MLB History

With the alleged ghostly spirits that live at the 99-year-old Fenway Park, ghost-seeking fans may have plenty to spook them late in the night. Bumps in the Monster seats may be more scary when the Sox are on the road.

According to Baseball Hauntings by Mickey Bradley and Dan Gordon, there is a bit of action at Fenway Park. Among the alleged spirits to be found there on off-nights when the Sox are on road trips are the late announcer Sherm Feller and owner Tom Yawkey. 

There have been many accomplished hurlers in the history of Major League baseball—many of whom threw from the right.

There have not, however, been quite as many great left-handers in the history of the sport.

In the ensuing list, I will attempt to rank whom I think are the 10 greatest in history, with respect to eras, longevity, legend, and shear greatness.

Before we get going, I'd like to name a few who did not make the cut.

Honorable Mentions: 

No professional sports league produces as many awful trades as Major League Baseball.

Baseball is the only sport that features players that may not peak until their late-20s or even early-30s.

Because of this, some teams get impatient with their farm talent and ship it away in exchange for an aging veteran that has had previous success. As the late-bloomer explodes onto the scene with his new team, the aging veteran produces about a season or two of decent numbers before taking a nose dive.

Tommy John’s hopes of a bust in Cooperstown have long since died. In 2009, the BBWAA unceremoniously snuffed out his candle and sent him into MLB Purgatory with only 31 percent of the ballots. If the Veterans’ Committee does not act upon him within 15 years, he will be resigned to MLB Hell.

It is a shame too, because John is one of baseball’s nice guys. Hell, he even has a medical procedure named after him, shouldn’t that count for something?

Yogi Berra has appeared in 14 World Series. He batted an anemic .188 in the first five Series that he played in. But despite Berra's lack of offense, the New York Yankees won all of them.

Then it began. In his final nine World Series, Yogi hit .335 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs. He was especially effective against the Yankees' primary rival, the Brooklyn Dodgers.

If things had gone according to plan, Kirk Gibson might be preparing a college football team somewhere right now, getting ready for spring practices.

He might have just finished talking up his school in the living rooms of America’s heartland, looking enraptured parents in the eyes and giving them the lowdown of what it would be like for their kid to play football under Coach Kirk.

He might have a resume of 10, 12 years in the NFL behind him as one of the game’s best wide receivers, or even tight ends.

How many kids will attend opening day game at Fenway Park for their first experience of a major league park? It could be 1,000 or even 2,000, and perhaps many more. It will be a dream-come-true for them.

The sharpness of every sense will be heightened for these kids who will recall every detail of this experience in decades to follow. Some will savor their sensory overload, rendered speechless and into a kind of paralysis for a while.

Anyone who's a baseball fan remembers the greatest pitchers of all time. Beyond the clear elites such as Walter Johnson,Lefty Grove, and others, people remember the intimidators, those who had no problem throwing inside to throw you off your game.

I remember the beasts from the 80s and 90s, such as Randy Johnson, Dwight Gooden, and others. Just who are the most intimidating pitchers of all time? A flat list has been done time and time again. Instead, this slideshow will list every team's most intimidating pitcher and ranks them accordingly.

Arthur Daley joined the New York Times in 1926. Sixteen years later, he started his outstanding column, "Sports of the Times," which he wrote until 1973.

Daley respected statistics (yes, statistics existed before sabermetrics), but he also respected what his eyes saw. In 1954, as he had done numerous times, Daley eschewed statistics and played a hunch.

With the recent passing of Duke Snider, I started to wonder if our generation has an equivalent to the triumvirate of May, Mantle and Snider in the 1950s. 

Granted, no city has three teams any more, but are there three outfielders playing today that are/will be considered all-time greats that are great on defense, at the plate and/or have great speed like Willie, Mickey and The Duke?