I was rummaging through a box in the basement the other day looking for some old photos (which I never found) when I found a list of ballplayers I started over drinks with a buddy one night about 25 years ago. The list had all but the last 6-8 names on it which I added just a few days ago. You'll note that some of these names go back to the 1950's - well so do I. These are my favorite class of players - the solid pros who just go out every day and do their jobs making few mistakes and were never considered superstars. They all may have had one or two great years, but they all had careers where every year was solid and productive. Frank Lary is the only pitcher on the list and I have no idea why we didn't add more. Lary is my pick because I grew up a Tigers fan (born in Toledo) and Lary was known as "the Yankee killer." This is obviously not an exhaustive list of these excellent players, but it is my list. Carl Furillo Frank Lary Ken Boyer Bill Virdon Reggie Smith Paul Blair Bill White Terry Puhl Ron Hunt Chris Chambliss Dwight Evans Kenny Lofton Lou Piniella Bill Russell Andy Van Slyke Paul O'Neill Michael Young Ben Zobrist David Freese George Springer - youngest guy on my list, but he already fits the type Maybe y'all can add some names to the list - top pros who will never be confused with superstars.
Oh, wow, Andy Van Slyke, that brings back memories. My dad is a lifelong Pirates fan, so I remember him from that last time the Pirates were actually competitive (that period in the early '90s when Jim Leyland was managing, and before Barry Bonds bolted for the Giants and greater glory).
Mark Grace, Mickey Morandini, Ellis Burks, Nomar Garciaparra, John Olerud. Edit: For pitchers, off the top of my head would be David Cone, Bret Saberhagen, Mike Morgan (for longevity, if anything), Bartolo Colon (same), Dave Stieb and Al Leiter. Maybe Johan Santana, since he would have had a Hall of Fame career if his arm hadn't exploded on multiple occasions.
John Olerud - a pro's pro. How could I have missed him. Pitchers are harder than position players - they're either really good or just cannon fodder. I like your pick of Al Leiter, though. I was also thinking of an old Reds guy, Clay Carroll.
One of my favorite Rickey Henderson anecdotes is when when Rickey reached base against the Mets (I think) and mentioned to the first baseman that he used to play with a guy who used to wear a batting helmet while fielding first base (Olerud suffered an aneurysm while out in the field, as I recall). "That was me, Rickey," Olerud said.