field with style and grace.

I’m talking about Kirby Puckett.  You don’t immediately think great when you hear the name Kirby Puckett, but he was GREAT. Where should I start, 10 straight all-star appearances, 6 gold gloves, 1 all-star game MVP, 1 ALCS MVP, and 2 World Series rings? His .318 lifetime batting average is the highest of any right handed hitting player in this era. And none of us will ever forget his performance in the 1991 World Series. So, from one Chi-Towner to the next, it’s Kirby Puckett. And let’s not forget he’s a first ballot Hall of Famer.

 

Ray:  Excuse me while I clean my screen.  There must be a malfunction with my laptop.  Did I just read Kirby Puckett?  NO WAY!  I agree he gets an honorable mention, but that's obviously a true homer pick.  Surely you just threw that out there for the sake of argument.

I'm going with the man with perhaps the sweetest swing of all time.  KEN GRIFFEY JR.  This dude made hitting a ball so pretty to watch.  Let's take note, he was on pace to shatter all the hitting stats before his injury-plagued second half of his career.  More HR's in the first 7 years of his career than any player I can remember, and without chemical assistance.  I won't bore you spitting out all his stats and awards.  He doesn't need them.   Ken Griffey Jr. is hands-down the greatest of our generation, nobody else is close.  Even WITH the injuries he's still head and shoulders beyond anyone else.....

  

Ki:  Okay guys, I am seriously concerned about Yaki. Are you on the medicine that was prescribed to Kirby due to his eye problems? Or did Kirby drag you into a restroom and grope this response out of you? Sometimes I think that Chicago City tap water is thicker than blood with you.  But I ain’t mad at you, just slightly concerned bruh.   Since Ray selected the player that I secretly think is the best centerfielder in our era, I think it is time for a my very own sentimental pick.  Eric Davis is my dude. He was the hammer, screwdriver, drill, wrench and the ruler.  5 tools baby!  What I loved most about my dude was how he scaled those walls and stole those rockets out of the air. He was Cincinnati’s own Star Wars defense system wearing a glove and high-top red shoes.  And most importantly, he was a winner. Not only did he and his Reds beat the A’s in the 1990 World Series, my dude beat COLON CANCER!  Yo Ray,  let us allow Yaki some recovery time while you give us your Atyp Generation All-Time Right fielder.

 

Ray:  OK, while Yaki goes to rehab I guess I'll throw out a couple names.  I think this is one of the hardest positions to vote on.  I sat and thought about this pick for a while because there are a few names bouncing around in my head and to separate them is almost impossible.  I'm going to have to go with TONY GWYNN.  (Sorry guys my era is slightly after "Charlie Hustle").  And Slammin' Sammy, Ichiro, Vlad "the Impaler, and Gary Sheffield were on my list too.  But if we have to only pick ONE guy for right field I'm going to have to go with Gynn.  A guy who had over 3,000 hits, and numerous batting titles.  He may not have the same stats as some of the other guys, but he played well into his 30's and in my opinion was one of the most consistent hitters in MLB history.

---Hours Later (No response from Yaki yet)---

 

Ki:  Is Yaki alive?  I bet he is probably in his numbers crunching machine still making a case for Kirby.

Yaki:  Right field the hardest, yeah if you have blinders on. This is a NO BRAINER. It’s the deuce-deuce kissing, home run hopping, SLAMMIN SAMMY baby. Secretly, Gwynn is your sentimental pick huh? lol…..Sosa helped make baseball relevant again. Baseball was dying before Sosa and McGuire resurrected it in 1998. All you have to look at is 66/158, 63/141, and 64/160. Then throw in an invitation to the 30/30 club for good measure in 1993; 33 home runs and 36 stolen bases. Ray, Tony Gwynn just hit ANOTHER base hit up the middle……… SUCKA

 

Ki:  Glad to see you are back Yakillinois.  Chi-ki.  Yacook County.  Dude, that city water needs a filter. So you telling me your outfield consist of Manny Ramirez LF, Kirby Puckett CF and Sammy Sosa RF? I think I can get a hit if I lob it in the gaps. Manny’s glove got a hole in it, Kirby can’t see it, and if Sammy tries to throw me out he will overthrow it to the back stop with all that “abnormal” strength. The personality of your outfield  if unstable. I will call your dudes the Three Stooges.   I’m going to go ahead and rewind Ray’s pick and go with Tony Gwynn.  He reminds me of Nice and Smooth because he comes back with “More and More Hits”.  His .338 batting average is highest amongst ANY Black player in MLB history!  I like my outfield. Barry Bonds LF.  Eric Davis CF. Tony Gwynn RF. I bet my squad would destroy any yours in a 3 on 3 pickup game too! Did you know that Tony Gwynn had a jumper too. LOL.  Any last words?

 

Yaki:  The “greatest”, is actually pretty subjective. I think the greatest-best right and left fielders the past 30 years is up for debate, but it’s clear who the greatest center fielder is. It’s Ken Griffey. Now, with the PED’s questions, the entire era is on trial. Whether it’s HGH, steroids, or amphetamines (late 70’s and 80’s) EVERYONE is under suspicion. So for me, there is no asterisk. Let the numbers decide. And Manny, Barry, and Sammy would concur. And if over eating is a performance enhancer than Gwynn would also concur.

 

Ray:  I have to agree my boy Griffey is the greatest center fielder.  I'm not sure how I feel about the Performance Enhancing Drug era?  One side of me says yes, if guys like Sosa, McGwire, Sosa, Sheffield, etc. were dirty they shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence with the greats such as Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Ty Cobb, etc.  That's just the sports fan in me.  But the argument is, who's to say any of those guys weren't taking anything for an edge back then when there were no tests?  Who's to say other sports players in the Hall of Fame were clean? I mean it's not like the NFL, NHL, and NBA are squeaky clean either, but nobody is questioning guys like Anthony Munoz, Michael Irvin, Mean Joe Greene, or Lawerence Taylor's stats and putting an asterisk by their names?  Hard to imagine a guy who does lines of coke the night before a game would morally refuse to take steroids.  So where exactly do we draw the line?  I know when the debates come out I usually tend to side with the guy who's "clean" over anyone else, but in today's sports what exactly is "clean"?  The lines have gotten so blurred nobody is sure anymore.  And just because the guys named in the Balco scandal were dirty, how do we know that dozens more players weren't dirty also but just never got caught?  That's a whole different topic, let's move on to the next position.  Who's next?  Third-Base?  Shortstop? First-base?

 

Ki:  We will continue that topic later. I am still waiting on Yaki's drug test results to see if he still qualifies as an Atyp Columnist. Until next time yall!

 

                ----August 10, 2009----