I'm ranking all 30 of the MLB teams in order of how much I like them at this moment in time. As with most countdowns, I'm starting with the worst (Cardinals) and I'll eventually end up with the best (Reds). The real question now is: Where will the other MLB teams land in my countdown?
This is it, the final post in my 30 Teams in 30 Posts countdown of the best MLB teams. We made it to #1 (finally) and there should be no surprises for any of my loyal readers:
#1: Cincinnati Reds
Yep, you guessed it. The Reds take the top spot in my countdown.
Now, I've written many, many words over the years about why I like the Reds so I won't rehash that here. Instead, I thought I might take a moment to talk about a few of the Reds that I collect (to varying degrees).
Barry Larkin
We have to start with my main player collection which is that of Barry Larkin. Barry is the only player for whom I am writing individual posts for every single card that I own of his and documenting my entire collection on the blog. It's a time consuming process to be sure, but it's also kind of fun and I've actually met a few other Larkin collectors because of it.
Ken Griffey, Jr.
After Larkin, my next largest individual player collection is that of Ken Griffey, Jr. Now, in Griffey's case I do collect cards from all of his years in the big leagues which means I have plenty of Mariners cards as well.
Joey Votto
Another huge collection is that of Votto. I seem to acquire his cards without even trying, but that's quite alright since I like the guy a lot.
Sean Casey & Adam Dunn
Casey and Dunn were the two main representatives for the Reds in baseball card sets for much the 2000s. Many of those Reds teams were quite awful but at least you could count on the Reds being included in most sets thanks to Casey and Dunn. As such, I have quite a few of each of these guys - but truthfully I'm not fully invested in either (and I may end up not actually keeping my PC of one or the other down the road, hard to say for sure right now).
Brandon Phillips
Much like Casey and Dunn, Phillips was a great player on a number of rather bad Reds teams. While I do have a PC of him right now, he is one of the first ones that I'm going to disband once (if?) I ever get my baseball card collection fully reorganized. I didn't like Phillips attitude as he left Cincinnati, and whether that's justified or not, it is enough of a reason for me to stop collecting him.
Chris Sabo / Eric Davis / Jose Rijo
Three guys from the last time the Reds made it to the World Series. My collection of each is modest but I like all three of those dudes quite a bit (Sabo, in fact, as my favorite player prior to when I switched over to like Barry Larkin best).
Jay Bruce
Bruce should probably be lumped in with Casey and Dunn in terms of being a decent player on a lot of bad Reds teams. That said, Bruce wasn't ever the cardboard darling that the other two guys were and so my collection of Bruce cards does pale in comparison to his contemporaries.
Nick Senzel
The newest Red in my collection, I have high hopes for Senzel and so I'm setting aside any cards of him that I acquire. I think my collection is at exactly two cards right now, so it isn't like I've done much in the way of collecting Nick yet (it doesn't help me any that I have yet to buy any 2019 product this year and Senzel was only called up to the big leagues this year)!
I have a few other guys set aside as well, but those are the main Reds PC guys right now. Will I actually work to collect all of them moving forward? Absolutely not, but until the day comes when I have to make some tough choices I'll keep stacking up their cards!
Thanks for joining me on my journey through all 30 MLB teams. I hope to repeat this exercise down the road some day, it'll be interesting to see how the list changes!
My list of favorite MLB teams (from worst to first):
#30: St. Louis Cardinals
#29: New York Yankees
#28: San Francisco Giants
#27: Washington Nationals
#26: Boston Red Sox
#25: Chicago Cubs
#24: Atlanta Braves
#23: Los Angeles Dodgers
#22: Milwaukee Brewers
#21: Miami Marlins
#20: San Diego Padres
#19: Arizona Diamondbacks
#18: Texas Rangers
#17: Los Angeles Angels
#16: Kansas City Royals
#15: Minnesota Twins
#14: Oakland Athletics
#13: Philadelphia Phillies
#12: Tampa Bay Rays
#11: Toronto Blue Jays
#10: Detroit Tigers
#9: Chicago White Sox
#8: Colorado Rockies
#7: Baltimore Orioles
#6: Seattle Mariners
#5: New York Mets
#4: Cleveland Indians
#3: Pittsburgh Pirates
#2: Houston Astros
#1: Cincinnati Reds
This is it, the final post in my 30 Teams in 30 Posts countdown of the best MLB teams. We made it to #1 (finally) and there should be no surprises for any of my loyal readers:
#1: Cincinnati Reds
Yep, you guessed it. The Reds take the top spot in my countdown.
Now, I've written many, many words over the years about why I like the Reds so I won't rehash that here. Instead, I thought I might take a moment to talk about a few of the Reds that I collect (to varying degrees).
Barry Larkin
We have to start with my main player collection which is that of Barry Larkin. Barry is the only player for whom I am writing individual posts for every single card that I own of his and documenting my entire collection on the blog. It's a time consuming process to be sure, but it's also kind of fun and I've actually met a few other Larkin collectors because of it.
Ken Griffey, Jr.
After Larkin, my next largest individual player collection is that of Ken Griffey, Jr. Now, in Griffey's case I do collect cards from all of his years in the big leagues which means I have plenty of Mariners cards as well.
Joey Votto
Another huge collection is that of Votto. I seem to acquire his cards without even trying, but that's quite alright since I like the guy a lot.
Sean Casey & Adam Dunn
Casey and Dunn were the two main representatives for the Reds in baseball card sets for much the 2000s. Many of those Reds teams were quite awful but at least you could count on the Reds being included in most sets thanks to Casey and Dunn. As such, I have quite a few of each of these guys - but truthfully I'm not fully invested in either (and I may end up not actually keeping my PC of one or the other down the road, hard to say for sure right now).
Brandon Phillips
Much like Casey and Dunn, Phillips was a great player on a number of rather bad Reds teams. While I do have a PC of him right now, he is one of the first ones that I'm going to disband once (if?) I ever get my baseball card collection fully reorganized. I didn't like Phillips attitude as he left Cincinnati, and whether that's justified or not, it is enough of a reason for me to stop collecting him.
Chris Sabo / Eric Davis / Jose Rijo
Three guys from the last time the Reds made it to the World Series. My collection of each is modest but I like all three of those dudes quite a bit (Sabo, in fact, as my favorite player prior to when I switched over to like Barry Larkin best).
Jay Bruce
Bruce should probably be lumped in with Casey and Dunn in terms of being a decent player on a lot of bad Reds teams. That said, Bruce wasn't ever the cardboard darling that the other two guys were and so my collection of Bruce cards does pale in comparison to his contemporaries.
Nick Senzel
The newest Red in my collection, I have high hopes for Senzel and so I'm setting aside any cards of him that I acquire. I think my collection is at exactly two cards right now, so it isn't like I've done much in the way of collecting Nick yet (it doesn't help me any that I have yet to buy any 2019 product this year and Senzel was only called up to the big leagues this year)!
I have a few other guys set aside as well, but those are the main Reds PC guys right now. Will I actually work to collect all of them moving forward? Absolutely not, but until the day comes when I have to make some tough choices I'll keep stacking up their cards!
Thanks for joining me on my journey through all 30 MLB teams. I hope to repeat this exercise down the road some day, it'll be interesting to see how the list changes!
My list of favorite MLB teams (from worst to first):
#30: St. Louis Cardinals
#29: New York Yankees
#28: San Francisco Giants
#27: Washington Nationals
#26: Boston Red Sox
#25: Chicago Cubs
#24: Atlanta Braves
#23: Los Angeles Dodgers
#22: Milwaukee Brewers
#21: Miami Marlins
#20: San Diego Padres
#19: Arizona Diamondbacks
#18: Texas Rangers
#17: Los Angeles Angels
#16: Kansas City Royals
#15: Minnesota Twins
#14: Oakland Athletics
#13: Philadelphia Phillies
#12: Tampa Bay Rays
#11: Toronto Blue Jays
#10: Detroit Tigers
#9: Chicago White Sox
#8: Colorado Rockies
#7: Baltimore Orioles
#6: Seattle Mariners
#5: New York Mets
#4: Cleveland Indians
#3: Pittsburgh Pirates
#2: Houston Astros
#1: Cincinnati Reds
That was a fun trip through your list of favorite teams. Well done!
ReplyDeleteSurprised not to see any of the great 70s Reds (Bench, Morgan, etc.) there. Is it because you’re too young to remember them firsthand? Odd to me because, as a fan of a team that started only a few years before I was born (the Mets), there really aren’t major players in my team’s history whom I don’t remember firsthand.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many legends who played for your favorite franchise... but I think Votto might be my all-time favorite Red. That seems so weird. But I really like his personality and there's no denying the guy can hit.
ReplyDelete