Hey! A Rod is my all time favorite baseball player...I love to watch him play the game! I am just wondering if anyone here has ever met him before, and if so, how did you get that opportunity and what was he like.\nThank you!
207316
If you allow me a very broad definition of the word "met" then I met him during spring training last year.  Before the game after he finished warming up, he came over to a group of fans along the first base line.  He was very friendly and accomodating to everyone.  He signed autographs for half an hour and posed for pictures.
268757
Team A BY FAR!!! This guy has 3 definite 1st round picks with Manny, Vladdy, and Johan.  A few potential 2nd round guys with Utley, Lidge, Oswalt, Sheffield and Hafner.  This guy's team basically made his team in the first two rounds. A few others players that I didn't mention are on fire on his team with Wagner, Fielder, Dunn, Vizquel, Ensberg, Willingham! THEYRE ALL ON FIRE! The worst player on his team is Bonderman and thats saying something.  AND MADDUX! You can't compare these two teams.
305348
I looked a little more about this for you and found this story about the pink jersey. Sorry it's kind of lengthy, but tells it all. Enjoy!\n\nThe Mystery of the Pink Jersey\n\nMike Laga amassed 423 career AB over the course of nine seasons between Detroit, St. Louis and San Francisco.  He had a .199 career average, and is probably best known for being the only player to have hit a baseball actually out of Busch Stadium (A foul ball left the park in September of 1986).  \n\nBut for me, Mike Laga will always be remembered for something else: The 1987 Topps card which depicts him wearing an airbrushed-pink jersey!  \n\nIn all my youth, the closest baseball cards came to perfection were those ’87 Topps.  Sure the early Upper Decks were nice; and I won’t sell the 1988-1989 and 1991-1992 Donruss sets short.  But those ’87 Topps had that special something: the perfect mix between action and posed photos.  The player-name box was tastefully understated.  The team logo was just the right size.  Many remember that set for the wood-grain frame that brought it all together.\n\nThe answer to the Mike Laga question has eluded me for years.  As a boy I wondered “why is Mike Laga wearing a pink jersey?”  Later it became “why would somebody at Topps airbrush a guy’s jersey pink?”\n\nMy first thought was that it might be an error card.  I hoped that something had happened when the film was being processed that botched the photo.  Error cards are worth a lot of money, right?  My 1981 Fleer Craig Nettles is an error card, and at one point it was worth $5.  $5!!!  I’ve got 800 of these Mike Laga cards, I might be rich!\n\nMy sister and I must have spent an entire summer trying to track down the 1988 Donruss Mark Grace rookie card; or the Fleer Billy Ripken with the dirty word on the knob of the bat.  I knew error cards were worth a lot of money (to a nine-year-old), and so when I saw that the ’87 Mike Laga was worth a mere $0.03, I quickly dismissed the notion that it was a true “error card.”  \n\nOne possibility is that Topps used a photo from Mike’s time in Detroit, although my first instinct is to reject this premise: the Tigers did utilize the three-band strip of elastic around the neckline, but the Tigers jerseys of 1986 buttoned-down (unless I am mistaken; admittedly I am not an authority on the history of Tigers uniforms).  The photo of Laga clearly indicates a jersey without buttons is being worn.  \n\nPlus, baseball card photos are traditionally taken during spring training, right?  Mike got dealt to St. Louis in 1986, so they could’ve easily snapped another photo of him during spring training of 1987; or they could have easily taken an action shot from the end of 1986.\n\nEven if this was a modified photo of Mike Laga in a Tigers jersey, it differed from what Topps would typically do for this situation.  For example, the 1988 Topps Doug DeCinces (card #446) features DeCinces in an Angels uniform having rounded second-base and possibly watching a play develop at third.  Across the top of the card the name “Angels” is spelled out in block letters, but in the lower-left corner of the card in 6 or 8 pt black type is written “Now with Cardinals.”  If the only thing that Topps had available for Mike Laga was a 1986 photo of him with the Tigers, why not simply note in the corner that he is “Now with Cardinals,” like they did for DeCinces?  \n\nI do know that card companies pay players for their photos (although in the 1980s it probably wasn’t much).  Did Topps not want to pony up an extra hundred bucks to pay Laga for a new photo?  If they felt that Mike was such a marginal player, why include him in the set at all?  In any event, the total costs of detailing a Mike Laga photo in 1987 probably far exceeded that of just paying him the $100 for a new photo.     \n\nAlthough the Mike Laga card is a mystery, it is not my favorite card in Topps set of 1987 (no disrespect to Mr. Laga).  My favorite was al
622009
He's one of the best pitchers currently playing the game. \nHe has great control of his throws even at high speeds. \n\nI would have to say he's my favorite pitcher!
381096
Yes I am George, Webb is my favorite player. It may not have been the greatest performance but he was the best out of all the other pitchers. I watched all of his starts and Webby put his heart into every one of them. I'm very happy he won.
240726
How about the Tampa Bay Devil Rays?  They have some really good young talent.  They've made a managerial change as well as front office changes.  They also have some promising prospects coming up soon.  Guys like Carl Crawford, Toby Hall, Aubrey Huff, Joey Gaithright and Rocco Baldelli are fun to watch.  Good speed and hustle.  I'm a Yankees fan and like to watch them (rooting for them now as they play the dreaded Red Sox on ESPN)
123349
One series has nothing to do with another.  Bernie Williams has hit great in about half his playoff series... and hit horribly in the other half.\n\nA-Rod's actually done about the same thing.  He just got cold at a bad time last year... and because the Yankees got eliminated, he never got a chance to make up for it.
175175
So far. Do you think he'll be a closer all season or will he become a set-up man or a started when Keith Foulkes is healthy?\n\nBilly Wagner is still the guy I would most like to hafve on my team. I think 2 others I would give strong consideration to are Francisco Rodriguez & Bob Wickman.\n\n\n\n\nMariano Rivera - greatest closer of all time? I disagree. He's certainly in the top 10 but how about Sparky Lyle? Rollie Fingers? Dennis Eckersley (the guy LaRussa invented the position for)? Or maybe Goose Gossage, Lee Smith or Bruce Sutter? I agree that Rivera was good but he didn't have a long enough career to be great - for 4 years, unstoppable. Rest of his career, good but not great.
151414
Well i know i waited for him to come out of a pirates locker room for about an hour when he played for us. He finally came out and was pushing people away didnt sign a single thing when every other player at least signed 5-10 things. Over rated probably. steroids Probably . Asshole most definately.
234934
i wasn't around when koufax was (tho i wish i could've seen him- he rocks!!!- not playing on yom kippur and stuff), but the best pitcher i ever saw was mariano rivera. the dude just rox!!!
601831
Coco's catch was unbelievable....all I can say after that catch is.....Johnny who????  Definitely the best of 2006 thus far!!!  A Web Gem for sure. \n\nGo BoSox!!!!!
159832
I'm going to go against that grain here and say that unless you need steals - don't do it. Let’s start off with Beckett- he is now 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA, 1.25 WHIP after the Tribe kicked the snot out of him the other night. Everybody knows that Beckett, the 2003 World Series MVP, has talent. The question, as always, is his durability. He'll be just 26 in May and already has 100 starts in the bigs. BUT he's never thrown more than 200 innings or made 30 starts in a season. What happens when his first blister pops up -- on the front pages -- in Boston? How will he handle the heat? How will he get his road ERA (4.25 since 2004) down? How will he handle a full season with the DH? Not this well, that's for sure.\n\nSo...now you're talking Jones for Damon. Andruw is the back bone of the Braves lineup and he has had an awesome April (.284 8HR 23RBI's 17 runs). Project that out and he's looking at a 45+HR and a 100+RBI season. Damon on the other had has a slower start (.275 1HR 10RBI 16 runs). He's gonna have to find a way to settle down in NYC (which he may do just fine) but how far back in the standings will you be when he does?\n\nStick with Jones, go out and look at Ryan Freel (Cincinnati) for steals and grab whatever pitcher is hot on your waiver wire.
575337
Excellent catcher and hitter with a great future ahead of him in baseball!!\n\nGood luck!!
393184
By far. I think all of us are "Sal's pal's" He is simply a legend. His mullet is a work of art. His Mustache is nothing short of perfect. Can he hit over .200? NO. Can he throw anyone out at second? NO Do we care? NO He is a god among mortals. He also may become the first guy to win both MVP trophys in the same year. (he played in the NL and AL)
174912
Sad to say it is over. It was fun to watch and I wish he had broken the record. But even though he was 18 games away from the record, 18 games is HUGE on the tail end of that chase. If that record is ever broken, it will be a LONG time. Probably someone who won’t be born for a long time will eventually do it. That is a very tough record to break; I give him props for going 38. Had he continued it beyond today as the games got closer and closer to the Record 56 the pressure would have become really intense. I think it already was. In the long run, it is better for him and his team. Now he is out of the Limelight and can focus on what is most important, his team winning.
617156
Well, I am not "crazy" about him because I am a male and a Red Sox fan to boot. However, he is a great shortstop, a dedicated player, and epitomizes the enthusiasm and energy one would like to see in all athletes!!\n\nI hope you agree.
510513
I grew up with Rickey Henderson as my favorite baseball player ever.  I loved the guy, hell i even had his book, and comic book.  OH yeah, he had a comic book.  Anyways he dominated the game, the best leadoff hitter of all time, hands down.  He should be a first ballot hall of famer.  Lets not forget his records in leadoff game home runs either.