https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/who-is-the-goat-for-each-of-the-30-mlb-teams/ss-BB14CKxb?li=BBnba9I#image=31

I though Pudge as well. Also looked at Gary Carter over Max that was Montreal vs Washington which they said something in the body about it. Just glad to see my favorite growing up as Brewers all time best.

I made my own list before I clicked on it. Agreed with 22 of them. Really 24 because I completely brain farted on Tom Seaver and Ty Cobb. I had Gooden and Hank Greenberg for the Mets and Tigers which is obviously wrong.

I had Gary Carter for the Expos/Nats but am fine with it if you limit it to the Nats.
I had Joe Carter for the Jays which probably is just my age bias.
Killebrew vs Kirby is a tossup for me but Killebrew is probably the right answer.
Same with Larry Walker and Todd Helton

The only two that I vehemently disagree with are Raffy vs Pudge and Ripken versus Brooks. The guys they picked are obviously all-timers (although steroids and the streak vastly overrated them) but the guys they ignored are both in the argument for #1 all time at their position. And no lower than #3 for either of them.

In what world is Nolan Ryan not the GOAT Ranger?

Pudge is one of the top 2-3 catchers of all time and spent the majority of his career with Texas.

Nolan is *arguably* a Top 5 pitcher who had some great highlights/games in his short time in Texas but ultimately was a 3.5ish ERA pitcher.

He's the most recognizable Texas Ranger, but he's not the greatest the franchise has ever had. Hell, from a production standpoint Josh Hamilton did more in his 5 years run in Texas than Nolan did.

Curious - who are the other two catchers in your top 3 all time to go along with pudge?

I think you take your pick between Pudge and Bench. They are 1&2 and tough to argue against either. 3 is a distant second.

Pudge put up like a 53 WAR in his 11+ years as a Ranger. Nolan had something like a 15.2 in his 5.

I was frankly surprised Nolan's Ranger WAR was as high as it was.

Yeah, I didn't realize it got up to 15.

It nearly all came in his first 3 years.

Nolan's 5th year is best forgotten.

1A. Bench
1B. Berra
2. Rodriguez
3 - X. Everybody else

I love Pudge, but Yogi seems to be severely underappreciated in these discussions. 3 MVP's, higher BA than both Bench and Pudge, comparable HR to both, and more RBI than both. Bench and Pudge do get the nod defensively.

Throw in 10 World Series titles and the contributions that Berra made in the middle years of that, and his resume gets even harder to compete with.

Bench
Berra
Carter
Pudge
Piazza

Gramercy Riffs said:

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Curious - who are the other two catchers in your top 3 all time to go along with pudge?

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Pudge is my #1, I just put Top 2-3 to avoid any kind of snarky debate

I won't put any of them in any sort of order, but I will say that I recently read some stats on Piazza, and he was a hell of a lot better than I've ever given him credit for.

He hit .300 with 30 HR for ten straight seasons to begin his career (24 in the strike shortened year). All-time leader for catchers in HR, slugging %, and OPS. 4th most RBI, 5th best batting average (.308). And then there's this:

Only 17 times in the history of baseball has a full-time catcher hit 35 homers in a season. Of those 17, Piazza has 6 of them. Bench did it twice. Pudge once. Berra zero.

The lack of gold gloves kills his bid for best overall catcher. And unfortunately, bad knees kept him from playing as long as Pudge. But offensively, in my opinion he's #1.

Proposition Joe said:

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Gramercy Riffs said:

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Curious - who are the other two catchers in your top 3 all time to go along with pudge?

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Pudge is my #1, I just put Top 2-3 to avoid any kind of snarky debate

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I think that's a fine choice, but you didn't answer the question of who the other two are. I think it's a fun conversation because there are a few who could make a strong argument to be at the top.

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Killebrew vs Kirby is a tossup for me but Killebrew is probably the right answer.

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If you only consider only those seasons the Twins have been in Minnesota it is a toss up between the two, I'd give the nod to Puckett, but for 60 seasons the franchise was the Washington Senators and IMO Walter Johnson deserves the nod.

For the Pirates, it is a toss up between Clemente and Honus Wagner

For the Orioles, both Frank and Brooks Robinson should be in the discussion with Ripken.

I'll give you that Johnson and Wagner probably are the right answer. I think Frank Robinson is hurt by splitting so much of his time between Cincy and the Os. He was only in Balt for 6 seasons.

There are few head-scratchers on here, but nothing egregious.

I disagree with Palmeiro getting the nod over any of Pudge, Beltre or Ryan. He was a great player but I don't get giving him the top spot.