Say Hey, He Remains a Giant Among Men

Who is baseball’s greatest living player?

The recent death of Ted Williams--three years after the death of Joe DiMaggio--has renewed an old argument. Among those frequently mentioned are Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Pete Rose, Stan Musial, George Brett, Barry Bonds and Rickey Henderson.

But they all fall in line behind Willie Mays, based on a survey of baseball historians, executives and current and former players conducted by the Bloomberg News Service.

Historian Ken Shouler narrowly picks Mays over Aaron because of his superior overall game.

“Once you allow that the offensive numbers are essentially identical, the argument ends,” Shouler said. “Mays goes ahead of Aaron on the strength of being a far greater fielder and baserunner.”

Looking back: On this day in 1970, Mays bounced hit No. 3,000 through the left side of the infield off Mike Wegener in the second inning of the San Francisco Giants’ 10-1 victory over the Montreal Expos.

Trivia time: Who is the only major league player with 3,000 hits, 300 home runs, 600 doubles, 100 triples and 200 stolen bases? Hint: He’s from Southern California.

Wrong answer: Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that Allen Iverson’s image has taken a beating with his recent arrest:

“And to think they marketed him as a misunderstood bad boy, an edgy street hero trying his best to get along in society. Turns out Iverson wasn’t ‘The Answer’ as much as The Lie....

“There will never be answers here, only questions. Such as: Why would anyone, including the NBA commissioner, want anything more to do with this creep?”

Bud not wiser: Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle, taking yet another shot at baseball Commissioner Bud Selig: “A tie All-Star game? This never would’ve happened if Kenesaw Mountain Landis’ kids had thought to save some DNA....

“A solution that should have occurred to baseball’s brain trust: While Selig was slowly sorting his options, freeze all the players, then bring ‘em back to life after Bud’s had time to consult me.”

Golden (Bear) era: During an 18-year span, Jack Nicklaus won the British Open three times, was second a record seven times and never finished lower than 12th.

By the numbers: From the Caught on the Fly column in the Sporting News: “The stat column to watch for the Bravos, BoSox and Dodgers is IP, as in how much Atlanta’s no-name ‘pen, Derek Lowe and Odalis Perez have to punch clock during the second half after throwin’ much, much more than usual in the first.”

Trivia answer: El Segundo’s George Brett.

And finally: When forward Carlos Boozer played for Duke, it was widely reported that his father, also named Carlos, had played on Maryland’s basketball team with John Lucas.

But after the Cleveland Cavaliers, coached by Lucas, drafted Boozer, his dad acknowledged that he only played in pick-up games with Lucas at Maryland and was never a member of the basketball team.

“After a while, the stories started that I played with John, and I kind of let it go,” Boozer Sr. told the Akron Beacon Journal. “I’m kind of embarrassed about it.”