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To Alex's Baseball Hompage





I love baseball, it's my life. I thought it would be cool to make a page about it, or in this case about the players. I happen to think players who played a long time ago were better than the players who play now. I handed out a survey to all the eighth graders at my school so they could vote for their favorite old time player. The choices are as follows: Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Micky Mantle, Al Rosen, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Joe Morgan, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Jackie Robinson, and Joe DiMaggio. I voted for Al Rosen because while my dad worked for the Giants I got to meet and hang out with Al, he's a great guy and was a great ball player.

Here are the players and some information about them.


HANK AARON


Hank Aaron got 6 votes, or 4% of the votes


Hank Aaron hit more home runs than anyone else in American Professional Baseball history.
He began his professional big-league baseball career in 1954 and retired in 1976.
Henry Louis (Hank) Aaron was born on February 5, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama. He grew to be 6 feet tall with an active weight of 180 pounds.
At the end of his baseball career, Aaron had 755 home runs; 3,771 hits; 2,297 runs batted in; 1,402 walks; and a .305 batting average out of 12,364 at bats in 3,298 games.
Aaron still holds the record for the most runs batted in of any player in American professional baseball.



WILLIE MAYS


Willie Mays got 21 votes, or 15% of the votes


Willie Mays played 22 years with the New York/San Francisco Giants, and The New York Mets.
He retired in 1973 ranking 3rd all time in home runs with 660, 5th in runs with 2062, 7th in RBI's with 1903, and 9th in hits with 3283.
He led the National League in batting average once, hits once, walks once, runs twice, triples 3 times, home runs 4 times, stolen bases 4 times, and slugging percentage 5 times.
He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1951 and MVP in 1954 & 1965.
Was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.


SANDY KOUFAX


Sandy Koufax got 6 votes, or 4% of the votes


Full Name: Sanford (born Sanford Braun) Koufax
Birth Date: December 30, 1935
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 210 lbs.
Major League Debut: Jun 24, 1955
Bats: Right
Throws: Left
Career Record: 165-87
Career ERA: 2.76
Career Strikeouts: 2,396
Hall of Fame Induction: 1972



MICKY MANTLE


Micky Mantle got 7 votes, or 5% of the votes


Micky Mantle joined the Yankees just as Joe DiMaggio was leaving. In the first 14 years he played for them they reached the World Series 12 times.
He was the greatest switch hitter in the game. He won 3 MVP awards, in 1956, 1957, and 1962; and he got the triple crown in 1956 with 52 home runs, 130 RBI's, and a .353 batting average.
He hit one of the longest homers in history, it went 565 feet.
He had a total of 536 home runs in total and he was one of the most feared hitter in the game, he got walked 1,734 times.


AL ROSEN



Al Rosen got 5 votes, or 4% of the votes


Albert Leonard "Flip" Rosen was born on Febuary 29, 1924 in Spartenberg South Carolina. He thinks his best year is 1953, he said that's because he won the MVP award that year (with 43 homeruns, 145 RBI's, and a .336 batting average) and almost the triple crown. Micky Vernon, who played for the Washington Senators won the batting average title by .001, Al needed one hit in his last game that he didn't get. He played from 1947 at the end of the season to 1957, he became a regular in 1950 playing 155 games. In his rookie year, 1950 he lead the league with 4 triples, 37 home runs, and a 6.7 slugging percentage.
The best player he has ever seen play is Willie Mays; and his best teamate was a Cleveland outfeilder, Larry Dobby. After baseball he was a stock brocker for awhile, then he became the General Manager of the NY Yankees, then the General Manager of the Houston Astros. After that he joined the SF Giants as the President and General Manager, he worked side by side with my dad (he was the VP). I got to see Al every time I visited my dad at work, he a great guy. Now he is retired.
His favorite qoute is his own, "The greatest thrill in the world is to end the game with a homerun and watch everybody else walk off the field while our running the bases on air." He said, "That's the only way you can really describe the feeling."


BABE RUTH


Babe Ruth got 41 votes, or 29% of the votes


Babe Ruth hit more home runs than anyone else in American Professional Baseball history until Hank Aaron broke his record in 1974.
He began his professional big-league baseball career in 1914 and retired in 1935.
George Herman (Babe) Ruth was born on February 6, 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland. He grew to be 6 feet 2 inches tall with an active weight of 215 pounds.
At the end of his baseball career, Ruth had 714 home runs; 2,873 hits; 2,209 runs-batted-in; 2,056 walks; and a .342 batting average out of 8,399 at bats in 2,503 games.
Ruth still holds the record for being walked more than any other batter in American Professional Baseball.


LOU GEHRIG


Lou Gehrig got 2 votes, or 1% of the votes


Lou Gehrig was by far one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He played the game with more class than anyone. His incredible statistics reflect his career as an outstanding baseball player.
He played for the New York Yankees during his entire 17-season career.
He played on six Yankee World Series Championship teams.
In most of those championship seasons he drove in more runs than anyone else on the team. He played even better in the post-season than in the regular season.
In 34 World Series games, Gehrig batted .361 with 10 homers, 8 doubles, and 35 RBI's.


TED WILLIAMS


Ted Williams got 2 votes, or 1% of the votes


Theodore Samuel Williams

Born Teddy Samuel Williams on August 30, 1918 in San Diego, CA. He later changed his name to Theodore.
Ted Williams was a pilot in World Wae II and The Korean War and he missed parts of five seasons.
After winning the triple crown in 1942 (36 home runs, 137 RBI's, and a .356 batting average) he missed three seasons in the Marines.
He came back for one great season and went back to the Marines again.
He had an average of 32 homers a year through 1951, so while in the service he probaly lost about 150.
But still he managed to get a total of 521 home runs, the tenth-most in history.


JOE MORGAN


Joe Morgan got 2 votes, or 1% of the votes


Full Name: Joe Leonard Morgan
Birth Date: September 19, 1943
Birthplace: Bonham, Texas
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Major League Debut: Sep 21, 1963
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Career Batting Average: .271
Career Hits: 2,517
Career Home Runs: 268
Hall of Fame Induction: 1990
Joe Morgan is now an announcer for the ESPN Wednessday Night Baseball and Sunday Night Baseball. And NBC when they have a play-off or World Series game.


"SHOELESS" JOE JACKSON


"Shoeless" Joe Jackson got 24 votes, or 17% of the votes


In 1908 Joe Jackson was playing for a team in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina and he had bought a new pair of spikes. He had worn the spikes one day and the next day his team was playing the Anderson, South Carolina team. The new pair of spikes had rubbed blisters on Joe's feet, so he wanted to sit this game out, however his team was short some players and Joe had to play. Joe tried to play in the new spikes but they hurt his feet unbearably. During one inning Joe took the spikes off and played in just his socks, he came up to bat and hit a triple and as he was pulling up at third when an Anderson fan hollered "You shoeless son of a gun you!" It was the only day Joe played in his stockinged feet, but the name stuck forever. Joe did not like this handle he carried all his life, but that is how the world knew him......"Shoeless" Joe Jackson.
He died on December, 5th 1951 at home in Greenville, South Carolina from a massive heart attack.


JACKIE ROBINSON


Jackie Robinson got 16 votes, or 11% of the votes


Jackie Robinson came to baseball in 1947 as the first African-American player in modern major league baseball.
He was an immediate success, winning baseball's first Rookie of the Year award.
He went on to become the first African-American player to do the following: win a batting title, lead the league in stolen bases, play in an All-Star Game, play in the World Series, win a Most Valuable Player award, and gain election to the Hall of Fame.


JOE DIMAGGIO


Joe DiMaggio got 10 votes, or 7% of the votes


Joe DiMaggio died on 3/7/99 at the age of 84.
He was a great ball player and was nicknamed "The Yankee Clipper".
He set a record that will probably never be broken, he had a hitting streak 56 games.
He hit better than .300 in 11 of his 13 seasons, and led the league twice in hitting.
He won the MVP award 3 times, 1939, '41, and in '47.
He had a total of 361 home runs with a slugging percentage of .579.


baseball fans have visited my page since 4/1/99.


Bibliography:

Adomites, Paul, et al. Treasury of Baseball, A Collection of America's Pastime. USA: Publications International, Ltd, 1994, pp. 17, 172.

Berler, Ron. The Super Book of Baseball. USA: Time Inc. Magazine Company, 1991,pp. 4, 7, 15, 33, 64-72.


Created by Alex Busch