Jamie Mottram's Sports Blog - www.misterirrelevant.com

Check out what Will Clark is looking like these days. Yikes. Even though his physique has gradually and consistently regressed from the '87-'91 era when he may have been baseball's best player, it's always shocking to see his current appearance. For me, he'll forever be the sweet swinging San Francisco slugger who became my favorite athlete of all time even though where he played and I grew up were over 3,000 miles apart.

So when Rumors and Rants came calling with a request for a few words about my favorite ballplayer ever, I easily knew who I'd be writing about, and I imagine the response was the same for the other two dozen-plus bloggers who participated. You're encouraged to check the full results via the collection of bloggers' favorite baseball players, and here are but a few excerpts that made me smile for one reason or another ...

Kirby Puckett
"He proved to all "husky" kids that they too could win batting titles, single-handedly carry their teams to World Series titles, pose for "Wrecking Ball" posters, lose eyeballs and despite the subsequent depth perception issues, still have the ability to grope women in public bathrooms. RIP Kirby." - Josh, Joe Sports Fan

Mark Grace
"There was always a bigger, flashier star, whether it be Sandberg, Dawson, or Sosa, but Grace won over the Cubs faithful with his blue collar working-man's attitude and approach to the game. Even when he was railroaded out of town by upper management because Hee Seop Choi was "ready," everyone still loved Grace. Grace had a great bat and a solid glove, but I think his most indelible legacy he left to the game was his coining the term "Slump-buster". Just do a Google search if you don't know what it means." - Jake, Thunder Matt's Saloon

Lance Johnson
"I was outside playing catch with my dad in August of 1991 and Wilson Alvarez was in the midst of throwing a no-hitter. As we listened to the game on the radio, Lance Johnson seemingly kept the no-hitter intact on a diving catch in center. Soon after, I made a similar diving stab and my dad started calling me "1-dog" after Johnson's nickname. I couldn't tell you any of his stats or much about the man himself; but I can tell you this: I never wore any other number." - Postman R, We Are The Postmen

Follow the link above for the full post, which is really well done, and be sure not to miss the very last tribute on the page: Every Day Should Be Saturday's ode to a "possibly retarded" Rube Waddell. Priceless.

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