In February, MLB Network did a list of the 100 best players in baseball right now, not a career list or a "who would you start a team with" - but really a list just for the 2011 season. Note, it's a real world list, not a fantsay ranking.
I did not see it at the time, as U-Verse just got MLB network a second and a half ago (but I'm appreciative). So - as part of my opening week listmaking, here's my ranking. My plan is to edit in the MLB ranking for comparison. Hopefully, as you read this, I've already done that.
1. Albert Pujols (Albert Pujols)
2. Troy Tulowitzki (Roy Halladay)
3. Roy Halladay (Joe Mauer)
4. Felix Hernandez (Miguel Cabrera)
5. Hanley Ramirez (Felix Hernandez)
6. Evan Longoria (Tim Lincecum)
7. Ryan Braun (Adrian Gonzalez)
8. Tim Lincecum (Robinson Cano)
9. CCSabathia (Ryan Braun)
10. Kevin Youkilis (Josh Hamilton)
11. Joe Mauer (Mariano Rivera)
12. David Wright (Evan Longoria)
13. Miguel Cabrera (Hanley Ramirez)
14. Joey Votto (Troy Tulowitzki)
15. Prince Fielder (Joey Votto)
16. Alex Rodriguez (Buster Posey)
17. Mark Teixeira (Carlos Gonzalez)
18. Adrian Gonzalez (Kevin Youkilis)
19. Josh Johnson (CC Sabathia)
20. Justin Verlander (Ryan Zimmerman)
21. Matt Holliday (Alex Rodriguez)
22. Cliff Lee (Carl Crawford)
23. Jon Lester (Jon Lester)
24. Ryan Zimmerman (Mark Teixeira)
25. Josh Hamilton (Ryan Howard)
26. Dustin Pedroia (Chase Utley)
27. Brian McCann (Ichiro Suzuki)
28. Jared Weaver (David Price)
29. Nelson Cruz (Prince Fielder)
30. Robinson Cano (Matt Holliday)
31. Carl Crawford (Cliff Lee)
32. Matt Cain (Justin Verlander)
33. Carlos Santana (Josh Johnson)
34. Carlos Gonzalez (SS Choo)
35. Dan Haren (Adrian Beltre)
36. Zack Greinke (Chris Carpenter)
37. Ubaldo Jimenez (Dustin Pedroia)
38. Ian Kinsler (Zack Greinke)
39. Ryan Howard (Ubaldo Jimenez)
40. Clayton Kershaw (Trevor Cahill)
41. Chris Carpenter (Brian McCann)
42. Jay Bruce (David Wright)
43. Buster Posey (Dan Uggla)
44. Jayson Werth (Brian Wilson)
45. Adrian Beltre (Jayson Werth)
46. Mat Latos (Derek Jeter)
47. Clay Buccholz (Paul Konerko)
48. David Price (Adam Dunn)
49. Matt Kemp (Joakim Soria)
50. Dan Uggla (Jose Bautista)
51. SS Choo (Roy Oswalt)
52. Adam Dunn (Clayton Kershaw)
53. Roy Oswalt (Victor Martinez)
54. Cole Hamels (Matt Cain)
55. Tommy Hanson (Clay Buchholz)
56. Colby Lewis (Andre Ethier)
57. CJ Wilson (Neftali Feliz)
58. John Danks (Jared Weaver)
59. Yovani Gallardo (Johan Santana)
60. Max Scherzer (Andrew McCutcheon)
61. Jason Heyward (Carlos Marmol)
62. Rickie Weeks (Brandon Phillips)
63. Hiroki Kuroda (Ian Kinsler)
64. Victor Martinez (Heath Bell)
65. Jason Bay (Matt Kemp)
66. Geovany Soto (Martin Prado)
67. Trevor Cahill (Nelson Cruz)
68. Phillip Hughes (Jason Heyward)
69. Chad Billingsley (Rickie Weeks)
70. Dan Hudson (Andrew Bailey)
71. Nick Swisher (Cole Hamels)
72. Mike Stanton (Tim Hudson)
73. Chase Utley (Dan Haren)
74. Pedro Alvarez (Mark Reynolds)
75. Brett Anderson (Rafael Soriano)
76. Shawn Marcum (Mike Stanton)
77. Curtis Granderson (Nick Markakis)
78. Justin Upton (Justin Upton)
79. Jose Reyes (Jose Reyes)
80. Hunter Pence (Curtis Granderson)
81. Tim Hudson (Jay Bruce)
82. Javier Vazquez (Shane Victorino)
83. Chipper Jones (Vlad Guerrero)
84. Martin Prado (David Ortiz)
85. Torii Hunter (Austin Jackson)
86. Ryan Dempster (Jason Bay)
87. Andre Ethier (Scott Rolen)
88. Joe Nathan (Yadier Molina)
89. Alexei Ramirez (Colby Rasmus)
90. Paul Konerko (Michael Young)
91. Alex Rios (Brian Roberts)
92. Dallas Braden (Vernon Wells? Really?)
93. Francisco Liriano (Justin Morneau)
94. Ryan Ludwick (Torii Hunter)
95. Heath Bell (Elvis Andrus)
96. Joakim Soria (Jose Valverde)
97. Mariano Rivera (Jacoby Ellsbury)
98. Justin Morneau (Grady Sizemore)
99. Pablo Sandoval (Carlos Santana)
100. Jake Peavy (Aroldis Chapman)
My current roster, therefore, of baseball's best players would be this:
C Mauer McCann
1B Pujols Youkilis Cabrera
2B Utley Cano
SS Tulowitzki Ramirez
3B Longoria Wright
LF Braun
CF Hamilton
RF Holliday
OF Crawford
OF Cruz
P Halladay
Hernandez
Lincecum
Sabathia
Johnson
Verlander
Lee
Lester
Weaver
2 comments
Mariano Rivera 97th? Are you insane? Clearly you have no clue wtf you're talking about, but hey, it was a good read
He's strictly a ninth inning closer; he doesn't pitch enough innings to make him too much more valuable than that spot. It's really hard to rank any closer as among the best hundred players in baseball, but particularly Rivera at this point in his career, given how comparatively little he actually plays to the other players on the list.
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