Today's Top Of The Class

[Xanadu Dragon]

I was thinking last night that baseball, as a sport, probably has a higher % of players with "class" - - more so than the NFL, NBA, NHL, etc. (Not looking to debate that here - perhaps in another thread?)

Then, I thought of the two players which best illustrate the notion of "class" (meaning commanding respect as well as having respect for the game, your peers, the fans, etc) - - - and, they are both now retired: Gwynn and Ripken.

This lead to the question - - among players still active, who are the heads of the list in terms of "class" (as defined herein)?

I would be interested in seeing everyone's top ten list - - and, I'll work on one as well - - - right away, Schilling and Carlos Delgado came to mind, without thinking too deeply yet.

[TGwynn19]

1) Sammy Sosa. Always says and does the right thing. Has done great things in the DR and '98 was something so special.

2) Fred McGriff He got absolutely ripped for stalling the trade from Tampa to Chicago. He didn't want to move his family from their hometown and got labeled as a loser. I admire a person who can put family first.

3)Curt Schilling The open letter to America following 9/11 should be framed and put into Cooperstown.

4) Andres Gallarraga Is it just me or does the Big Cat always seem extremely humble...oh yeah he survived cancer.


There is a group of other players that I don't have anything specific about but seem to represent the best of baseball: Maddux, Palmerio, Bagwell, Glavine.....

[chrisfostermusi]

Is there a copy of Shillings letter, I didn't hear about it. So much was going on at that time it is easy to see why.

[Duque]

I agree with XD - the over-the-top endzone celebrations, all the showing-up that goes on in basketball, is largely verboten in MLB. When someone pulls that in the NFL or NBA, it's common behavior. If they did it in baseball, they'd be roundly criticized.

(in no particular order)

Curt Schilling
Al Leiter
Derek Jeter
Tom Glavine
Sammy Sosa
Jeff Bagwell
Mike Sweeney
Darin Erstad
Shawn Green
Carlos Delgado

[chrisfostermusi]

The most benevolent guy in sports that I know is Warwick Dunn.

He has put down the down payment and stocked houses for 28 single mothers since he has been in the league. Little man, big heart

[hmrsf]

Two years ago, in Fenway Park, my daughter and I went to game. I was having one of those God awful migraines and my daughter wanted me to go with her to try and get Nomar autograph. I told her I did not feel up to it but to try and get someone from the opposing team (due to our seat location.) She went down to the field and waited by the on deck circle. From my seat I could see her jumping up and down and then went tearing up the isle towards me. My first thought was, OMG my kid just stole a bat! She breathlessly told me what happened and that I was right. (I have tried to instill in my child that these players are real people and treat them with courtesy..i.e. no yelling at them and if they decline a request, graciously accept no for an answer.) She told me that this big guy came walking towards her with a bat in his hand. She politely asked for an autograph and he waved his hand to say no. She said, "that's ok, have a great game anyways." He looked at her strange and said "here's a bat."

She also went on to say later....that man is really nice even though he is not a great player." Yes, Ralphy went on to have weak performance that game (due to an excellence of Pedro) but he was the top star in my book.

[gyb13]

Originally posted by chrisfostermusi
Is there a copy of Shillings letter, I didn't hear about it. So much was going on at that time it is easy to see why.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/s/2001/0915/1251689.html

[LeGrandOrange]

A guy that was inevitably going to be mentioned but who I'm going to mention first is Edgar Martinez.
Being in the Seattle area, I know how much of a community guy he is. He's a REALLY nice guy, and has vehemently refuted any sentiments Leo Durocher ever echoed. He's also an enjoyable guy to interview or something, smart, funny, and he never screws up...that's a good thing.
And he's the kind of player you always want to have, a guy who just shuts up and does his job and does his job WELL. (And he looks good doing it, it's unorthodox but that swing is just pretty to watch)
Others have better reasons, but Edgar's certainly a guy you can list. Certainly, he's a viable candidate to replace Ripken for the "Classy American Leaguer" role.
Actually, John Olerud can be considered like that as well...

[pathogan]

tough to say, because perception is based almost exclusively on media stories. For example,a friend who works in a ML clubhouse said albert belle{!} was the kindest MLB he ever dealt with{Though said Lius Gonzalez was on par] Gwynn and Ripken are easy interviews, though teamates have often disliked them... I would say luis gonzalez and Darin erstad

[Xanadu Dragon]

Originally posted by pathogan
tough to say, because perception is based almost exclusively on media stories. For example,a friend who works in a ML clubhouse said albert belle{!} was the kindest MLB he ever dealt with{Though said Lius Gonzalez was on par] Gwynn and Ripken are easy interviews, though teamates have often disliked them... I would say luis gonzalez and Darin erstad

Belle, Griffey Jr., and Frank Thomas are known to huge "tippers" in the circle of clubbies. Not sure if that gives them a "class" label 'tho.

[LeGrandOrange]

Luis Gonzalez is a "poor man's" Sosa, in my opinion. I like the Luisville Slugger myself, not as much as Sosa, but that's because he can be TOO quiet. But his gameplay can speak for itself. The image of Luis that I always think of is him hanging on the wall with one hand and robbing a Cardinal of a homerun with the other. Shinjo made it look better, but Gonzalez's was cooler.
I don't personally know much about the "good side" of Darin Erstad. Erstad is an excellent player, but the only personality I've heard about Erstad is, sadly, from hearing Jim Rome talk about him.
Albert Belle is certainly nicer than him in comparison to Roe.
I think if you interview the right way, you can even make John Rocker palatable. No offense to John. I think that Rocker is just misunderstood. He MIGHT be a punk in reality, who knows, he can be a little too vocal. I mean, he's not the only guy who has such opinions on New York. *cautiously* I mean, I've got similar opinions. *normal* However, he's one of the few who puts them in a national publication, whether the publication is reputable or not, and because of this, the media considers him an evil demon or something, not just the New York natives.
But that's my opinion, and as always, your mileage may vary.

I think, actually, there is clear evidence that Rocker is a punk. Not an evil, malicious guy, just a punk. You know, a guy who was dumb and a jerk all his life, but he threw left-handed and was a great athlete, was put on a pedestal at an early age, and watched too much WWF.

As for New York; it is obviously the media, financial and cultural capital of the world. There are so many good things about New York, it can be enjoyed by art lovers, weirdo goth kids, Samantha Joneses, sports fans...it has a unique cultural and ethnic diversity, often baseball is the common bond. The immigrant cab driver and the systems analyst who makes six figures can both root for the Mets.

Not to put Rocker on the same level, but...to ignorant people who fear those who are different, obviously New York is an abomination, which is why it's a target of Rocker and terrorists.

A minor disagreement with the original point; I think it is unanimous among the media that NHL players are by far the most polite, humble and down-to-earth group of professional athletes. Or maybe racecar drivers, if you consider them athletes.

I think you will find that the best guys in baseball are the scrubs, but among the stars, Maddux and Glavine seem to be the most well-grounded guys around. Al Leiter, who's from my neck of the woods, seems to be a heck of a guy. Edgar is a class act, no doubt; one of the most underappreciated superstars in the game, Barry Larkin, seems a genuinely nice guy.

[LeGrandOrange]

Originally posted by Baudib
I think, actually, there is clear evidence that Rocker is a punk. Not an evil, malicious guy, just a punk. You know, a guy who was dumb and a jerk all his life, but he threw left-handed and was a great athlete, was put on a pedestal at an early age, and watched too much WWF.

As for New York; it is obviously the media, financial and cultural capital of the world. There are so many good things about New York, it can be enjoyed by art lovers, weirdo goth kids, Samantha Joneses, sports fans...it has a unique cultural and ethnic diversity, often baseball is the common bond. The immigrant cab driver and the systems analyst who makes six figures can both root for the Mets.

Not to put Rocker on the same level, but...to ignorant people who fear those who are different, obviously New York is an abomination, which is why it's a target of Rocker and terrorists.

A minor disagreement with the original point; I think it is unanimous among the media that NHL players are by far the most polite, humble and down-to-earth group of professional athletes. Or maybe racecar drivers, if you consider them athletes.

I think you will find that the best guys in baseball are the scrubs, but among the stars, Maddux and Glavine seem to be the most well-grounded guys around. Al Leiter, who's from my neck of the woods, seems to be a heck of a guy. Edgar is a class act, no doubt; one of the most underappreciated superstars in the game, Barry Larkin, seems a genuinely nice guy.

I won't comment about Rocker further, because I wouldn't just admit that I share some of his opinions, I may share may feelings about post-9/11 New York that not only would get me ostricized, but could damn well get me a ban. Cliffs notes version: I'm not in a New York state of mind. It's passe to like New York in my opinion.
Then again, I'm not normal. I'm less right in the head than Rocker is. And I have other reasons too, but I don't wanna give a whole biography of myself and my problems in the forum.
As for the hockey thing...I hardly consider a sport with a club with a convicted rapist on a team's 4th line polite or humble. Besides, as much as Gary Bettman doesn't want to admit it, the sport is racist. Ever noticed how a lot of a "major" incidents seem to involve white enforcers doing something to black enforcers? That said, the NHL has some of the widest extremes in class in sports history. There are complete assholes, and yet, there are a very good amount of gentlemen as well. I like several of the gentlemen. However, they don't make enforcers like they used to. Where's Tiger Williams when you need him? Besides, I miss seeing him ride the stick!
Umm...anyway. Lost track there. (Tiger should be inducted to the hall, BTW)
I agree with you on those points. I don't know much about Leiter, but I know he's a great pitcher...never really saw the off-field Leiter too much.
Maddux and Glavine are of course great guys...actually, so is Smoltz (a more light-hearted guy), we talked about Edgar...and I like you bringing up Larkin. He did have the fiasco where he nearly became a Met, but he does seem to have loyalty. I liked him more as a great player, I don't know the personality so much right now. But I do like him.
Or something.
Your mileage SHOULD vary.

Sorry to hear that. Have you ever been to New York? I can understand if you don't like big crowds or big cities and the fast pace, but surely, it is a town full of niches for everyone.

As for the hockey guys...the strange thing is that most of the enforcers are generally the nicest guys off the ice. Not all of them.
And if you compare stars, it's no comparison to any sport. Hockey isn't quite as rife with egomaniacs, and even the ones who are seem to be pretty decent guys (Jagr, Fedorov). Martin Brodeur may be the nicest guy in sports. The one guy everyone thinks is a problem child -- Eric Lindros -- is actually a great guy, pretty humble for someone who was compared to Wayne Gretzky at age 14, and, in fact, his leadership problem stems from the fact that he tries too hard to be one of the guys.

[LeGrandOrange]

I admit that I've never been to New York City. New York just never gave me the aura that everyone else sees.
I don't get out much anyway though, I think I'm lucky if I can get a mile away from home, let alone 3,000, and I'm equally uncomfortable straying that far. I mean, I want to leave where I am QUITE often on a permanent basis (and to show my unpatriotism, I've RARELY considered another US home, I'd rather be Canadian or British, I might MAKE something of myself there), but am unable too as a result.
My not getting out much isn't by choice, I've had problems during my life that stop me, and I'm not sure how to "right the ship". These problems have been going on some two years, relatively long for a "prospect" like me.
I do have some sort of social phobia. No, I've got something of a LARGE social phobia. I've always had problems with being around lots of people, now, it only takes one to make me uncomfortable. Doesn't even take that, I have a self phobia too. This is why I haven't gone to a baseball game in some time (the last time I went to a game, at Safeco, there were lightning storm, and that could've had an effect as well), and why I really done much of anything else in some time. I haven't got a hell of a lot I can do about it.
*sigh*
It's difficult really to explanate (sic) my problems without boring the masses. But I've got plenty. It's why I am places like here and not in the real world.
We now return to your regularly scheduled program.