5 Legendary Baseball Icons Who Are Worth Mentioning
There is nothing more exciting than watching baseball with your friends be it on the ground or your TV. What makes this game so exciting? Its history? Sure! But the best part about watching baseball is its supremely talented debonair players who not only crack the bat but also the game.
5 Legendary Baseball Icons Of All Time
Walking down the memory lane, here are some of the best legendary baseball icons who are indelible in the history of time.
1. Hank Aaron
Also known as ‘Hammerin’ Hank’, Hank Aaron was one of the most powerful baseball players of his time. He was also the owner of the title Home Run King for a generation.
He has achieved 2297 runs, 6856 total bases with a batting average of .305. He was also successful in winning three Gold Gloves for his play in the outfield. He was consistently selected to the All-Star Game for 21 years straight and he has hit at least 30 home runs in 15 seasons. Unfortunately, the world’s best baseball legend dies at 86.
2. Honus Wagner
Known as ‘The Flying Dutchman’, Honus Wagner secured his popularity through his most valuable baseball card in history, the rare 1909-11 T206 Wagner card which was produced by the American Tobacco Company.
As mentioned, this card is so rare and so valuable, that it has earned up to $2 million in a sale. However, its price cannot only be credited to its rarity but also due to the highly talented baseball legend Honus. This Flying Dutchman batted almost eight times in the National League in the course of his career. He retired with a stellar .328 average even though he played during the offence-killing ‘dead-ball era’.
3. Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens rose to fandom in 1986 where he became one of the rare starting pitchers who secured the MVP award. In that match, he posted a 24-4 record with a 24.8 ERA and 238 strikeouts for the Boston Red Sox.
During this time, a lot of Clemens’ opposing batters used to take steroids which kind of upped the game of Clemens at some point. However, he wasn’t able to go higher because people also believed that Clemens himself took steroids. Therefore, his goals are often not considered to be that stunning or illustrious as people believed at the first glance. Due to this, Clemens was often the most hated baseball player at that time.
Nevertheless, he is still considered to be a baseball legend in the baseball world as his 24-year career spans a record seven Cy Young Awards as the best pitcher of the year with 4672 strikeouts, making him the third most of all time.
4. Ty Cobb
Have you ever noticed that in any baseball team there will always be one guy who is always enraged as hell and ready to pounce on the opposite player? Ty Cobb is one of them. He is considered to be an unrepentant racist who is capable of causing potential injury to the opponents. Believe it or not, he even fought once with a fan in the stands.
However, this never-extinguishing fire inside Cobb made him the legendary baseball icon he is called today. With the batting average in major-league history (.366), he led the American League 12 times in his 24-year illustrious career.
Be that as it may, he was not merely a single batter but was also responsible for AL to hit the slugging percentage on eight occasions. For those who don’t know, slugging percentage is a statistic that helps in measuring a hitter’s power production.
5. Ted Williams
‘The Splendid Splinter’ aka Ted Williams is known for his sharp eye that had helped him post a .400 batting average in the last major league season in 1941. He secured his popularity by his .482 on-base percentage which was considered to be the highest of all time. He is often called ‘the greatest pure hitter who ever lived.
This Boston Red Sox icon was successful in leading the American League (AL) in on-base percentage 12 times batting average 6 times and slugging percentage 9 times in his 19-year career. He is also successful in ranking in the top 20 in total runs scored, runs batted in and home runs even though he offered some years of his life to military service which made him miss almost five full seasons.
Apart from being called ‘The Splendid Splinter, Williams is also known as the best fisherman and the best fighter pilot ever. Be that as it may, Ted Williams was not known to have a good relationship with the public.
These are some of the mind-blowing, supremely talented legendary baseball icons that are indelible from the minds of people. True baseball lovers know the importance of such people and are also aware of the fact that such people are rare gems that are seen only once or twice in one’s generation.
Recommended reading: Is The Connection Between Men And Sports Undisputed?
5 Legendary Baseball Icons Who Are Worth Mentioning
There is nothing more exciting than watching baseball with your friends be it on the ground or your TV. What makes this game so exciting? Its history? Sure! But the best part about watching baseball is its supremely talented debonair players who not only crack the bat but also the game.
5 Legendary Baseball Icons Of All Time
Walking down the memory lane, here are some of the best legendary baseball icons who are indelible in the history of time.
1. Hank Aaron
Also known as ‘Hammerin’ Hank’, Hank Aaron was one of the most powerful baseball players of his time. He was also the owner of the title Home Run King for a generation.
He has achieved 2297 runs, 6856 total bases with a batting average of .305. He was also successful in winning three Gold Gloves for his play in the outfield. He was consistently selected to the All-Star Game for 21 years straight and he has hit at least 30 home runs in 15 seasons. Unfortunately, the world’s best baseball legend dies at 86.
2. Honus Wagner
Known as ‘The Flying Dutchman’, Honus Wagner secured his popularity through his most valuable baseball card in history, the rare 1909-11 T206 Wagner card which was produced by the American Tobacco Company.
As mentioned, this card is so rare and so valuable, that it has earned up to $2 million in a sale. However, its price cannot only be credited to its rarity but also due to the highly talented baseball legend Honus. This Flying Dutchman batted almost eight times in the National League in the course of his career. He retired with a stellar .328 average even though he played during the offence-killing ‘dead-ball era’.
3. Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens rose to fandom in 1986 where he became one of the rare starting pitchers who secured the MVP award. In that match, he posted a 24-4 record with a 24.8 ERA and 238 strikeouts for the Boston Red Sox.
During this time, a lot of Clemens’ opposing batters used to take steroids which kind of upped the game of Clemens at some point. However, he wasn’t able to go higher because people also believed that Clemens himself took steroids. Therefore, his goals are often not considered to be that stunning or illustrious as people believed at the first glance. Due to this, Clemens was often the most hated baseball player at that time.
Nevertheless, he is still considered to be a baseball legend in the baseball world as his 24-year career spans a record seven Cy Young Awards as the best pitcher of the year with 4672 strikeouts, making him the third most of all time.
4. Ty Cobb
Have you ever noticed that in any baseball team there will always be one guy who is always enraged as hell and ready to pounce on the opposite player? Ty Cobb is one of them. He is considered to be an unrepentant racist who is capable of causing potential injury to the opponents. Believe it or not, he even fought once with a fan in the stands.
However, this never-extinguishing fire inside Cobb made him the legendary baseball icon he is called today. With the batting average in major-league history (.366), he led the American League 12 times in his 24-year illustrious career.
Be that as it may, he was not merely a single batter but was also responsible for AL to hit the slugging percentage on eight occasions. For those who don’t know, slugging percentage is a statistic that helps in measuring a hitter’s power production.
5. Ted Williams
‘The Splendid Splinter’ aka Ted Williams is known for his sharp eye that had helped him post a .400 batting average in the last major league season in 1941. He secured his popularity by his .482 on-base percentage which was considered to be the highest of all time. He is often called ‘the greatest pure hitter who ever lived.
This Boston Red Sox icon was successful in leading the American League (AL) in on-base percentage 12 times batting average 6 times and slugging percentage 9 times in his 19-year career. He is also successful in ranking in the top 20 in total runs scored, runs batted in and home runs even though he offered some years of his life to military service which made him miss almost five full seasons.
Apart from being called ‘The Splendid Splinter, Williams is also known as the best fisherman and the best fighter pilot ever. Be that as it may, Ted Williams was not known to have a good relationship with the public.
These are some of the mind-blowing, supremely talented legendary baseball icons that are indelible from the minds of people. True baseball lovers know the importance of such people and are also aware of the fact that such people are rare gems that are seen only once or twice in one’s generation.
Recommended reading: Is The Connection Between Men And Sports Undisputed?