Honorable mention to Ron LeFlore who was signed by the Tigers out of prison in 1973 made the majors the next season started the All Star Game in 76 and became the first player to led both leagues in Stolen Bases.
Also the tigers also signed the best pinch hitter in history in my opinion out of prison also Gates Brown ,I have a card he signed for me we had the same birthday may 2
Of all the players on the list, the guy that shocked me as being undrafted was Kevin Mitchell. That dude was an absolute specimen. Looked like he could have played tailback in the NFL. And he hit bombs. I guess his difficult background caused him to go overlooked. Not surprising that he stood out when a scout actually got a good look at him though!
I'm still blown away that Quisenberry could be so doninate as a closer with such a low strikeout rate. For his career, Quisenberry had a K/9 rate of just 3.3. Now, this isn't a story where a young fireballer initially had a high K/9 rate, blew out his arm, then had to reinvent himself as more of a finesse pitcher, thus the lower rate. Hardly. In fact, during Quisenberry's first six seasons, his K/9 rate stood at just 2.9. It wouldn't be until his seventh season that his career rate would finally break the K/9 rate of 3.0, with his 1985 rate of 3.8 finally pushing him over. It truly amazes me...to be that dominate with so many balls-in-play.
Great job. Loved Brian Downing. Watched Sutter in the 70s with the Cubs. He was nearly unhittable for all of 1977, and the first five months of 1978 and 1979. One could argue his 1977 season is the greatest relief pitching season of all time.
Sutter was the man in his day. And Downing was a solid catcher. And the Count Montefusco ! My god these were all stars in the league. LARRY BOWA ! Omg ! Quizenberry and Bonilla ?!
A current player is TJ Friedl of the Reds. He went undrafted out of the Univ. Of Nevada and signed what is now the largest undrafted free agent contract in history.
Ahhh yes, Bruce Sutter. That guy was absolutely filthy. People talk a lot about closers like Rivera, Hoffman, Eckersley and rightfully so, but Sutter was an absolute menace as a closer. That split finger made him completely unhittable.
Ryne SANDBERG would like too enter the chat.on that The game against ST.LOUIS on NATIONAL television on a Saturday I believe. He took SUTTER DEEP TWICE too win in extra innings. The GAME PUT RYNO ON THE MAP. He won NL MVP THAT YEAR.
Great video. Very happy you had Kevin Mitchell and Brian Downing. Two favorites. I wish Brian Downing was around when I was a kid, he would have been an inspiration.
Lifelong Tribe fan, boomer. Listened to every Indians game on the radio in my bed at night, remember many times hearing Toby Harrah showing out. Played lots of whiffle ball, and the knuckleball of the Candy Man was one of my favorite and most devastating pitches.
anytime I see Toby Harrah mentioned I respond. I was 12 when he was traded to Cleveland from Texas for fan favorite Buddy Bell -- who responded by hitting ,329, driving in 101 and winning the first of 5 (or 6?) consecutive gold gloves in 1979. But, Toby Harrah endeared himself to Cleveland fans by having a 20/20 season scoring 100 runs twice and making his 4th All Star appearance by hitting .304 with 25 HRs and 17 SBs in 1982. He was a solid defensive 3B, too. People seemed to forget he signed and played as a SS for Senators-Rangers for his first 4 season+ so 3B was not a difficult transition. Honestly, I did not know he was never drafted? A year removed from high school, not going to college? Wow, indeed. great backstory. Just makes me appreciate Toby Harrah more, one of my favorite all time Cleveland Indian-Guardians.
Thanks for the Ron LeFlore shout out. An awesome ball player. Also Brian Downing ,the Count Montefusco , Tommy Herr , Larry Bowa! The Candy man was John Candeleria .
I love kevin mitchell. I had this photo book as a kid that when you flipped it fast it was his bare hand catch, every frame of it and it worked like a cartoon. When you flipped it you could watch it lol
Just excellent stories and list! So true what you said at the end and I'm glad for the players here who made it. Quizzy and Sutter were amazing and as a White Sox fan so glad the Cubbies gave up on Sutter and Maddux. A close friend whom I played a lot of ball with played at Xavier and his senior year he was 1st in the nation in stolen bases and 5th in average when he broke his collarbone. His reply was, "Pete, if that didn't happen I never would have met Jen." They're in their 60s, retired and still married.
Just wanted to include that in 2007 Jim Leyritz killed 30-year-old Freida Ann Veitch because he thought he was entitled to drink until he was more than 2 times over the legal limit, and then drive around at 3 AM running red lights, slamming into motorists who are just trying to get home from work. That type of stuff deserves to follow an individual around, especially when they later attempt to blame the victim.
Larry Bowa !!! The candy man was John Candeleria. We in L.A. loved Brian Downing ! Bobbie Bonilla really suprised me. OMG!!! dan Quisenberry !?!? This entire list just keeps suprising me!!! Bruce Sutter really surised me!
I remember seeing Downing's name on the White Sox roster in The street & Smith and chuckling a bit. Then I saw his birthplace and birthdate and knew it was him. Downing worked for what he achieved and deserves our respect.
Bud is the first commissioner that I can remember. I can not stand this era of 90-100mph pitch’s and 100 pitch count. Very few pitchers can work at that level and are out of gas by the 6th inning
I'm not saying anything bad about Sutter, at least I don't mean it to be he was an amazing in his role and definitely belongs in the Hall. All of that said he should have never been awarded the Cy Young Award over Nolan Ryan that year, hell no one was better than Ryan that year. Ryan was on a whole different level that year and was straight up robbed.
You just HAD to mention "Bobby Bonilla Day". Well, friend, your #1 player on this list received annual payments of at least $1.12 million from the Braves for THIRTY YEARS after he retired, ending in 2021. It is hardly uncommon for players to be paid long after they retire. But people like you just love to take cheap shots at the Mets. Do some research and make a video about all the retired players still being paid today. It will be your FIRST interesting video.
Honorable mention to Ron LeFlore who was signed by the Tigers out of prison in 1973 made the majors the next season started the All Star Game in 76 and became the first player to led both leagues in Stolen Bases.
Yes sir. Great base stealer.
Yes. Great fact
Great pick with Ron Leflore.
Also the tigers also signed the best pinch hitter in history in my opinion out of prison also Gates Brown ,I have a card he signed for me we had the same birthday may 2
@@bobo44donemilking51 Gates Brown Was An Cool Dude To Do That For You
Of all the players on the list, the guy that shocked me as being undrafted was Kevin Mitchell. That dude was an absolute specimen. Looked like he could have played tailback in the NFL. And he hit bombs. I guess his difficult background caused him to go overlooked. Not surprising that he stood out when a scout actually got a good look at him though!
Mitch actually did really bad at the open tryout but a scout saw his potential
I'm still blown away that Quisenberry could be so doninate as a closer with such a low strikeout rate.
For his career, Quisenberry had a K/9 rate of just 3.3. Now, this isn't a story where a young fireballer initially had a high K/9 rate, blew out his arm, then had to reinvent himself as more of a finesse pitcher, thus the lower rate. Hardly.
In fact, during Quisenberry's first six seasons, his K/9 rate stood at just 2.9. It wouldn't be until his seventh season that his career rate would finally break the K/9 rate of 3.0, with his 1985 rate of 3.8 finally pushing him over.
It truly amazes me...to be that dominate with so many balls-in-play.
He could coax weak contact and had a great defensive lineup behind him
Didn't know Danny Darwin was undrafted. Scouting/player evaluation for baseball is as much art as science. Excellence per usual Erik
Your delivery is just fantastic. Continued great content!
Another great vid. You are remarkably comprehensive. That can't be said for most who make "all-time" lists like this.
Great job. Loved Brian Downing. Watched Sutter in the 70s with the Cubs. He was nearly unhittable for all of 1977, and the first five months of 1978 and 1979. One could argue his 1977 season is the greatest relief pitching season of all time.
I remember watching a random Yankee game way back when and Downing hit 4 homers in one game? Or was it 3?? I’m just going off memory here.😂
Sutter was the man in his day. And Downing was a solid catcher. And the Count Montefusco ! My god these were all stars in the league. LARRY BOWA ! Omg ! Quizenberry and Bonilla ?!
A current player is TJ Friedl of the Reds. He went undrafted out of the Univ. Of Nevada and signed what is now the largest undrafted free agent contract in history.
Ahhh yes, Bruce Sutter.
That guy was absolutely filthy. People talk a lot about closers like Rivera, Hoffman, Eckersley and rightfully so, but Sutter was an absolute menace as a closer. That split finger made him completely unhittable.
Sutter paved the way for closers!!
Ryne SANDBERG would like too enter the chat.on that
The game against ST.LOUIS on NATIONAL television on a Saturday I believe. He took SUTTER DEEP TWICE too win in extra innings. The GAME PUT RYNO ON THE MAP. He won NL MVP THAT YEAR.
Wasn't Gilkey the one who got hit in the head with a fly ball because he was watching the space ship take off in Men in Black?
Great video. Very happy you had Kevin Mitchell and Brian Downing. Two favorites. I wish Brian Downing was around when I was a kid, he would have been an inspiration.
Brian Downing was also a legend for his hair helmet, and style of glasses he wore in the 70's, while playing for the White Sox.
Tom Candioti is not the Candy Man, that nickname belongs to John Candelaria.
And Curtis Granderson Has The Grandy Man Which Is An Pun Of Candy Man
Lifelong Tribe fan, boomer. Listened to every Indians game on the radio in my bed at night, remember many times hearing Toby Harrah showing out. Played lots of whiffle ball, and the knuckleball of the Candy Man was one of my favorite and most devastating pitches.
i Frikkin love these kinda videos you make!
Ken Hill was from a neighboring town of mine.
Great video, really enjoyed that.
More outstanding research I remember a lot of these guys
Great stuff. Learned a lot
Great list
I had most of their baseball cards
anytime I see Toby Harrah mentioned I respond. I was 12 when he was traded to Cleveland from Texas for fan favorite Buddy Bell -- who responded by hitting ,329, driving in 101 and winning the first of 5 (or 6?) consecutive gold gloves in 1979. But, Toby Harrah endeared himself to Cleveland fans by having a 20/20 season scoring 100 runs twice and making his 4th All Star appearance by hitting .304 with 25 HRs and 17 SBs in 1982. He was a solid defensive 3B, too. People seemed to forget he signed and played as a SS for Senators-Rangers for his first 4 season+ so 3B was not a difficult transition.
Honestly, I did not know he was never drafted? A year removed from high school, not going to college? Wow, indeed. great backstory. Just makes me appreciate Toby Harrah more, one of my favorite all time Cleveland Indian-Guardians.
No kent tekulve 1050 games as a reliever and pitch over a hundred inning as reliever 8 times.
Tommy Herr from Lancaster Pennsylvania. Whitey Herzog called him the best player he ever had.
Thanks for the Ron LeFlore shout out. An awesome ball player. Also Brian Downing ,the Count Montefusco , Tommy Herr , Larry Bowa! The Candy man was John Candeleria .
Love these lists you put together. Great stuff
Nice content Erik, sorry I missed you when you came to Reno.
Kent Telulve was signed in 1969 after being undrafted.
I love kevin mitchell. I had this photo book as a kid that when you flipped it fast it was his bare hand catch, every frame of it and it worked like a cartoon. When you flipped it you could watch it lol
Just excellent stories and list! So true what you said at the end and I'm glad for the players here who made it. Quizzy and Sutter were amazing and as a White Sox fan so glad the Cubbies gave up on Sutter and Maddux. A close friend whom I played a lot of ball with played at Xavier and his senior year he was 1st in the nation in stolen bases and 5th in average when he broke his collarbone. His reply was, "Pete, if that didn't happen I never would have met Jen." They're in their 60s, retired and still married.
I always questioned why bonilla was on the white sox in tengen rbi baseball.
Just wanted to include that in 2007 Jim Leyritz killed 30-year-old Freida Ann Veitch because he thought he was entitled to drink until he was more than 2 times over the legal limit, and then drive around at 3 AM running red lights, slamming into motorists who are just trying to get home from work. That type of stuff deserves to follow an individual around, especially when they later attempt to blame the victim.
I didn't know about that SMH
Bonilla, Van Slyke, Bonds, pretty good OF
Sutter is cool!
With the reduced draft, I wonder if we will get more interesting players who got their start as UDFAs
Dan Gladden! Awesome!
Love this video
The only reason mike pizzia was drafted was that tommy lasorda was his godfather and he told those in charge that he was a catcher but wasnt.
It's amazing how some of these players were undrafted!
One problem regarding Brian Downing. His baseball reference page says he hit 28 HR in a season just like you said, but he did it in 82, not 78.
If I said it wrong sorry
@@HummBabyBaseball All good. :)
I clearly remember watching a Yankee game way back in the day and Downing hit either 3 or 4 homers in one game.
Larry Bowa !!! The candy man was John Candeleria. We in L.A. loved Brian Downing ! Bobbie Bonilla really suprised me. OMG!!! dan Quisenberry !?!? This entire list just keeps suprising me!!! Bruce Sutter really surised me!
Loaiza was a professional skier as well.
As well as a narcotics trafficker...of course that would come post-MLB.
Altuve...total try out walk on...killing it for years
Bernard Gilkey also was the outfielder who got bonked on the head in Men in Black.
I remember seeing Downing's name on the White Sox roster in The street & Smith and chuckling a bit. Then I saw his birthplace and birthdate and knew it was him.
Downing worked for what he achieved and deserves our respect.
How did Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Bryce Harper not make this list?
Toby Harrah was known as the "human rain delay" because of how long it took him to get back into the box between pitches.
Mike Hargrove was the human rain delay
Mike Hargrove? Or were they both the human rain delay
MLB TODAY: NOT ON MY WATCH!
To confirm Mike Hargrove
Bud is the first commissioner that I can remember.
I can not stand this era of 90-100mph pitch’s and 100 pitch count. Very few pitchers can work at that level and are out of gas by the 6th inning
Didn’t expect a narco to be on this list lol
I'm not saying anything bad about Sutter, at least I don't mean it to be he was an amazing in his role and definitely belongs in the Hall. All of that said he should have never been awarded the Cy Young Award over Nolan Ryan that year, hell no one was better than Ryan that year. Ryan was on a whole different level that year and was straight up robbed.
You sure about this ? Nolan Ryan was in the American League in 1979, and, by his standards, he didn't even have a very good season.
Piazza: the original Mr. Irrelevant.
Frank white and Dan Quisenberry. Go Royals!!!!
Bernard "Innocent until proven " Gilkey
Brian Downing coulda been Christopher Reeve Superman Stunt Double…
Id put Gilkey over Loaiza also Dan Quisenberry should be number 1 he was the best reliever for a 7-8 year stretch and FOR SURE should be a HOFer
Not making your high school team. But MLB allstar!
Bobby Bonilla Day!
Bernard gilkey…from men in black
👍👍👍👍
What about my man Daniel Nava
Bruce Sutter was one of the most dominant guys in baseball in his day. Nobody really saw any potential in the guy ?
Didn’t he basically invent the split finger fastball?
Mike Piazza
These days seems the scouts spend most of their time south of the border, there's probably a lot of MLB caliber American kids getting passed over.
I'm guessing this is become harder what's the current corporate mindset becomes more and more and ingrained
T acquitted
Good job. Try and be more specific. Infield and outfield are not positions.
Ha, UL Washington. Known only for playing with that damn toothpick in his mouth.
What is that BS war??
It’s a fake stat that some nerd made up.
It kills me that Kevin Mitchell isn't in the HOF. He was such a star in '89.
What he wasn't a hall of famer
You just HAD to mention "Bobby Bonilla Day". Well, friend, your #1 player on this list received annual payments of at least $1.12 million from the Braves for THIRTY YEARS after he retired, ending in 2021.
It is hardly uncommon for players to be paid long after they retire. But people like you just love to take cheap shots at the Mets. Do some research and make a video about all the retired players still being paid today. It will be your FIRST interesting video.
You sure are touchy about Bobby Bonilla Day LOL. You would think that you were the one who owes him all that money LOL.
Brian Downing on his baseball card looks like actor Michael Shannon 13:17
sht wrong vid thought it was best managers gotta have billy martin in there