Which of the players on your current EFL roster is your favorite? When Kyle Schwarber stops going 0 for 4 with 4 strikeouts (as he did yesterday) and remembers how to hit, he’ll be my favorite Wolverine. In the meantime it’s probably… ok, it’s already Schwarber.
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Which is your favorite currently active player, on your EFL team or not? Mine is probably Adrian Beltre, for his gorgeous way of playing third base and his fun personality, although Ichiro is up there, too, since he’s technically still active.
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Which is your favorite player all time? Mine is Edgar Martinez.
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They are having an Edgar Martinez weekend up in Seattle, which I am sorry to miss. I’m sorry to miss seeing his number 11 flying atop the Space Needle. I’m sorry to miss the dedication last night of his retired-number plaque in the Safeco outfield — and the replica plaques they gave out to fans. I even sort of miss getting an Edgar Martinez light bat, which I believe is what they are handing out today.
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In lieu of any more of my commentary, I invite you to honor Edgar Martinez Day by reflecting in the comments on your favorite player(s).
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| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 77 | 37 | .679 | — | 645.8 | 442.6 |
| Haviland Dragons | 74 | 42 | .642 | 4 | 683.2 | 509.9 |
| Cottage Cheese | 73 | 42 | .636 | 4.8 | 625.7 | 469.4 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 74 | 42 | .634 | 4.9 | 595.8 | 450.7 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 68 | 48 | .589 | 10.1 | 667.0 | 545.4 |
| Kaline Drive | 67 | 49 | .576 | 11.6 | 574.5 | 489.5 |
| Peshastin Pears | 64 | 52 | .554 | 14.2 | 568.6 | 517.7 |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 61 | 55 | .526 | 17.4 | 574.5 | 530.0 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 53 | 61 | .461 | 24.9 | 535.7 | 581.7 |
| D.C. Balk | 44 | 70 | .387 | 33.3 | 559.3 | 710.3 |
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 74 | 42 | .634 | — |
| Boston Red Sox | 66 | 50 | .569 | 7.5 |
| New York Yankees | 61 | 54 | .530 | 12 |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 61 | 55 | .526 | 12.5 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 59 | 59 | .500 | 15.5 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 58 | 59 | .496 | 16 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 55 | 61 | .474 | 18.5 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Washington Nationals | 69 | 45 | .605 | — |
| Miami Marlins | 55 | 60 | .478 | 14.5 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 53 | 61 | .461 | 16.4 |
| New York Mets | 52 | 62 | .456 | 17 |
| Atlanta Braves | 51 | 63 | .447 | 18 |
| D.C. Balk | 44 | 70 | .387 | 24.9 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 43 | 71 | .377 | 26 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 77 | 37 | .679 | — |
| Cleveland Indians | 62 | 52 | .544 | 15.4 |
| Minnesota Twins | 58 | 57 | .504 | 19.9 |
| Kansas City Royals | 58 | 58 | .500 | 20.4 |
| Detroit Tigers | 53 | 63 | .457 | 25.4 |
| Chicago White Sox | 45 | 69 | .395 | 32.4 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Cottage Cheese | 73 | 42 | .636 | — |
| Chicago Cubs | 60 | 55 | .522 | 13.1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 61 | 56 | .521 | 13.1 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 60 | 59 | .504 | 15.1 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 58 | 59 | .496 | 16.1 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 49 | 68 | .419 | 25.1 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Haviland Dragons | 74 | 42 | .642 | — |
| Houston Astros | 71 | 45 | .612 | 3.4 |
| Kaline Drive | 67 | 49 | .576 | 7.7 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 60 | 58 | .508 | 15.4 |
| Seattle Mariners | 59 | 59 | .500 | 16.4 |
| Texas Rangers | 56 | 59 | .487 | 17.9 |
| Oakland A’s | 51 | 66 | .436 | 23.9 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 82 | 34 | .707 | — |
| Portland Rosebuds | 68 | 48 | .589 | 13.7 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 65 | 51 | .560 | 17 |
| Colorado Rockies | 65 | 51 | .560 | 17 |
| Peshastin Pears | 64 | 52 | .554 | 17.8 |
| San Diego Padres | 51 | 65 | .440 | 31 |
| San Francisco Giants | 46 | 71 | .393 | 36.5 |
My favorite players are the ones who are not famous, who have been disappointments, but players who eventually figure it out and become useful. My poster child this year has been Aaron Hicks, who got traded for a minor-league catcher and has turned into a really good player for the Yankees. Other candidates for future favorites include Greg Bird and Max Kepler.
My favorite MLB star has always been Sandy Koufax, because I too am left-handed and I too once stood on a pitcher’s mound and threw to a batter. That’s where our features-in-common come to an end, but it was enough for me. He did the “Chariots of Fire” thing before the movie, refusing to pitch on Yom Kippur, and earned my admiration for that (in addition to being a pretty good pitcher). It took a long time for me to recover from his premature (as I saw it) retirement.
Great topic, Commissioner.
My favorite current Allegheny: I’ll take the obvious–Jose Altuve. Three reasons: 1) his greatness is so unlikely. I see his 5’6″ at the plate and can’t believe he can do what he does. He reminds me of Freddie Patek to look at–remember him, Royals fans?–except he hits .360. 2) He almost never has a bad game. He had 0 hits twice in the whole month of July. 3) He annoys the owner of the Wolverines. I don’t get any credit for this. As the Wolverine owner will remind us, he just sort of gratuitously threw him into a trade; I took him because I was collecting second basemen, hoping I might find one who was decent. Mr. Wolverine owner shouldn’t be annoyed any more. Altuve is on his second EFL contract, and I got this one in open market bidding.
My favorite current player in baseball: Mike Trout. Being a Cheese hasn’t reduced my admiration for him. He’s simply the best player in baseball and is a joy to watch. And I like it that he’s humble, hardworking, and respectful of the game. I don’t mind him on the Cheese because he’s balanced by that loudmouth braggart who thinks he’s the best, Bryce Harper.
My favorite all-time player: Roberto Clemente. Dave and I are clearly of the same vintage with our choices being Clemente and Koufax. I no doubt started rooting for him because he was the best player on my favorite team, but I came to love his unique flair. He was not only a great hitter, but played the outfield like he owned it. In my own biased view, I don’t think that cannon arm in right field has ever been matched. I’m not sure he would be appreciated in today’s walk and home run culture. He didn’t hit enough HR’s to have a 1.000 OPS and he hardly ever walked. I’ll never forget the New Year’s Day morning when I came downstairs and my Dad said to me, “There was quite a tragedy last night.” He was still hitting in the .300s.
My favorite past Pear: Joey Votto, because he was drafted as an afterthought and showed how wrong I was.
My favorite current Pear: Mitch Haniger, who must be wondering why the injury gods have cursed him, not knowing about pearitis. (On July 30 I bought my souvenir Mitch Haniger jersey about 20 minutes before his first ab in that game, the ab where he was hit in the mouth with a 95 mph fastball.)
My first favorite player: Carl Yaztremski of the 67 Red Sox.
My favorite player among those I have ever seen in person: Inchiro