My rankings of the greatest baseball players ever, starting with number 1, in order.

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09/29/2002 - 10/06/2002 10/06/2002 - 10/13/2002 10/13/2002 - 10/20/2002 10/27/2002 - 11/03/2002 11/03/2002 - 11/10/2002 11/17/2002 - 11/24/2002 12/15/2002 - 12/22/2002 12/22/2002 - 12/29/2002 12/29/2002 - 01/05/2003 01/05/2003 - 01/12/2003 01/19/2003 - 01/26/2003 01/26/2003 - 02/02/2003 02/02/2003 - 02/09/2003 02/09/2003 - 02/16/2003 02/23/2003 - 03/02/2003 04/06/2003 - 04/13/2003 04/13/2003 - 04/20/2003 06/08/2003 - 06/15/2003 07/20/2003 - 07/27/2003 07/27/2003 - 08/03/2003 08/03/2003 - 08/10/2003 08/10/2003 - 08/17/2003 08/17/2003 - 08/24/2003 08/24/2003 - 08/31/2003 08/31/2003 - 09/07/2003 09/07/2003 - 09/14/2003 09/28/2003 - 10/05/2003 10/12/2003 - 10/19/2003 10/19/2003 - 10/26/2003 11/09/2003 - 11/16/2003 11/16/2003 - 11/23/2003 12/21/2003 - 12/28/2003 12/28/2003 - 01/04/2004 01/04/2004 - 01/11/2004 01/11/2004 - 01/18/2004 01/18/2004 - 01/25/2004 02/29/2004 - 03/07/2004 03/07/2004 - 03/14/2004 03/14/2004 - 03/21/2004 03/21/2004 - 03/28/2004 03/28/2004 - 04/04/2004 04/04/2004 - 04/11/2004 04/18/2004 - 04/25/2004 04/25/2004 - 05/02/2004 05/02/2004 - 05/09/2004 05/09/2004 - 05/16/2004 05/23/2004 - 05/30/2004 05/30/2004 - 06/06/2004 06/06/2004 - 06/13/2004 06/20/2004 - 06/27/2004 06/27/2004 - 07/04/2004 07/04/2004 - 07/11/2004 07/11/2004 - 07/18/2004 07/18/2004 - 07/25/2004 08/01/2004 - 08/08/2004 08/08/2004 - 08/15/2004 08/15/2004 - 08/22/2004 08/29/2004 - 09/05/2004 09/05/2004 - 09/12/2004 09/19/2004 - 09/26/2004 10/03/2004 - 10/10/2004 11/07/2004 - 11/14/2004 12/26/2004 - 01/02/2005 01/02/2005 - 01/09/2005 01/09/2005 - 01/16/2005 01/23/2005 - 01/30/2005 01/30/2005 - 02/06/2005 02/06/2005 - 02/13/2005 02/13/2005 - 02/20/2005 02/20/2005 - 02/27/2005 02/27/2005 - 03/06/2005 03/06/2005 - 03/13/2005 03/13/2005 - 03/20/2005 03/20/2005 - 03/27/2005 03/27/2005 - 04/03/2005 04/10/2005 - 04/17/2005 04/17/2005 - 04/24/2005 04/24/2005 - 05/01/2005 05/15/2005 - 05/22/2005 05/22/2005 - 05/29/2005 05/29/2005 - 06/05/2005 06/05/2005 - 06/12/2005 06/12/2005 - 06/19/2005 06/19/2005 - 06/26/2005 06/26/2005 - 07/03/2005 07/10/2005 - 07/17/2005 07/17/2005 - 07/24/2005 07/24/2005 - 07/31/2005 07/31/2005 - 08/07/2005 08/07/2005 - 08/14/2005 08/14/2005 - 08/21/2005 08/21/2005 - 08/28/2005 09/04/2005 - 09/11/2005 09/11/2005 - 09/18/2005 09/18/2005 - 09/25/2005 10/09/2005 - 10/16/2005 10/16/2005 - 10/23/2005 11/06/2005 - 11/13/2005 03/26/2006 - 04/02/2006 04/30/2006 - 05/07/2006 05/14/2006 - 05/21/2006 05/28/2006 - 06/04/2006 06/04/2006 - 06/11/2006 06/11/2006 - 06/18/2006 07/02/2006 - 07/09/2006 07/09/2006 - 07/16/2006 07/23/2006 - 07/30/2006 03/04/2007 - 03/11/2007 06/17/2007 - 06/24/2007 07/13/2008 - 07/20/2008 08/03/2008 - 08/10/2008 08/10/2008 - 08/17/2008 08/17/2008 - 08/24/2008 01/11/2009 - 01/18/2009

 

Number 95: Gary Sheffield.

He's one of the greatest hitters of our time. He was the 6th overall pick in the 1986 draft, famous at the time as the nephew of star pitcher Doc Gooden. He was in the majors with Milwaukee in 1988, playing 24 games as a shortstop for a cup of coffee. He struggled a bit in his 1989 trial, batting .247 in 95 games, then switched to 3B in 1990 and hit .294. He was hurt most of 1991, then got traded to San Diego near the end of Spring Training 1992 for three players. He exploded into stardom, batting .330 with 33 HR and 100 RBI, but was traded in midseason 1993 to the Marlins, with a firmly placed tag as a troublemaker.

He stayed with the Marlins, putting up some solid if unspectacular numbers, then led the league in OPS in 1996 batting .314 with 42 HR and 120 RBI. 1997 was the Marlins' magical year, even though Sheffield slumped to .250, but he drew 121 walks for a .421 on-base average. He batted .320 in the Marlins' postseason run. Sheffield soon became part of the Marlins' "fire sale," being traded in 1998 to Los Angeles.

He became a more consistent hitter in LA, regularly batting over .300 with exceptional power. Before 2002 he was traded to Atlanta for Brian Jordan and Odalis Perez, and was part of two postseason teams for the Braves. Sheffield's name is on the short list of greatest hitter of the last quarter century. Before 2004, he signed with the Yankees, and put up two more terrific years as an MVP candidate. Now he has gone to Detroit.

Sheffield has earned 248.75 ratings points through 2007.

Sheffield's stats (through 2007): .294 average, 480 HR, 1576 RBI, 2521 hits, .395 on-base, .517 slugging.

posted by Shawn at 10:40 AM

 

Number 94: Jeff Kent.

California native Kent was a 20th round pick of the Blue Jays in 1989. By 1992 he hit the majors and played 65 games for Toronto, batting .240 playing mostly 3B. The Jays wanted some pennant insurance (they were in the process of winning the first of two straight World Series) so they swapped Kent and Ryan Thompson to the Mets for David Cone. He played 37 games for the Mets down the stretch and hit .239 there.

He was the Mets' 1993 second baseman, hitting .270 with 21 HR, and now an established major leaguer. The Mets traded him to Cleveland in mid-1996 for Carlos Baerga, and after the season he was traded to San Francisco for Matt Williams. It was with the Giants that Kent became a star.

Usually batting behind Barry Bonds, Kent drove in 100 runs in each of his 6 seasons with the Giants. He won the MVP in 2000 for a big year, hitting .334 with 33 HR and 125 RBI. In 2002 he and the Giants got all the way to World Series Game 7. Kent left SF after 2002 and went to Houston for two years, amassing 200 RBI over the two seasons. He began 2005 in Los Angeles.

Kent has earned 248.78 ratings points through 2007.

Kent's stats (through 2007): .289 average, 365 HR, 1459 RBI, .500 slugging.

posted by Shawn at 10:36 AM

 

Number 93: Tom Glavine

He's made a living exploiting the strike zone of the 1990s, which was about two inches below the knee and sometimes extended to six inches outside off the plate. Glavine could have been a successful pitcher in any era, with his good stuff and ability to exploit the conditions given him. Glavine made nine starts for Atlanta in 1987, at the age of 21. The next year he was a rotation regular, but only 7-17. The next two years he was a little short of the league average in ERA, but his record improved as the team did. In 1991 it all came together for him, a 20-11 record and 2.55 ERA. It was the start of an amazing run of success, with 5 20-win seasons, two Cy Young awards (1991 and 1998) as well as a total of six top-three finishes in the CYA balloting, and an amazing record of taking his starting turn that has led him to the 300-win level.

Glavine has had the benefit of a successful team, of course, but it was a team built mostly on its wonderful starting pitching, including Glavine. He has been to 12 postseasons, and in eight World Series starts he has a 4-3 record and a 2.47 ERA, including two wins in the Braves' only WS championship, in 1995. He was the World Series MVP that year. Glavine is this era's smart lefty, like Johnny Podres, Jim Kaat, or Billy Pierce of old. He has shown his adaptability in his later exploits with the Mets.

Glavine earned 247.07 ratings points through 2007.

Glavine's stats (through 2007): 303-199 record, 3.53 ERA, 2570 K, 118 career ERA+.

posted by Shawn at 9:46 AM

 

Number 92: Mike Mussina

The Orioles #1 pick in the 1990 draft was in the big leagues the next year, making 12 starts down the stretch for a mediocre team and going 4-5. Mussina was almost immediately the Orioles' ace, and went 18-5 in 1992 as the Orioles surged to 3rd. He struggled the next year, but recovered, and the Orioles were contenders during his tenure in Baltimore. In 1997 they broke a string of 2nd and 3rd place finishes to win the division, and reach the ALCS. But they fell off again, and after 2000 Mussina became a free agent. Moose had seen the dominance of the Yankees close up, joined the powerhouse team for the 2001 season, and has remained a pitching mainstay there. This has meant more postseason appearances, but so far no World Series ring. Mussina also has never won 20 games in a season; odd for a pitcher of his quality, but symptomatic of our modern times when starters often go to the mound only 33 times in a season. Mussina has won 19 twice, and 18 three times. He also has a career ERA+ of 122, and six Gold Gloves, but no Cy Young Awards, although he finished 2nd in the voting in 1999. He does have 8 top-six finishes in the voting.

He doesn't really look dominating on the mound, or intimidating, but he is businesslike and efficient. He has been sort of the Greg Maddux of the AL, with a good though not great fastball, great movement on his pitches, and excellent control. Mussina has been a great asset to his teams.

Mussina has earned 247.82 ratings points through 2007.

Mussina's stats: 250-144, 3.69 ERA, 2663 K, 754 BB in 3362 innings through 2007.

posted by Shawn at 10:00 AM

 

Number 91: Rafael Palmeiro

Today is a hitters' era, and discounts must be made for batting statistics. People make the mistake of not doing that for the 1925-35 hitters' era, and that accounts for many of the undeserving players in the Hall of Fame. But some guys, even after you let the air out of their statistics, still stand out. The former pitchman for Viagra is one of those.

Palneiro was born in Cuba, came to the States, and came up with the Cubs at the same time as Mark Grace. The Cubs tried Palmeiro in left field, decided that wasn't going to work out, and chose to trade Palmeiro and keep Grace. In Texas he began to show the power the Cubs never thought he would develop, and became an excellent defensive first baseman as well. After a 37 home run season in 1993, Palmeiro became a free agent, but the Rangers signed Will Clark instead, and Palmeiro traded spots with Clark by going to the Orioles. After five years in Baltimore he went back to Texas.

Palmeiro has never had the kind of monster season that draws an MVP award, and has placed in the top ten of MVP voting only three times, never higher than 5th. But he has been consistently excellent every year, and boasts a career OPS+ of 135. He has not shown a propensity for leading the league in categories either, leading in hits once, doubles once, and runs once. He has been in the top 10 in OPS and OPS+ in 7 seasons. While he hasn't dominated, he has played at a consistently high level for a long time. That makes him a Hall of Famer in my book. The trouble that will dog him is his positive steroids test. How that will mark him to future observers is anyone’s guess.

Palmeiro earned 248.34 ratings points.

Palmeiro's stats: .288 average, 569 homers, 585 doubles, 3020 hits, 1835 RBI, 1663 runs.

posted by Shawn at 3:55 PM

 

Number 90: Joe Gordon.

Gordon, nicknamed "Flash" for obvious reasons, was a slick-fielding second baseman with terrific power. He only played 11 seasons, losing two to World War II, but was an All-Star in 9 of those 11. He would have been a perennial Gold Glove winner, too, if there was such a thing during his career.

Gordon played seven seasons with the Yankees, and after the war was traded to the Cleveland Indians and spent his last four seasons there. Gordon also managed several seasons, including the inaugural year of the Kansas City Royals. He was the AL MVP in 1942, he best batting average year, and got significant attention in other MVP voting years.

Gordon played in six World Series, and his team won five, including the 1948 Indians lest you think that was all about the Yankees.

Gordon earned 248.44 ratings points.

Gordon's stats: .268 average, 253 HR, 1530 hits, .466 slugging.

posted by Shawn at 3:53 PM

 

Number 89: Lou Whitaker.

Whitaker was one of a pair with Alan Trammell, longtime Tigers shortstop. When Whitaker and Trammell came up through the minor leagues, they played together along the way. It was announced, after they had a "cup of coffee" in 1977, that they would be the double play combination the next year, but only if both were ready. They were, as Whitaker batted .285 in 1977, and won the Rookie of the Year award. Trammell and Whitaker were a pair in the middle of the diamond for years. "Sweet Lou" was an amazingly consistent player, with occasional jumps back and forth. He batted just .233 in 1980, .320 in 1983, but usually Whitaker was right around .280. He developed some power about 1982 and started hitting double-digit homers every year.

Whitaker was mostly a platoon player, sitting out against lefty pitching, but some years he played every day. He struck out a fair amount, but also drew about 80 walks a year, making him an excellent leadoff man. He was a key part of the 1984 World Championship team, and the 1987 division winners. Whitaker won Gold Gloves 1983-85, though he managed a top-ten MVP voting finish just once, in that 1983 season. Mostly, he was just a consistent, dependable player, the kind you need to win championships.

Whitaker earned 249.1 ratings points.

Whitaker's stats: .276 average, 244 homers, 1197 BB, 2369 hits, 1386 runs.

posted by Shawn at 3:50 PM