danny's lifetime all-star team: installment #2- the outfield

Here's part 2, which covers the outfielders. This is the shortest of the three installments, so if you've gotten through the first one this one should be a piece of cake. Oh, and for the sake of my friend Greenbow, I want to say that Dale Murphy belongs on anyone's list. It's just that he's so good I didn't think it fair to include him. (I need one of those eye-roll face things).

Outfield: For the record, I'm not really picking these guys based on what positions they played in the outfield. You will not see Sammy Sosa on this list, who can credit his impressive numbers to rampant steroid use (and a corked bat). However, you will see...

Barry Bonds. Okay, here's the deal. I'm not even including his steroid years, starting in '98 or '99. Even before he decided to be a cheater he was the best player in baseball. So, for the sake of my list, we will pretend he hasn't played since the late '90s. He won 3 MVPs ('90, '92, '93), won Gold Gloves in 90-94 and 96-98 and 7 Silver Sluggers (again, before steroids). He won the HR title in 1993, and was an 8-time All Star. If only he didn't ruin his reputation forever.

One player who, in my mind, benefits from the steroid controversy is Ken Griffey Jr. I always thought he was a bit overrated. I've had to reevaluate that, since he was able to put up his numbers without steroids (as far as anyone knows). He won Gold Gloves from 1990-99 (although I'm not sure he always deserved those), 7 Silver Sluggers, 4 HR titles, and an MVP in '97. He's a 12-time All Star and has 536 HR coming into this season. Like I said, if he did all of this without enhancement from illegal substances, I'm impressed.

The last spot on my list is more difficult. I considered Tony Gwynn, a career .338 hitter. He won Gold Gloves in '86-87 and '89-91. More impressive are his 7 Silver Sluggers and 8 batting titles, which includes his .394 in 1994. He may have made a run at .400 if that season weren't shortened by a strike. He was also a 15-time All Star and had 3141 career hits. I love this guy. But, I may have to leave him off (although as I'm writing this I'm having second thoughts).

Instead, I think I'll go with Manny Ramirez. To put it plainly, I think Manny may be the best all around hitter I've seen (although give Pujols some time). Manny is an 8-time Silver Slugger winner, 9-time All Star and the 2004 World Series MVP (remember that one, when the Red Sox swept the Cardinals after they came back from being down 0-3 against the Yankees in the greatest comeback in sports history? do you remember that one? because I do). He has a career .314 average with 435 HR and 1414 RBI. And that's only in 13 seasons (in case you're scoring at home, that's 33.5 HR and 109 RBI per season). He's the best RBI man since, well, maybe Hank Aaron. He's also 2nd all time in career grand slams. Some grow tired of his antics, but I can look past that as long as he hits (many people forget that Ted Williams was not well liked in his time, most now look past it because he was the best hitter ever). Since I don't have a DH position on this list, I could move him there and put Gwynn in my outfield.