Old timey - Lou Gehrig (we had a lot of old biographies in my school library)

Current (at the time) - Frank Thomas (I started collecting baseball cards and Frank Thomas was my first card Beckett-indexed at over $2.00)

Circa 1994.

1982 - Jim Sundberg or Buddy Bell

Pudge = Carlton Fisk

1989

Ozzie Smith

Played shortstop better than anyone else. Saved so many runs. His backflip and barehanded catch were forever etched in my mind. Was the reason I played shortstop growing up.

1996-Biggio

1991 - Nolan Ryan...

Side note - I am shocked that his name didn't appear until page 2.

'79 - Jim Sundberg

Was a member of the Dr Pepper Jr Rangers Kids Club.

2004- Brad Lidge and Jeff Bagwell. I played 1st base and I was a closer so I looked up to them. Bagwell was starting to have his health issues but I still thought he was one of the best in the business. At that time, Brad Lidge was on his way to becoming a dominant closer, until Albert Pujols broke him.

I wasn't quite 10 yet, but I always liked Dante Bichette due to this ridiculous baseball card:

1989

Ken Caminiti

He played 3B like it was supposed to be played, fearless.

1986

Daryl Strawberry
Dwight Gooden
Don Mattingly
Vince Coleman

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1966 Norm Cash

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otni my dad was a HS basketball coach in west Texas in the 50's and early 60's and Norm Cash was one of the refs for his games.

I was 10 in 1967 which was the year my favorite Jimmy Wynn hit 37 HR. Back then the Astrodome was 340 down the lines, 390 to the alleys and 410 to center.

Toss up between Glenn David and Bill Doran

1994

Pudge ofcourse!

Nolan Ryan no doubt, 1990 as an 8 year old I was in Oakland visiting my grandparents and my grandpa asked if I wanted to go to an A's game, turns out to be no-no #6. He could not have been a bigger hero pitching for my home town Rangers.

1985
Nolan Ryan
How could you not like a guy who could be so dominant?

Bill Doran was my favorite position player. Seemed like he was diving across the astroturf to make a play at least once a game.

1989 Nolan Ryan

1977 - Jose Cruz

Played for my favorite team
Got a bat with his name on it on bat night when my little league team went to Astros game

1991 - Ryne Sandberg

1979

A toss-up between Mike Schmidt and Willie Stargell...I was on a little league team named the Pirates in the spring of '80, right after the We Are Family Pirates won the Series in '79, I shared a first name with Stargell and I played 1B, same as Stargell. I tried to imitate that windmill warmup swing of his, too.

I grew up in an area where the nearest MLB franchise was over 300 miles away (Atlanta), and the Braves sucked in the mid-late '70s, so they were never on TV. The Saturday Game of the Week on NBC seemed to have the Phillies on at least every other week (they were in the postseason a lot then), I liked their uniforms and Mike Schmidt was hitting lots of HRs.

I was something of a rotund kid, too, so I liked seeing Greg "The Bull" Luzinski out there for the Phillies, too...he'd be in the next tier.

1984 - Larry Parrish. Not Lance. Larry.

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1997

Rusty Greer

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Mine was 1994 and Rusty - the hustle and the clutch hitting + a lefty like me!

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1990 - Nolan Ryan by a mile

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Same in every way

1974
Rollie Fingers The A's won 3 straight world series so we saw them play alot and they A's team had this thing where they all had facial hair and Rollie Fingers had the best handlebar mustache ever!

Also I was a Rangers fan and 74 was a good year for them. I always liked Jim Sundberg and Toby Harrah.

2002

Pudge Rodriguez

I was a catcher and (still am) a huge Rangers fan, and that was his last season with the Rangers. In my mind he was one of the greatest of all time.

And yes I know "the real Pudge" was Fisk but in my generation Pudge is Ivan Rodriguez

73
Al Kaline
Detroit

'92: Skinny Pirate Barry Bonds

Skinny head Barry Bonds

Fify

19 hundred and 82 --> Steve Sax!

Yes, I know, I know but it is who it is.

1992
Nolan Ryan & Bo Jackson

No explanation needed. Studs.

1989 Rangers Nolan. This was probably one of my favorite Rangers teams... Nolan Ryan, Ruben Sierra, Juan Gone, Rafi Palmero, Steve Booooschele, Geno Petrali, Pete Inky, Dean Palmer, Kevin Brown, Kenny Rodgers, Charlie Knuckles, Jeff Russell, Jamie Moyer, Skinny Sosa, Harold Baines. Nolan will always be my hero, along with my pops, but something about this team just made me love the game of baseball. On paper, this was an absolutely stacked team of players, and some PEDs.

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2001 - Biggio

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This, even though I am a Rangers fan. Just have always loved Biggio.

1979

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