- CBSSports.com

I was thumbing through my 2008 ESPN Almanac and noticed that I had seen some pretty decent baseball players in my life. Here's some of the best of who I was fortunate enough to see 'in person'.

Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Steve Carlton, Bret Saberhagen, Rickey Henderson, Wade Boggs, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Mike Schmidt , Ken Griffey Jr, Dave Winfield, Robin Yount, George Brett, Paul Molitor, Roberto Alomar, Carlton Fisk, Ivan Rodriguez, Craig Biggio, Bo Jackson and Todd Helton.

Now this is not the greatest list of all time and it does include some steroid users, but it's what I got. I got to see Mike Schmidt hit a home run back in 87, Nolan Ryan as an Astro and Ranger, Roger Clemens when he was with the Red Sox, Griffey Jr when he was a kid and saw Rickey take three bases in one game.

One of my favorite moments of all time was watching Big Mac in batting practice back in 2000. He was destroying everything that came at him. My buddy and I were in the upper deck back behind Big Mac land waiting to see how far he could hit them. He drove the first pitch to him to straight away centerfield and it landed up where the Cards have all their championship pennants. It looked like it was an 800 ft'r. Then he railed off about 6 in a row into the Big Mac land. I came pretty close to grabbing one but I valued the $9.00 Budweiser a little bit more. We had went on a tour of Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis and it made me apprecite every last little drop of those hops and barley!

I tried to get George W. Bush's autograph back when he owned the Texas Rangers. I tried crawling under the seats and got pretty close from what I remember. Then his security grabbed me and I was escorted back to my seat. I always knew he would go on to a bigger and better place?! Not really.

Maybe my favorite times ever were at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville Arkansas watching the diamond Hogs. Back then the outfield was free and you could bring all the beer you wanted. Cookouts, friends, drinks, and baseball in that cool Ozark setting. Priceless.

Baseball Greats? and favorite moments.

Growing up, I was able to watch the fabled Dodgers-Yankees World Series of the late 70s. My son earlier this decade watched the Yankees dominate and became a temporary Yankees fan. I was the same for the Yanks of the 70s. Ron Guidry, Bucky Dent, Thurman Munson, and Mickey Rivers, and the ultimate "Me" man of his era - Reggie Jackson were a pleasure to watch.

I loved watching ESPN's excellent "The Bronx is Burning" series of my favorite baseball season. For those of you of a certain era, it evokes fond memories.

Great thread!

Baseball Greats? and favorite moments.

I always loved 44 Magnum Eric Davis. I spent most of my youth in Texas though and had the pleasure of watching Kenny Rogers perfect game. Unbelievable energy in the The Ballpark that night. Rusty Greer made a fantastic diving grab in the 6th or 7th to keep it going and the place just went nuts. That game will always be a great memory for me for many reasons. Obviously to witness such a rarity is special, but it was also the last game that both of my parents and my brother and I attended together. It will more than likely never happen again so I hold onto that memory.

Greatest. Game. Ever - 06/23/1984 - Cubs/Cards

I was there!!! Willie McGee hit for the cycle and was named NBC's "player of the game" when Sandberg belted a Bruce Sutter pitch for a game-tying home run in the 9th to send it to extra innings and then launched another in the 10th to tie it up again!!! Cubbies won it all in 11. Wriggley was shaking as fans cheered!

Baseball Greats? and favorite moments.

I was able to watch Coco Crisp play in A-ball (Potomac Cannons, now Potomac Nationals) and I was also able to see Cano play one of his 22 games I think for the Staten Island Yankees, also A-ball. I was fortunate enough to get his autograph before the game. it's pretty cool to see how far he has come.
I've also been able to yell "You Suck!!!" at A-Rod. He just looked at me if I was deranged. I guess it was kind of funny to hear that from a kid.
I also have another funny story. I was hanging out before a game at Safeco Field ( Rangers vs. Mariners, June 2005) on the Rangers side. Everyone was crowding around Soriano at the time so I just wandered away and started to talk with a college kid. We had a pretty interesting conversation, and it turns out that he was dating the third basemen coach's daughter. So he got me a ball and got it signed by my favorite player, Mark Teixeira.

GO G8TERS!!! Reputation: 87 Level: All-Star Since: Dec 4, 2007	Posted on: April 6, 2008 7:07 pm Score: 81 Baseball Greats? and favorite moments. I was at Nolans 6th no hitter. That was a great moment. [ Reply to Comment ]
seanjweb Reputation: 79 Level: Pro Since: Mar 29, 2008	Posted on: April 6, 2008 7:36 pm Score: 22 Baseball Greats? and favorite moments. Growing up, I was able to watch the fabled Dodgers-Yankees World Series of the late 70s. My son earlier this decade watched the Yankees dominate and became a temporary Yankees fan. I was the same for the Yanks of the 70s. Ron Guidry, Bucky Dent, Thurman Munson, and Mickey Rivers, and the ultimate "Me" man of his era - Reggie Jackson were a pleasure to watch. I loved watching ESPN's excellent "The Bronx is Burning" series of my favorite baseball season. For those of you of a certain era, it evokes fond memories. Great thread! [ Reply to Comment ]
b.shingles Reputation: 45 Level: Rookie Since: Apr 3, 2008	Posted on: April 6, 2008 8:21 pm Score: 24 Baseball Greats? and favorite moments. I saw Hank Aaron hit # 700 A LONG TIME ago as a kid. He was as close to superman as I have ever seen. People forget that even if you take away all his homeruns he still would have 3000 hits. Hank was a pleasure to watch. My heart was broken when Munson died. He was amazing. Thanks for the thread. [ Reply to Comment ]
seanjweb Reputation: 79 Level: Pro Since: Mar 29, 2008	Posted on: April 6, 2008 9:07 pm Score: 22 Baseball Greats? and favorite moments. Oh man...as I little league catcher, Munson was my hero. Not too many people even know about him now. He was the epitome of grit, determination, and playing through pain. [ Reply to Comment ]
maestrojpl Reputation: 98 Level: Superstar Since: Jan 1, 2008	Posted on: April 6, 2008 10:47 pm Score: 92 Baseball Greats? and favorite moments. I always loved 44 Magnum Eric Davis. I spent most of my youth in Texas though and had the pleasure of watching Kenny Rogers perfect game. Unbelievable energy in the The Ballpark that night. Rusty Greer made a fantastic diving grab in the 6th or 7th to keep it going and the place just went nuts. That game will always be a great memory for me for many reasons. Obviously to witness such a rarity is special, but it was also the last game that both of my parents and my brother and I attended together. It will more than likely never happen again so I hold onto that memory. [ Reply to Comment ]
RAZORBACKFAN Reputation: 99 Level: Superstar Since: Oct 23, 2006	Posted on: April 7, 2008 4:26 pm Score: 93 Baseball Greats? and favorite moments. I always loved 44 Magnum Eric Davis. What a great story of Eric making it back to the bigs after cancer. It was great to see him win the Hutch and Clemente award with Baltimore after his comeback. His batting stance is second to none. It looked so lazy but man did he have power. [ Reply to Comment ]
Howard Stern Reputation: 62 Level: Pro Since: Apr 3, 2008	Posted on: April 7, 2008 10:20 pm Score: 25 Baseball Greats? and favorite moments. The Wizard!!! That guy was the complete show. I must have seen that flip a hundred times AND I saw him jump out of his cleets one time. Those old Card uni's and the turf at Busch. Those were the days. [ Reply to Comment ]
thespud Reputation: 74 Level: Pro Since: Mar 27, 2008	Posted on: April 9, 2008 4:20 pm Score: 26 Greatest. Game. Ever - 06/23/1984 - Cubs/Cards I was there!!! Willie McGee hit for the cycle and was named NBC's "player of the game" when Sandberg belted a Bruce Sutter pitch for a game-tying home run in the 9th to send it to extra innings and then launched another in the 10th to tie it up again!!! Cubbies won it all in 11. Wriggley was shaking as fans cheered! [ Reply to Comment ]
FrauBlucher Reputation: 99 Level: Superstar Since: Sep 14, 2007	Posted on: April 11, 2008 9:09 am Score: 94 Baseball Greats? and favorite moments. Robin Ventura vs. Nolan Ryan. I was there. Ventura was toast as soon as he left the box. Nolan put Ventura in a head lock and landed at least 9 good punches. Hilarious. [ Reply to Comment ]
teixeirafan_23 Reputation: 93 Level: All-Star Since: Jan 31, 2007	Posted on: April 17, 2008 4:04 pm Score: 87 Baseball Greats? and favorite moments. I was able to watch Coco Crisp play in A-ball (Potomac Cannons, now Potomac Nationals) and I was also able to see Cano play one of his 22 games I think for the Staten Island Yankees, also A-ball. I was fortunate enough to get his autograph before the game. it's pretty cool to see how far he has come. I've also been able to yell "You Suck!!!" at A-Rod. He just looked at me if I was deranged. I guess it was kind of funny to hear that from a kid. I also have another funny story. I was hanging out before a game at Safeco Field ( Rangers vs. Mariners, June 2005) on the Rangers side. Everyone was crowding around Soriano at the time so I just wandered away and started to talk with a college kid. We had a pretty interesting conversation, and it turns out that he was dating the third basemen coach's daughter. So he got me a ball and got it signed by my favorite player, Mark Teixeira. [ Reply to Comment ]

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Baseball Greats? and favorite moments.

Baseball Greats? and favorite moments.

Baseball Greats? and favorite moments.

Baseball Greats? and favorite moments.

Baseball Greats? and favorite moments.

Baseball Greats? and favorite moments.

Baseball Greats? and favorite moments.

Baseball Greats? and favorite moments.

Greatest. Game. Ever - 06/23/1984 - Cubs/Cards

Baseball Greats? and favorite moments.

Baseball Greats? and favorite moments.