Blog Bat-Around: The Alphabet Challenge

For this week's post, I'm going to take a swing at a blog bat-around started by Nachos Grande a couple of weeks ago called "The Alphabet Challenge".

Simply put, you take all the letters that make up your blog's name, and choose a favorite baseball player whose first or last name begins with that same letter.  Here's Nacho Grande's version. And here's an entry from John's Big League Baseball Blog. There's also one from The Collective Mind. And from The Angels In Order.

Because I'm a fan of both baseball and hockey—and because those are the two sports that dominate my trading card collection—I'm going to modify the rules slightly, using a mix of favorite athletes from both of those sports.

 

Here we go:

N 

Nemchinov, Sergei 

 

Back in my college hockey days, Mr. Nemchinov was a player I tried to model my game after: responsible defensively, ability to read plays and players, can contribute a little on offense, too.

 

Fun fact: He and Alexei Kovalev were the first two Russian players to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup (1994 New York Rangers). Nemchinov also has the distinction of playing for the Islanders, Rangers, and Devils across his career. He was on every side of all those rivalries!

 

 

 

I

Ichiro

 

I was a big fan of Ichiro during his career. He was such a highly intelligent, supremely talented hitter and fielder. Not to mention the speed. Or playing well into his 40s. Also, check out the Baseball Thrill on the card to the left. So many consecutive 200-hit seasons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N

Neely, Cam

 

The handshake line on the card to the left tells me that Mr. Neely and the Bruins have just finished dispatching the Hartford Whalers from the playoffs. Being a power forward, there's no doubt that he put up some points and laid some hits during the series, too. In fact, after looking up the results from the 1989-90 playoffs, the Bruins defeated the Whalers 4 games to 3 in the first round, and Neely totaled 4 goals, 6 assists, and 10 points to lead all Bruins in scoring during the series. He added 27 penalty minutes, which also led the team. Now it looks like he's already focused on the next round. And if that face looks familiar, the following video clip might explain why.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

E

Elias, Patrik 

 

Patty was a classy player, and classy guy. Wihtout making too much noise, he totaled more than 1,000 games played, scored more than 1,000 points, and was a big part of two Stanley Cup–winning teams in New Jersey. I always appreciated how smoothly he skated and how solid his edgework was. (He probably could have been a world-class downhill skier if he hadn't played hockey). Growing up in the New York/New Jersey area meant I had lots of opportunities to watch him play on the MSG Network, and I thoroughly enjoyed that.

 

 

  

  

P 

Prado, Martin

 

Recently I saw an SUV on the road called a Prado, made by Toyota. I guess that's why I had Martin Prado's name in mind. He was an excellent player for quite a few years with the Braves and the Marlins, batting over .300 for a few seasons. Overall, his 1,500 hits, 100 home runs, a slash line of .287/.335/.412, and an All-Star game selection is nothing to shake a stick at. The guy had a pretty good glove at third base, too.

 

 

  

 

O

Ordonez, Rey 

 

Back in the early 2000s, I remember reading an article from a baseball writer who lamented Ordonez's lack of hitting ability. He said he'd rather have a borderline MLB player at shortstop, just for the sake of consistency and playing the averages. I thought that was ridiculous. Maybe it works strictly on paper and for moneyball purposes, but if I'm going to pay for a ticket to a Major League baseball game, give me Ordonez 10 times out of 10. It's worth the price of admission just for the chance to see the guy make an unbelievable play at shortstop, even if he doesn't do much at the plate. (His lifetime batting average was .246, which isn't all that bad anyhow.)

 

C 

Chelios, Chris 

 

Mr. Chelios played in the NHL until he was 48 years old. (FORTY EIGHT!) Now that I'm in my mid-40s, I appreciate what guys like he and Ichiro accomplished even more. Chelios is one of the greatest, most decorated US-born hockey players of all time, and it's amazing to think he almost decided to give up on the sport as a teenager. The first-ballot Hall-of-Famer made the All-Rookie team in 1984-85, is a 3x Stanley Cup winner, a 3x Norris Trophy winner, represented the United States in numerous Olympic tournaments, World Cups, and Canada Cups, and was named as one of the NHL's top 100 players a few years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

K

Kovalev, Alexei

 

I mentioned Kovalev as a compatriot of Sergei Nemchinov at the start of this post, so why not give him a letter of his own? Mr. Kovalev was a slick skater, great stickhandler, and had an incredible wrist shot. When I was a teenager, he was one of those guys who'd pull off a move during a game that we'd all try to imitate the next day when we played roller hockey down at the local park. He had some good success just about wherever he went—Rangers, Penguins, Canadiens—and many folks say he could have put up even more than his career total of 430 goals and 599 assists if not for the occasional lack of effort or interest.

 

 

 

 

E 

Eckersley, Dennis

 

Just look at that photo. Vintage Eck. He's about to whip a backdoor slider past you for strike three to close out the game. Pretty good hair and mustache combo, too. As for accolades, the guy was phenomenal, just missing out on 200 wins (197) and 400 saves (390). I mean, sheesh. He could pitch. And I like his determination. He gave up that all-time classic, gut-wrenching home run to Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series, and came back the very next year to help Oakland win one of their own, saving 3 games against the Blue Jays in the ALCS and one more in the clinching game of the Championship against the Giants.

  

 

 

T 

Trottier, Bryan 

 

When putting together hockey's all-time starting six (3 forwards 2 defensemen, 1 goalie), most folks would choose Gretzky or Lemieux as their center. Hard to argue with either of those choices, of course. But if those two titans weren't available—or even if they were—I might choose Trottier. The guy wasn't big or flashy, but he could do it all. Score goals, set up goals, lay big hits, defend against the other team's top players. He was the league leader in assists, points, and plus/minus in 1978-79. That means he outscored—and outplayed—guys like Lafleur, Clarke, Dionne, and Esposito. Let's not forget to mention the huge part he played in leading the Islanders to four straight Stanley Cups. (And then helping the Penguins win their back-to-back titles in the early '90s.)

   

 

S 

Smith, Ozzie 

 

Thirteen consecutive Gold Gloves at shortstop. Perennial All-Star. The backflip to start every home game. Member of The Baseball Bunch. And he proved that you could be a franchise player and fan favorite while hitting almost zero home runs. It's no wonder he was one of my favorite players when I was a kid in the '80s. I'm happy my blog name contained a letter S.

And that's my at-bat. Hope you enjoyed it. Who's up next?