Fave 4: Los Angeles Dodgers

I've written more than a few times about my baseball experiences as a child and how growing up in Texas made me a fan of the Cubs on WGN, and the Angels and Dodgers because we would visit my grandpa every summer and he would take me to games of those two teams. Once we finally moved to California, I lived close to Anaheim and spent many more nights at the Big A watching the Halos than I did at Chavez Ravine watching the Dodgers. Even so, I've still always rooted for the Dodgers.

Most people probably think I'm nuts to root for two teams from the same area, but it's always been natural to me. And as I was growing up, there was no interleague play, so the only chance I had of my teams colliding and my loyalties being tested was a possible World Series showdown. If you watched the Angels in the 90s you'll realize why that was of little concern to me. So while my Halo fandom has continually risen and made me a huge supporter of the Halos, I'm still a Dodger fan deep down as well. So hopefully I'll do the Dodger fans out there some justice with this list spanning the last 25 years or so.

1. Ramon Martinez

1990 was the year my family finally made the move out to California and that just happens to coincide with the year Ramon Martinez pitched like a maniac. 20 wins, an ERA under 3, 12 complete games, over 220 strikeouts, and a 2nd place Cy Young finish. He was a generous 165 pounds and I was enthralled by his every pitch that season. I collected every card I could find with his name and image on it and could not get enough of the skinny phenom from the Dominican Republic. He went on to have some up and down years for the Dodgers, but I'll always remember him as the pitcher from the summer of '90.

2. Lenny Harris

Chalk this one up to the ghosts of 1990 as well, because Lenny Harris won me over that summer as well. I've already chronicled my love for the chubby ballplayers and Harris was certainly that. He always came across as a very likable underdog to me and no matter where he moved on to in his career, I always found myself rooting for him to succeed. Being the career leader in pinch hits is in some ways a dubious record to hold, but somehow it fits Harris perfectly. He was a guy who did whatever the team asked and did so without complaint. I've never been a huge autograph seeker at baseball games, but I still remember Harris being the first Dodger autograph I ever received at the stadium and also my last.

3. Raul Mondesi

During the run of Dodger rookie of the year winners in the '90s, Raul was undoubtedly my guy. I liked the others, but there was something different about Mondesi. As baseball fans it's easy to be attracted to the great power hitters or strikeout pitchers, but sometimes it's a rarely seen skill that captures our attention. If you've ever witnessed Raul Mondesi play the outfield then you probably remember his arm. Mondesi has an absolute canon in right field and I can vividly remember rooting for opposing players to get hits to right field in hopes that it would lead to Raul uncorking one to cut down a runner advancing. Mondesi would go on to get a reputation as a bit of a cranky guy, but I always appreciated the huge turns he would take at first base on every hit and the effort he showed in the outfield.

4. Matt Kemp

It was difficult to not make this a list of solely late '80s, mid '90s players, but I had to include my favorite current Dodger. As a Dodger fan, it's hard not to be giddy about the young core of this team. Talent on the infield, in the outfield and on the mound is abundant, but for me Matt Kemp stands above them all. Matt Kemp just looks like a baseball player, whether it's roaming center field or up to bat, he has a fluid look about himself. It's hard to explain Matt Kemp, you need to watch him on a regular basis to really appreciate him. His triple to deep center a couple of weeks ago against the Giants in the 9th inning almost seemed effortless and just summed up his skills to me. I'm looking forward to how the young guys progress over the years, but more than anything I can't wait to see how Kemp's career unfolds.

Honorable Mentions:

Tommy Lasorda

If you like the Dodgers, you love Tommy. Those of you who don't like the Dodgers probably loathe Tommy. His constant espousing about his love for baseball can probably be tiresome at times, but I can't get enough of the guy.

The young guys (Martin, Ethier, Loney)

As a pure a baseball player as there is in the league. You can't help but like the guy if you watch him.

Of all the young guys, Ethier is probably the best pure hitter.

I was skeptical of Loney at first, but he has won me over in a big way.

Orel Hershiser

1988. Nothing more need be said.

Kirk Gibson

1988. Nothing more need be said.

Mike Piazza

I was stunned when Piazza was traded and although most people today probably think of him as a Met, it never quite seemed right to me.

Eric Karros

EK began the run of Dodgers winning the rookie of the year award. Karros was consistently a really strong run producer for the Dodgers and in some ways became the face of Dodgers especially after the departure of Piazza.

Mike Scioscia

A gritty catcher for the Dodgers. A World Series winning manager for the Angels. The best of both worlds.

Mike Sharperson

Times were lean for the Dodgers in 1992. Need evidence? Sharperson was the lone Dodger representative on the All-Star team.

Manny Ramirez

The suspension has put a damper on my Manny enthusiasm, but his presence last year in LA was huge. I'll never be able to view Manny in the same way and that makes me sad, but not outraged. I've sort of become numb to this stuff.

Vin Scully

He's not a player, but he is far and away my favorite part of Dodgers baseball. I have spent more hours listening to Vin Scully talk in my lifetime than I have my own parents, all my teachers and my daughter. That's saying something since my daughter hasn't stopped talking once over the last 2 years.

There they are, the number 2 team in my heart. It's by no means a perfect list and I know I've left off quite a few, but in the end I think this represents the Dodgers as I've known them over the last couple of decades.

Next up, the team that inspired the blog.

Go Halos!

Fave 4: Milwaukee Brewers

Finally the day has come, the Brew Crew gets the recognition they have been waiting for all year. The Brewers are an oddity of a franchise. They go from perhaps the greatest logo of all-time, to a procession of average to below average logos. Me personally, I feel nothing but love for the old mb glove.

Befitting Milwaukee, their two greatest players are two of the whitest baseball stars of the past two decades, Paul Molitor and Robin Yount. Yet at the same time, they gave Gary Sheffield his start and now are a team known in large part for their African American stars. I don't know why this fascinates me, but it does. On to the list.

1. James Elmer Gantner

This man is the Milwaukee Brewers to me. Tekulve gets a lot of the love for his glasses, but Gantner deserves a little bit of respect in this regard. Gantner was not exactly the superstar of the franchise, in face he spent 17 seasons playing mostly mediocre baseball, but he had those glasses and that has always been enough for me. Bask in the Gantner.




2. Dale Sveum

From one awkward looking white guy to another. In making this list I realized why I think of Milwaukee as the geeky white guy capital of America and that's because my favorite Brewers are straight out of that mold. Or maybe I like these players because they seem like they're the epitome of Milwaukee. Chicken, egg. I have no idea. All it takes is one look at Dale Sveum's Baseball Reference page to realize it's nuts to like Dale Sveum. His stats are nothing to be proud of, but I like him. It's probably the goofy stache.

3. Dan Plesac

I have a soft spot for lefty closers. Couple that with the goofy white guy factor and the fact that Plesac was dominant for my Strat-o-matic baseball team, and you have a man that is more than worthy of the #3 spot. Somehow Plesac was still in the league in 2003 with Philadelphia. How I wish I could be reborn as a situational lefty. Do you realize the type of money guys are making these days because they're lefthanded and willing to pitch to lefty batters three times a week. It's a good life.

4. B.J. Surhoff

How is it that every player that comes through Milwaukee seems to play for 18 seasons? Surhoff was always a guy who was easy to root for. Surhoff is the perfect guy to be described as "gritty". Catcher, outfielder, one time all-star, goofy white guy from Milwaukee, member of the I Heart Halos Fave 4...the legacy of Surhoff is complete.

Honorable Mentions:
aka Bringing some Flava to Milwaukee

Gary Sheffield

Douche? Yes. However, as a kid during a time when there was only one ESPN network, we weren't inundated with all of the off the field information that we are now. I completely understand why any true Brewer fan would hate this guy, but I spent to many hours staring at his rookie cards not to have a soft spot for him.

I realize the 'roids would have made a career at shortstop a difficulty, but can you imagine this guy as a 500 home run shortstop? Sheff vs. Ernie Banks, quite a comparison.

Anthony Gwynn

I don't think Gwynn is ever going to make the impact with Milwaukee that I hoped he would, but I'm still holding out for him. Anthony was a really good outfielder for San Diego State and although I knew he probably wouldn't amount to much in the majors, I still keep holding my breath, waiting for the breakout. At least he destroyed Hoffman and the Pads a couple of years back.

Greg Vaughn

His best seasons were in Cincinnati and San Diego, but I like my Vaughn as a Brewer. Although his career started out slowly, you just always knew that this guy was going to be a beast whenever he made contact. Never a threat to hit .300 or .260 for that matter, Vaughn was the prototypical 80s power hitter, stuck in the 90s.

Teddy Higuera

Teodoro began his career as the new Fernando. A lefty Mexican pitcher who was absolutley dominating the league. Unfortunately injuries played a cruel joke on us all and kept us from experiencing Teddymania.

Bill Hall

Bill Hall hit 35 home runs in 2006. Look it up. Of course he hasn't approached those numbers again, which always worries you a little bit, but it's not like he morphed from stick figure to Incredible Hulk ala Barry.

Fatty McFatterson

The fattest vegetarian who ever lived.

Rickie Weeks

I keep waiting for this guy to break out and become a star. I don't think it's gonna happen. Almost makes you long for the days of Pat Listach.

Ryan Braun

This guy has the potential for a scary career. He's already off to one of the finest starts I can remember any player having. Normally you don't start thinking about guys hitting 500 home runs after two seasons, but it certainly seems like a strong possibility.

The Legends

Paul and Robin


I don't know how to justify my dislike for these two guys. They are certainly both deserving hall of famers and the greatest players in Milwaukee history, but I'm just not into these two. Making matters worse, I can't even blame it one their dorky whiteboyness, since clearly my list is populated by these fellas. I'm certainly a bitter Ruben Sierra fan as has been previously documented, so that somewhat explains the Yount exclusion, but I don't know what I have against Molitor. Let's just say he took my mom Dorothy Mantooth out for a nice seafood dinner and never called her back!

Go Halos!

Fave 4: Chicago Cubs

The Cubbies. If like me, you grew up without a real home team, the Cubs or the Braves most likely became a big part of your life. For me it was the Cubs, Harry Caray and WGN. Every summer I would look forward to going outside while it was still cool, playing wiffle ball and other games, then heading inside around noon for lunch and the Cubs. Wrigley quickly became my home team, despite its location over a 1,000 miles away.

The Cubbies have always been the lovable losers, but some of my first memories of the Cubs were as *cough* Winners *cough*. Yup. 1989, one of the great Cubs seasons I can remember. 1987 was fun thanks to the Hawk and 1988 meant the emergence of Mark Grace and my total fascination with him. But 1989 was special. I was watching a team every day as they made the chase for the pennant. Too bad the damn Giants had to ruin everything.

1. Mark Grace

Grace will forever be one of my favorite baseball players of all-time. He didn't have the star power of guys like Griffey or Canseco, but he was my guy. When he came up as a rookie, I was instantly sold. I was never a fan of Leon Durham, and I wasn't even watching the team in 1984 when he committed his biggest gaffe. Grace was the young golden boy with all the promise. I hoarded his rookie cards and became obsessed with his play. His battle with Will Clark in the 89 NLCS was epic and had me convinced he'd become one of the greats of all-time. I hated to see him leave the Cubs, but at least he went on to win a championship.


2. Ryne Sandberg

Ryno was an amazing second baseman during a time when second baggers didn't do the things he did with a bat, especially when they could flash the leather. His 40 home runs in 1990 were just ungodly to me. I wasalways thrilled to pull a Sandberg card out of any pack and my friends were always willing to trade them to me, so I filled many a binder page with the man's image.


3. Jerome Walton

Jerome Walton might have introduced me to the idea of Rookie of the Year does not necessarily mean future all-star/MVP. I loved watching the rise of Jerome and Dwight Smith during their rookie years and figured these guys were on their way to becoming an amazing duo for years to come. Not so much, but I'll still never forget Jerome and his hat under helmet awesomeness.

4. Hector Villanueva

My favorite fat catcher. There was no better feeling than finding out that Joe Girardi or Rick Wilkins was on the bench and my boy Hector was gonna get some time behind the dish. Added bonus, won the Puerto Rican league triple crown. There's nothing he can't do.

Honorable Mentions:

Andre Dawson

I wish I had known more about the Hawk before he made it to Chicago, but I still enjoyed the hell out of the man while he was a Cub. No one has ever been as menacing with a bat in his hands. And that includes my boy, the much hated, Albert Belle.

Alfonso Soriano

I know that as soon as you call a player underrated, he essentially becomes overrated, but I feel like we are taking for granted how good this guy is. His combination of power is speed is rare in the game today and he is a ton of fun to watch.

Carlos Zambrano

Has there ever been a pitcher that's more fun to watch at the bat than on the mound? And that's saying something since he is a beast on the hill as well.

Doug Dascenzo

He was petite, not an attractive fellow, the definition of an underdog and to top all that he was an outfielder who is pictured on most of his cards pitching.

Greg Maddux

I was heartbroken when he left for the Braves. Ok, heartbroken is a bit strong, but it was upsetting. Just an amazing control pitcher.

Lloyd McClendon

I already talked about him on my Pirates list, but he was a Cub to me first and that's how I still think of him.

Mike Harkey

After a really good rookie season in 1990, Harkey never really put it together again. I got his autograph at a show in Texas when I was young, wearing my Grace jersey. The show was sparsely populated and Harkey spent about 10 minutes talking Cubs with me. Very cool.

Mitch Williams

A heart attack on the mound. He was just so much fun to watch, although you always thought he was about to combust. It still kills me that he became synonymous with the Joe Carter walk-off World Series home run.

Shawon Dunston

Combine the Shawon-o-Meter with the rocket arm and I was won over instantly. Half the fun of watching the Cubs in the field was hoping to get a glimpse of Shawon uncorking one.

The Cubs were certainly the team of my youth thanks to the fine people of WGN. To this day they still hold a small place in my baseball heart. Hopefully they'll win that elusive title someday, but then again half the fun of the Cubs is that they just seemed destined to never pull it off.

Go Halos!