538 replies to this topic

[mweb08]

Eddie Murray is one of the greatest baseball players of my lifetime even though his careers started before '79. Could have worded the excerise better or at least chaned the standards for qualifications. Maybe anyone who played the majority or all of their career after '80.

 

I hear you. It's tough to determine a proper cutoff so we just started with the years of our birth. I certainly didn't want to get into anything where we'd only be considering part of a guys career because that's silly and overly complex imo. 

 

I also think that most guys that had their career start before '79 and would be considered for this, had their best years before myself and probably Rob really personally remember watching them, at least somewhat intelligently. Murray for instance wasn't that great for the most part from '87 on. He also would be very borderline for this list imo.

[You Play to Win the Game]

Eddie Murray is one of the greatest baseball players of my lifetime even though his careers started before '79. Could have worded the excerise better or at least chaned the standards for qualifications. Maybe anyone who played the majority or all of their career after '80.

Had to have some cutoff point and we decided to do the year we were born.
 
Guys like Eddie, Ozzie Smith, Trammel, Whitaker and Molitor just miss out.
 
And btw, Eddie may not make the list anyway.

Agreed... you have to have a cut off and then roll with it. It's easy to pick knits but I'm fine with the decision. I'm really looking forward to this. I can already tell it's going to incite some serious debate.

[mweb08]

Had to have some cutoff point and we decided to do the year we were born.

 

Guys like Eddie, Ozzie Smith, Trammel, Whitaker and Molitor just miss out.

 

And btw, Eddie may not make the list anyway.

 

I was actually born in '80 you geezer! 

 

None of those guys are for sure top 20 players anyway so I don't think we're missing out on a ton. Same for football and basketball when we get to those. 

[Pedro Cerrano]

I'll be most interested to see how you guys rank pitchers, especially with the roids era taken into account (the era, but not each individual player roiding).

 

I think Clemens easily had the best career overall of any pitcher who debuted since 1979 and I'd say that Pedro had the best peak ('99-'01).  Then you have guys like Randy Johnson who eventually won 4 straight Cy Young awards but was a loose cannon early on in his career.

 

Also, gotta take titles into account, the Braves' guys, as great as they were, only won it all once.

 

Boy, did you figure out how much I love lists!

[SportsGuy]

I was actually born in '80 you geezer! 

 

None of those guys are for sure top 20 players anyway so I don't think we're missing out on a ton. Same for football and basketball when we get to those. 

I always knew there was a reason I seemed vastly more mature and wise than you. 

[SammyBirdland]

Another thing we will have to weigh is the steroids stuff.
 

Neither Mike, nor myself, care all that much about it but if perhaps when you are deciding between one or another, that may come into play.

 

I have my prelim list as well...Have 21 names...have to take away one of them obviously.

 

That is definitely an interesting angle for athletes post-1979.

 

[mweb08]

Ah, yes, I forgot about Lance and cycling all together for this. 

[mweb08]

BTW, when we get to hockey and soccer athletes, I think both Rob and I would be appreciative of any input from any fans of those sports.

[SammyBirdland]

Ah, yes, I forgot about Lance and cycling all together for this. 

 

Granted, everyone in the freaking sport of cycling is doping, but it's an interesting conundrum nonetheless.

[mweb08]

Granted, everyone in the freaking sport of cycling is doping, but it's an interesting conundrum nonetheless.

 

Yeah, like I said, I won't consider it that much. I think Lance is a douche, but I'll try to rank him fairly. The only problem with that is I have no clue what would be fair for a cyclist and I don't care about that sport at all.

[JeremyStrain]

BTW, when we get to hockey and soccer athletes, I think both Rob and I would be appreciative of any input from any fans of those sports.

 

Hockey time, I'm your guy.

[SammyBirdland]

Yeah, like I said, I won't consider it that much. I think Lance is a douche, but I'll try to rank him fairly. The only problem with that is I have no clue what would be fair for a cyclist and I don't care about that sport at all.

 

He's gotta be at the top or near the top as far as athletes in individual sports go.

 

After beating testicular cancer that spread to his lungs and brain, he won the absolutely grueling Tour de France in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, making him the first cyclist to ever win six times.

[Pedro Cerrano]

BTW, I think I'm persona non grata in terms of being a guest, but in case I'm not I'd love to come on during the NBA portion.  I think me and, say, Beaner would form a great round-table discussion about the 20 best NBA players basically since Magic/Bird joined the league.

[mweb08]

I'll be most interested to see how you guys rank pitchers, especially with the roids era taken into account (the era, but not each individual player roiding).

 

I think Clemens easily had the best career overall of any pitcher who debuted since 1979 and I'd say that Pedro had the best peak ('99-'01).  Then you have guys like Randy Johnson who eventually won 4 straight Cy Young awards but was a loose cannon early on in his career.

 

Also, gotta take titles into account, the Braves' guys, as great as they were, only won it all once.

 

Boy, did you figure out how much I love lists!

 

I would consider how the player did in the playoffs much more so than how many titles his team won. For instance, Smoltz was one of the best postseason pitchers in this era so I can't hold the 1 title thing against him at all.

[JeremyStrain]

I would consider how the player did in the playoffs much more so than how many titles his team won. For instance, Smoltz was one of the best postseason pitchers in this era so I can't hold the 1 title thing against him at all.

 

Mr. Underrated, Andy Pettite.

[mweb08]

BTW, I think I'm persona non grata in terms of being a guest, but in case I'm not I'd love to come on during the NBA portion.  I think me and, say, Beaner would form a great round-table discussion about the 20 best NBA players basically since Magic/Bird joined the league.

 

I can't say you've been at the top of my guest list, but this could be possible if for nothing else, to give bnickle what he wants.   I wonder if his offer to pay for something like this is still on the table?

 

We won't be getting to basketball until after the Finals, though so we have that additional info.

[mweb08]

Mr. Underrated, Andy Pettite.

 

He's been good, Smoltz was better.

[Pedro Cerrano]

The hardest guys to rank will be guys like Durant, Irving, Rose, Westbrook, etc...the young superstars who MIGHT accomplish a lot down the line but haven't yet.

[SammyBirdland]

[JeremyStrain]

He's been good, Smoltz was better.

 

Yeah I'd have Smoltz ahead too, just answering the part about ATL guys only winning 1, Pettite won a couple, but I've always thought he didn't get enough credit. Hard to say that with him being a Yankee and all, but I think he's one of the top pitchers in that era for sure.