Best vs. Favorite

[ElHalo]

I just wanted to know if anybody had a list of favorite players at each position that remotely resembled their list of the best players at each position. For me, not a single one matches:

Best:

C: Berra (or Gibson)
1B: Gehrig
2B: Hornsby
SS: Wagner
3B: Traynor
LF: Williams
CF: Cobb
RF: Ruth

RHP: W. Johnson
LHP: Grove

Favorite:

C: Bresnahan
1B: Foxx
2B: B. Martin
SS: Jeter
3B: McGraw
LF: Delahanty
CF: P. Martin
RF: Strawberry

RHP: Dean
LHP: Waddell

Not a single guy from the first list shows up on the second. Do other people have their all time greats as favorites, or no?

[moviegeekjan]

Favorites invariably are going to be players/teams that we follow more closely... and definitely less objective

Best:

C: Berra
1B: Gehrig
2B: Hornsby
SS: Wagner
3B: Schmidt
LF: Williams
CF: Mays (or Cobb)
RF: Ruth

RHP: W. Johnson
LHP: Grove

Favorite:

C: Tim McCarver (or Ted Simmons)
1B: Albert Pujols (can interchange with Musial)
2B: Craig Counsell
SS: Ozzie Smith
3B: Ken Boyer (or Eddie Mathews)
LF: Stan Musial
CF: Curt Flood
RF: Hank Aaron

RHP: Bob Gibson
LHP: Randy Johnson

[west coast orange and black]

good idea, eh

c: johnny bench
1b: willie mc covey
2b: robby thompson
3b: brooks robinson
ss: tito fuentes
lf: barry bonds
c: willie mays
rf: roberto clemente

p: juan marichal

seen 'em all on the field doin' their thing.

[Yankees7]

A novel idea

Just my favorites

C-Berra
1B-Greenburg
2B-J. Robinson
3B-Mathews
SS-Wagner
OF-Mantle
OF-DiMaggio
OF-Musial

P-Reynolds
P-Ford
P-Roberts
P-Score
P-Spahn

RP-Page
RP-Labine
RP-Face
RP-Kinder

[WillieMaysHayes]

I'll pass on who I feel is the best at each position, but I will offer my favorites at each position.

C) Yogi Berra (The only guy on my list I never saw play)
1B) Don Mattingly (the only reason to watch the Yanks in the 80's)
2B) Pete Rose (He did start there)
3B) Mike Schmidt ( also the best)
SS) Derek Jeter (the definition of a gamer)
LF) Carl Yastrzemski (nobody ever did so much for one team as he did in 1967)
CF) Mickey Mantle (My first baseball hero)
RF) Reggie Jackson (He made the Yanks winners again)
RH) Nolan Ryan (not the best, but we'll nevr see another like him)
LH) Ron Guidry (Never seems to get the credit he deserves)
RP) Mariano Rivera (The most important player of the current run)

[DoubleX]

Favorites are in parentheses, and I don't have any favorites played before I was born or can really remember following baseball:

1B: Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx (Eddie Murray, Tino Martinez)
2B: Eddie Collins, Rogers Hornsby (Alfonso Soriano, Willie Randolph)
SS: Honus Wagner, Alex Rodriguez (Derek Jeter, Barry Larkin - I always feel like a girl when I admit Jeter is my favorite)
3B: Mike Schmidt, George Brett (George Brett, Wade Boggs)
C: Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra (Gary Carter, Jorge Posada)
LF: Ted Williams, Stan Musial (Shane Spencer, Rickey Henderson - Was Barry Bonds for a long time)
CF: Willie Mays, Ty Cobb (Bernie Williams, Lenny Dykstra)
RF: Babe Ruth, Hank Aaon (Paul O'Neill, Tony Gwynn)

[ElHalo]

Jeter and Strawberry are my only favorites that I've actually seen play; Jeter because he's Jeter, and Strawberry because he had the prettiest swing I've ever seen, and that nifty (if pointless and detrimental to the team) way of catching pop flies. The others are the guys who really made me love baseball... the guys I read about as a kid who made me love the game more than watching it ever could (well, at least watching it in the 80's).

[JohnnysGhost]

Favorites

Certainly Not The Best,but without a doubt my favorites...From The 1960's...1b-Bill White/Willie McCovey. 2b-Bill Mazeroski/Dick McAuliffe SS-Luis Aparicio/Maury Wills..3b-Brooks Robinson/Harmon Killerbrew..C-Bill Freehan,Elston Howard...OF-Carl Yaz/Al Kaline/Frank Robinson,Willie Mays/Henry Aaaron/Roberto Clemente...P-Sandy Koufax/Juan Marichal/Mudcat Grant/Dick Radatz/Hoyt Whilhem/Gary Peters/Chris Short/Bob Gibson.....My favorite era by the way....

[The Dude]

My favorites I would probably list are the guys I love to argue for or am amazed at things they did or have significance that reaches outside just being a fan of the game.

Best-
Catcher-Bench/Berra (i've never really come to a strict conclusion on which is the best)
1B-Lou Gehrig
2B-Eddie Collins
3B-Mike Schmidt
SS-Honus Wagner
LF-Stan Musial
CF-Ty Cobb
RF-Babe Ruth

RHP-Walter Johnson
LHP-Randy Johnson

Favorite-
Catcher-Ted Simmons
1B-Johnny Mize
2B-Jackie Robinson
3B-Wade Boggs/Paul Molitor (since I didn't liste a DH position)
SS-Robin Yount
LF-Stan Musial
CF-Ken Griffey Jr. (the first positional player outside of Milwaukee that I loved to follow)/Richie Ashburn
RF-Rocky Colavito

RHP-Ben Sheets (the first briht sign for Brewers pitching since Teddy Higuera)
LHP-Randy Johnson

So 2 sames. Unit and Musial.

[DoubleX]

I kind of think it's hard to surmise favorites without actually seeing a player play. Accounts and retrospects can only recreate so much, but I don't think one can ever fully gauge a players personality, the way they play and approach the game, and the way the fans react to them, without actually seeing them. That's just my opinion.

[therealnod]

Echoing what John said in the second post, my favorites are invariably tied to the Cardinals I saw play.

1B--Lou Gehrig
2B--Rogers Hornsby
3B--Mike Schmidt
SS--Honus Wagner
OF--Ted Williams
OF--Willie Mays
OF--Stan Musial
C---Johnny Bench
RHP-Roger Clemens
LHP-Randy Johnson (special mention for Lefty Grove because it's close)

My favorites are inevitable for me:
1B--Albert Pujols
2B--Tommy Herr
3B--Scott Rolen
SS--Duh
OF--Ray Lankford
OF--Willie McGee
OF--Lonnie Smith
RHP-Bob Gibson (special mention for Daryl Kile)
LHP-John Tudor/"Headache" Joe Magrane
Announcer--Jack Buck

(This is the reason I don't really have favorite players anymore. I tend to root for all players that don't play for the Cubs. )

[ElHalo]

Echoing what John said in the second post, my favorites are invariably tied to the Cardinals I saw play.

This I don't really get. My three favorite outfielders that I've seen in my lifetime -- Manny Ramirez, Ichiro Suzuki, and Daryll Strawberry -- only had a few brief backup years (Daryll) playing for my Yanks, and all had their heydays elsewhere. I just appreciate players, regardless of what uniform they happen to be wearing.

[Myankee4life]

Best
1b Gehrig
2b Hornsby
ss Wagner
3b Schmidt
of Williams
of Cobb
of Ruth
c Berra

rhp W Johnson
lhp L Grove

Favorites
1b Gehrig/Foxx/Pujols
2b soriano
3b chavez
ss Jeter
of Dimaggio
of Mantle
of Williams/cobb
c Berra/Posada

rhp K Brown
lhp A Pettite

[therealnod]

(This is the reason I don't really have favorite players anymore. I tend to root for all players that don't play for the Cubs. )

This should help you understand where I'm coming from. My favorite players tend to come from the era when the Cards were WS participants or victors. I forgot catcher, btw, at which Darrell Porter would be listed. That is a list that I would've presented in an earlier age. Now that I've "matured" and chewed on and examined all the various aspects of the game, I no longer think of players as favorites. I like the best players because they're the best, not for other reasons. I don't really have favorites any more. They're all my favorite.

Except for any Cub.

[stevethesoxfan]

I won't bother naming "best" as most will coincide with others' choices.

Favorites (I've seen them all, mostly biased toward Sox):

C: Bench
1B: Scott
2B: Morgan
SS: Garciaparra
3B: Schmidt
LF: Yastrzemski
CF: Lynn
RF: Aaron
DH: Rice

LHP: Hurst
RHP: Tiant
Closer: Eckersley