My left infield allstar team

3rd Base Starter Mike Schmidt Mike was probably the best power 3rd baseman of all time. With 548 home runs and over 1,500 RBI Mike was one of the first people that came to mind for the 3rd base position. With his 17 years with the phillies Mike earned 10 gold gloves and was elected to 12 all stars. Mike also was a 3 time NL MVP.

Backup Brooks Robinson 16 gold gloves. That is how good this guy is. 16 gold gloves. Brooks while go down in history as one of the best defensive 3rd baseman of all time. The human vacum cleaner also has 18 all star elections under his belt. Sparky Anderson once said " I'm begining to see Brooks in my sleep. If i dropped this paper plate he'd pick it up on the one hop and throw me out at first."

Shortstop Starter Hounus Wagner The Pittsburgh great was the first person that came to mind for the starting position. The great Babe Ruth once said " At shortstop there is only one canidate, the immortal Honus Wagner he was head and shoulders above the rest." The rest of his stats speak for themselves. with a .328 career battig average Honus was one of the greatest hitters ever to play shortstop. Tack on over 1,700 RBI and over 3,400 hundred hits and you got yourself an all star.

Backup Derek Jeter The heart of the yankees Jeter has put up great numbers during his 16 year career and he's still going. A .315 career average, over 1,100 RBI and Jeter is a 11 time all star and has 4 silver slugger and gold glove awards.

Wacky uniforms

Uniforms have always been a part of base ball. Yankees pinstripes, Dodger blue the good ones could go on and on but the best ones are not in this list, the horrible ones are on this list. The weird experiments of the '70's from the White Sox wearing shorts to the A's weird yellow and green alternates. Hope you like it.

No. 10 1971 Chicago White Sox Road Could somebody please tell the White Sox management of 1974 they are not the Reds! They're the White Sox, key word white. They didn't even have white socks! And the red hat just doesn't work for me. Chicago stick with the black and white.Picture from http://www.danhaman.com/

No. 9 1977 Pittsburgh Pirates alternate Can the Pirates do anything right? All yellow! I mean come on they look like they're lemonade salesmen or something. plus the yellow helmet with the black bill, it's just weird. If I had to wear this jersey i strangle myself. Not kidding Picture from http://www.pittsburghpiratesgifts.com/

No. 8 1999 Pittsburgh Pirates one game only Wow Pittsburgh can't do

anything right. Could the horrifying pirate on the front get any bigger? And the 3 shirts, the red muscle shirt the short black tee shirt and the yellow tee shirt

and the polka dotted yellow bandanna just adds to it

No. 7 1982 Chicago White Sox home You can sum up this jersey with one word.SOX. The Sox decked there players out in this hideous red white and

blue uniforms in 1987. Carlton Fisk had probably the worst timing in getting traded

to the White Sox uniform wise having to suffer playing a year on   Chicago's softball team then having to suffer 7 years of this of this! I'd kill myself. Picture from http://www.damorgue.com/

No. 6 1971 Baltimore Orioles alternate Imagine 9 pumpkins playing defense for

Baltimore in 1971 and 1972. It again  proves the theory that a one colored uniform

a bad idea. The Orioles had some pretty nice uniforms in  the 70's but this was not

one of them.

No. 5 1968 Oakland A's alternate This jersey is a great example of how yellow 

and green don't mix. Mickey Mantle once said " They should have come out of

the dugout on tippy toes, holding hands and singing." Charlie Finley's brain must

have been out for coffee when he made up this idea, oh right he didn't have one.

No. 4 1976 Houston Astros home The "rainbow jerseys" were just to much on

the eyes. And the blue number on the pant leg just added to it. And what  

amazed me the most is that they kept it for over 10 years! And the helmets are just weird. Picture from http://www.watchmojo/.com

No. 3 1999 Seattle Mariners one game only Doesn't Jr. look like a happy duckling in this picture. The only thing bigger than Jr.'s biceps is that 24 on his jersey. It was turn ahead the clock night in 1999 clearly the worst idea the MLB ever had. 20 other teams made a turn ahead the clock night jersey just weird. Maybe i wouldn't have hated it as much if they had there regular colors not that ugly shade of red. The teams that had enough sense not do make these jerseys were the Yankees, Cubs, Expos, Rangers, Reds, Dodgers, Blue Jays and the Astros which surprises me because I thought they would jump at the chance make a new ugly rainbow jersey . Picture by http://www.bleachereport.com/

No. 2 1978 San Diego Padres alternate we all knew this was coming, the dreaded mustard uniforms. Probably the worst color you could put on a baseball uniform, except pink. To make matters even worse they had those

horrible brown and yellow helmets that had the triangle yellow triangle in the middle. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps.

No. 1 1976 Chicago White Sox Road The worst uniform idea in baseball history. Shorts. The weird softball like shirt with the weird color and the socks with the 2 stripes. I'd really hate to be the catcher Brian Downing. All those strap burns, ouch. But to sum it up this is the single worst uniform in MLB history. Picture from http://www.twinkietown.com/

To answer your question mepastore Ted Williams was the greatest hitter of all time yes. But Williams hadn't worked hard enough on his defense. If he had put some time in and became a decent outfielder he would have easily made the list maybe even had been number 1 or 2.

my All Star team

Every year in the midst of the dog days of summer the MLB takes a one week break from the grind of a game every day. Also known as the all star break when the stars of each league face of against each other a annual all star game the national league teams edge the American league 41 wins to 38 wins. After all the all star games I've watched in my day and all my years around baseball I've made my all star team of all time. Imagine Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb on the same team or Willie Mays and Hank Aaron on the same team. Here's my full list all 25 players and a manager.
Starting and backup outfielders

Left Field starter Stan Musial was one of single greatest hitters ever to play left field. Batting a excellent .331 career average and chalking up 1,951 RBI over the course of his 22 year career. Musial was one home run away from winning the triple crown in 1948. Plus Stan led the league in runs, hits, doubles, triples and slugging percent that year. Stan would add power to the middle of the lineup hitting for extra bases.

Back up Carl Yaztrzemski Yaz was one of the greatest hitters ever to don a Red Sox jersey. Batting a career .285 with over 450 homers. Yaz also has the distinction of being the last person to win the triple crown. Carl also wasn't to shabby in the field winning 7 gold gloves.Yaz would add power and a good bat and a good glove to the team of the bench.

Starter Center Field Wilie Mays Willie was great with the glove and with a bat in his hand. Hitting 660 homers 4th on the all time list, over 1,900 RBI and had a string of 24 consecutive all star appearances. His first three seasons he failed to make the team. Willie was also a tremendous fielder winning twelve gold glove when the gold glove debuted in

Backup Ty Cobb Cobb was one of the greatest if not the greatest hitter of all time. Batting a record .366 lifetime and batting over .400 3 times. The Georgia peach batted under .300 only once in his career and that was in his rookie year. Cobb would be a great addition the top of the lineup knocking in RBIs  left and right and would add great speed to the lineup.

Starter Right Field Hank Aaron Hammerin' Hank was probably the most consistent power hitter of all time hitting 755 home runs second on the all time list. Hank also has the all time record for total bases, RBI and extra base hits. Hank would add a great bat to the lineup with a career .555 slugging and a great .928 OPS.

Backup Roberto Clemente Roberto was a great hitter and fielder winning 12 gold gloves in his 18 year career. Clemente would've won more if the tragic plane on new years eve had not happened. but what Clemente did accomplish was one of the 27 to reach 3,000 hits a .317 average and over 1,300 RBI.            

intsant replay

The debate use of instant replay in baseball is in full swing right now. The replay system instituted by the MLB in 2008 allows any person on the opposing team of a player who hits a borderline home run or a coach or player of a player who hits a home run but the umpires get the call wrong can ask the umpires to go under the booth to review any home run call. The 3 things an umpire would be looking for would be for a fair/foul home run or if there was any fan interference or the last reason would be to if the ball even left the park. The first time a call was challenged was in early September of 2008 A-Rod hit a drive in Tropicana park toward the left field foul pole that was ruled a home run by 3rd base ump Bryce DePuy but Tampa Bay coach Joe Maddon and catcher Dioner Navvaro argued it was foul. Charlie Reliford the crew chief that day allowed the review to happen but the call stood as A-Rod got his homer. The first time a call was over turned was also in September of 2008 also in Tropicana field. Carlos Pena hit a drive just over the fence. Originally the umpires ruled that there was fan interference but after several minutes of replay Pena was given the home run. The first time instant replay was used was in the post season game three of the 2008 world series A-rod had hit a drive that had bounced off a camera in right field initially played as a double the umpires reviewed the ball and ruled that if the camera wasn't there it would have left the park easily. And A-Rod was awarded the home run. I think instant replay is good for base ball what do you think?

top 5 baseball players of all time

I'm sure you've all pondered this question before, who are the all time top 10 greats. Here's my list.
Willie Mays New York/ San Fran Cisco Giants 1951-1972 New York Mets 1972-1973. 302 batting average over 1000 RBI 660 home runs and over 3000 hits. Willie was not only  great with a bat, he was great with a glove winning 12 golden gloves and being selected to 24 all star teams

Babe Ruth one of the alltime greats people sometimes forget he was a pitcher, a very good pitcher at that, his era was a small 2.28 with a win loss record of 94-46. But Ruth was known more for his hitting with 714 homers 3rd on the all time list. Babe had an amazing career 690 slugging percentage which is the all time best record and a 1.164 ops which is also atop the all time list. Babe was also elected to the MLB century team and ranks in the top ten in several other catagories.

Cy Young any guy with over 500 wins deserves a spot on this list. Cy started 815 games in his 21 seasons with the Cleveland Spiders the St. Louis Perfectos the Boston Red Sox the Cleveland Naps and the Boston Rustlers he completed 749 games! That's just absurd nobody in there right mind would even dream of that in this day and age. His ERA was amazing too 2.63. And to top it of Cy was elected to the 20th century MLB team

Ty Cobb Cobb is plain and simple the greatest hitter and base runner of all time. He has the numbers to back it up. Cobb batted over .400two times in his career, 420 in 1911 and 409 in 1912  times in his career! Ted Williams had  batted .406 in 1941 but it came down to the 2nd to last game of the season. He almost did it again in 1957. Ty had a unbelievable career average .366 the best ever by 8 points over Roger Hornsby's .358 career average. Cobb was also a magnificent base stealer swipping 892 stolen bases good enough to be 4th on the alltime list

bullpen catchers

Since this blog is named for the bullpen it seemed right to blog about the most important part of the pen beside the relievers, the bullpen catcher. Ever watch a game when there's a high foul pop over into foul territory in a park were the bullpens are tucked away in foul territory and you see your favorite reliever joking with a guy in old shingaurds pounding into a well worn catchers and has a number you might see on one of the guys on a football teams offensive line? Well that's a bullpen catcher. The guy probably went to a small college, played catcher, couldn't hit for his life but was a good receiver and probably could beat your dad in a footrace. Bullpen catchers bassically do anything everybody else hasn't got the time to do. Throw, catch  or shag batting practice, be a dummy base runner in a rundown drill, catch countless bullpen sessions, warmup the starting pitcher before the game and most importantly make sure the relivers are nice and warm to go into the gamehe's a jack of all trades simply put. Probably the most depressing thing about being a bullpen catcher is not actually playing in a real game since they're technically on the coach staff not a part of the active roster. But look on the bright side, bullpen catchers get paid any where from 30 to 60,000 doallars to play catch who wouldn't want to do that. They even get the same bonuses the stars of the team get when there team reaches the playoffs! They may not get the fame and fortune his teamates gets but he is a very important piece in the very big jigsaw puzzle which is a MLB team.

catchers

ever since i first put the catchers pads on when i was 8 in little league i have had an obsession with catchers my favorite being Jorge Posada(i have like 2 dozen cards of him) a power switch hitter part of the Yankee core four with Derek Jeter Andy Pettite and Mariano Rivera. With a .276 career average 259 homers 5 silver slugger awards and just over 1,000 RBI Posada is still known as one of the best offensive catchers after 16 years in the majors.
           Some of my all time greats would be names like Yogi Berra Thurman Munson and Josh Gibson. All three where very good hitters. Berra with 358 homers is one of the 7 catchers in the MLB with over 300 homers. The others being Carlton Fisk Lance Parrish Gary Carter Johnny Bench Mike Piazza and the latest one and the only active one Pudge Rodriguez. Munson Was one of the great postseason hitters batting .357 in the postseason and .373 in the world series. Also Munson was one of the 12 Yankee captains. If Josh Gibson were given the chance to play in the majors he would have won the MVP award every year. In his 16 years as a catcher in the negro leagues 5 years with Pittsburgh and 11 with the Homestead Grays Josh had an absurd .648 slugging percentage and a .359 batting average according to the official Negro League statistics.
             But in my opinion Johnny Bench is the single greatest catcher of all time. He not only hit for power but was pretty much the best defensive catcher in MLB history. Winning 10 gold gloves in row! In a row! I sure feel bad for Reds backup during Benches career Bill Plummer. Bench is second on the alltime list in homers for a catcher 2nd to Mike Piazza with 389.
          Joe Mauer and Brian Mccann are two of the best young catchers in the game today. Both with over 450 RBI and Mauer with a .327career average while Mccann has a .290 average
         Hopefully these won't be the only good catchers we see for a while on my list but only time will tell if there is another Johnny Bench or Yogi Berra out there

cubs trading lee

Yesterday it was relased that derek lee would be traded to the braves from the cubs. After 6 years as a cub 5 more rbis fomm 1000 of them over 300 homers the cubs traded lee for three young pitching prospects from the braves. Expect Xavier Nady to handle first sack.

Mickey's pen

Hi everybody! My name is Mickey. mickeys pen is a blog where you can check up your favorite sports teams and sports stars in pro and college baseball, football, basketball, soccer and others. I root for the new york sports teams in baseball and football and the boston ones in basketball and hockey. Hope you enjoy!