Baseball BeatFebruary 22, 2005
"Who Was Your Favorite Player Growing Up?"
By Rich Lederer

Part One of a Three-Part Series

The first of my favorite players when I was growing up was a relatively obscure player by the name of Bob Lillis. My attraction with Lillis began in 1960 or 1961 when I set eyes upon his Bell Brand potato chip baseball card. It was from a regional set featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers. The card itself was very colorful, especially for that era.

The photo was taken at spring training in Vero Beach the previous year. I can still picture Lillis straddling second base, holding his glove out awaiting a throw with a beautiful blue background that is as vivid today in my mind as it was 45 years ago. I loved the card so much that the two of us became inseparable. Me and my Bob Lillis card. Well, that's the way things were at least for a while.

You see, I lost that very card waving it outside the backseat window of the family car while my Mom was driving us to and fro. When I let out a cry, my Mom looked back and asked me what was the matter. I told her that the wind blew the card out of my hand. Like the good Mom she was (and still is), she pulled the car over to the side of the road so that we could retrieve it. However, the card was never to be found again. Well, maybe it was but not by a member of the Lederer clan.

My liking Lillis only deepened after he was traded by the Dodgers to the St. Louis Cardinals and then selected by the Houston Colt .45s in the 1961 expansion draft. Why? Knowing how much Lillis meant to me, my Dad took me into the visitors' locker room to meet the player who became the team's Most Valuable Player in its inaugural season in 1962. The handsome shortstop shook my hand, introduced me to several other players, and gave me a tour of the clubhouse.

Lillis sent me birthday cards and autographed photos with handwritten greetings on the back the next two years. Although I went on to favor Tommy Davis and Sandy Koufax during the mid-1960s, I always had a soft spot in my heart for the man whose baseball card I once latched onto and then lost.

When I interviewed Joe Posnanski (Kansas City Star) last month and learned that his favorite player growing up was another relatively inept infielder (Duane Kuiper), I began to wonder if it was more the rule than the exception to favor lesser-known players as opposed to stars. Who better to ask than a group of my favorite baseball writers?

Fifteen of the 38 respondents told me their favorite player growing up was someone who went on to become a Hall of Famer. One of those players was listed five times. Willie Mays? No. Mickey Mantle? Nope. Nolan Ryan, Johnny Bench, or Mike Schmidt? Not a single vote for any of them. The winner of the "Who was your favorite player growing up?" award is none other than Carl Yastrzemski. Dave Albee (Marin Independent Journal), Jim Baker (Baseball Prospectus), Jim Callis (Baseball America), Jon Daly (Baseball Think Factory), and Alan Schwarz (Baseball America) each named Yaz as their favorite player growing up.

I asked a talented group of writers, analysts, and baseball executives the following questions:

1. Who was your favorite player when you were growing up?

2. Why?

3. What do you most remember about that player?

4. Did you ever come into contact with him?

5. Do you have any special memorabilia (baseball card, autograph, etc.)?

Today, in the first of a three-part special, I am going to provide the responses in alphabetical order -- starting from the top with the letter "A" as in Albee.

  • Albee: "Grew up in Maine. Huge Red Sox fan. Carl Yastrzemski won the Triple crown in 1967. Red Sox fans still romanticize about that season. Yaz probably had the greatest September of anyone ever to win MVP. Lived about a 6-hour drive from Fenway so I never went to a game that season but everyone listened to games on radio. You could walk down a street and hear the game without missing a beat.

    "I finally met him in 1981 when I was a sportswriter for the Rockford (Ill.) Register Star and I went to a Red Sox-Brewers game in Milwaukee. I was so excited at the prospect of meeting him that I hardly slept the night before. I was 27 years old at the the time. Well, I approached him right after batting practice on the field at County Stadium and asked if I could speak with him -- and he walked right past me. Blew me off. Said he had to go inside and get ready for the game. I was crushed. That was my first introduction to big-time athlete looking down on small-time sportswriter. I didn't hate him for it. But I got a quick lesson in understanding how my business works.

    "Don't have any baseball cards of him. All my cards wound up with clothespins being pinned to the spokes of my bike. Oh, well. They smelled good and they sounded good but they ultimately wound up in a landfill in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine."

  • Baker: "Carl Yastrzemski. My mother's friend was the executive secretary for Robert Lehman of Lehman Brothers and famous people were always walking past her desk. This would sometimes have benefits for me. For instance, she got me Eddie Rickenbacker's autograph. Rickenbacker's name doesn't resonate today but there was a time when he was probably one of the five most-famous Americans alive. Another autograph she got me was Carl Yastrzemski's. His business manager or something knew Lehman. It was on a paper placemat from a Boston Restaurant called "The Fens" if I'm not mistaken. It was personalized, so you can imagine the impact that had on a seven year-old. It made me a Red Sox fan.

    "My first trip to Yankee Stadium was also courtesy of my mother's friend. She hooked us up with the Lehman box, which, as you can imagine, was very close to the field. So, she got me the autograph and then, the following season, put me in a seat about 20 feet from the Red Sox on-deck circle where I could see him up close. It's possible I would have ended up loving baseball just as much if these things hadn't happened, but you have to wonder. That was very powerful, formative stuff for someone that age."

    Baker remembers Yaz's batting stance the most. "He would hold the bat up very high like Craig Counsell does only Yaz would get results. As I recall, several teammates emulated him: Reggie Smith and Joe Lahoud -- at least for a while. I didn't grow up in New England, but I would bet you there were countless Little Leaguers there who tried that stance and were chided for it by their coaches."

    Jim never came into contact with his favorite player nor does he have any special memorabilia of him. "I have lots of collections of things but, after seeing pictures of Barry Halper's collection, decided that it was absolutely futile to even consider collecting baseball stuff."

  • Alex Belth, Bronx Banter: "My favorite player growing up was Reggie Jackson. He was so dramatic. There was such an element of excitement each time he came to bat, the feeling was almost tangible. He gave me the feeling that magic could happen with one swing of the bat. It was either ultimate success or fantastic failure -- as he lunged after strike three, twisting himself into a pretzel."

    Belth remembers "the controversy" surrounding Reggie the most. "I remember feeling a strong need to defend him all of the time. I was really too young to remember the three home-run game in the '77 series, but I do vividly recall his return to the Stadium as an Angel. Ron Guidry was pitching for the Yanks, and I think Jackson had singled and grounded out in his first two at bats before smacking a dinger off Guidry. The entire stadium rocked, chanting, 'Steinbrenner sucks.' I was watching on our 10-inch Sony Trinitron at home, running around the apartment like it was the best thing that had ever happened."

    Alex never came in contact with his man. "My mom took my friends and me to the bleachers for a day game one year for my birthday. My friend Michael wrote a nasty placard about Jackson. He kept yelling at Reggie during warm-ups, and Jackson finally looked up, acknowledged the sign and adjusted his cup. That's as close as I've ever come. A dubious encounter indeed.

    "I have some of Reggie's cards, none in decent shape. I have a baseball with Reggie, Dave Winfield and Bucky Dent's autographs that I won at a camp raffle one year. My favorite book as a kid was 'The Reggie Jackson Scrapbook.' It's long gone now, but one of those things that I keep on the lookout for when I'm in used bookstores. That was probably my most prized book of my childhood."

  • Tyler Bleszinski, Athletics Nation: "I'm not just saying it because he's been in the news, but it was Jose Canseco. I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that now, but what does a teenager know about steroid use and domestic violence? He hit mammoth, massive home runs. His swing was violent, his speed was remarkable, and he was a dynamic athlete in a sport that isn't always renowned for athleticism. Sadly, we all know why those home runs were so mammoth now. It makes me feel like I worshipped a false god or something."

    Blez would like to remember "the home run he mashed that almost made it out of the Skydome or his 40/40 season" the most but realizes "it will probably be steroid use now. Or the headbutt home run. He perfected that move."

    Tyler never met Canseco. "Probably a good thing. He might've asked me to juice in the bathroom." Blez doesn't have any memorabilia of Canseco, but he has "a ton of Athletics memorabilia, from autographed baseballs to pretty much every stadium giveaway bobblehead they've had."

  • Craig Burley, Batter's Box: "My favorite player when I was growing up was Tim Raines. Three things stick out in my first memories of him -- he came up to the Expos in a significant way when I was eight, in 1981, during my first season as a fan. The first was that he was an otherworldly base-stealer (71 in 88 games) and just phenomenally fast. Andre Dawson, who played next to him in the outfield, was very fast, but Raines had about two gears above him and yet another one that he used to get his incredibly quick starts between first and second.

    "The second was that he was a bundle of energy in the field and at the plate. He was a very hyper player and seemed much more athletic than some of the other Expos. The last reason, maybe the most important, was that Raines was a very small man. I was a small kid,
    usually one of the shortest in my class, and Raines' success meant a lot to me. As time went on, and I stayed relatively small, it meant all the more, especially as he became one of the game's more feared hitters.

    "I never really understood the drugs things until much later (I was a fairly naive kid in some ways). By the time I did understand what had happened, I was old enough -- and it was far enough in the past -- that I was able to forgive him. I have never met Tim Raines -- though one day I still hope to -- to tell him what he meant to me as a kid growing up. As for mementos, I have a few favoured baseball cards (especially his first "Rock Raines" card) and a little folded poster that came in a pack of O-Pee-Chee trading cards. But nothing else; I'm not a collector of anything except memories, I guess."

  • Callis: "Carl Yastrzemski. I was a Red Sox fan, and I remember getting a Kellogg's card of him in the mid-1970s, and the type was real small because he had played for so long. That fascinated me. I was also fascinated by him winning the Triple Crown and his 1967 performance and, of course, his unique batting stance."

    As far as whether Jim ever had contact with Yaz, he recalls having "interviewed him once when I was doing a story on Red Sox prospect Jeff McNeely, and Yaz was a guest instructor in spring training." Callis has no special memorabilia "though I still have all my baseball cards from when I was a kid (unless my mom has thrown them out)."

    Three for six so far for Yaz. Sounds like 1967 all over again.

  • Jim Caple, ESPN Page 2: "Willie Mays." As far as why, "Like you need a reason to root for Willie Mays? Well, because he played for the Giants, who were my favorite team and he was the best player in the game."

    Jim remembers Willie's "basket catch" the most. "And this amazing catch he had against the Reds on Game of the Week when he crashed into Bobby Bonds. And how he homered in each of the first four games of the 1971 season. And how sad I was when the Giants traded him.

    "I've often heard he's a miserable old man so I've limited my exposure. I've done some group interviews with him. I remember seeing him in the Giants clubhouse last spring or the spring before in Scottsdale and he was in such a foul mood that he gave an absolutely unapproachable aura. I remember thinking, how could this man I idolized possibly feel so miserable?

    "My best friend gave me a baseball that Mays and Willie McCovey signed for him decades ago. It's one of the few baseballs I have signed by any player. But it wasn't signed for me, it was signed for someone else."

  • Will Carroll, Baseball Prospectus: "Ryne Sandberg. He was new to the Cubs the year I first started watching them on cable and something just 'clicked.' He was having a nice season and was always solid and steady, even then. Ryne always showed up and played consistently. He was quiet and even aloof, but when he was on the field, his bat and glove did all the talking.

    "I was standing on the field with Jon Sciambi, Len Kasper, and Al Leiter at Game 6 of the '03 NLCS (The Bartman Game) when someone walked up next to me. I did the little 'Oh, who's this' glance and it was Sandberg. Sciambi says I went white as a ghost and I know I didn't say anything."

    Regarding special memorabilia, Will has "some cards, a jersey, and home run ball #201, signed."

  • Alex Ciepley, The Cub Reporter: "I cycled through several players when I was young. Bill Buckner, Leon Durham, Danny Tartabull. All these players fell by the wayside, though, when the unlikeliest of guys was called up from the Cubs farm system. Damon Berryhill! I have little idea why, but he instantly became my favorite player. I just thought Damon was the coolest.

    As far as memories go, Alex asks, "Damon Berryhill? Did he have many great moments? I guess he had a good at-bat in some random playoff game with the Braves, but otherwise nothing stands out. I do remember his stance, though. He had a fat ass.

    "I didn't come into contact with him in person but through letters. I wrote a bit about it in a blog entry a long time ago. In summary: I sent him a few hand-drawn portraits to have signed (I was generally too cheap to send cards), and he always sent them back with an autograph. Once he included a nice note, which was one of the highlights of my youth. My favorite pic of him was actually a three-portrait card I drew with Mark Grace and Rafael Palmeiro on the same page. One of these days I hope to track down Palmeiro and get his signature to finish the card."

    From the obscure (Berryhill and Lillis) to the famous (Mays and Yastrzemski) to the controversial (Canseco and Jackson), when it comes to your favorite player, there is a place for them all.

    Who was your favorite player growing up?

    Tomorrow (Part Two): Fred Claire, Jon Daly, Walt Davis, Sean Forman, Peter Gammons, Brian Gunn, Jay Jaffe, Bill James, Jonah Keri, Mitchel Lichtman, Doug Miller, Eric Neel, Rob Neyer, Jeff Peek, Dayn Perry, and David Pinto.

    [Additional reader comments and retorts at Baseball Primer.]

    • Comments

    This makes me think of Charlie Brown's favorite player, Joe something. If memory serves he was an inept middle infielder.

    Posted by: Ron Freeman at February 22, 2005 4:38 PM

    Joe Shlabotnik.

    Posted by: salvomania at February 22, 2005 5:23 PM

    Joe Shlabotnik, wasn't it? Tho' I'm unsure of the spelling...

    For me there were two, and an unlikely pair if there ever was one-- Bill Lee and Jerry Grote.

    Posted by: john swinney at February 22, 2005 5:23 PM

    I was ten years old, manning the hot corner for my Little League team, the Pirates. I asked my dad who was played third for the "real" Pirates, and he told me Bobby Bonilla. He had just made his first All-Star team the year before. I followed Bonilla ever so closely, collecting all his cards and reading his linescore in the paper every morning.

    Posted by: Joe at February 22, 2005 6:00 PM

    Will Clark. When I was about 12 -- as Clark was reaching his apex as a baseball player and I was reaching a peak in my interest in baseball -- it seemed all the TV analysts, sportswriters and magazines were raving about Will Clark's "perfect swing."

    That fascinated me. Absolutely fascinated me. "How could a swing be perfect?," I remember thinking. What made it perfect? How was perfection determined? How can a swing be perfect if it missed? I spent at least three summers emulating Clark's batting stance, chasing some vague understanding of perfection.

    Posted by: Homer Summa at February 22, 2005 8:11 PM

    So Joe Shlabotnik's favorite player growing up was Bobby Bonilla. Interesting...

    Posted by: Jon at February 22, 2005 10:05 PM

    Steve Garvey, I guess. I don't recally having one specific favorite player.

    Posted by: Rob McMillin at February 22, 2005 11:01 PM

    Orel Hershiser. I had a 13" black and white TV in my room that I used to tune into Dodger games on Channel 5. Whenever Orel pitched, I would set up the pillows on my bed to look like the strike zone and would pitch to the pillows each time Orel dealt from the mound...I've never met him but I hope to...

    Posted by: Nolan at February 23, 2005 12:58 AM

    Lou Whitaker was always my favorite player growing up.

    Posted by: Brian Borawski at February 23, 2005 1:25 AM

    Dave Winfield was my favorite. During his prime, he was such a graceful athlete and more improtantly, a fantastic ball player. Back then, it was much more rare to find that combination of such tools combined with actual baseball skills and smarts.

    Posted by: yankman at February 23, 2005 8:28 AM

    JOE DIMAGGIO WAS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE....

    Posted by: SHIRLEY at February 23, 2005 12:59 PM

    With out a doubt, Ken Griffey Jr. I became a fan of his as soon as I saw him swing. I lived in Michigan and was never able to see a Mariners game, but when he would swing during the All-Star game or something else, I would just smile. He is such a great player and human being. Great guy.

    The moement I remember the most is '95 Division series (I think) versus the Yankees. Griffey on first, Edgar Martinez lines one into the gap, Griffey trucks it home to win the game in the 11th or 14th (can't remember...). It was so exciting.

    I had the chance one afternoon at Tiger Stadium to met Ken Griffey Jr. I had just talked with Randy Johnson for about 30 minutes (he wasn't interested in signing autographs but said he would talk with us). When Jr. walked out, it was madness. The press came running and all of the fans came. He ended up signing autographs and worked his way around the dugout. I was the second to last one to get a signature (the baseball sits on my desk to this day). He stood and chatted for a bit. I remember just shaking, saying hi and asking him about his swing (specifically who he learned it from, or what advice he had received in his life).

    Ah, that swing... only two people in the history of baseball have anything comparable to it, Joe Jackson and Babe Ruth (coincidentally Ruth is quoted as copying Joe Jackson's swing).

    Posted by: Asenchi at February 23, 2005 1:31 PM

    Asenchi-
    Thanks for that memory, I think Junior's swing is always going to be vivid in my head. He was the most fun player to watch that I ever saw for sure, he enjoyed himself and had talent that few are blessed with. I'll never forget his most famous stolen home run catch, the one that Upper Deck fell in love with. They ran a commercial with that highlight a few years ago, and it would give me goosebumps every time I saw it.

    By the way, does anyone else think that Carmelo Anthony could be basketball's Junior? It's that smile, I think, that makes me think it.

    Posted by: Bryan Smith at February 23, 2005 2:09 PM

    Tom Seaver was my favorite! He was my inspiration when I was a little league pitcher. I used to love his dirty right knee! My dad told me that's cause he got the ball down, and didn't leave it up in the strike zone! I'll never forget seeing him pitch at Shea!

    Posted by: VillainDave at February 23, 2005 4:46 PM

    Nolan Ryan was my favorite player growing up in the Houston area. I just so happened to see two milestones he reached. I am not sure what numbers but it was strikeout milestones. It was something like number 4000 K or 4500 K. He was a legend and there will probably never be another like him.

    Posted by: Fred Abalos at February 23, 2005 8:01 PM

    Bo jackson who canfroget him running up the centerfield wall or hitting hr's one handed not to mention breaking bats on his head ,shoulders,etc.

    Posted by: j.fraelich at February 24, 2005 5:20 AM

    I've seen all these names as to who was your favorite baseball player and not one mentioned Henry Aaron. He, in my mind, was the best of all, he could play defence and and was the best hitter to ever hold a bat, I mean all he did was break the all time home run record, along with several other records, but noe one seems to remember "Hammerin'" Hank. It a shame he really never got the glory he so richly deserved.

    Posted by: Dale at February 24, 2005 5:25 AM

    Bryan:
    I know exactly what card you are talking about, it is my favorite baseball card.

    Posted by: Asenchi at February 24, 2005 5:51 AM

    Mickey Mantle was my boyhood hero,I stll have a lot of memoribila includings cards. I also enjoyed watching Ted Williams and Roberto Clemente.I beleive Clemete was as close to the best all around player in the game.

    Posted by: Lou at February 24, 2005 6:05 AM

    Come on now. I cant believe im gonna do this but its name droppin time. Do you remember the guys pre-steriod era.

    Danny Tartbull, Eric, Davis, Nolan Ryan, Dave Henderson, Rickey Henderson, Dave Parker, Cecil Fielder, Kent Tekulvie (sorry can't spell the guys real name.) Calvin Shiraldi, Barry Larkin, Craig Biggio (2nd basemen), Tony Fernandez, Kevin McReynolds, Bip Roberts, of course everyones favorite. Darryl and Doc, But what about David Cone. He always got lost in the shuffle. Keith Hernandez. Rick Sutcliff was always one you cold hate. And no one mentioned NAILZ Lenny Dykstra. That guy played straight out ballz to the wall baseball. Then there was Andy VanSlke. What about John Kruk, guy lost a testicle and came back!. And were complaining about athletes? Come on for years these guys have sat in whirlpools and vicodin for years!. Let's try to remember the good ole days... And stop ranting about Steriods!!

    Guys that were so underdog. You had to love them.

    Posted by: Chris Smith at February 24, 2005 7:41 AM

    Roberto Clemente. Noone came through in the clutch more often, and noone had a stronger arm in baseball. He could throw a dart from deep right field to third base without making the third baseman flinch a muscle.

    Posted by: Jim at February 24, 2005 9:58 AM

    Brooks Robinson,
    He's the reason I always played third base.
    Also Vida Blue. He kinda set the standard for the 100 MPH pitchers of today.

    Posted by: Bart at February 24, 2005 10:29 AM

    It was Tom Seaver for me, too. The Mets were terrible until he came but he was like the light at the end of the tunnel. He could pitch, he would hit and he even would steal bases as a rookie. You could just feel the Mets beginning to turn around.

    Posted by: Bob at February 24, 2005 11:22 AM

    I liked Mikey Mantle,Pete Rose Robeto Cleminte and Johnny Bench ,,,I could go and on ,,, but in my day baseball players were kings

    Posted by: Dan at February 24, 2005 1:56 PM

    Rickey Henderson was my favorite player growing up. He always played his hardest and could change a game with one swipe of a base. He was also a good hitter. All-time leader of lead off home runs, all-time base stealer, over 3000 hits, and the famous snatch-catch in left field. He was basically the reason that I started watching baseball.

    Posted by: J Burrough at February 24, 2005 4:02 PM

    David Justice, growing up he was great, and i have his rookie card. the thing i most remember is how much in tune the braves were. and no, i never met him

    Posted by: albert camarillo at February 25, 2005 12:19 AM

    stan the man aka stan musial is my all time choice! as a kid of 7-17 yrs. young, i would darn near chew my nails listening to the play by play ( ?? harry carey ) over the radio every time he came to bat. he was a terrific clutch hitter and quite a gentleman on and off the field.this was the era of great long ball hitters. most great hitters had natural ability but stan converted from pitcher to outfielder and developed his unusual batting stance which i tried to copy as a kid. he was my role model both as a kid and into my adult life. thanks for flashing back some good old radio baseball memories when your imagination made all of the great players seem like paul bunyun. ! stan the man is my man!

    Posted by: elmo at February 25, 2005 9:01 AM

    Sweet Swingin' Billy Williams

    Posted by: John at February 25, 2005 12:50 PM

    I followed Cal Ripkens career closely from Rookie of the year to his sophmore MVP followed by another MVP in 91.A player who never complained and got the most out of his abilities,he redefined the Shortstop position.Always taking time to sign autographs he was respected and cheered in visiting parks as well as at home because Rip played the game the right way....like his dad taught him

    Posted by: Milo at February 26, 2005 2:08 PM