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Major League Baseball's latest fan interaction gimmick is having fans vote for their favorite Hometown Hero, voting for the one player who best personifies each franshise over the course of its history. Either teams or a panel of baseball experts selected the 5 finalists, based on the "criteria of leadership, character, and on-field performance." The full list of teams' nominees can be seen here.
These lists of five are sure to spark debate, let alone picking the one Hometown Hero. There are some forgetable players on the lists, in part because some franchises have only existed for a short time. Even overlooking the newest of franchises, there are still some players who were hardly All Stars -- let alone all-time greats. Rusty Greer? Dave Stieb? Jim Gantner?
On the other hand, some teams have had so many stars through the years, some worthy players were left off the list. Where's Mark McGwire? Rogers Hornsby? Carlton Fisk? Greg Maddux?
The five nominees for the Cubs' Hometown Hero are:
- Ernie Banks
- Ferguson Jenkins
- Ryne Sandberg
- Ron Santo
- Billy Williams
For the White Sox, the five are:
- Luke Appling
- Harold Baines
- Nellie Fox
- Minnie Minoso
- Frank Thomas
Chicagoist agrees with the 5 Cubs selection. Maybe Hack Wilson should have made the list over Williams. We'd have a bit of a different list for the White Sox. We'd pick Luis Aparicio over Nellie Fox, and Fisk over Baines. Of course, we're sure you've got your own opinion.
Voting started this week, and continues until September 17 at all MLB ballparks, via text message and online. The winners will be announced during a three-part primetime series on ESPN, running September 26,27 and 29.
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Jim Gantner was as Milwaukee as beer & cheese during his prime with the Brewers - the personification of a hard working guy who may not break records or make highlight reels, but who consistently moves his team forward.
Bravo on that nod from a native Milwaukean.
Jim Gantner was as Milwaukee as beer & cheese for a while - the personification of a hard working guy who may not break records or make highlight reels, but who consistently moves his team forward.
Bravo on that nod.
dave steib was a 7 time all-star and the dominant pitcher of the jays staff in the early 80s. had he been on a team that didn't outright suck he would have been a perennial 20 game winner. his last two starts of the '88 season were both 1-hitters, both hits came with 2 out in the 9th.
I'd dump Appling and go for Fisk in his spot and keep Harold Baines. But maybe that's weigh it too heavily toward the Winning Ugly era.
Also, why no Pants Rowland if only for his name?
uhhhhh, where's Sammy Sosa? Obviously he went out like a dud and PR'd himself to death, but how can the Cubs ignore their greatest home run hitter and one of the most charismatic players in franchise history? Did the Cubs already forget how he held the city in the palm of his hand for 5-10 years? Even Sox fans wouldn't dare change the channel when Sosa was at bat for a few years. No one can doubt Sosa was the heart and soul of the Cubs for the better part of a decade and he put up better power numbers than any other hitter in franchise history. He deserves to have a spot on that list.
Doh! Yeah, I agree Sosa is also an unforgivable exclusion. Because these lists were picked by the teams, it seems like personal conflicts between the teams and certain players.
The selection process also resulted in too much leeway in terms of defining "criteria of leadership, character, and on-field performance." Could the steroid suspicions be the reason behind Sosa and McGwire's exclusions? Or why the Sox didn't pick Shoeless Joe? Yet Bonds is on the list, as is Pete Rose. Hmm...
To follow up with what Lizz said, Gantner was a Wisconsin native who played with the Brewers for his entire solid 17 year career: a career that happened to coincide with the only success the Brew Crew has ever seen. It's not All-Time Greats, it's Hometown Heroes, for which he definitely qualifies.
Yount wins in a landslide, though.
Sosa?! a corked bat and steroids is enough to keep him off any list.
@ Sox fan:
I disagree on your estimation of Sosa. I hated that guy worse than athlete's foot. There wasn't a single thing about him that didn't set me off.
I thought a nice zinger would have been to suggest Ozzie for the Sox' list. Sure he's still in the game, but doesn't that just drive home the point that, unlike the Cubs, the Sox still play baseball?
I think if we're talking best player each franchise ever had, the Chicago clubs have to go with Banks and (this may cause debate) Thomas. HOWEVER, if it's ACTUALLY "Hometown Heroes," and is about the guys who personified their ballclubs, I'd say Santo for the North Siders and Baines for the South Siders. They weren't the best players ever, but damn did those guys personify their teams.
The problem is that in different eras the teams had completely different styles. Winning Ugly and the South Side Hitmen really only had ugliness and location in common, for example. If there's anything that has been a constant for the Sox, it's a sort of pariah status, so I'd say Ozzie or Joe (not Bo) Jackson would be a good call. For the Cubs... can a beer vendor be considered a player? Maybe Harry?
Sosa? F-ing Sosa? How about Andre Dawson? Learn something about baseball.
Leaving Shoeless Joe Jackson off the Sox list is just plain wrong. His continued existence on baseball's blacklist while the game feasted on the frenzy surrounding Bonds, McGwire and Sosa for 10 years points to the mountainous hypocrisy in baseball. Were it not for the federal government crawling up MLB's asses, they would still be placing those three and others on a pedestal and denying that the game has any problem at all.
to the "Sosa?" dude....Andre Dawson is very over-rated. He only had one year with over 31 home runs with the Cubs. He hit like .275 with the club. He had a cannon for an arm, but otherwise he was just an average to above average ball player. Say what you want about Sosa and the clouds over him and I'll mostly agree. My only point is for quite a while he was the face (and kiss) of the team. It shouldn't be so easy to dismiss all the many things he did over many years.