Greatest starting pitcher: LEFTY GROVE
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"All things considered, Grove is the best lefthander that ever walked on a pitcher's slab. He surpasses everybody I have ever seen. He has more speed than any other lefthander in the game." "Connie Mack"
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Greatest catcher: Johnny Bench
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Quite possibly the greatest defensive catcher of all-time, Johnny Bench won two Most Valuable Player awards as a young man and led the best team of the 1970s as a mature major leaguer.
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Greatest First Baseman:LOU GEHRIG
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"This 'Iron Man' stuff is bunk. It is true that I have considerable physical strength, but that isn't the answer. There have been many powerful players in baseball who weren't in there every day. It wasn't exceptional strength in my case, nor even exceptional endurance. It was the determination to be in there and to hustle every minute of the time I was there that has made that record a reality." "Gehrig, in 1937"
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Greatest Second Baseman: ROGERS HORNSBY
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"Hitting was my dish, not fielding. These modern hitters take their eyes off the ball. I followed the ball so closely that I could see it strike the bat." "Hornsby, 1948"
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Greatest Third Baseman: MIKE SCHMIDT
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"I love to play baseball. I never think of money once I put that uniform on and I never played a game in my life that I didn't give it 100%." "Mike Schmidt"
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Greatest Shortstop: HONUS WAGNER
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"Hitting was my dish, not fielding. These modern hitters take their eyes off the ball. I followed the ball so closely that I could see it strike the bat." "Hornsby, 1948"
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"My dad taught me to switch-hit. He and my grandfather, who was left-handed, pitched to me everyday after school in the back yard. I batted lefty against my dad and righty against my granddad." "Mickey Mantle"
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"Nolan Ryan is pitching much better now that he has his curve ball straightened out." "Joe Garagiola"
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Greatest Leftfielder: TED WILLIAMS
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Ted Williams got stronger as the season wore on - hitting .349 after the All-Star break over his career, and .339 before. His home run ratio is slightly better in the second half as well. In 1941 he hit .405 before the break and .406 after. His best second-half performance came in 1957 when he tore up the league at a .454 pace after the All-Star game.
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Greatest Centerfielder: TY COBB
Six times in his career, Cobb reached base and proceeded to steal second, third and home. The first time he did it was in 1907, the final time was in 1924... On May 5, 1925, Cobb blasted three homers, a double and two singles in one game, for a then-record 16 total bases. The next day he hit two more homers.
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Greatest Right Fielder: Babe Ruth
"I stopped telling people stories about how great he was, because I realized no one believed me." — Hall of Fame pitcher and Ruth teammate Waite Hoyt.
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Greatest Relief Pitcher: MARIANO RIVERA
Sometimes you try so hard to do things so right that you do them all wrong. It's like moving in quicksand. The more you move, the more you sink." Mariano Rivera, on dealing with slumps.
Greatest Designated Hitter: PAUL MOLITOR
Molitor played more games as DH (1,174) than at any defensive position. He was a DH almost exclusively from 1991-1998. He also played 791 games at third base, 400 games at second base, 197 at first base, 57 at shortstop, and 50 in the outfield (mostly center field).
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When they start the game, they don't yell, "Work ball." They say, "Play ball." "Willie Stargell, 1981"
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"Baseball is the only place in life where a sacrifice is really appreciated." "Author Unknown"
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"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." "Tommy Lasorda"
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