I was always a big fan of Walt Weiss for some bizarre reason. I just liked his style of play, which lead me to my all time favorite player, Craig Biggio. I liked how he was a total dirt-dog, always diving for no apparent reason and always jumping up with a grin. He lead me to make many unnecessary dives back in little league. My mom was always frusterated by how dirty my uniform was, but it was all in good fun. Every year I traded for him on virtual games and drafted him in fantasy ball. So there you go, Craig Biggio.

Jason Kershner 'cause he signed my balls.

Well there are many baseball players I like, none of them can quite compare to Dan Plesac. I always liked him as a pitcher, from back when he was on the Pirates, Cubs and Brewers, although I never really knew of him on the latter aside from having some baseball cards of him. Anyhow, I always liked loogies and Plesac was one of the best. When he was traded to Toronto I was quite excited (having no grasp of prospects I also thought it was quite a good trade). As I followed the team I'd always find funny quotes or glowing reviews of Plesac's person, and he was a pretty good reliever, too. By the end of his first year of his first stint here he was my favourite player and no one's ever surpassed him. On the few times I was lucky enough to "meet" (i.e. talk to him for a minute or two) he was exactly the sort of person he was described as being: generous, friendly and funny. It was a combination of his person, his talent and other strange forces that made me pick Plesac.

I think I would have been a huge fan of Dan Quisenberry had I been alive when he pitched. My current favourite players include Jake Peavy, Carl Crawford and Rich Harden.

"Jason Kershner 'cause he signed my balls."

There is a mental image I want scrubbed from my memory.

Without question, my favourite player is the great Garth Iorg. It only seems inexplicable in hindsight, but as a kid I loved the name, loved the five o'clock shadow, loved the stance, loved the way he looked in those baby blue unis. I actually went out for Hallowe'en as Garth Iorg once. Best costume I ever wore. It was a dark day when he was fired as the first base coach.

Todd Greene will never leave my heart.

Ditto to Raul Mondesi. I use to love how he actually interacted with the fans out in field. He's like Manny Ramirez but a great fielder.

On a side note: I still have a bad taste left from the likes of Shawn Green and Alex Gonzalez.

I always liked Rance Mullininks as a kid becuase he looks a lot like my dad. He (my dad) used to get stopped on the street from time to time, mostly thanks to the cool '80s moustache.

Definately good old Mondy. I'll never forget the game he stole home on the Yankees. Man was Torre fuming! I don't know why everyone has a bad taste in his/her mouth about him. He hustled hard and was a character all in one.

Less than high praise from Dayn Perry over the Jays' off-season.

My dislike of Mondesi stemmed from the fact that I hated the trade he was acquired in. I disliked Homer Bush and Graeme Lloyd for similar reasons. It's completely irrational and unfair to the players, but I can't help it.

John Olerud. I always tried to imitate his swing when I played ball. And it was always fun to have to defend against the "he wears a helmet in the field" jokes that my friends would make.

And it was always fun to have to defend against the "he wears a helmet in the field" jokes that my friends would make.

Nothing funnier than a brain aneurysm.

non-Jay: Cal Ripken
all-time Jays: Bell & Stieb, with Delgado right up there.

I think I've gotta go with Pat Hentgen as my favourite player. He always seemed to pitch as though every game was Game 7 of the World Series. And he seemed like such a good, nice guy - he'd always answer questions after getting shelled, and he really looked like he was proud to be a Blue Jay.

Mondesi... enh. The guy was capable of some spectacular plays - stealing home, the rocket arm, some awesome power - but only, it seemed, when he really wanted to. I can remember several fly balls he badly missed or misjudged, more than a few steal attempts that got him thrown out by a mile, and far too many "aiming for Windows" swings at sliders a foot off the plate. It also didn't help that while he was a good player, he got paid like a superstar.

Favorite all time Blue Jay is still Jesse Barfield. I loved watching him throw guys out at the plate from deep right as a kid.

Plus I remember being in little league and one day instead of practice the coach took us all over to his house to watch a video. It was a baseball video for kids featuring one Mr Barfield and he was teaching the basics of hitting, catching, and throwing technique as well as how important things like hustle and sportsmanship are. I still remember him saying how important it was to never let up on your way to first base, just keep running full speed over the bag even if you think you're going to be out. It's funny how stuff like that impacts you as a kid, it still bugs me when I see a major leaguer jog up the first base line.

I can tell you're American, Mick. The Canadian spelling is favourite.

My favourite player to watch right now is Barry. Of course I have been foiled in my attempts to actually see him play (my trip to Montreal to see SF coincided with the death of his father). I hope that SF comes to Toronto some time.

Favourite Jay - Halladay. I've had him on my fantasy team for the last three years, and also I remember well one of his very first starts when he had a no hitter through seven - that made me think that this guy was a future star.

Favourite Expo- Youpee! and if I have to pick a player - it's tougher- but I would have to say Dennis Martinez el presidente!

Favourite Jay - Halladay. I've had him on my fantasy team for the last three years, and also I remember well one of his very first starts when he had a no hitter through seven - that made me think that this guy was a future star.

Groove - you must mean that game against the Tigers, on September 27, 1998 (I can't link to it on Retrosheet for some reason). It was even better than you remember - he went 8 2/3 no-hit innings, before Bobby Higginson came off the bench to spoil both the no-hitter and the shut-out with a long home run.

Who's your all-time favorite player, and why?

Now, I have many favorite Jays, but if I had to pick just one, it would be Tony Fernandez for his tremendous all-around package of skills. But all-time favorite player period? Easy. Barry Bonds, and it's not even close. I grew up following his career, and watched him evolve from (IMO) the greatest five tool player in the history of the game, into the greatest and most feared pure hitter imaginable.

John Tudor. He was the only guy on the field who seemed as stressed-out and twisted-up about the ballgames as I was. And his lonely, doomish presence on the mound was very appealing to me as a doomish teenager in the mid-'80s.

To add to what I said above, in a historical sense, even if you feel his home run numbers since 2001 have been tainted, Barry is still the only member of the 500-500 club (he was only 6 HR away from 500 before his 73 HR explosion in 2001), a feat that I am fairly confident will never, ever be duplicated.

Okay, I remember poorly!

Toronto Blue Jays IP H HR R ER BB K
Halladay W(1-0) ...9 1 1  1 1  0  8

Always been a huge fan of Tony Gwynn, especially in the later years when he had about as much of a chance to hit an In-N-Out Burger after a game as he had to high a high fastball during a game.

Gwynn seemed like a good enough guy; that "aw shucks" demeanor, the lighthearted easy-going countenance, the way he could put the ball anywhere he pleased.

Of course if we're going with players we liked for all the wrong reasons then Rob Deer was my man. Watching him swing and miss was almost comically poetic; I half-expected him to pull the old cartoon at-bat and swing three times at one pitch every time he came to the plate.

Of all-time, it's probably Pat Hentgen, although when I first came to follow baseball, Jimmy Key was my favourite. And during the glory years I was a fan of Devon White and Pat Borders.

Nothing flashy about any of them, really. Showed up, gave it all they had, win or lose. Watching them made me feel like I could do that.

It was even better than you remember - he went 8 2/3 no-hit innings, before Bobby Higginson came off the bench to spoil both the no-hitter and the shut-out with a long home run.

IIRC, the homerun was an opposite field shot that just kept carrying.

I always loved George Bell's run-ins with the Toronto media, particularly "kiss my royal purple ass" or however that one went. And my memory, though fuzzy on specifics, seems to think there was a time where he swung at pitches during an intentional walk.

Tim Raines, because of his pure athletic grace, is my favourite. But there are many others. Harold Baines had a beautiful swing especially when he was young, as did Johnny O. Ozzie Smith was a beautiful thing to watch in the field, especially very early in his career.

As a Jays fans my favorite players have been Alomar, Fernandez, Mondesi, and now the O-Dog. All-time I probabaly have to say my favorite player is Robbie but I was definitely a bigger fan of Mondesi his first season with the Jays than I have been with anyone else. He got paid too much, but beyond that I loved him. Of course, my favorite single season player of all time is going to be the '05 O-Dog when he wins a gold glove, gets name to the all-star team, hits 22 dingers, and puts up a line of about .300/.370/.450 and garners some MVP votes for the 85 win Toronto Blue Jays (being only 2.5 back of the Yankees at the end of September will garner some attention!).

My favourite players with the Jays were Ernie Whitt and Garth Iorg. They made the best of their opportunties when they got the chance. My all time favourite that I saw play was Ted Williams.

Favorite Jay : refer to above.
All-time Jay: Pat Borders.
All-time non-Jay: Mo Vaughn with the Angels.

The IRON MAN Cal Ripken JR. I always idolized Cal. Tough player with guts to spare. I am a die hard Yankee fan which makes it weird to love an orioles player, but Cal was a man who always got it done. He was a common mans ball player, who always had time for the fans. If he was hurt, he still played. He could've died and still you would've seen him out there getting the start, and winning the game with the glove and his bat. Never have I ever faltered in my fanship of him, never has he let us down.

Tony Brizzolara. In 1979, I mailed him his Strat-O-Matic card (having read that he played Strat) and he returned it autographed. Today, that card is worth, hmmm, maybe less than it would had he not autographed it. ;)

He joked that when he played, he wouldn't use his own card. No surprise.

http://www.canadasdebate.com
Favourite all-time Jay? Well, 11 years ago it probably would have been Joe Carter... now I'm not so sure.

For some reason I always liked Rob Ducey; even when he sucked.

Has to be Alomar, I used to love when he did that jumping throw to first just in time to get the runner. So smooth. Obviously, he wasn't so popular when he left but I always have fond memories of him, not least his homer in the ALCS.

Fun fact: Shawn Green's most similar player is Raul Mondesi.

My dislike of Mondesi stemmed from the fact that I hated the trade he was acquired in.

Same here. I remember hearing that the Jays couldn't afford to keep both Delgado and Green, but then they paid Mondesi just as much! What the hell?

Anyway, I always liked Tony Fernandez, and I was going nuts in 1999 when he was flirting with .400. Sadly, an 0-for-3 on June 29 dropped him all the way down to .395 and he finished at .328. Oh well. I also thought Tomas Perez and Craig Grebeck were amazing. I must have been a crappy second baseman in my former life.

I never saw him play but let's toss Mike Marshall in there, too.

I read that Dayn Perry piece, and it's obvious he also writes for BP, because his pro-Oakland bias comes through. The A's were an off-season "winner"? In the long run, it's certainly possible to look back and go, "Wow, what great trades!" But for this season, no team can lose its top two starters -- and I mean TOP starters -- replace them with two young pitchers, no matter how promising, and be deemed at face value to have been a "winner" in the off-season. At best, right now, the A's are a "the jury is still out" team. I think they're going to be fine, but it's preposterous to say they've improved.

All-time favourite player? Super Dave Winfield, as the little bio on the roster page indicates. Eric Davis is a close second.

I never saw him play but let's toss Mike Marshall in there, too.

The big burly relief pitcher/Kinesiologist with the Dodgers or the inconsistent first baseman with the Dodgers?

I don't think I could narrow it down from a list including Frank Pastore, Bill Gullickson, Alan Trammell snf Joe Lis ("one of these things is not like the others ...") but point a gun at my head and I'd probably say Tom Browning.

He was a hell of a pitcher, but early on I believed he would be a Hall of a pitcher. I guess that can happen when your best season is your rookie year.

Posted a few days ago about my top handful. Fernandez was my favorite back in the 80's and seeing him go was hard, but acceptable as I was really hoping the Jays would steal Alomar from San Diego at some point.

Good ol' Garth Iorg - I tried imitating his batting stance, then tried doing an Ernie Whitt stance from the right side. Given I've hit exactly 1 home run in my life (off a 12 year old when I was in my 20's) I don't think either stance helped :)

Kelly Gruber, used to be my favorite Blue Jay. I was thrilled when he made the all-star game. I'd also include Fernandex, Stieb, and Henke right up there.

Right now, my favourite Jay is probably Hudson.

Dammit
The First guy stole my Craig Biggio!

I also really liked Jeff Pico...because he pitched on the Cubs with Greg Maddux (whom I admired as well due to his ability to be a good pitcher while simultaneously being a wuss), and I had a best friend I played baseball with named Jeff (actually Geoff, but I didn't know that at the time)

And so it was like, Greg and Jeff
baseballers extraordinaire!

The big burly relief pitcher/Kinesiologist with the Dodgers or the inconsistent first baseman with the Dodgers?

The pitcher. Between the crazy pickoff move, the three degrees, and the tea for his blisters...

The pitcher. Between the crazy pickoff move, the three degrees, and the tea for his blisters...

To say nothing of the follow-through from his screwball... or was that a googly?

http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Wells/Wells_bio.html
Like BIGJIM, I too "am a die hard Yankee fan" with an Oriole as my favorite. Brooks Robinson stands out for me for several reasons. At age 6, my brother-in-law from Maryland took me to my first big-league game at Memorial Stadium, to see Baltimore vs. the Seattle Pilots. I was a budding Little League third baseman, so B. Robby naturally made an impression. A legendary talent with the glove, hard worker at the plate, and exhibited the kind of loyalty to his team that has simply vanished from today's game. I had the pleasure of meeting him briefly in Cooperstown a few years ago. A huge thrill.

My favorite Jay? Vernon Wells. As a Syracuse SkyChiefs season ticket holder, I watched him work through the system with tremendous skill AND the poise of a veteran. Handed a slightly broken bat up over the dugout to my daughter - without being asked - instantly solidifying our whole family as VW fans for life. I even wrote an online bio of him, which has been mentioned on this site in the past. Click my name above if you're interested in viewing it.

All-time non-Jay: Mo Vaughn with the Angels.

VBF, that's kind of a unique selection. IIRC, wasn't Vaughn on the DL the majority of the time he was in Anaheim? Maybe it just seemed that way...

All-time favourite is Jimmy Key, for his poise, his intelligence and his class. Here's a guy who may not have had the best stuff in the world, but he won because he did everything right out there. I first started watching baseball in '86 and he was the starter in the first two games I saw on TV, the second of which was the one where he beat Boston 4-2 to make Clemens' record 13-1, or something ridiculous like that. The first of many great Key-Clemens matchups I saw.

My all-time favourite Jay to watch was Devo, though I never especially liked him. (Didn't dislike him at all, but I wouldn't call him a favourite)

Tony would be right up there for me, but Tom Henke was (seemingly) the guy who finally made the Jays a winning team upon his arrival. Classy to the end, he's probably the one I would pick as my fave.

My all-time favourite player, though, will probably always be George Brett...

A lot of Jays and Expos make my all-time favourites list: Dave Stieb, Tony Fernandez, Jesse Barfield, Robbie Alomar, Tim Raines, Vlad Guerrero, Pedro Martinez, Larry Walker . . . but if I had to name just one, it'd probably be Andre Dawson.

An exerpt from a BP article discussing VORP (subscription required or I'd have just posted the link)...

Here is that bottom five from 2004:

-2.2, Eric Hinske, Toronto (634 plate appearances)
1.2, Joe Crede, Chicago White Sox (543)
2.4, Johnson, Toronto (582)
5.9, Alex Cintron, Arizona (613)
7.9, Aaron Miles, Colorado (566)

Johnson's projected VORP is -0.2, so he could just easily match last year's number and still do Nate Silver's invention pretty proud. As for the others in the bottom five, here's what their future may well hold:

Hinske: 13.9
Crede: 11.0
Cintron: 14.5
Miles: 7.3

Note that the bottom five are the worst regulars (502 PA cutoff) in 2004, not the worst in overall VORP. Catalanotto, Hillenbrand and maybe even Gross should have something to say about Johnson qualifying to make the list of worst regulars next year.

Todd Greene will never leave my heart.

I'll second that. Watching Todd Greene slam homers out of Nat Baliey Stadium - one of the hardest homer parks in North America - was unbelievable. Not only did he have awesome power he was a pretty fair hitter to boot. Defensively he was a little bit challanged. But I never seen a player work harder than him trying to correct his deficiencies. He was always the first Vancouver Canadian out of the clubhouse to warm up. He was also great with the Fans. He autographed my young daughters baseball and was as gentle as the breeze with her.

When he got called up to the Angels the first time he was awesome. He had two sigificant injuries that held him back though. On the first call up he blew out his shoulder I think. Next he bunged his knee.

After those injuries even with his work ethic he never made it all the way back. I went to many games and watched him try to get back to were he was. It wasn't to be and it was heartbreaking watching this lion hearted propect try to get back to where he was and it was never to be.

Pity, great ball player, great hustle, great guy.

I always loved George Bell's run-ins with the Toronto media, particularly "kiss my royal purple ass" or however that one went.

My journalist girlfriends not here right now and I hope she doesn't read today thread. But along the same lines as NFH my favourite Bell quote was just one word. "Mediots" As an inventor of new words myself I wish I could have come up with that one. Classic.

Favourite ballplayer from my youth. Rod Carew. Classic stance, swing and result. Excellent on the basepaths. Had hidden power when needed. Nice guy and great coach. He was the perfect ballplayer.

The Vancouver Canadians fielded some truly impressive talent in the early 90's, when I too was a fairly frequent spectator at the Nat. At one point, I believe they had all of these players in their lineup, if not all at once then no more than a season apart: Garret Anderson, Jim Edmonds, Darin Erstad, Todd Greene (probably the best minor league performance I've ever seen; obviously he was never going to be the major-league star that some of his teammates would become). Needless to say, the C's had a good defensive outfield!

wasn't Vaughn on the DL the majority of the time he was in Anaheim

Lol. I knew I was gonna get some weird looks for this selection. Actually Lee, Big Mo played 161 games for the Halos in 2000.

I remember watching his games and waiting that at any point in time his immense girth would translate into power and he'd crush a ball into the seats. When healthy, he had presence at the plate.

When healthy, he had presence at the plate.

VBF, you're definitely right about that. It's unfortunate that his career has been basically ended by injury.

Catalanotto, Hillenbrand and maybe even Gross should have something to say about Johnson qualifying to make the list of worst regulars next year

Chuck you always manage to bring a cloud into an otherwise sunny day

My favourite Jay was Kelly Gruber because of his reckless style of play and because he played third.

Anderson and Edomonds were teamates along with Percival, I think Erstad and Greene were a couple years behind.

I wasn't suprised by Andersons success but my pants would be on fire if I said I tought Jim Edmonds would turn out like he did. I figured Edmonds would get a cup of coffee when he was called up but wow. He was a .270ish hitter with a bit of pop.

Percival was just lights out. The Nat is a lovely place to catch a game. Very intimate. During a PCL Championship series with the Twins Salt Lake I think it was. Percival came in two nights in a row to close out the victories. When he threw the ball you could actually see the air piling off the ball as it came to the plate. You could feel the air close in the vacuum left behind. And when the ball hit the mitt you could see the tinist dust particles drift of the catchers mitt like smoke.

I figure thats really what they meant when they came up with that term, "throwing smoke".

Catalanotto, Hillenbrand and maybe even Gross should have something to say about Johnson qualifying to make the list of worst regulars next year

Chuck you always manage to bring a cloud into an otherwise sunny day

Not sure how you took my remark. What I meant was that Johnson won't get nearly enough AB's to qualify as a regular because of the aforementioned three players all cutting into his playing time. I wasn't suggesting that those three will all be so terrible that they'll be even worse than Johnson in 2005.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=fanball-bluejayswellsbulkedu&prov=fanball&type=lgns
Small report on Vernon Wells bulking up, courtesy of Yahoo and Fanball (COMN)

My favourite player, at the time, was Roberto Alomar. Things changed with him leaving, and then the spitting incident. Now, it's probably Orlando Hudson.

Craig Grebeck. Little l'homme that gave it his best each time they put him out there. Hmm... Jeff Frye, Dave Berg, Frank Menechino, looks like a pattern to me.

Oliver Perez rules, guys. Who doesn't love the pencil-thin lefty with completely ridiculous power numbers? Plus, his birthday is 4 days away from mine. He's gonna win like 5 Cy Youngs in the next 15 years, so it'll be nice to have a good favourite player for once (Past members include Rob Butler, Alex Gonzalez and Homer Bush. Seriously). And, if Jason Bay keeps hitting like he did last season, Oliver will also be involved in quite possibly the worst trade of all time, which always makes for a good story. Honestly, the Pirates have a pretty decent future to look forward to, and a Pittsburgh/Toronto World Series isn't completely out of the question in the next 5 or 6 years. If that happens, I will of course begrudgingly cheer for the Jays to hammer Perez, but barring such a scenario, I'll keep cheering him on from the safety of the American League.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseball/MLB/Toronto/2005/01/28/913020.html
The Cat has declared himself 100% healthy.

John Tudor. He was the only guy on the field who seemed as stressed-out and twisted-up about the ballgames as I was.

Yeah, me too. His '85 season was amazing, particularly when you consider he started out, what, 1-7? One of the best games I've ever seen was when Tudor pitched 10 shutout innings against Doc Gooden and the Mets, and won 1-0.
It helped that in '85, Cards-Mets was one of the most intense rivalries in baseball.

My favourite Jay was probably Jimmy Key. I have a soft spot for left-handed finesse pitchers, I guess.

Yes, Percival was something else at the Nat. He generated the loudest noise from the catcher's mitt I've ever heard in person when he dialed up his fastball.

Yes, Percival was something else at the Nat. He generated the loudest noise from the catcher's mitt I've ever heard in person when he dialed up his fastball.

Your absolutely right. That was my immpression too. I have never heard anything like it since.

All time faves..tie between Dave Stieb and Willie Stargell.
Honorable mentions to: Tim Flannery, Jerry Garvin, Rance Mulliniks, Kent Tekulve, Tom Henke, Halladay, Delgado and the legendary Rick Bosetti. oh heck Biff Pocaroba as well.

Hate to rain on your parade James W but that is a pretty stock winter story that is doubtful to effect play quality (nearly everybody is "bluked up" or "more healthy" or at the start of the season). Just like most articles about teams assume everyone who had good seasons last year will have good seasons this year while everyone with bad seasons last year will bounce back.

Hmm.. well, my earliest baseball memory is of watching Danny Tartabull crush home runs out of Foothills Stadium ("Just say Bull!"), but I'd have to say my favourite Calgary Cannon (damn Albuquerque) would have to be Edgar Martinez, who was helped along by the Mariners refusal to call him up. For favourite Jay, I'll go with John Olerud.

Prior to 1977, I based my favourite ball-player on the simple ownership of one bubble-gum card: Tom Burgmeier. But then the Blue Jays came to town and, eventually, Jesse Barfield became king. I used to buy the cheap seats down near the visiting bullpen just to get one good look at the cannon. Several "visiting" players have made the All-Nice team since, based more on affability than ability: Jim Todd, Lyman Bostock, Dan Quisenberry, Brian Schneider, Aaron Guiel, Ryan Dempster... too many to list.

Alomar was my fave, by far.

He played the best baseball I've ever witnessed by a player wearing a Jays uniform.

Favourite current Jay: either Hudson or Catalanotto. O-Dog because of his infamous "pimp" line (and more positively, for finally ending the Dave Berg era), Cat because of the binder.

All-time Jay: Probably Delgado. He was the most fun to watch at a game. He'd be strolling to the plate, the defense would be moving into the extreme pull shift, and everyone in Skydome would be waiting for a home run. He also gets bonus points for being the first Jays prospect I followed: the Jr Jays had (for a year or two) a deal where if you signed up, you'd get a baseball card featuring a promising young catcher the Jays had. I still wish that I'd gotten that Delgado card.

Favourite Classic Jay: Devo. AMCO just wouldn't have worked. On the other hand, after the Jays traded Karsay, HAMCO might've been fun.

Other favourite Jays: Candy Maldanado and Eddie Zosky. Candy for having a fun name, Zosky for being one of the rare players who has a name starting with "Z".

Favourite Any Team player: Ichiro! Not just for the way that he could victimize Chris Woodward, but for watching his throws from right. Time Wakefield is close, because I'm a sucker for knuckleball pitchers, even moreso after I read Ball Four.

Favourite Video Game Players: Andres Galarraga and Matt LeCroy. In back-to-back seasons in MVP Baseball 2004, they both broke Bonds' home run record. That was almost as good as the time when I won the Cy Young in MVP Baseball (2003) as . . . Tanyon Sturtze.

First favorite player I knew was Harmon Killebrew, from there I went to Johnny Bench as I got older, then got out of a favourite player stage. Then really followed Olerud, and thats been about it.

My all-time favorite player, and I said it in another thread but I'll repeat it, has to be Mickey Tettleton. These are the 3 things I loved about Mickey:

1) The Name - Oh come on, if you don't just love the name Mickey Tettleton, then you don't love bizarre names at all. That, along with Garth Iorg as someone else suggested, have to be up there in the top 50 baseball names of all time.

2) The Stance - The batting stance was legendary. He would just have it lying there gently as if he were a tennis player waiting to just smash a forehand/backhand shot (Remember, he was a switch hitter).

3) He wasn't half bad. I remember watching once as he hit a walkoff homerun against the New York Yankees at the Ballpark in Arlington. He hit it to dead center and it reached the lawn and the fans went ape over the ball. I always had a soft spot for the guy.

Anyone else a big Mickey (Tettleton, that is) fan?

Ive got to say that my favourite jays player was kelly gruber. He just always seemed to give it his all on the field. He was never the most talented guy on the field at a given time but he always seemed to dig deep and find a way to make things happen.

I still remember the game when he hit for the cycle (i believe in 1991). That for me is one of the greatest moments in blue jay history.

Anyone else a big Mickey (Tettleton, that is) fan?

No, he was a Tiger so I hated him.

I still remember the game when he hit for the cycle (i believe in 1991). That for me is one of the greatest moments in blue jay history.

Same here, that and Stieb finally getting his no-hitter. Gruber at the all-star game was awesome too as that was before the 'surge' of Blue Jay all-stars.

I have to admit to a soft spot for Tettleton. Very underrated player in my opinion.

Anyone else a big Mickey (Tettleton, that is) fan?

A big fan. Truly a very underrated player. Played a key defensive position and had tremendous secondary skills that got lost entirely by those fixated on batting average and strikeouts.

No one else went for Bonds? I'm surprised.

To turn an old phrase, rooting for Barry Bonds is like rooting for General Motors. And yes, I'm a Yankee fan saying that.

Sudden thought on Barry:

Let's say next season, he hit .288 with 39 homers and 145 walks. What would the reaction be?

My criteria would be a young roster player with some mystery and romance and all the tools, not yet a star but who has all the potential. He will have to overcome some adversity and in fact he is already being unfairly trashed out of jealous spite by The Competition. Last year he was respectable in his first year, this year he blossoms. He has tremendous defensive skills and can throw a strike to home plate from right field. In my mind's eye he plays like the reincarnation of Roberto Clemente. That can only be Alexis Rios.

Best part about Mickey Tettleton was the face. The man looked like a slugger; cheek pumped with chew, ruthless eyes that could deflate a September call-up. Favourite Jay named Mickey? Easy. Mickey Klutts.

As for Bonds, that's a big drop on average, but the BB numbers are still good. An altered diet, perhaps?

Lee, are you really surprised? Man, I thought my idolation of Lord Byron was beyond the pale. (I just keep saying to myself, "He didn't know it was his half-sister, he didn't know it was his half-sister ... ") The question is not "best player" but "favourite player." For better or worse, Bonds is not a popular player. And he has nobody to blame but himself, but of course he doesn't care. Nor, perhaps, should he care.

Although ... there was a great moment when Ellis Burks was on the Giants. Before the game, Burks was "interviewing" his son, a bat-boy with the Giants, and he asked him who his favorite player was. Dead-pan, the kid says, "Barry Bonds." Burks does a legit double-take, smiles his terrific, effusive smile, and says, "Barry Bonds? Really? Barry Bonds?" The kid's response? "He's better than you, dad."

Apparently Sammy Sosa is very close to being dealt to Baltimore for Jerry Hairston Jr. and 4 minor leaguers. ESPN Radio is reporting the deal is not quite completed, but is expected to be. I couldn't find a link anywhere either. Hmmm, the Orioles just keep trying to add old expensive players that aren't pitchers.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/3359986
COMN for Sosa to the Orioles rumour.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=citadel-2_347034_325&prov=citadel&type=lgns
COMN for yahoo's Meet your New Jays article.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1978076
The owner of the Pirates is fed up with the crazy spending. He wants some sort of stiff salary restraint in the next CBA because the owners can't control themselves.

The owner of the Pirates is fed up with the crazy spending. He wants some sort of stiff salary restraint in the next CBA because the owners can't control themselves.

April 30, 1999
Pittsburgh Pirates - signed Pat Meares to a four-year, $15 million contract extension

Similar to the Pirates owner commenting on salary restraint, we have:

McClatchy's sharp talk mirrors that of the Orioles' Peter Angelos, who said first baseman Carlos Delgado's $52 million contract with Florida reflects baseball's "fiscal insanity."

compared to:

Baltimore's last proposal was worth $48 million over four years

Now, granted, I also read that the Orioles originally offered 3 / 30, and that they were stunned by the market for Delgado. But Batlimore still offered him the money, and this was coming after the 2003 offseason, when Baltimore spent around 114.5 million dollars on Ponson, Tejada, and Lopez (not to mention the fact that Angelos had previously spent 28 million on David Segui)

Of course, when your top off-season aquisitions are Steve Kline and Chris Gomez, you might want to blow off some steam.

Favorite Expo: FP Santangelo. An all grit, no talent guy who played triple A so long he is the only Ottawa Lynx to have his number retired. Finally played for the Expos long enough to do his knees in on the Big Owe's outfield. He was a Bill Lee type who loved to get dirty. Great five o'clock shadow. I'll never forget a diving over the shoulder catch he made playing centre field for the Expos (Devo would probably have reached it without breaking a sweat, but that is beside the point).

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBpcDBuM2RlBF9TAzk1ODYxNzc3BHNlYwN0aA--?slug=ap-cubs-orioles-sosa&prov=ap&type=lgns
Sosa to Orioles link

A nod to Grimsby Paul for pointing out someone I had long forgotten about :) The way that the announcer at Lynx stadium would bellow his name was classic. F. P. San- TANNNNN gel-low. When he finally made it to Montreal the announcer never did him justice.

My favorite player is Lou Whitaker, as I was a big Tigers fan when I was a kid, and I played second base in Little League. Sweet Lou was amazing to watch turning double plays with Alan Trammell, and I always really admired the guy's plate discipline: more career BB's than K's... no mean feat for a player not considered an elite hitter.

Favorite Expo: FP Santangelo. An all grit, no talent guy who played triple A so long he is the only Ottawa Lynx to have his number retired.

Sorry to dissapoint but two summers ago, we retired Jamey Carroll's number. He was another good guy full of grit who spent many years in Ottawa. You may also know him as the guy who gave the english speech to the fans at the last Expos game.

Questions like these are always tough for me to answer without listing about 50 different players. I'll try to keep it short as possible.

Favourite Jays: Wells, Alomar, Winfield, Hudson + soft spot for Gruber
Favourite Non-Jays: Ichiro, Lou Brock, Juan Pierre, Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, Tim Raines, Frank Thomas, Ozzie Smith, Torii Hunter, Yount and Ventura, Andy Van Slyke, Jay Bell in his "we need me" t-shirt...

Longer list than I thought...

Leave it to me to forget Mike Schmidt and probably a lot of other guys...

I think NFH mentioned this before, but Reed Johnson's number has been changed to #3 on bluejays.com roster page. Hillenbrand is taking 29, and Myers, 28 respectively, but I see no reason why Reed changed to 3. Anybody know?

Because good things come in 3s?

Because good things come in 3s?

That doesn't explain Ed Sprague.

From the Jays, the big lumbering guys Cliff Johnston, Big Daddy Fielder and Dave Winfield. From the rest of the world, George Brett. Scared the crap out of me every time he came to the plate.

beaucoup_fish, you got a thing for guys who can run, huh?

as a kid, Steve Garvey. He was the best hitter ever after being knocked down/brushed back...and he was always there, which counts for something.

after that...Carlos Delgado or Jim Edmonds. It only takes once for a guy to hook you, and it was Carlos' shot off of Windows, and Edmonds diving AWAY from home plate to catch one on the track. Wow.

I watched the Garvey HR off of Lee Smith in 1984 off the SoCal coast, with my little Navy ship doing maneuvers...we stationed a guy on the helo pad to change the direction of the antenna every time the ship changed course. Amazingly wonderful.

To turn an old phrase, rooting for Barry Bonds is like rooting for General Motors. And yes, I'm a Yankee fan saying that.

Still, he is certainly the greatest player to compete during my lifetime. I would think he who get more support.

Let's say next season, he hit .288 with 39 homers and 145 walks. What would the reaction be?

My reaction would be that Barry had an off-year by his standards (of recent years). I wouldn't read more into it than that.

Tim Raines, because he was Just. Plain. Awesome.

The Cat has declared himself 100% healthy.

In other news, Larry Bowa has declared himself really calm and mellow, and Rey Ordonez has declared himself a .300 hitter.

Pete Rose~ He was the Little Leaguer in all of us. Before life got in his way.