The Arena's Favorite Baseball Player Tournament - winner announced!

down to 32 players left... some good matchups from here on

 

yea... no kidding...

"Pee Wee" Reese

Mariano Rivera (easily the most difficult matchup so far for me, but i've always loved mariano rivera as a player and person. ryan simply can't quite catch him, even though ryan's also a top five fave for me... rivera just so happens to be tied for second.)

:snoopy

 

ozzie smith
nolan ryan

 

- Joe Dimaggio: 361 homeruns, 369 strikeouts -- CAREER! Dude was just as likely to hit a homer as he was to strike out. Oh, yeah ? and a certain hitting streak.

- Derek Jeter: My favorite current player, he has an outside shot at 4,000 hits.

- Mark Teixeira: Quick bat, sharp approach, sweeping plate coverage, and AMAZING defense. He's the perfect player.

- Mariano Rivera: Stoic warrior on the mound. Armed with a devastating cutter, he remains cool and focused what ever the situation may be.

- Don Mattingly: Prototype Yankee -- Donnie Baseball.

Others:
Paul O'Neil, Thurman Munson, Jorge Posada, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Joe Dimaggio, Andy Pettitte, Mickey Mantle, David Cone, David Wells, Joe Girardi.

 

ozzie smith
nolan ryan

 

Ozzie Smith
Nolan Ryan

 

On the topic:

Ozzie Smith
Mariano Rivers

 

Ozzie Smith
Nolan Ryan

 

"Pee Wee" Reese
Mariano Rivera (a sure first ballot HOFer)

 

Ozzie

Mo Rivera -- without him, the Yankee dynasty of the late 90s early 00s never happens. Not that they wouldn't have won at all, but never 3 in a row.

 

Smith
Rivera

 

Alright, been busy but let's get this thing moving again!

Ozzie Smith
Nolan Ryan

 

Boston Red Sox

Ozzi Smith 8, "Pee Wee" Reese 2

New York Yankees

Mariano Rivera 5, Nolan Ryan 4 (omitted my vote to break the tie)

 

Chicago White Sox

Lou Gehrig vs Willie Mays

Minnesota Twins

Walter Johnson vs Ty Cobb

 

Excellent choices!

Mays
Johnson

 

Gehrig
Cobb


This was a hard one, one of the hardest to date.

 

Willie Mays
Ty Cobb

 

Willie Mays - the Say Hey Kid was just electrifying to watch, easily my favorite Giant to have played in SF.
Ty Cobb - played the game how it should be: intensely. I wish there'd be more like him nowadays.

 

bump for votes

 

Willie Mays
Ty Cobb

 

Chicago White Sox

Willie Mays 4, Lou Gehrig 1

Minnesota Twins

Ty Cobb 4, Walter Johnson 1

 

Oakland Athletics

Ted Williams vs Shoeless Joe Jackson

Baltimore Orioles

Satchel Paige vs Rollie Fingers

 

Ted Williams

Rollie Fingers

this was very hard for me to choose, since all four are iconic figures in the sport's history. Well Fingers is to me, one as well, if just for his facial hair.

 

Jackson
Paige

 

Jackson

Paige (Arguably the best pitcher of all time. "A Yankee scout watching the game wired the big club that day a report which read, 'DIMAGGIO EVERYTHING WE?D HOPED HE?D BE: HIT SATCH ONE FOR FOUR.' DiMaggio himself said he knew now he could make it in the big leagues 'because I hit off of Satch.'" I think that says it all.)