MLB Prime 9: Greatest First Basemen

welcome to prime 9 the countdown show that covers the very best in baseball guaranteed to start arguments not in this week it's the nine best first baseman why 9 that's baseball nine players nine innings prime 9 before we selected our top 9 first baseman hi I'm Tahoe we established a few ground rules they had to have played in the modern era with at least 900 major league games at the position and since first base is the place where you can really flash the leather we did consider their fielding prowess but in this case Gold Gloves took a backseat to the Silverbacks [Applause] far too many great hitters have man first throughout the years so a player really had to bring the lumber to the plate to make the cut that said we did look beyond the raw numbers [Applause] for this was a position where we make certain to compress terrace and take into consideration how the player performed against his beers so here are your top 9 first baseman beginning with number 9 on prime 9 with 573 home runs Harmon Killebrew is the second all-time home run hitter among first basemen common killer wasn't the best homegrown Haley I ever saw 47 48 49 or from every year Harmon could hit some of the longest home runs and some of the highest home runs I mean his balls just kept carrying typical killer home run was 500 feet and was 500 feet in the air [Music] over everything home doesn't matter how hard you threw or who you were he was the man they called killer was the most valuable player in 1969 and played in 13 all-star games but most importantly he was the heart and soul of a franchise for 21 years Harmon who is a leader on our ballclub if we were down and we lead it a big blast we knew Harmon is going to come through in 1984 Harmon was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown with a number of positions on his plaque when I first signed with the old Washington Senators they thought maybe I could play second base so my first games in the major leagues were actually at second and then in 1959 I opened the season and a third baseman so I was off and running playing third but in 1960 the Senators finally moved to him across the diamond for a while I was kind of bouncing back between 1st and 3rd so going to Hall of Fame as a first baseman I never even dreamed that would happen [Music] guy at least like to see walking to the plate you know for me it's always been Jim Thome Jim Thome he owns me I can try to walk him and he still smokes the ball that Bob did deep Jim Thome is without question one of the nicest men Yule ever meets in or out of baseball but if you're on the mound he's at the place he will hurt both your pride and your er a for me having a good plan for every game going in I think has helped me be a guy that could make an impact in that game didn't really needed to swing the bat got hard to hit the ball out of the ballpark is just a really strong ride going into the 2010 season tommy was 12th all-time with 560 four home runs the fourth most among first basemen he's had nine seasons with 100 or more RBIs and owns a lifetime on-base percentage above 400 [Applause] tomi has been one of the most productive hitters of his generation and now in the twilight of his career he is more than comfortable with his role as veteran leader anytime you get around a guy like that you want to pick their brain you want to see what they do every day you want to see how they go about their business you don't play you know as long as he hasn't felt doing something right since a good example for Major League Baseball and I'm proud of Jim yes the greatest measure of all for this first baseman is how he's first in so many hearts it was 1977 when 21 year old Eddie Murray was named Rookie of the Year [Music] [Applause] from either side of the planks this young man wreaked happen the fact that he was a switch-hitter really had to strike fear into the heart of the opposition we got him out it was kind of like got away with it because he does always look like he was gonna hurt you in his 21 year career with five different franchises Murray hit more than 20 home runs 16 times he's also one of just four men to have both 3,000 hits and 500 home runs [Applause] and only eight men in the history of the game have more than steady at ease 1917 runs vanity [Applause] no question Marie was a hitting machine but what made him the complete package was his play at first base where he won three go gloves the guy was as good a defensive first baseman that ever played the game the lateral port movement around the bag how soft he was with his hands the ability to come off the bag and make the sweet bag and knew how to position himself to make his range that much greater this unassuming eight-time all-star became a first-ballot hall-of-famer in 2003 and Wally's numbers often fly under the radar they add up to the seventh best first baseman to play the game that he was one of the greatest players in the history of the game there's there's no tomorrow you for best first baseman in history Greenberg was a New York native but it's in Detroit where he will forever be remembered for his talents both on and off the feet what a great teammate he knew the game from A to Z he wanted to win he won't ever bother to play up to the capabilities Hank Greenberg is a Hall of Famer one of the most ferocious hitters the game has ever seen our next first baseman is also one of the biggest things before and Willie McCovey [Music] [Applause] we're chasing our man back of the right field back although stretch didn't join the Giants until the middle of the 59 season McCovey went 4 for 4 in his first game and went on to be named Rookie of the Year big league pitchers had been put on those he was the most feared hitter I saw I thought sure he was really gonna hurt somebody comes hit the ball so hard but Covey was a good take the married men off the infield when he hits manager Gil Hodges tried them a Covey shift he'll kill you the first baseman would cringe when he came up to the plate because he had to the ball so hard he was the scariest hitter you'd ever want to see as the first baseman when you're holding a runner on you just hopefully McCovey was not coming up because then nobody could hit the ball any harder than McCovey in 68 through 70 he had something like 120 home runs and over 350 RBIs [Applause] McCovey had everyone's respect even though he played in the shadow of his more famous teammates Willie McCovey met him and the toughest out that we had in the National League and that takes into consideration two teammate as Willie Mays who was the greatest player I've ever seen all around [Music] well it was very quiet well he was a game he play hard every single day you can come will he was a great clutch IRA's stretch was the National League MVP and 69 and closed out his 19-year career with 521 home runs and more than 1500 RBIs he was a great player in an era with Clemente and Aaron and Mays and he was as good as any of them hey Johnny Mize the big cat pounced on pitchers in the National League from the moment he put on a uniform Johnny Mize came up to the majors in 1936 with Cardinals it's a 300 hitter right out of the box with good power and awesome president thing about John was the fact that he was a contact hitter and still a home run hitter and he forged his lifetime 312 average in a unique way Johnny Mize was one of the first students of the game he knew what every pitcher was gonna throw him and how every pitcher approached him following the 1941 season Mize was dealt to the Giants but one year later duty called and he was off to war we hear a lot about how World War two interrupted Bob fellers career Ted Williams career Joe DiMaggio's career or two really affected Johnny Mize his career also he's a guy who never got to four home runs which is amazing because in his prime he was among the most feared hitters in baseball Mize lost three prime years to the war but still hit 359 home runs my start at the all-star game at first base for the nationally four times before World War two four times after World War two and he'd shared the NL homerun crown with Ralph Kiner in consecutive seasons in 1947 with Wolfe hit 51 home runs in 1948 in Wolfe Drive the 40 home runs but despite Johnny's impressive stats one thing always eluded both with the Cardinals and then with the Giants who is never a part of the World Series team and then late in the 1949 season the Yankees purchased mines contract from the Giants Casey Stengel used him very judiciously nice produced big hit effort big hit the big cats touch pinch hits helped the Yankees win five straight titles and earned my's a World Series MVP award in 52 Brooker and bringin a ring for every finger on this hall-of-famers hand our fourth best first baseman of all time hi I'm Albert Poulos with his son with Cardinals I think if Albert Poulos never plays another game he's gonna be considering the best first baseman of all time he's been that good and he's been that dominant consider that in each of his first nine seasons who Holtz has hit over 300 with more than 30 home runs and 100 RBIs the only men in history ever to do so that's very markable he has a small man's swing and he has a big man's power [Music] when you watch that guy hit you start thinking someone could throw 120 miles an hour and Albert Flores would not have trouble getting around on it he's just got one of those swings that's naturally made to hit a baseball I've seen him completely put our team on his back and is curious [Applause] who hopes is a perennial all-star and a multiple MVP award winner who's just now in his prime who knows what numbers are still to come Most Valuable Player Albert has laid the foundations for a Hall of Fame career with his bat alone but he's also a brilliant fielder and a Gold Glove winner he's just a great defender a true gold Glover right now there's nobody any better than him in the first decade of this century Albert LED all national league players in home runs average and RBIs what's next when it's all said and done I think that he'll be looked at as the greatest player ever to play baseball we now return to prime 9 where this week we're featuring the game's best first baseman remember our guys had to have played at least 900 big league games at first during the modern era while fielding was the factor what they did with the bats carried the most weight so now it's time for number one man to the cream of the crop first base we begin with purchase it's a common saying in baseball that every batter loves his base hits and I'm no exception for 13 straight years from 1929 through 41 Jimmie Foxx drove in more than 100 runs still an MLB record while playing for both the Philadelphia A's and the Red Sox it's no wonder they called him the Beast were the strongest man I ever saw yeah it arms like a blacksmith he loves to show his upper arms because the muscles were just popping out and he was just the physical presence that really intimidated a lot of the pitches of his time here is the mighty Jimmie Foxx as he appears at bat while the opposing pitcher shivers and spikes in fear of his homerun wallet Jimmy was powerful money he hit a ball is this like a golf ball taking off the ball so hard sometimes it would flutter like a knuckleball I'm trying to get away from it well he'll be here I went that way the glove went that way vicious Fox hit 534 home runs in his career it's nineteen hundred and twenty two RBIs is the fourth most by any first baseman Jimmie Foxx was an overwhelming power hitter he seemed to crush every ball he was one of the most powerful hitters of all time in baseball and maybe the most powerful right-handed hitter Jimmy's Hall of Fame resume speaks volumes to batting titles 3 MVP awards a career 325 average and he's one of two first basemen ever to win a seasons Triple Crown Jimmie Foxx wasn't just great he was one of the 10 best hitters in baseball history that means he's not just a legitimate hall-of-famer he's not just a great player he's one of the best hitters On June 2nd 1925 flu Gehrig replaced an ailing Wally PIPP at first base for the New York Yankees he proceeded to set an unprecedented standard for consistency and durability Gary went on to play 2130 games in a row the streak that earned him a nickname befitting his feet then he give you the name the iron horse that is a tribute to what you represented to your teammates he was a guy that was a blue-collar guy with the elite ability I think we forget just how great a player Lou Gehrig was but from 1926 1937 Lou Gehrig was as dominant of course as baseball has ever seen Gary had a ferris combative spirit why do you want up that a hit he had one purpose knocked the hell out the ball Gary was a savage hitter and not necessarily a bully Gehrig was known to hit the most ferocious line drives in all directions that boy was pitched he just demolished it Gary posted numbers that were off the charts lifetime 340 headed he won three home run titles won the Triple Crown in 1934 and was a two-time MVP if you look at slugging if you look at on-base percentage if you look at total bases Gehrig was routinely spectacular he was a finely tuned RBI machine who finished five shy of 2000 the most runs driven in the Hmong first baseman in the modern era and fifth most all-time Gehrig was one the most prolific RBI men in baseball history 170 570 484 which still is the American League record of course Lou's career and life were cut short by the terminal disease that now bears his name but his greatness on the field and his courage in the face of death will never be forgotten [Music] this was one of the great Yankees both on the field and off the field and ultimately one of the great iconic figures in the history of professional sports in this country we're happy to make Lera and Lou our top first baseman because when you look back at his life he seemed like he was constantly being over shouted by someone or something like the day he hit four home runs in a game in 1932 Giants manager John McGraw grabbed the headlines by announcing his retirement or when he had two homers in Game three of that year's World Series of fellow named Babe Ruth in his called shot Ruth's overshadowed Gehrig throughout the early years of Lou's career and just when it appeared Lou would be the top dog on the Yankees along came this fellow named DiMaggio to grab the spotlight today most folks best remember caring for his amazing streak and the illness that took his life but behind all that was the greatest first baseman to play the game number one on our list a place where the only shadow being cast is by Lou himself that's our prime not what's yours you

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Views: 19,358

Rating: 4.8461537 out of 5

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Id: kHvphuX1yPE

Length: 21min 59sec (1319 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 09 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/cmgriffith_]

I agree with the number one choice , episode is from 2011