THE POP EXPOSE ‘Missing Baseball’ by Mitchell Smith!
Hello everybody, say goodbye to May and hello to June. I’m not sure how many but I assume a lot of us are missing professional sports. So I thought it would be fun to put together my fantasy team to play a game or 2 of baseball. There are many great catchers and names like Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, and Pudge Rodriguez come to mind but I’m going with the all time great and legend Yogi Berra. Berra had 10 World Series with the Yankees and his name is one of the most recognizable in Major League Baseball. First base has had many greats over the years Mark McGuire, David Ortiz, and Lou Gehrig are among the top all time players. There is one memorable moment in the 1990’s when first baseman came around 3rd and slid into home to win the pennant and start a decade of awesome teams.
So, my 1st baseman is none other than Sid Bream from the Braves. 2nd is tough for me. I think of players like Ryne Sandberg, Roberto Alomar, and Mark Lemke, but I’m going with Jackie Robinson. Jackie was one of a kind as the first African American to play MLB, on top of being harassed and threatened Jackie was able to lay down a great career. 3rd base. Wade Boggs, George Brett, or Robin Ventura, these were all great at their position. I’m going to take a top pick and add Chipper Jones to my roster. Chipper had a great carrier and although he only got 1 World Series he is still one of the top players at his position. Left field has had some great players over the years, Barry Bonds, Ted Williams, and Ron Gant to name a few, but My roster is going to have one of the fastest players in the game Ricky Henderson. Ricky was known for stealing bases and was always fun to watch. Right field has had its fair share of baseball greats as well. Names like Hank Aaron, Reggie Jackson, and the legend himself Babe Ruth filled stadium seats and built franchises. All great players but my roster will hold the one who invented the head first slide Mr Pete Rose.
What did John Fogerty sing, “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play”. I played center field in high school and I couldn’t hold a candle to greats like Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, and Willie Mays, but I’m taking Andy Van Slyke, he has just always been one of my favorites. I’m going to take 1 starting pitcher and 1 closer. There are so many great pitchers that come to mind, Cy Young, Pedro Martinez, and Greg Maddux are just a morsel of all the great pitchers, but I’m going to take one of my all time favorite pitchers John Smoltz. Smoltz was a long time Brave and helped them get their 1995 World Series. Relief is not much fun especially when you come into a game after your starter gave up the lead. Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers, and Mariano Rivera were all great at what they did closing out games, but I’m going with my all time favorite Dennis Eckersley, he had a side arm delivery and I just loved watching him pitch. I hope you enjoy my roster and I hope we start getting back to some live sports soon. Who is your dream team? MAKE THE JUMP to the forums and let us know!
