Reds/Twins
Please see I’m
Just Sayin…for what is going on with our posts for the next month or so.
Reds
Pete Rose, Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan
Pete Rose
The hit king was the perfect fit for the Queen City. He was
a homegrown talent who earned the nickname “Charlie Hustle” through his rough
and rugged style of play. He spent 19 seasons with the Reds at various
positions, including making the switch from outfield to third base in the heart
of the 1975 championship team. For his career, the all-time hit leader had
4,256 hits—3,358 of which came in a Cincinnati uniform. He is plastered all
over the Reds record book. Rose had 601 doubles (first), 115 triples (fourth),
1,036 RBI (fourth), 1,210 walks (first), .379 OBP (fourth) and a .307 batting
average (10th). Rose was the 1963 NL Rookie of the Year, 1973 NL MVP, a
two-time Gold Glove Award winner, a 17-time All-Star and the 1975 Sports
Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. Most importantly, he was a two-time World
Series champion.
Frank Robinson
The only player to be named MVP in the NL and AL, many do
not even realize that Robinson played his first 10 years in Cincinnati. He was
the 1956 NL Rookie of the Year and 1961 NL MVP, amassing 324 home runs and
1,009 RBI while batting .307 as a Redleg. Robinson, a 12-time All-Star, was
elected to the Reds Hall of Fame in 1978 and the National Baseball Hall of Fame
in 1982. He ranks among baseball's all-time leaders with 586 home runs (sixth),
5,373 total bases (11th), 1,829 runs (13th), 1,812 RBI (17th), and 2,808 games
played (19th). Reds owner Bill DeWitt sent Robinson to Baltimore in exchange
for pitcher Milt Pappas, pitcher Jack Baldschun, and outfielder Dick Simpson in
1965. The trade is considered one of the most lopsided in baseball history.
Johnny Bench
The career leader in home runs and RBI for the Reds, Bench
spent his entire 17-year career in Cincinnati. Bench was the 1968 NL Rookie of
the Year and a part of two World Series Championships. He won 10 Gold Gloves
and was a 14-time NL All-Star and a two-time NL MVP. In 1999, The Sporting News
named him the 16th best player in MLB history. He was the highest ranked
catcher. Bench ended his career with 389 HRs, 1,376 RBI, 2,048 hits, and a .267
career batting average. A superstar in every sense of the phrase, he was a
national icon.
Joe Morgan
A 10-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove second baseman,
Morgan was elected to the Reds Hall of Fame in 1987 and the National Baseball
Hall of Fame in 1990. A two-time MVP Award winner, Morgan spent eight seasons
with the Reds from 1972-'79 during the glory days of the Big Red Machine. He
was named the NL's Most Valuable Player in 1975, guiding the Reds to a World
Series title over the Boston Red Sox in the process. Morgan batted .327 with 67
stolen bases that season. He did it again in 1976, when he received National
League MVP honors as the Reds roared to their second straight World Series
Championship. Morgan is the Reds' all-time stolen-base leader (406), and his
266 home runs as a second baseman rank third in baseball history behind Jeff
Kent and Ryne Sandberg.
Highly Honorably Mentioned:
Barry Larkin
The captain of the Cincinnati Reds in the late 1990s and
early 2000s, Larkin was the face of the franchise and the last Red to wear the
“C” on his jersey. He was a huge piece of the "wire-to-wire" World
Series in 1990, and he was named NL MVP in 1996. He ended his career a .295
hitter with a .975 fielding percentage at shortstop—slightly better than Big
Red Machine great Dave Concepcion.
Honorable Mention:
George Foster, Dave Concepcion, Eric Davis, Ted Kluszewski, Tony Perez
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/364756-the-ultimate-machine-greatest-cincinnati-reds-of-all-time
Twins
The Twins organization includes the Washington Senators. Therefore,
for me the greatest Twin/Senator is Walter Johnson. The greatest Minnesota Twin
is Kirby Puckett.
Walter Johnson, Kirby Puckett, Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew
Walter Johnson
As a right-handed pitcher for the Washington
Nationals/Senators, Walter Johnson won 417 games, the second most by any
pitcher in history (after Cy Young, who won 511). He and Young are
the only pitchers to have won 400 games. In a 21-year career, Johnson had
twelve 20-win seasons, including ten in a row. Twice, he topped thirty wins (33
in 1912 and 36 in 1913). Johnson's record includes 110 shutouts,
the most in baseball history. Johnson
had a 38–26 record in games decided by a 1–0 score; both his win total and
his losses in these games are major league records. Johnson also lost 65 games
because his teams failed to score a run. On
September 4, 5 and 7, 1908, he shut out the New York Highlanders in
three consecutive games. Three times, Johnson won the Triple Crown for
pitchers (1913, 1918 and 1924). Johnson twice won the American
League Most Valuable Player Award (1913, 1924), a feat
accomplished since by only two other pitchers, Carl Hubbell in 1933 and
1936 and Hal Newhouser in 1944 and 1945.
Career highlights and awards
Pitched a no-hitter (July 1, 1920)
2× AL MVP (1913, 1924)
World Series champion (1924)
11 sub-2.00 ERA seasons
2-30-win seasons
12-20-win seasons
12× American League Strikeout Champion (1910, 1912-1919,
1921, 1923, 1924)
6× American League Wins Champion (1913-1916, 1918, 1924)
5× American League ERA Champion (1912, 1913, 1918, 1919,
1924)
3× Triple Crown (1913, 1918, 1924)
All-time major league leader in shutouts (110)
Second all-time in wins
300 win club
3000 strikeout club
Major League Baseball All-Century Team
Major League Baseball All-Time Team
Kirby Puckett
Career highlights
and awards
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|
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirby_Puckett
Rod Carew
Career highlights
and awards
|
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Carew
Harmon Killebrew
Despite rumors that Killebrew was the player depicted in the Major
League Baseball logo, according to the creator, Jerry Dior, it was not
patterned after Killebrew or any other specific player. (Yea, right!)
Career highlights and awards
13× All-Star (1959, 1959, 1961, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965,
1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971)
AL MVP (1969)
6× AL home run champion (1959, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1969)
3× AL RBI champion (1962, 1969, 1971)
Lou Gehrig Memorial Award (1971)
Minnesota Twins #3 retired
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmon_Killebrew
Honorable Mention:
Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Jack Morris, Joe Mauer
Before I comment on the list you posted today, I wanted to go back to this one. It looks like we pretty much agreed on both lists. I had Larkin on my Reds list mainly because I had Frank Robinson on my Orioles list. If Barry Larkin hadn't been so good, I probably would have had Frank on this list too... but I try not to have a guy on two lists if I can help it. I'm happy to see you didn't forget about Walter Johnson on your Twins list... I thought I might get you on that one.
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