Willie Mays

Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Duke Snider rank among the greatest center fielders in baseball history.

Throughout their history, the Mets have always been reluctant in retiring numbers that its franchise's greatest players have worn. The current front office's perception of retiring numbers is most likely more exclusive than what fans would like to see. To date, only four numbers have been retired in Mets history. The first was #37 for the legendary Casey Stengel, the Mets' first manager. His teams were not good, but Casey and his sayings all stood out during those years and it was only appropriate for him to be recognized.

The 1961 baseball season is remembered for the classic home run chase between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, both in pursuit of Babe Ruth's single-season home run record of 60. However, there were other great accomplishments that season.

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, and to honor African American players in the major leagues, I have compiled a nine player lineup of the greatest African American players in baseball history.

There were a number of tough decisions in naming the team, and the likes of Ken Griffey Jr, Joe Morgan, and Frank Thomas, among many others didn't make the cut.

So here it is, the starting nine African American players in honor of Martin Luther King Day.

And the answer issss no. We'll never see asterisks to mark some of the blatantly questionable performances of the denoted, approximate 15-year period ranging from the early 1990s until at least midway through the first decade of this century, because to do so is as much an indictment of Bud Selig and league ownership as it is many of the supersized players themselves.

It took 52 years, but the San Francisco Giants are World Series Champions.  I can now cross that first and foremost item off my sports fan bucket list.

The San Francisco Giants have given their fans numerous heartbreaks, too many to list in this article, but now, all is forgiven.  I have put together a fun piece to showcase the true Giant "hot dogs" who donned the orange and black. 

Arthur Daley was a sports columnist for the New York Times from 1942-73. In 1956, he became the first sportswriter to win a Pulitzer Prize. Daley knew baseball, but this is not about him. It is about his take on the upcoming 1954 baseball season.

The New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers had met in the World Series in both 1952 and 1953. They were the popular picks of most fans and "experts" to meet again in 1954, but Daley had doubts.

It may be difficult to believe today, but in 1954, many "experts" considered Tris Speaker the greatest center fielder of all time.

Tris played from 1907-1928. He batted .345 with a .428 on-base average and, despite playing much of his career in the dead ball area, slugged .500.

On April 4, 1954, Speaker spent his 66th birthday watching the New York Giants and Cleveland Indians play an exhibition game in Arizona.

Voted on by baseball fans and members of the media, the Roberto Clemente Award has been given annually since 1971 to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individuals contribution to his team". 

Named after 12-time All-Star and Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente in 1973, the award was named after Clemente died on New Year's Eve 1972 while trying to deliver supplies to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake.

Of course we could all speculate on the greatest moments in World Series history.

But as you will see, I've taken moments from many different eras and tried to compile what I believe to be some of the World Series' greatest moments.

Some may surprise you, and others were probably forgotten about.

Let's take a look.

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