Who's your favorite mediocre baseball player?

[SavoyBG]

Here's mine:

oscar_gamble_autograph.jpg

[m8644]

Everytime I hear Pokey Reese I think of Bip Roberts. Must be something about those first names.

I still remember the late 90's/early 2000's Reds double play combo was supposed to be "Gookie" (for SS prospect Travis "Gookie" Dawkins) to Pokey to Casey.....it didnt quite work out that way though.

[m8644]

with that said, mine is Tim Bogar.....a below average infielder for the mid 90's Mets.

[pheasant]

Al Newman was the man. He was a utility infielder for the Twins and he has two World Series rings. I actually met him in a bar in St Cloud circa 1990 and bought him a shot. I was naive enough at that time to think it was rare for a finely tuned athlete to do a shot. He was a down to earth nice person. He's definitely shorter than his listed height of 5'9".

[Blackout]

dustin pedroia

[m8644]

dustin pedroia

no he wouldnt count

[Dude Paskert]

no he wouldnt count

I think Blackout was trying to slam the Laser Show, thought the "deadpan" (so to speak) was pretty funny.

Jackaroo Dave is right that Bellhorn's '04 was pretty good, as was his 27HR year with the Cubbies. He was really bad for the rest of his career, though.
I liked Pokey Reese a lot, too...I remember one game where he just really met the ball, crushed a long fly to left in Fenway...and it bounced just short of the Monster, maybe a 320 foot shot. The really funny thing is that it wasn't caught because they were playing him in so far. The announcers chuckled a bit and opined that Pokey must have got it off the end of the bat, but I really think they knew it was about as far as he could hit the ball unless something freakish happened.
Another Red Sox guy who caught my fancy was Phil Plantier, who was viewed as the next Ted Williams on a toilet seat when he came up (you'll understand that if you've seen him hit). Had a great cup of coffee in his first season with Boston, then stumbled badly the next year. He got traded to the Padres and banged out 34 HRs, but then went into decline again. I've heard that he hurt his elbow badly after his rookie year and it was never right again. Phil is probably most famous for getting in a fistfight with Barry Bonds during pregame BP (I think he lost), but I believe he also worked on ESPN. I have an autographed personal bat of his that I picked up for a song, the thing weighs a ton. Again, a guy who had a couple of good years, but was pretty blah other than that.

Too bad the Yanks made Gamble cut his hair!

[Zito75]

Al Newman was the man. He was a utility infielder for the Twins and he has two World Series rings. I actually met him in a bar in St Cloud circa 1990 and bought him a shot. I was naive enough at that time to think it was rare for a finely tuned athlete to do a shot. He was a down to earth nice person. He's definitely shorter than his listed height of 5'9".

I met Mike Gallego in Tucson a few years ago and can say the same. He's closer to 5'6, not like the 5'8 or 5'9 he's listed at. He's another down to earth guy too.

[bluesky5]

Eric Byrnes by a long shot. Bo Hart, Reed Johnson, Mark Smith, Pete Orr, Felix Pie, Ryan Freel.

[davewashere]

Here's mine:

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Gamble produced one of my favorite quotes ever from a baseball player:
they-dont-think-it-be-like-it-is.jpg

[Dude Paskert]

Gamble produced one of my favorite quotes ever from a baseball player:
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Kind of sounds like an ESL Satchel Paige.

[GiambiJuice]

Eric Byrnes by a long shot. Bo Hart, Reed Johnson, Mark Smith, Pete Orr, Felix Pie, Ryan Freel.

I liked Byrnes as a player too, but he is one of the most insufferable analysts in TV right now in my opinion.

[Blackout]

no he wouldnt count

it was just a joke

[bluesky5]

I liked Byrnes a player too, but he is one of the most insufferable analysts in TV right now in my opinion.

Yea, he's got some Spicoli in him.

[John239]

Carlos Pena and Kelly Shoppah Pena because he is the nicest guy you will ever run into as a fan i have gotten a million autographs from him over the years as a Rays fan and he is the most humble guy i have ever met and he doesn't shy away from us fans and will spend a good clip of time talking to us and he is a great leader.

I always had this sort of impression of Carlos Pena he just always seemed genuinely nice and a great person to have as a teammate. But he's not really mediocre in my opinion. He's a nice defensive first baseman and still has the power to hit 30 hrs a year its just that he is a strikeout machine and hits for low average but that is just his game.

I always enjoyed watching Russell Branyan play because when he hits the ball, it stays hit. He is stupid strong. I pretty much enjoy any mediocre player who can detonate a baseball from time to time, the guys who can hit the 450' plus bombs..Juan Francisco, Wily Mo Pena, the guys who hit the longest home runs and put on the biggest displays in bp but are just average or below average in every other aspect its even fun to watch them strike out but when the ball gets in the way of the bat, bye bye. I also enjoy watching the reactions from the fans when some no-name guy puts on a Josh Hamilton-like performance in bp outshining the superstar sluggers, they are like "who is that,"