Jamie's 20 Favorite Baseball Players

By Jamie Boss August 13, 2020

Favorite players. We all have them. Some people prefer the superstars like Mike Trout and Mookie Betts. Some people only like the lesser known guys like Danny Mendick or Sam Hilliard. Others just like the people on their favorite team. I like to think I’m a mix of these people, although as a diehard Dodger fan, most of my favorite players are Dodgers. So to keep this list interesting, I am limiting myself to only three Dodgers. I am also not including players who are not on a major league roster, so there will be no Yasiel Puig or Russell Martin on this list. Now that the rules are out of the way, let’s begin the list.

20. Ji-Man Choi

One player in and we have already reached our first meme player. My love for Ji-Man is simple; he is a big Asian dude who hits absolute tanks for Tampa Bay. He’s a big lovable teddy bear who recently unlocked the ability to switch-hit when he went deep in his first game batting righty.

19. David Fletcher

One of Twitter’s favorite players just so happens to be one of my favorite players. David Fletcher was not very high on my radar of favorite players until about two weeks ago when I picked him up to play for my fantasy team. Now, I was already familiar with Fletch, but I never had much of a connection with him. That all changed the second he started magically slapping homers to short left field. From then on, Soft-Contact Jesus had my heart.

18. Gio Urshela

Gio Urshela would have been much higher if last year never happened. Gio used to be my favorite player that nobody ever heard of when he was a member of the Cleveland Spiders, but after his 2019 breakout season with the Yankees it’s not as fun to be a Gio Urshela fan. However, despite breaking out last year, I will never not like Gio because he made the greatest defensive play I have ever seen in my life.

17. Bryce Harper

A lot of people hate Bryce Harper. I am not one of those people. Bryce Harper could be on this list solely for his hair, however, he is also a very good and very entertaining player to watch. He hits absolute moonshots on a daily basis, and has the flare to make every time he steps on the field worth watching.

16. Raisel Iglesias

I don’t really know why I like Raisel as much as I do. I had him on my fantasy team when he first came into the league as a starter, and when injuries forced him into a relief role, I still held on to him. I’m not sure if it’s the electric stuff, or being proud of myself for knowing a guy when he first came into the league, but either way I am a fan of the young Reds closer.

15. Lorenzo Cain

I know he opted out of the season but these are my rules and I can break them if I want. LoCain was the star of my favorite World Series team of the last decade, the mighty 2015 Kansas City Royals. He plays my style of baseball, good contact, speed, and defense, and he knows how to have fun when he makes a crazy play. Lorenzo Cain is the model player, and if you don’t like him, you’re probably a salty Mets fan.

14. Adalberto Mondesi

Remember when I said I liked Lorenzo Cain ’cause he was good at making contact? Well Adalberto doesn’t do that. Adalberto, however, does keep up the trend of good defense and lightning quick speed. Mondesi has also been a staple for my fantasy team for three years running, despite me acknowledging that he is essentially only good for steals.

13. Juan Soto

Despite the fact that Juan Soto ended the Dodgers’ 2019 season, I can’t help but love watching him play. From the Soto Shuffle, to imitating Bregman’s bat carry because it “looked fun,” Juan Soto knows how to have a good time on the baseball field. It also helps that he’s one year older than me, can hit baseballs a mile, and has the plate discipline of a ten year vet.

12. Francisco Lindor

Mr. Smile might be the worst nickname in the league. Now that that’s out of the way, Francisco Lindor is a very good baseball player. He also looks like he loves playing baseball more than anyone else in the league, and it’s hard not to like a guy that’s having that much fun on the field. And did I mention he’s the best shortstop in baseball?

11. Rich Hill

Dick Mountain. Every Dodger fan loved this man, even if he was consistently missing half the season. From his blazing 90 mph fastball and massive looping curves to his PG-13 word choice on the mound, Rich Hill was always the most entertaining player to pitch for the Dodgers. May the Twins appreciate the Mountain once he gets over his 50th blister in the last three years.

10. Justin Turner

And here’s the first current Dodger to make the list. JT is the new Butter and Egg Man with Adrian Gonzalez retired. Turner has been the captain of the Dodgers for the last five years, and without him this team never would have even sniffed the World Series in 2017 or 2018. Congrats on the career, Dad.

9. Ronald Acuña Jr.

I know I’ve described a lot of players as fun on this list, but this guy is the definition of fun. Acuña is quite possibly the most dynamic player in all of baseball. Sure, he strikes out all the damn time, but he also hits bombs. And on top of the homers, he can steal bases better than almost anyone in the league. And on top of that, he is one of the best defensive center fielders in the league. And on top of THAT he’s only 22 years old! Acuña is special and we are lucky to get the opportunity to witness his greatness.

8. Bo Bichette

Game respect game. Bo Bichette is the one baseball player who has hair that rivals my own, and for that he deserves a spot in the top ten. He also hit like 13 extra base hits in his first 11 career games or something, so I guess that’s pretty cool too I guess.

7. Zack Greinke

Greinke is my favorite freak. He is by far the weirdest player in all of baseball, and he’s a surefire lock for the Hall of Fame. Zack was my all-time favorite Dodgers pitcher, despite the existence of Clayton Kershaw. He never overpowered hitters with 100 mph fastballs, but he could paint the corners better than anyone in the league. And I will never forgive the baseball voters for giving his Cy Young Award to that loser Jake Arrieta.

6. Mike Trout

I mean he’s the goat. What more is there to say? He hits the ball better than everybody, he fields better than everybody, he runs better than everybody, he even has a better arm than everybody. If you watch an Angels game, you’re basically guaranteed to see Trout make a highlight reel play. Is that enough of a reason for having Mike Trout this high?

5. Bryan Reynolds

Oh Bryan, how I love me some Bryan. It all started when my dumbass traded away Juan Soto for far below his value last year. So in an attempt to fill the gaping hole in my outfield I looked at some free agents. And the guy that caught my eye was this outfielder I’d never heard who played for the Pirates. He had been hitting .400 over the last two weeks so I figured I’d take a flyer on him, assuming he’d fall off by the end of the week. Fast Forward five months to when I lost the fantasy championship and my whole team disappointed me. Except for one man, Bryan Reynolds.

4. Mookie Betts

He hasn’t been a Dodger for long, but that hasn’t stopped him from rising the ranks as one of my favorite players. And I could spend this time talking about how he’s the second best player in baseball and all the crazy numbers he puts up, but I’d rather focus on the little things. Even though he already signed a massive 12 year contract, he still plays and works like he’s a guy fighting for a spot on the team. He runs hard 90s every time he hits a ground ball. He gets back up immediately after diving for a fly ball, regardless of if he catches it. He knows when to take the extra base when the defense isn’t paying attention. So despite securing the bag, Mookie still goes out there and plays like he has something to prove, and he brings an energy to the Dodgers that the team sorely needs.

3. Joc Pederson

Despite being incredibly far from the best Dodger, Joc is still my favorite. Joc was the heir to Matt Kemp’s throne after he got traded. He was supposed to be the Gold Glove, perennial 30/30-threat centerfielder of the future. Six years later, that couldn’t be further from the kind of player he’s become. Joc is not a Gold Glover, he’s a left fielder who Dave Roberts would rather have at designated hitter. He stole 30 bases in the minors in 2014, and in six seasons in the bigs, he’s nabbed just 17 bags. But the one part of his game that stuck in the majors was his power. Joc might not do too many things very well, but boy can he hit the cover off the ball. Joc might be an idiot, but he’s my idiot, and nobody can ever take him away from me.

2. Alex Verdugo

I really thought Alex Verdugo was going to be our center fielder of the future after 2019. He had the swagger, he had the chain game, but most importantly, he had the talent. Dugie was the only player on the team last year to prioritize contact over hitting the ball 500 feet (Corey Seager technically did too but that man had the most one-sided abusive relationship with breaking balls in the dirt so I can’t really say he prioritized contact). But I didn’t truly fall in love with Dugie until the day he decided he wanted to wear #27. No Dodger had been able to live up to that number since Matt Kemp left the team. So when Alex Verdugo rocked that number, I felt like it was in good hands for the first time in years... and then we traded him for Mookie and I was sad.

1. Matt Kemp

In case it wasn’t obvious, Matt Kemp is my favorite player ever. He was the guy I grew up idolizing. I tried to mimic him when I played baseball as a kid (even if the numbers didn’t represent that very well). He was the reason I wanted to play center field. He was the only guy I wanted when I got to take the field at Dodger Stadium. He was the 2011 MVP. He was my hero. The day he got traded to the Padres is among the worst days of my life. And the day the Dodgers traded for him from the Braves was one of the best days of my life. And as much as it hurt to watch us trade him one last time to the Reds, it felt like the end to Matt Kemp’s story with the Dodgers. So now I wish him luck in Coors, and if he hits a couple bombs against us when we face off, I won’t even be mad.