Right here’s a subjective rating of the highest 5 for Dec. 28.
1) Invoice “Spaceman” Lee (1946)Eccentric, endlessly quotable, aggressive however by no means boring, Lee was an All-Star lefty who helped push the Pink Sox to the doorstep of a World Sequence title in 1975, however he is finest remembered as an overwhelmingly free spirit who wasn’t afraid to conflict with authority, together with his groups’ managers or entrance workplaces. Lee referred to as out racial injustice the place he noticed it, prioritized loyalty to teammates above all else and teamed with the ACLU after being fined by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. Lengthy after he retired in 1982, Lee grew to become what was believed to be the oldest particular person to win a professional baseball sport when he labored a whole sport for the unbiased North American League’s San Rafael Pacifics on the age of 65 in 2012.
Lee ran for president of the US in 1988 as a member of the Rhinoceros Get together, and he acquired greater than 8,000 votes in his bid to be governor of Vermont in 2016 upon vowing to get rid of the border between Canada and the Inexperienced Mountain State. However the singular quirkiness he delivered to baseball will at all times be his trademark.
“I take into consideration the cosmic snowball concept,” Lee stated. “A couple of million years from now, the solar will burn out and lose its gravitational pull. The earth will flip into an enormous snowball and be hurled by way of house. When that occurs, it will not matter if I get this man out.”
2) Ray Knight (1952)Pete Rose’s successor at third base in Cincinnati, Knight earned MVP votes and All-Star recognition with the Reds, however most followers keep in mind the Georgia native for his heroics through the Mets’ unimaginable run to the 1986 World Sequence title. Knight capped an absurd three-run, Tenth-inning rally in Recreation 6 at Shea Stadium, scoring the successful run on a Mookie Wilson dribbler that bought previous Pink Sox first baseman Invoice Buckner. In Recreation 7, Knight pulled off an encore. He gave the Mets the lead for good with a seventh-inning homer, finally claiming World Sequence MVP honors on the energy of a .391/.440/.565 slash line.
3) Ted Lyons (1900)The White Sox franchise chief in full video games with 356, Lyons by no means spent a day within the Minor Leagues, making his massive league debut shortly after signing with the Sox, who stored him round for all 21 seasons of his Corridor of Fame profession. The righty led the AL in wins twice (1925, ’27), losses as soon as (21 in 1933) and ERA as soon as (2.10 in 1942), however his declare to fame was the no-hitter he threw towards the Pink Sox on Aug. 21, 1926. Lyons walked the primary batter he confronted that day, then retired 27 of the following 28 hitters on his solution to historical past.
4) Tommy Bridges (1906)Bridges was named to 6 All-Star groups and helped the Tigers win two World Sequence titles in his 16-year profession, however one in all his most notable accomplishments got here the primary time he stepped on a Main League mound. The suitable-hander was introduced in to face Babe Ruth, Tony Lazzeri and Lou Gehrig for his massive league debut on Aug. 13, 1930, and he gave up only a single to Lazzeri between a popout to Ruth and a strikeout of Gehrig. He was finest identified for his curveball but in addition threw what teammate Charlie Metro referred to as “the dangedest spitter you ever noticed.”
5) John Milner (1949)Nicknamed “the Hammer” for his admiration of Hank Aaron, Milner hit 16 homers in 1979 to assist the Pirates win the World Sequence, throughout which he posted a .455 OBP. He spent the primary seven seasons of his 12-year profession with the Mets, ending third in NL Rookie of the 12 months balloting in 1972, and wrapped up his taking part in days with the Expos.
Dylan Stop (1995)The suitable-hander spent 5 seasons with the White Sox earlier than being acquired by the Padres in a commerce in 2024. In his first season with San Diego, Stop recorded the second no-hitter in franchise historical past and completed fourth in NL Cy Younger Award voting.
Austin Nola (1989)In 2023 whereas with the Padres, the veteran catcher and his sibling, Aaron, grew to become the primary brothers to face one another as pitcher and batter in MLB postseason historical past when San Diego took on Philadelphia within the NLCS.
Aurelio Rodriguez (1947)The A-Rod earlier than A-Rod, he gained a Gold Glove at third base with the Tigers in 1976.
Depend Sensenderfer (1847)Not only a middle fielder, the Depend additionally served as an umpire throughout his taking part in days, working a complete of 13 video games.
