Greatest New York Ballplayers on MSG

Last Friday, I talked about how the MSG Network -- the one that Chinese restaurants love to hate -- is running a TV series where some experts pick the greatest New York player at each position. They also have an interactive game where you, who probably know as much about baseball as the experts, can choose your own lineup. Here's a link to their website. If you have some time to kill, it's fun to play with it. What else are you gonna do, watch kitten videos on YouTube?

Anyway, the next show is on Tuesday (tomorrow), and they're gonna choose right fielders, so you might wanna get your Chinese food to go and watch the show from home. Here are the nominees for greatest right fielder in New York baseball history:

- Babe Ruth
- Mel Ott
- Reggie Jackson
- Darryl Strawberry
- Willie Keeler
- Roger Maris
- Carl Furillo
- Babe Herman
- Dixie Walker
- Rusty Staub

Um, this is going to be the shortest show in the history of TV. What is there to debate? I really feel bad for all those guys and their families, having to go up against me. They should put me in a separate category and let the others fight it out for the scraps. As for who I would choose #2, it would be Ott. The guy was short and powerful and a nice guy. He's the Nice Guy Who Finished Last, according to Leo Durocher. But he could hit.

Now that I've taken care of right field (twice), I'd like to tackle the other positions. Warning: Fans of the Mets, New York Giants, and Brooklyn Dodgers may be disappointed.

Catcher: Bill Dickey (I knew him and loved him; Berra always rubbed me the wrong way, so he can hit the fork in the road and take it)

1st Base: Lou Gehrig (the only question here is why his stats aren't listed on the MSG stats page. Somebody at MSG owes Lou an apology, and don't think he'll forgive and forget. He and his mom are ruthless.)

2nd Base: Jackie Robinson (Much as I love Lazzeri, I gotta give the Dodgers at least one member. I'll make it up to Tony at my next party.)

Shortstop: Derek Jeter (He's a born leader whose skills transcend the stats page. I believe he's never made a fielding error.)

3rd Base: A-Rod (kind of a weak position historically, so I'll give it to the current guy. The dude needs a little love.)

LF: Bob Meusel (would've picked Rickey Henderson if he'd played with the Yanks longer; might have picked Winfield because he gets extra points for sticking it to Steinbrenner, but I can't go against my teammate here. He knows shit about me that I wouldn't want to get out. Winfield is #2.)

RF: Is there any doubt?

CF: Mickey Mantle (tough choice between him and Joe D. but I think Mickey was a better player, and he's a lot more fun. He and I party together all the time out here)

RHP: Tom Seaver (gotta give a Met a chance here)

LHP: Earl Hubbell (here's your token New York Giant; I've already talked about how he's the toughest pitcher I ever faced)

RP: Mo Rivera (he's as much of a no-brainer in the bullpen as I am in right field)

Manager: Nobody. Do you really think it took any skill to win all those pennants with the players the Yankees had? Well, I guess it took one skill: writing. He had to write all our names into the lineup card. But I'm pretty sure every manager in the history of the Yankees, Mets, Giants, and Dodgers knew how to write (with the possible exception of Stump Merrill), so everybody's about even in this category.

So there you go. Evidently, they're still going to actually show the programs even though I've made my selections, so as long as you don't mind ignoring the boycott by Chinese restaurants, you should tune in to MSG and watch the program to see how right I am.