Who is my favorite historical baseball player? That’s an easy and difficult question at the same time. First of all, what do we mean by historical? Technically it could be anyone who played baseball in the past. That’s far too broad, though. It should be obvious that active players, even though they’ve played in the past, aren’t historical. Neither are players who recently retired. But what do I mean by recently? I think I would go with anyone who could still be eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot. That would me no one who retired in the last fifteen years. (Five years to get on the ballot plus ten years on the ballot.)
That puts us in 2009. 2009 doesn’t feel very historical to me. I mean historical things happened then. Obama became the first black president, and we were still in the throes of the great recession. But it doesn’t feel historical. I remember it too well. If my memory is our guide, it takes us back to the 1970s. One of my earliest baseball memories is Fernandomania (RIP). That was 1981. I think to make it easy, I’ll say historical means any player that played before I was born (1975). That rules out Griffey Jr., Rickey, and Yaz, sadly. But there are always sacrifices to be made.
So, who are my favorite players from before 1975? Never having seen them play, they are the players that I’ve been hearing about my whole life. The players with the best anecdotes about them. And the players that have done big things in their post-baseball lives. Here we go:
Gil Hodges – My dad’s a lifelong Dodgers fan. Hodges was their first baseman when they finally broke through and won. Plus, he was the manager of the Miracle Mets.
Sandy Koufax – Again, my dad’s a lifelong Dodgers fan, but they say Koufax had the “left arm of god”. That’s just awesome. He had the most dominant peak before Pedro came along.
Johnny Pesky – As a lifelong Red Sox fan, Pesky had to make this list. The right field foul pole in Fenway is named for the man. He was a Sox lifer. Always around the team helping out. He was known as “Mr. Red Sox”. Just a legend.
Bob Uecker – Listening to Uecker call games was always a delight. His self-deprecating humor and his stories are wonderful. He has stories to spare. I’ve always been a little jealous of Milwaukee fans who get to listen to him on the regular.
Cool Papa Bell – They say he could turn off the light and be under the covers before the room got dark. I’ve always liked the speedsters.
Satchel Paige – He might be the best pitcher in history. It’s hard to say because his time was split between the Negro Leagues and the Major Leagues. If batters who faced him are to be believed, though, he was the best of the best and the hardest thrower ever.
Joe Garagiola – Like Uecker, I only really know Garagiola as a broadcaster. But he used to call the game of the week when I was a little kid and just developing my love of baseball. That’s enough to get him on this list.
Buck O’Neil – He’s one of the few people that I’ve never heard a bad word about. Universally beloved. He fought his whole life to get the Negro Leagues recognized. He’s largely responsible for there being a Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City. He was also a good enough player to make the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, that honor didn’t come until 2021, fifteen years after he died.
Jackie Robinson – Simply the most important player in Major League Baseball history. Everyone knows his story by now, but not only did he break the color barrier, he fought his whole life for equality and civil rights.
Ted Williams – Teddy Ballgame. The Splendid Splinter. Williams has to be my favorite historical player. I’ve been hearing stories about him literally my whole life. He was the best hitter in baseball history. I remember reading his book, The Science of Hitting. Although it didn’t help me very much, it’s a fascinating read. If not for missing five years of his prime to be a pilot in World War II and the Korean Conflict, he would hold every hitting record there is.
I also want to give honorable mentions to Hank Aaron and Bob Gibson. They feel historical and they are two of my favorites. However, they both played into my lifetime and were thus disqualified from this list.
That’s my list. Feel free to argue with me in the comments.
A thank you goes out to David Woolly for suggesting this topic. If there’s anything you’d like me to write about, please let me know.
Also, this piece is cross posted on Grunt Talks MLB (Grunt Baseball).
