The INSANE Prime of Kirby Puckett
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- Опубліковано 31 тра 2024
- Kirby Puckett is one of the best all around players in the history of baseball. His relentless work ethic and extraordinary talent are what drove him to success throughout his career. Not only was he an elite hitter, he was a center fielder with a cannon for an arm and incredible range thanks to his wheels. His shorter stature and stockier build never held him back from being one of the game’s best. As fantastic as he was on the ball field, he was an even better person. His infectious smile and outgoing personality made him a fan favorite in Minnesota.
Players relevant to the video: Alvin Davis, Mark Langston, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Robin Yount, Cal Ripken Jr., Frank Viola, Jack Morris, Kent Hrbek, Wade Boggs, Rob Gant, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Gene Larkin
0:00 Intro
0:52 Biography
4:26 MLB Debut
5:50 The INSANE prime begins
8:47 Underdogs win it all?
11:31 Prime Puckett
14:14 1991 Magic
15:35 Clutch Kirby
17:50 Back to business
19:41 Bittersweet Goodbye
21:54 Shadow of a Doubt
22:43 Conclusion
#mlb #twins #1980s
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All music from Epidemic Sound
Outro: "Catching Flights" by Sarah, The Illstrumentalist
Additional tags: Kirby Puckett biography, Kirby Puckett batting title, Kirby Puckett Hall of Fame, Kirby Puckett career stats, Kirby Puckett gold glove, Kirby Puckett silver slugger, Kirby Puckett batting champ, Number 34, Kirby Puckett community service, Kirby Puckett high school, Kirby Puckett Chicago, Kirby Puckett college, Kirby Puckett 1,000th hit, Kirby Puckett 2,000th hit, Kirby Puckett postseason, 1987 Twins Tigers ALCS, 1987 Twins Cardinals World Series, 1987 World Series, Kirby Puckett World Series, Twins Blue Jays 1991 ALCS, Twins Braves 1991 World Series, 1991 World Series, Kirby Puckett 1991 ALCS MVP, Kirby Puckett 1991 World Series, Kirby Puckett Game 6 home run, Kirby Puckett walk off home run, Kirby Puckett robs Rob Gant Game 6 1991 World Series, Kirby Puckett injury, Kirby Puckett glaucoma, Kirby Puckett retirement, Kirby Puckett postseason home run, 1993 All Star Game, Kirby Puckett All Star Game MVP, Kirby Puckett Bradley University, Kirby Puckett Triton community college, Kirby Puckett leg kick, Kirby Puckett Hall of Fame induction, Kirby Puckett David Letterman Show, Minnesota Twins, 1980s baseball, Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly, Tony Gwynn
Sources:
www.probaseballhistory.com/to...
baseballhall.org/hall-of-fame...
sabr.org/bioproj/person/tony-...
www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...
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Bruh, this man did nothing but ball tf out in his career. 2,000 hits in just over a decade???? RIP Kirby, you were a man amongst lads
5 200 hit seasons is tied with Tony Gwynn. His final season he batted .314. It's not like he was on the decline either.
@@brohanfromrohan5771 Derek Jeter has 8 200 hit seasons, including one at age 38.
@@brohanfromrohan5771 Ichiro and Pete Rose both had 10 200 hit seasons in their careers.
@@jonahfalcon1970 Kirby > Jeter any day. Plus, DJ didn't lose his eyesight in the middle of his prime.
@@jacobalvord3480 Uh huh. Sure.
Where is Jeter on the all-time hits list again?
Rank Player (yrs, age) Hits PA Bats
1. Pete Rose (24) 4256 15890 B
2. Ty Cobb+ (24) 4189 13103 L
3. Henry Aaron+ (23) 3771 13941 R
4. Stan Musial+ (22) 3630 12721 L
5. Tris Speaker+ (22) 3514 12020 L
6. Derek Jeter+ (20) 3465 12602 R
7. Cap Anson+ (27) 3435 11331 R
8. Honus Wagner+ (21) 3420 11766 R
Oh, right. More hits than Honus Wagner, Ted Williams, etc.
Was anything wrong with Williams' eyesight?
Bye.
My favorite baseball player of all time. My parents found my KP collection of hundreds of his cards. Still have them. Really the only one to bring a championship, twice, to Minnesota pro games. An absolute legend.
From Minnesota, I was 6 when the Twins won their first title. I wore #34 all through high school. NOW BATTING FOR THE TWINS…KIIIIRBY PUUCKETTTT!
16:33 You should have let this moment breathe a bit. As a die-hard Minnesota sports fan, born and raised, this is likely the biggest moment in Minnesota sports history. Minneapolis Miracle be damned, this is a moment that turns great players into absolute legends for not only the team and franchise, but for all the regional fans for all time.
I was 10 in 1987, went to 3 of the 4 World Series games. Truly my childhood hero. Favorite player of all time. Cried like a baby when he both retired and died. R.I.P. Puckett
I was at the game where Kirby got his 2,000th hit. It was also the last time my beloved Grandpa, a passionate baseball fan, saw a Live baseball game before he passed away. It is one of those memories that I wlll cherish for the rest of my life!
My favorite player of all time. So much fun to watch. Clutch and charisma were his best traits
Puckett & Gwynn....bests smiles ever that always make me smile ☺
And Gwynn’s laugh was so infectious and genuine
Kirby was amazing. I played touch football with him when I was like 14, He was the nicest guy in the world! I hung out with him and Tony Olivia. They were both so cool. RIP Kirby!
Kirby Puckett was an infectious force in the American League God Rest his soul
@@SSNESS who cares
As a lifelong Twins fan... Puckett is an absolute legend here in MN... Target field is still filled with #34 jerseys including the one on my back 💯
Great job in honoring his legacy, thank you for this!
Thank you! Happy to hear that you enjoyed the video 🙌
Great video. Dave Winfield
Those 2 world series were amazing I remember. As an 11 year old and a 15 year old. Kirby was the man
Tears streaming. Fortunate to grow up in Minnesota in Prime Puck time. Great video. Kirby had such a major influence on my life. Great memories.
Thank you! Kirby had a fanatic career deserving of a video, what a story he had
Kirby was definitely a one of a kind. He was my hero when I was kid after he hit that game winning homer in the 91’ World Series. I was 11 years old but it had a impact on me for sure.
i was 17 i cried im a braves fan 🤣
Same here
One of the best players day in and day out! Offensively, defensively and great in the clubhouse!! My favorite baseball player of all time!! He loved Minnesota and most of all he loved the fans!! Absolutely privileged to grow up in Minnesota and watch him play and bring 🏆🏆 to Twins fans!! RIP Kirby!! Your joy for the game and memories you made, have and will live on forever!!
I was 12 when he came up in 1984. Saw his 1st at bat, and last at bat in 1995 when he got hit in the face. Everything inbetween was magic. My favorite all time athlete.
Kirby Puckett always looked like he was having fun.
Always a class act too.
Well... not *always* unfortunately. He really lost his way after his retirement. I love Kirby, but the stuff he did after he retired is pretty inexcusable
@@matthewbless3335 Was gonna comment this. Doesn't make his on field play any less impressive but the post-retirement behavior was inexcusable and horrifying.
Doesn't matter what some gold digger says about a great man. It's completely irrelevant.
It would have been worth mentioning that Puck didn't just lead the league in RBIs in 1994 - he had 112 in 108 games when the players went on strike in August 1994. He was on pace for well over 150 RBIs.
My parents lived next to Kirby for 2 years when he lived in Brooklyn Park. One of my most prized possesions is a duffle bag that Kirby left them when he moved. It is from when he played A ball. Cass A Visalia Oaks. His name is stitched on the front and is red, whtie and blue. I get the chills everytime I "And we'll see ya tomorrow nght"!!!!!!
I would love an ichiro one
Another Gem of a video. I remember watching Kirby and the first thing that came to my mind was this guy looks like an NFL fullback or linebacker. He had enormous thighs. He was built like a small keg of dynamite 🧨. BTW I am not here to comment on his personal life. Let's save that, no need to troll about this issue. I will leave it at that.
Thanks Joe! Glad you enjoyed the video. He was built different than your average baseball player for sure!
@@stevehardman4686- really? Comparing a professional Baseball player to a genocidal professional political leader of a nation? Yeah the "he was a fantastic person" line didn't need to be in there but the video title indicated it was about his baseball career and I think that's the reason most people click on it, as was the case for myself... He must've done something that really affected you for you to think that a comparison to Hitler is really warranted or that it's actually even equivocal...
@stevehardman4686 because with Kirby, there are two very distinct Eras to his life. During his playing time, the ego was in check and he was, by all accounts, a model citizen (even won the Branch Rickey Award in 1993 and the Roberto Clemente Award in 1996, both awards for community service). After his retirement (which was forced by his illness) he became simultaneously depressed and full of himself, which is largely what resulted in his legal troubles and the weight you cite. Afaik, there was no evidence of steroid use I can remember. What he did after his career was horrible, no doubt, but by all accounts, that wasn't the Kirby that was playing for the Twins.
To sum it up, essentially, he was a fantastic person during his playing career who, by circumstances both inside and outside of his control, did things that were absolutely unbecoming of the person that he was prior. To write Kirby off as an awful person altogether is myopic. He made some awful decisions at the end of his life that were simply not indicative of the kind of person that he was.
@@matthewbless3335 Puckett’s behavior became worse after his retirement, but even during his playing days, he was not a model citizen (though nothing really came to light during that period), especially in his personal life. He put his name on various charities, but even those closest to him say he didn’t really care that much personally. His then-wife did pretty much all the hard work of organizing and running it. He had numerous affairs as well, although it should be said he wasn’t charged with anything illegal. I’m sure you’ve read Frank DeFord’s article on Puckett. It’s a a sad overview, an incredible fall from grace.
@UTNatlChamps yep, the DeFord article was what I was referencing! It's been a few years since I read over it last, so if he mentioned some of that other stuff, I don't remember it. I think it's definitely fair to call it a "mixed bag," but I do think it's fair to say that he wasn't what he eventually became either.
He was a great man and player, bringing two championships to Minnesota... of all places. He really had a cool name too. Love this video! R.I.P. Kirby.
Puckett was so fun to watch. I used to watch the Yankee games whenever the Twins came to town. I lived in the NJ burbs and was a Met fan, but I remember that '87 Twins team and that series. I was in fourth grade and I remember coming home on the bus and a buddy of mine had a little am radio we'd listen to the day games to.
As a kid, i loved seeing Kirby play. Great player, memorable body size/shape, and one of thr best names in the history of the MLB
Lifelong Twins fan here, great vid! A few things…
1.) Kirby finished runner-up in the MVP in ‘92 to Eckersley, which you didn’t mention but should’ve as that’s the highest he ever finished
2.) Kirby won the Roberto Clemente Award for his work on and off the field in ‘96
3.) Kirby also helped mentor a young Torii Hunter for the Twins and Torii always felt he was taking the CF mantle from Puckett, I always thought that was cool
4.) As awesome as Kirby was (and he was REALLY awesome), most Twins fans put Killebrew (and even Carew) above Kirby in their all-time rankings
5.) The Twins have somehow won 15 batting titles since they moved to MN in 1961 (Oliva 3 times, Carew 7 times, Puckett, Mauer 3 times and Arraez last year), probably didn’t need to be mentioned in the video but that’s crazy to think about
Thanks for the feedback! It helps to hear from a lifelong fan of the team of these players I do videos on. To be honest, I originally included the Eckersley-Puckett MVP race, and I just didn't feel it incorporated the way I wanted it to, so I cut it out entirely. Sometimes I wonder if anyone really cares about the MVP race besides myself haha. Plus, the vid was already getting long winded and I was going to be approaching 30 minutes if I didn't cut out two sections like I did!
Another tragedy of Puckett retiring when he did: That ‘96 Twins squad was a quietly good offensive team that would’ve been awesome with his bat in the lineup. They scored 877 runs (a club record until the Bomba Squad broke it in 2019) and featured a PEAK Chuck Knoblauch (.341 average, 45 steals, 62 extra base hits and a .965 OPS), a vintage Paul Molitor (.341 average, 225 hits and 113 RBIs), an excellent Marty Cordova (.309 average, 63 extra base hits and 111 RBIs, and multiple other hitters with an OPS over .800 (Rich Becker, Scott Stahoviak, Ron Coomer and Roberto Kelly). They probably weren’t making the playoffs either way because their pitching staff sucked and that was a loaded year in general for offense, but they would’ve been fun to watch.
This was a fascinating video, I grew up in the early 2000s, my mom was a Twins fan and my dad was a Brewers fan. I never got to see Puckett play, but my mom would tell me stories about guys like Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek. Dad would tell me stories of Robin Yount and Paul Molitor. I remember being in first grade when he passed and they had a memorial service on FSN North and that was the most devastated I had seen my mom
It's pretty remarkable that he was such a successful high school athlete, yet didn't receive a college offer more promising than factory work. I was a kid when he retired, and I remember it being related to his eye. I certainly didn't appreciate what an incredible player he was.
As a Minnesotan all I can say is we miss Kirby, so very much. A legend in every sense of the word. RIP
During the World Series, everybody who didn't know a thing about baseball the other 11 months of the year fell in love with Kirby!
the Twins need another Kirby. Unfortunately, they don't make players like him anymore. Good video. I enjoyed it.
You're absolutely right! And thank you I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Mookie Betts reminds me a little of Kirby
Luis arraez? The trade for him will go down as one of the worst in sports history
@@Susbus69 Luis Arraez is nothing like Kirby, much worse defense and less power
@@DanielSong39 Joe was a completely different kind of player from Kirby.
Kirby could do it all. I had the good fortune of living in Minnesota during his prime and got to see him play live at the Metrodome many times.
In early 90s Minnesota, Kirby was everything.
Rod Carew was a monster that unfairly gets only remembered for his contact ability. From 1972-1978 Carew batted .350 with a 149 OPS+ and accumulated 49 rWAR. A top 5 player of his generation that doesn’t get enough recognition
Adam Sandler was a big fan of "Hall of famer, Rod Carew"
@@justinlaw9336 Who cares, lol?
Growing up as a White Sox fan, I was a huge Carew fan. I remember one of the games I went to in '70s. Wilbur Wood shut out the Twins on 3 hits, Rod had 2! It was all good.
I spent alot of time at the old Met . They were larger than life Carew , Harmen , Tony O , Tovar , Holt , Rollins etc great memories. I also witnessed seeing a 19 yr old rookie Bert Blylevin make his first start .
He was a great player and a great person as a young man. Too bad things went south after retirement. His early death was a heartbreaker.
Honestly, his young death at age 46 was probably the biggest possible blessing he could have gotten. The evil he did (or was alleged to have done) seems to rest in the grave, and the records of his amazing baseball career are his lasting legacy. If he'd lived another decade, two, or three, he could have been remembered in the way that Curt Schilling seems to be determined to be remembered: A once-great player who tarnished everything he ever accomplished on the field with is life after the game.
A special time in Minnesota sports watching Kirby Puckett play. One of those players where you just stopped and watched the television to see what he did. Those prime years are near the top of any players. Would love to see you do Ted Williams.
The Beloved Kirby Puckett. What a player
I'm a Baltimore boy but I always watching Kirby play back in the day agent Ca l ❤⚾
I still miss King Kirby.
Kirby was especially gifted at hitting pitches well out of the strike zone. When asked how he learned to do that so well, he said that when he and his buddies would play ball in their South Chicago neighborhood as kids, they didn't have a backstop, so the ball would need to be recovered if they sat on balls, eating up playing time and pissing everyone else off in the process, so you had to swing at everything.
I was reading a lot of comments before I read yours and you hit the nail on the head. That is what he did that made him unique and pissed off alot of pitchers.
Very sad story, once the game he loved was taken from so abruptly. I've never seen another player who seemed to exude so much joy, and have so much FUN playing baseball. He did not take well to retirement, but it really is a tragic story, given that few of us will ever know what a loss like that would feel like. Very sorry for what his family went though, but he is probably the only player that I actually cried for when he died, and I'm not even a Twins fan. Hard to brush all that under the rug, but I can't help it. I loved this guy.
Awesome job on an Awesome player. I wouldn't mind a spot light on a very special and unusual player, Rube Wadell, what a life
Well done, I loved Kirby growing up and still remember watching those playoff runs as a little boy. Hope he found his peace R.I.P. to the legendary Kirby Puckett
Kirby reminded me so much of Tony Gwynn. In some ways I saw Kirby as the player TG could be if he implemented more power into his game.
My dad was a Minneapolis police officer, and on game day he got to escort Kirby Puckett to the stadium. A good memory of my dad was how excited he got telling me the conversation he had with Kirby.
That's way cool! What a great memory thank you for sharing
Love Kirby Puckett. Miss him. He passed away on his birthday. That wasn't accentuated but great presentation. ❤💛
In my view, King Kirby was one of my favorite Minnesota Twins baseball players. He was absolutely the Goat! Im only 1yr yonger than he was and i witnessed how remarkable he was. Ive been a fan of the Twins since i was 4yrs old(1965)
As a stocky dude Kirby Puckett was an inspiration.
His smile was infectious
Do Joe Carter, he's so under-rated
World Series walkofff from World Series walkoff lol, both in game 6 and both home runs lol
Less than 20 career war...
One of the best center fielders that really don't recognition he deserves great video 😊 and at a time when you had a up and coming ken Griffey Jr
Kenny lofton, Devon White, Bernie Williams, Jim Edmonds. Just to name a few. at a height in stature of being a small center fielder but he played like he was six two. Even though he was only five eight, he was definitely one of my heroes. Too bad his career was cut short. Hall of Famer!! If possible, could you do a video of Cecil fielder or Dave Winfield. He was definitely a tall man for his time where now in the present time of baseball you see guys that are at least 6' 6 or 6'7 or taller where that was a rare occasion for a man like Winfield.
Pulled his card in an old wax pack and went to do my research. What a guy. Its been a fun project going through these packs and looking up dudes from before my time - a topps led history lesson if you will.
That’s a fun way to learn about players from different eras!
I have a ton of baseball cards from 1989 szn (produced 1990), and I have like 4 cards of him, I remember always being curious why no one talked about him after looking at his stats on the back. I’m shocked somebody made a video about him. Good video man.
Getting drafted 3rd overall after establishing his background is wild lol.
Thanks for sharing, I'm a big Kirby Puckett fan. The greatest player in the history of the game.
I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
I absolutely love this video! Grew up watching Kirby Puckett , as a Jays fan he was a pain in the ass for us! Lol... Would love to see a Joe Carter video. Been binge watching all your videos, they are very good.
can you do Cal Ripken Jr
That’s a good one
As an Orioles fan, he's coming soon...
Yea, in 1991, Ripken led in Offensive War and Defensive War!
I was born in the Twin Cities area in the mid 80's. My dad took me to many Twins games and Kirby was the first player I ever knew about. He was certainly the most beloved athlete from any sport in Minnesota during the 90's. Minnesota still has no other major sports titles in it's history other than those two World Series that Kirby lead.
I was 13 when Twins won their first World Series. Growing up and living in Minnesota. He’s the only player where if he was up I HAD to listen/watch his at bat. You just WANTED him to have a great game. Not that you don’t want that of all your teams players, there was something special about him. He was my grandmas favorite player.
As a kid he was my favorite player. I'm a huge red sox fan and I remember when he was rumored to be signing with them but it turned out he had no intention on leaving Minnesota, he was just using them as leverage against the Twins. I still rooted for him .
My best friend growing up Eric Wagner was the biggest Kirby fan ever. Hoping he watches this video and sees this comment. Miss you brother
excellent work
Its amazing how some athletes can just turn on greatness right from the start.
Would of liked to see more analysis and comparison of Kirby’s first 12 years vs the 12 years of other players. Especially as Kirby’s years got cut short.
I met Kirby when I was too young to appreciate his greatness, but got the privilege of sharing a lane bowling with him! Super nice guy, but 6yo me was upset I didn’t get placed on lane 6 with KG 😂
I am a White Sox fan but I remember Puckett well. He was a favorite of mine, and i gotta tell you- the 1987 World Series is among my very favourite moments. That whole series was a LOT of fun, from the Thunderdome to St. Louis's play at Busch Stadium.
I didn't expect Minnesota to win, because i didn't think they would win on the road and I thought the Cardinals were good enough to pull off at least one win at the Dome. Was i ever wrong.
Thanks for the memories!
I was at the home opener in MINN vs OAK... there was actually a fight with Reggie Jackson and a couple of them vs our beloved TWINS. RIP KIRBY. You will always be our favorite TWIN.
It's players like Kirby Puckett first of all what an awesome name players like him is what made baseball so awesome in the 80s
One of my favorite books growing was Kirby Puckett’s Baseball Games on developing baseball skills. I wore the cover off that thing!
My favorite baseball player. Thank you for this video. Looking forward to more videos from you.
Your favorite player beat women.
Two thumbs up. Great video. A true legend.
Exceptionally well-done video essay, and on my favorite player. Your approach to this is incredible with the videos, photos, and insight that not all know. Cheers to you!
Thank you! I’m glad I could do KP justice, I’m glad I got around to making this video, he was a crazy good player!
All time favorite baseball player
What a name. 9/10 Solid baseball name
Love your channel! So many channels like this for nfl and nba but not much in the way of baseball! So many amazing baseball stories out there. You'll never run out of unique personalities!
Thank you! You are absolutely right: no chance of running out of people to talk about!
Awesome video! Thanks for sharing with us.
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed 🙌🏼
Kirby is my all time favorite player.
The White Sox field was right across the highway from the projects Kirby is from. They’ve been torn down and the neighborhood by the Sox park is actually nice now, but in the early 90s and late 80s, that neighborhood was a beast.
Legend!! 🎉 and another great video!
My man! 🙌🏼
I subscibed BECAUSE of this post. Long Live Kirby ❤
Had to sub & say thanks for helping out Fuzzy so he keeps doing the recaps... Helped get me back into baseball after leaving it behind 20yrs ago. Kirby Puckett was my Dads favorite player while mine was Jose Canseco.... Not same good character guys so needless to say JC helped sway me from my love for the game. Luckily with age comes some reflection & wisening up. Happy to be enjoying baseball & all the great history again. Thanks for the great video! Brings back lots of memories, i can still see myself watching those early 90s WS as a kid 😂
Hey thank you I appreciate that! I love editing Fuzzy's videos he really impresses me with how efficient he is. Been watching the recaps forever so it's awesome to be apart of the process!
Padre fan, but always loved Kirby.
These videos are great! I hope they end up with over 100k views on each!
Excellent video on a great man. I love the Vince Guaraldi music in the background! Straight up charlie brown😂😂😂
Thank you! Funny you should mention Guaraldi because the song came from Epidemic Sound and the guy who made the tune was clearly going for a Guaraldi sounding tune 😂 reminded me of Peanuts so I had to include it
THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO. Teams over looked him because of us height or lack of it. But boy were they wrong. Kirby was a hitting machine. Could hit the ball HARD from ANYWHERE ON THE PLATE. He did it all. Greatest Twin ever. What a player. Miss ya Kirby.
Kirby was awesome…. Amazing player and so many great stories about him
About time I saw this. thanks.
Another fantastic video!!🙂👍
Thank you!
found you from fuzzy's shout out and youve deff made a new fan good job man
Thank you, and welcome to the channel!
I was 12 when he came up in 84. 15 and 19 when the Twins won their rings....im more of a football guy, but Kirby Puckett is my favorite player of all time. Yes even over Jordan or Gretzky.
Another great vid. Thanks! I’ve been binging them.
Have you ever thought about doing one on Dave Kingman?
Good one. Do Will Clark, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Ruben Sierra, Kevin Mictchell, Fred McGriff, Bo Jackson or Wally Joyner next.
Or Bobby Bonilla, Jihn Kruk, Cecil Fielder, Danny Tartabull or Mark McGwire.
Dude! Awesome!!!
Was expecting anything but that ending. Rest in peace Kirby
Kirby was so good! I enjoyed every moment of Kirby on the Diamond! His Game 6 1991 World Series needs to be “A Deep Rewind”.
As a White Sox fan I rooted for the Twins in post season. The incredible "Kirby" game and Jack Morris pitching gem the next day was a joy to watch. I had to wait till 2005 for my team to finally put it all together.
If you hadn’t made a video about Robin Yount you should make one about him
Is no one gonna talk about how great that catch by the Cather was at 15:02
I love these vids on great players that I never got to see play