Status: RETIRED HERO Javier Vazquez was one of those players who played a lot of above-average baseball, but never truly dominated. Over the course of his 14-year career, he amassed 2,536 strikeouts—enough for 35th on the all-time list. He was only selected to one All-Star game in his career and never accomplished any remarkable feats. […]

Status: RETIRED HERO Troy Glaus was a four-time All-Star, World Series MVP, and fan-favorite of the Anaheim Angels. A shoulder injury in 2004 caused him to miss much of the season. He was plagued by injuries for the rest of his career. When he became a candidate for Hall of Fame voting after his retirement, […]

Status: RETIRED HERO He grew up in a poor and unstable family in rural Virginia. Naturally right-handed, Billy Wagner learned to pitch left-handed after breaking his right arm twice as a kid. He concluded a 16-year MLB career with seven All-Star nods, 422 saves, and the highest strikeouts per 9 innings ratio of all-time (for […]

Status: RETIRED HERO As one of the greatest control pitchers of his time, Jimmy Key pitched in four All-Star Games, won two World Series rings, and was runner-up for two Cy Young Awards. He was a consistently great pitcher throughout his career, but also injury-prone. He never received serious consideration for the Hall of Fame, […]

Status: RETIRED HERO Brian Giles spent his entire fifteen-year MLB career being a star player for small-market teams. As a result, he’s perhaps one of the most underrated players out there. He played in only two All-Star games, though by my count, he should have been in at least six All-Star games. In fact, he […]

Status: RETIRED HERO Alfonso Soriano was a seven-time All-Star. Although he was best known for his time with the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees, his best season was in 2006 with the Washington Nationals. During that season, he joined baseball’s exclusive 40-40 club by hitting 46 home runs and stealing 41 bases. Only four […]

Status: RETIRED HERO Moises Alou didn’t wear batting gloves when he hit. Instead, he’d toughen up his hands by urinating on them before games. He enjoyed pranking teammates he caught sleeping in the clubhouse. Moises came from a Dominican baseball family. His father Felipe was a star player in his own right, and managed several […]

Status: RETIRED HERO Luis Gonzalez is a 5-time All-Star. He spent his best years with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and became the first player to have his number retired by the Diamondbacks. He hit 57 home runs in 2001, the third-most in National League history by a left-handed hitter. Gonzalez was a mediocre hitter during the […]

Status: RETIRED HERO He was one of those people who’s just good at every sport. In high school, he played baseball, basketball, and was quarterback for the school football team. He excelled at them all. Jason Giambi went on to play baseball for his college team, the Long Beach State 49ers, where he was a […]