Who's the best player you've faced or seen play?

That's great, TheOutfielder30. Where are you going to play ball in college?

Cameron Maybin...hands down. He played against my son as a 10 year old, and I had a chance to see him often in games when we lived in Asheville. Seeing a 10-year old one-hop a 300' fence is quite a sight.

Also, playing AAU in NC we had the chance to see quite a few guys who are playing ACC ball right now...and they were studs as 9-12 year olds, too.

Best BP display was watching Allan Dyskstra put one way up a light pole in RF at UVA a couple years ago.

Jason Place 1st round pick of the Red Sox in 2006. He played at a high school in the same county as my son's. 6'3" 205 lb. CF that ran like a deer, crushed the ball, and ran it up there about 88 on the hill. Son's team had a chance to beat them one year, had a one run lead in the 7th. Unfortunately we balked in the tying and winning runs (two different pitchers).

Tying this into another thread, while I am generally of the belief that you can't tell if a kid has "it" until they get well into their teens and prove themselves on the big diamond, whenever I say this, I think back a long time ago...

Winter of 1975, I went to a christmas baseball camp hosted by Jimmy Davenport of the Giants. As a surprise extra, Bobby Bonds, then of the Angels was a second instructor.

All camp long, this 10 YO was showing up all us 13 year olds - out hitting, out running, and basically out playing all of us... Guess who???

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Originally posted by 08Dad:

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All camp long, this 10 YO was showing up all us 13 year olds - out hitting, out running, and basically out playing all of us... Guess who???

Barry Bonds?

Mike Scott.

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Originally posted by coachbwww:

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Originally posted by 08Dad:

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All camp long, this 10 YO was showing up all us 13 year olds - out hitting, out running, and basically out playing all of us... Guess who???

Barry Bonds?

Yup... still the best pre teen I have ever seen

Best I've seen, no question, Derrick Robinson. He was a senior when 2B was a 7th grader. On plays where a very good CF with good speed would make a diving play, he would just turn his back, zip he was under the ball, and he would make an easy catch. On base, his lead off 1st was halfway between bases. Then zip he was at 3rd. It wasn't just speed - he did run a 6.19 60, and a while back, PGStaff made the point that he would have been even faster were it not for turf toe from playing football - but he could read pitchers and judge fly balls, and oh yeah he can hit, too. Amazing. He practiced in the off-season with 2B's fall team and is even more amazing.

Best pitcher 2B has faced - he'll tell you Jiwon (Nathaniel) James . Last year, age 13, playing varsity, 2B went one-for-three, making contact every time. The kid has some quick hands. Scouts were sitting behind me, Jiwon was touching 90 that night.

Sounds like monster players lol

Bum,I signed with a Local JUCO about 30 mins away from me. I deff could of went D2 right off the bat,i got letters and contacted and i think i would of got a scholarship to somewhere but i wasnt ready to move out nor was i highly on that school. So i figured signing with the Junior college would benefit me alot where im going to have a high chance to start as freshman and ive become good friends with the head coach.I plan on going for Year, could end up being Two but then transfering Too a nice D2 or possibly Low D1 to play.(Where ever it takes me)But it was deff the right choice for me i got goals i want to accomplish while im there.

1.Get the jist of college life and credits under my belt.

2.Get bigger and add more muscle gain and weight.

3.Have a good Freshman year and help my team out and continue my dream to move on to a 4 year school.

The best player I ever played with was a monster with the bat. He had one of those effortless lefty swings. He would hit the ball and we would think fly ball. 450 ft later it would land. He came from a family with a bad history of alcoholism and he followed in the tradition and never played after HS. He was killed in an alcohol related single car crash at the age of 25. He still had the best swing I have ever seen. A combination of Darryl Strawberry's swing but with Barry Bonds quickness. I played with and against other guys who made it to triple A ball but that guy was the hands down best with a bat.

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Originally posted by 08Dad:

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Originally posted by coachbwww:

quote:

Originally posted by 08Dad:

.......
All camp long, this 10 YO was showing up all us 13 year olds - out hitting, out running, and basically out playing all of us... Guess who???

Barry Bonds?

Yup... still the best pre teen I have ever seen

08Dad:
How big was Barry Bonds at age 10? I can't believe a 10 yr old out hit you 13 yr old big kids.

I was probably 5' 3" at the time and he was shorter than I was - perhaps 4'10"? I didn't know how old he was at the time - just that he was a little guy who could really play. I did the math on our birthdays just a few years ago.

It wasn't how far he hit it - it was how consistently and how hard he hit it - line drives to all fields.

I do remember him hitting one ball out of the high school field we were playing at - fence was probably 320... Note that this was probably in the second or third year of Aluminum bats so we were all swinging fence posts - not the high tech marvels of today. (My first Al bat was 30" 33 oz Little League sized as one example for those of you too young to remember the first Al bats.)

When we ran 60s, he was a clear winner. Two steps in front as I recall. Won the run around the bases game too.

Funny part is, I had forgotten all about this kid and this camp until about 5 years ago when my mom gave me a box of kid stuff - and in there was a plaque and a brochure from that camp - with Bobby and Jimmy's autographs. Then it all clicked into place.

08

played against Peter Kozma,1st round pick of the cardinals last year.He is one smooth ball player

pitcher: Andrew Miller

Hitter: Doug Johnson or Jonathan Papelbon

"08'
A long time ago November 1955, I was in the US Army at WSPG, New Mexico. Selected to play against a touring "All Star" team which begin play in New York. This team was described in Henry Aaron's book "I got a hammer"as the "greatest" team in the history of baseball.

Willie Mays "All Stars" with Monte Irwin, Ernie Banks, Henry Aaron, Hank Thompson, Roy Campanella, George Crowe. Joe Black, Brooks Lawrence, Don Newcombe, Sam Jones, Larry Doby, Junior Gilliam and Connie Johnson.

Our game was 6-2, Connie Johnson pitched the 9 innings in El Paso, Texas.
The next year, I faced Bob Gibson in the Basin League.

Bob Williams

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Originally posted by Consultant:
... described in Henry Aaron's book "I got a hammer"as the "greatest" team in the history of baseball.

Willie Mays "All Stars" with Monte Irwin, Ernie Banks, Henry Aaron, Hank Thompson, Roy Campanella, George Crowe. Joe Black, Brooks Lawrence, Don Newcombe, Sam Jones, Larry Doby, Junior Gilliam and Connie Johnson.

I find it hard to argue with the hammer on this one - that is an incredible list of names... What a great memory...

08