Past or present, who's the Steve Yzerman of baseball?

[Tigerfan1974]

The Detroit Red Wings Steve Yzerman is my favorite athlete of all-time for reasons listed below:

1.)Loyal to one team his entire career
2.)Humble leadership
3.)Honed his skills to star staus on both offense and defense
4.)Great with the media and fans
5.)Physically and mentally tough

...is there a player in the history of baseball who has this entire package?

There have been sebveral. Most recently, Ripken comes to mind.

As far as current players, I can think of no one in particular that has been with one team for all their career, someone of longevity that is, and meets the criteria you set out.

[ballparks]

Ripken, Ripken, Ripken

[Blackout]

How about the late Kirby Puckett

I'm afraid Kirby probably had too many off-the-field issues to fit this catagory

[abacab]

How about the late Kirby Puckett

If I had to pick one guy that best fits all the qualifications, it'd be Ripken.

[MyDogSparty]

Who is Steve Yzerman? Just for those of those who think Hockey is a joke and not worth caring one iota about.

Is that a serious question or are you purposely trying to come off like an A-hole?

[SABR Matt]

Who is Steve Yzerman? Just for those of those who think Hockey is a joke and not worth caring one iota about.

[Blackout]

not to be a yankees homer here, but...

[mlazar]

My Dog Sparty wrote:

The Detroit Red Wings Steve Yzerman is my favorite athlete of all-time for reasons listed below:

1.)Loyal to one team his entire career
2.)Humble leadership
3.)Honed his skills to star staus on both offense and defense
4.)Great with the media and fans
5.)Physically and mentally tough

...is there a player in the history of baseball who has this entire package?

Tony Gwynn comes to mind....

[538280]

Just one man fits that criteria and more...Lou Gehrig

Gehrig really wasn't that great on defense.

The first player that came to my mind is Brooks Robinson.

[baseballPAP]

I have to agree with another poster....Johnny Bench hits this one square on. Stayed with the Reds throughout, great on offense and defense, a team leader and the media loved the guy. Played his last 5 years on knees that would barely hold him up at times...and as a catcher for a lot of that time.

[Yankee Legend]

Just one man fits that criteria and more...Lou Gehrig

[MyDogSparty]

I can think of lots of guys unless you elect to be anal about your criteria. Tommy Henrich, Gil Hodges, Derke Jeter, Yogi Berra, Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, etc. It is a very long list.

I'm pretty particular about the first criteria of having played your entire career with one franchise. That one means a lot to me. I'm not saying guys like Aaron, Berra, Hodges, Mays, etc. are any less of a player or person but lasting your entire career with one franchise is VERY difficult to do, especially today and I really respect the player and the franchise that is able to work things out year after year after year.

MDS, you can look no further (referring to Detroit here) than Al Kaline. Like Stevie Y, Kaline waited a long time to win it all. He certainly fits your other ciriteria.

I'm not convinced that Kaline was good with the media when he was a player. I grew up in Detroit and from what I remember he was a somewhat tempermental guy. He had a little edge to him that took with him right into the broadcasting booth. He's mellowed much over the years much like Frank Robinson but was a tad immature when he was a player. Granted, he never spent a day in the minor leagues and I'm sure that can explain a lot of his moods but Yzerman was a kid too and he's handled himself and the media almost his entire career with class. I almost think that if you're looking for strickly Detroit athletes, Alan Trammell and Joe Dumars (NBA) would fit the bill pretty closely.

Brooks Robinson was the first person I thought of when I posed this question but he wasn't the offensive star that Yzerman was. I think Ripken fits the mold about as well as Brooks. Biggio is a good suggestion because he was a little more balanced offensively and defensively. And he's made positional sacrifices for the good of his team. Jeter? We'll have to wait and see on him. A couple of players that I thought of who were before my time were Stan Musial and Ernie Banks.

[Captain Cold Nose]

yogi berra went to the Mets at the end of his career though

Eddie Mathews, also on KCGhosts's list, also does not qualify based on criteria No. 1. same with Hank Aaron.
MDS, you can look no further (referring to Detroit here) than Al Kaline. Like Stevie Y, Kaline waited a long time to win it all. He certainly fits your other ciriteria.

[Blackout]

Sarcasm, right?

somewhat

[Blackout]

I can think of lots of guys unless you elect to be anal about your criteria. Tommy Henrich, Gil Hodges, Derek Jeter, Yogi Berra, Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, etc. It is a very long list.

yogi berra went to the Mets at the end of his career though