The 4 best players for the Pirates are 3 guys who spent their entire career with the Pirates (Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente) and one guy who was pillaged from another team that it actually changed the team name to the Pirates (Honus Wagner).
All obvious choices, but what about the unsung legends of our favorite franchises lore?
Who are the guys who likely won't be in the Hall of Fame, who won't have a statue outside a ballpark, and who won't have their number retired?
Who are those guys that fans of the franchise will talk about for many years to come?
I think we all know who I'm going to lead off with on my Mount Rushmore of Pirates legends not in HOF, number retired, or bronze statues....
Andrew McCutchen
Now for a pair of guys who were legends on the 1979 World Series Championship Pirates
As you descend into "The Pitt" my Pittsburgh sports theme bar area in my basement I have some great pieces of artwork by Dan Horine of Popflyshop.
Dave Parker
Another MVP winner, but also a member of the last time the Pirates won the World Series, Parker was a batting champion, All-Star MVP, Gold Glove winner with the Pirates before going on to be a member of
Kent Tekulve
His most famous years were with the Pirates when he was the closer for the 1979 World Series Champions. He later went on to be in the bullpens of the Phillies and Reds. He also served as the post game analyst for the Pirates home games over the past few decades before officially retiring a few seasons ago.
Temporarily hanging up in the utility area of "The Pitt" is this canvas photo signed by Steve Blass and Manny Sanguillen.
Steve Blass
An odd choice I know, when you consider guys like Jason Bay, Jason Kendall, Barry Bonds (he will be remember more as a Giant), Al Oliver, Manny Sanguillen will be omitted, but I have to give it to Steve Blass who was the pitcher on the mound when the Pirates won the 1971 World Series and would later go on to broadcast for the Pirates for nearly three decades.
Who are the top 4 non hall of famers on your favorite team?
Interesting topic! For the Red Sox I'm assuming Dustin Pedroia will fall short of the HOF so he'll lead off my list. After that I'll go with Dwight Evans, Luis Tiant, and Nomar.
ReplyDeleteI have to respectfully disagree - any Red Sox non-HOF Mount Rushmore has to include Johnny Pesky! Since I'm a hopeful optimist that feels Evans and Tiant might one day get their due, I'll replace them on your list with Pesky and Varitek.
DeleteKC Royals, Amos Otis, Lou Pinella, Hal McRae, Frank White.
ReplyDeleteBill Freehan, Mickey Lolich, Bobby Veach, and Norm Cash.
ReplyDeleteI like it too! I don't really have a favorite team, but one that I always liked for the Pirates growing up was Tony Pena.
ReplyDeleteNon Hall of Famers? David Wright, Dwight Gooden, Jerry Koosman, and Edgardo Alfonzo. You can make a strong case for Darryl Strawberry or Carlos Beltrán over Fonzie, but Beltrán isn't nearly as beloved among Mets fans, and I didn't want to go with both Doc and Straw given their drug histories and all. Keith Hernandez merits consideration, too, but he wasn't with the team as long, and anyway he really should be in the Hall of Fame.
ReplyDeleteKoosman's number was retired last year, and Hernandez' number gets the treatment this year; Wright's undoubtedly will follow at some point. If we make it guys who likely won't have their numbers retired, I guess it's Gooden, Beltrán, Strawberry, and Alfonzo, but the latter is the only guy there with a clean record, so to speak.
The Oakland A's have plenty of fan favorites that don't have a plaque in Cooperstown, so I'm just going to pick four guys who I really, really like:
ReplyDeleteBert Campaneris, Joe Rudi, Dave Stewart, and Carney Lansford
And here's Padres Mt. Rushmore: Jake Peavy, Ken Caminiti, Randy Jones, and Adrian Gonzalez
I'd put Ralph Kiner ahead of Mazeroski for the Pirates.
ReplyDeleteFor non-HOFers for my Yankees - Munson, Mattingly, Maris, Elston Howard. Maybe Allie Reynolds ahead of Maris.
Maz hit one of the most memorable HR of all time and was part of 2WS while being dubbed the best glove at 2nd Base ever in the history of the game. Maz is much more loved in Pittsburgh than Kiner.
DeleteFor the Non-HOF Cubs, I would go with Stan Hack, Charlie Root, Mark Grace, and Randy Hundley.
ReplyDelete