30 Franchise MLB Players
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by Falcon02520
I want to know who is the guy who makes the franchise go? The guy who leads his team, who wants to win, and who simply does it for more than just the money. I have compiled a list of one player per team who is not nesessarilly the captain, but doesn't have to be the best player. Simply a leader, with spirt and pride, who gives it his all, and could be the face of a franchise.
(These teams are in order by division. It has nothing to do with standings or rankings or anything else.)
Boston Red Sox- Jason Varitek (The captain; the leader of the pitching staff, which has done pretty darn well; sorry Big Papi)
Toronto Blue Jays- Roy Halladay (He is a gamer)
New York Yankees- Derek Jeter (Not expecting any arguements here)
Baltimore Orioles- Nick Markakis (Great young talent; can and will do what he can to win)
Tampa Bay Devil Rays- Carl Crawford (Simply one of the best outfielders in the game; even though he's in Tampa, he wants to win)
Detroit Tigers- Ivan Rodriguez (That pitching staff was young, unexperienced, and a mess before he saved them)
Cleveland Indians- Grady Sizemore (Will go over, under, around, and even through walls to get an out; I once read he will be a Jeter type of leader over the years)
Minnesota Twins- Johan Santana (Best pitcher in baseball; Wants to win in Minnesota, but has said that if they don't show they want to win, he will leave for a team that does)
Kansas City Royals- (Sorry KC fans, I couldn't decide so I'm taking the Grounds Keeper; the field looked to be in good condition last I saw)
Chicago White Sox- Josh Fields (He may not be yet, but Fields is going to be a great player and leader; it'll be a few years)
Los Angeles Angels- Vladimir Guerrero (He can single handedly carry an offense)
Seattle Mariners- Ichiro (One of the best singles hitters everywhere; very hard worker)
Oakland Athletics- (I need help on this one, because I got no idea)
Texas Rangers- Michael Young (He has been a good leader and productive hitter who produces anywhere in a lineup)
New York Mets- Jose Reyes (Any questions?)
Atlanta Braves- Chipper Jones (When healthy; he took a paycut to bring in Tim Hudson a few years back (when Tim was really good))
Philadelphia Phillies- Chase Utley (Inspired me to do this list; hustles everywhere; one of the best players in the game; talented and still works harder than anyone (even when his hand was broken, he took ground balls))
Washington Nationals- Ryan Zimmerman (Great young player, and could be great for a long time)
Florida Marlins- Hanley Ramirez (As a Boston fan, I miss him dearly)
St. Louis Cardinals- Albert Pujols (Again, no statement needed)
Milwaukee Brewers- Prince Fielder (Hard worker even though he'd still make an error fielding a ball that wasn't moving)
Pittsburgh Pirates- IDK
Cincinnati Reds- Ryan Freel (Willing to give up his starting job for a couple of extra wins)
Chicago Cubs- Zambrano? Soriano? Cubbies, you tell me.
Houston Astros- Craig Biggio (Long time "What ever it takes" player; switch positions many times)
Los Angeles Dodgers- Russell Martin (A good guy who (if he isn't already) is going to be the best cathcer in the game)
San Diego Padres- Jake Peavy (Pitches with passion and makes every pitch count)
Colorado Rockies- Matt Holliday (Is leading a bad team to a respectable .500 record; Todd Helton never really carried a team like this)
San Francisco Giants- Omar Vizquel (One of my favorites All-time)
Arizona Diamondbacks- Eric Byrnes (What is more impressive than running through a wall to win a game? Whatever is Byrnes will do it)
These are my opinions. And, this list may only make sense in my mind. But, I posted it anyway.
