GEORGE BAMBERGER

Craig Calcaterra over at Hardball Talk had a good idea today which I am going to completely rip off: in doing his weekly baseball power rankings, he decided that instead of explaining their rankings, he would just list his favorite players from each franchise. And that, my friends, is right up my alley.

Without further ado, my favorite players from each franchise:

Cardinals: Ozzie Smith

yankees: Don Mattingly - A tough pick as I despise the yankees, but I've always secretly loved Mattingly.

Phillies: Mike Schmidt - I won't lie; this is primarily because I had a sweet Starting Lineup action figure of him.

Rangers: Nolan Ryan - Probably says a lot about my age, but I remember Ryan as a Ranger.

red sox: Tim Wakefield - Not even remotely close to being anyone else.

Giants: Tim Lincecum/Will Clark - I stole Craig's idea on this one, but it's true: I loved Will Clark growing up because he was kinda a NL version of Cal Ripken (at least I thought so at the time. Probably because he was white and played hard with those flip-up sunglasses). But I have to say Tim the Enchanter may have overtaken him.

Brewers: George Bamberger - I know this makes no sense. I just wanted an excuse to post a picture of one of my most-loved baseball cards from my youth: ---------------------------------------->

Why can I recall that card so vividly when I can't remember what my first girlfriend looked like?

o well

Indians: Jim Thome/Kenny Lofton - I can cheat. This is my blog.

Diamondbacks: Justin Upton - First really tough choice as there aren't many options. Craig Counsell and his extremely nerdy team photos come in second.

Blue Jays: Roberto Alomar

Tigers: Cecil Fielder

Marlins: Charlie Hough - I love how this guy played until he was almost 50 but somehow managed to look even older than that while playing.

Rays: Casey Fossum - I have to respect any man who tries to make the Eephus Pitch work in the Major Leagues. And create a sweet nickname for it, as well. (The aptly-named Fossum Flop)

Mariners: Ichiro - With Jr. Griffey followed extremely close behind.

Reds: Chris Sabo - The RecSpecs say it all.

Angels: Jim Abbott - Because, well, he had one freaking arm and pitched a no-hitter. Let's see you do that.

Pirates: Andy Van Slyke - Most difficult pick yet. I literally have no memories of the Pirates in my youth, which is a same as that was probably the only time in my life that they have been good.

Rockies: Andres Gallaraga - The Big Cat wins it with an awesome nickname.

Mets: Mookie Wilson - My next door neighbor as a kid was an older guy who collected baseball cards. One day he asked me who my favorite player was, and for reasons that are still unclear to me, I said Mookie Wilson. From there forward, every Mookie Wilson double he ever got was given to me. I still have no idea why I said that, because even then I liked Darryl Strawberry and Gary Carter more. But give a Mookie his due.

Dodgers: Orel Herschiser - Incredible for like 3 seasons and blah for the rest. Always looked like a nerd on the hill with those glasses. I loved that.

White Sox: Frank Thomas

Athletics: Dennis Eckersley - Simply because of my penchant for weird pitchers who are successful. Rickey is very, very close behind.

Orioles: Cal Ripken, Jr. - My hero, a gentleman, and a legend.

Nationals/Expos: Tim Raines - But if you're pressing me to come up with a National, Mike Morse because he is seriously helping my fantasy team this year.

Padres: Tony Gwynn

Royals: George Brett

Cubs: Ryne Sandberg - Again, an awesome nickname wins it for Ryhno.

Astros: ? - Can I say Nolan Ryan again?

Twins: Kirby Puckett - And I can damn well guarantee you that 95% of 29 year-old males would say the same thing.

Turns out most of my favorite players were from my youth, and players that I had either a good baseball card or an action figure of. Life was tough before SportsCenter and MLB.TV. Who are your favorite players?