Favorite Players?

John Sickels at Minorleagueball.com wasn't in an analytical mood tonight, and being that it's almost 2:00 AM I'm not either, so I think I'll join him in listing my 5 favorite players.

These are in no particular order and some of them may be influenced by present or past fantasy teams but here we go:

1.) Mariano Rivera: As a Yankee fan you have to have a favorite Yankee and it's so boring to say Jeter, so by default it's Mo. He's a pretty darn good default though right? Hands down best closer of all time, one of the best post-season pitchers ever, best ERA+ of all time, what's not to like? Even Yankee haters have to respect the guy and in some cases even like him. It's likely that the Yankees would win a World Series without Mo, but I don't see how they win four. Rivera is a total anomaly, relievers and closers are so volatile but Mo is Mr. Consistent. He even consistently starts off poorly each year making the NY sports coverage ask if this is the year, and every year he proves it isn't. Last year he walked 6 guys in 70 innings and this year he's walked only 3 in 37, if anything he has gotten better recently. I said these are in no particular order, but now I'm glad I chose Mo first.

2.) Joe Mauer: Here is the first instance where Fantasy Baseball may have interfered but regardless what a great player. Catchers just don't win batting titles, and Mauer will likely have three of them before he's 27. His getting shafted in MVP voting has also made me like him more. You would think a Catcher that bats .323 in his career wouldn't be, but Mauer is underrated and I think I often tend to start rooting for those guys more.

3.) Pablo Sandoval: This guy may just be the new guy that will be off this list as early as tomorrow, but it's hard not liking this guy. He can play 1b, 3b, and even catch if necessary. He's 5'11'' and 250 pounds, and he's also one of the best hitters in the national league. He looks like he shouldn't be playing baseball and at those specs he may not be able to for much longer, but he's sure fun to watch. Plus he has a sweet nickname in Kung-Fu Panda, the success of future good nicknames may rest on his shoulders.

4.) Albert Pujols: Weird that I say I root for the underrated guys and then list the best player in the game but fuck it, he's just too good. Another reason he is here is that I often find myself defending him as the best player in baseball. People can bring up Arod, or Hanley, or whomever they want, but the fact is that Albert is the best player in baseball and it's not even close. I think the difference between Albert and the 2nd best player would be greater than the difference between the 2nd best and 10th best player. He's also one of those cliche'd "better person than he is player," he's the entire package.

5.) Zack Greinke: Another Fantasy Baseball influenced pick. I drafted him in the 7th round this year because I "missed out" on Josh Beckett, and it's safe to say that in spite of Beckett's recent dominance the pick has worked out quite well. Since I've drafted him I've watched him pitch and he's quite remarkable. He has 4 pitches he can throw at any point in the count and all for strikes. He can change speeds better than anyone in the majors with the ability to literally take 20 mph off his curve at any given moment. The fact he has had such a bumpy road to get here only adds on to his coolness. It's a good thing I'm in a keeper league because I have a feeling we're going to be Friends Forever.

Those are my 5, any of you care to list yours?