MLB: All-Time Face of the Franchise

[mania]

Gotta challenge Ryan as the Rangers face. He finished an incredible career in Texas, had some very memorable moments. But it was still, as a player, the end of his career. The twilight.

The face of the Rangers franchise is Pudge Rodriguez. One of the best to ever play his position, spent most of his career there, started and finished in Arlington, and has stayed with the organization since retiring.

[The_Admiral]

I'll buy Pudge as face of the Rangers. It's not easy for me because his peak with the Rangers was in the '90s and '90s baseball is kind of a lacuna for me, so it doesn't come naturally, but it's hard to argue. I've always associated Ryan with the Astros more than the Rangers.

If we're allowing a non-player to be the face of the Dodgers, you have to put Scully over Lasorda, even though he's more voice than face.

[Tigers6884]

•Los Angeles Dodgers - Jackie Robinson

Um... Jackie Robinson was a great player but he never played for LA. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, same team, but not really. Because he never played in LA I gotta go Sandy Koufax, Tommy Lasorda or Kirk Gibson.

I facepalmed so hard at your suggestion of Kirk Gibson as the face of the Dodgers. How can people remember his three seasons with the Dodgers before they remember his 10 years with the Tigers? He's from Michigan! I know about his '88 World Series home run, but tend I think of him more for his "You don't wanna walk him" home run off of Goose Gossage in the 1984 Fall Classic.

[Raysfan12]

Gotta challenge Ryan as the Rangers face. He finished an incredible career in Texas, had some very memorable moments. But it was still, as a player, the end of his career. The twilight.

The face of the Rangers franchise is Pudge Rodriguez. One of the best to ever play his position, spent most of his career there, started and finished in Arlington, and has stayed with the organization since retiring.

Pudge is a great choice as well. What about Michael Young? He played for them for 12 years, set multiple career Rangers records, and a fan favorite in Arlington (like Tim Salmon was in Anaheim).

[BBTV]

Nationally, it's Nolan Ryan. While it's true that it was a brief stop in his career, he's known as a "Texas Guy", threw his final no-hitter there, had that fight there, and was on magazines back when that was very rare for the Rangers. He's also just so much more recognizable than Rodriguez, Michael Young, or any other contenders. That matters - it's hard to be the face of a franchise if the average Joe Baseball Fan can't pick you out of a lineup. Michael Young? If you put Michael Young next to a piece of cardboard, and I looked at and talked to them both for 15 minutes, I'm not sure I'd be able to tell which one was Michael Young.

He may not have had as good of a career with the Rangers as some of those other guys, but I think he's unquestionably the face of that franchise.

EDIT: FWIW, due to my age and the era I grew up in, I consider Ryan an Astro, more so than a Met and an Angel. But if you google him, most images are of him with the Rangers. And I think that if you asked people in a diverse enough set of age ranges to name one Texas Ranger, he'd be the one that would win, even if not among the younger bunch.

[Breakwood]

It makes sense to have Joe Carter as the face of the Blue Jays. It would be the popular choice for people outside of Toronto.

I think Blue Jays fans however would choose either Carlos Delgado or Roberto Alomar. Delgado holds most of the batting records for the team, and Alomar was the first hall of famer as a Blue Jay, along with being arguably the best second baseman of all time.

[The_Admiral]

It's hard to pick a face of the Blue Jays because if you home in on those two championship teams, they were loaded with talent, and loaded with guys who flourished in plenty of other places. Joe Carter, Jeff Kent, Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor, Jack Morris, Dave Stewart, Al Leiter, John Olerud, all these names, none of them you can really say belong to Toronto. Maybe you just have to give it to Cito Gaston. Maybe the face of the franchise is the goddamn SkyDome. I dunno.

EDIT: upon further consideration, I actually would say it's the SkyDome.

[CubsFanBudMan]

For the Blue Jays, I think of Dave Stieb. So many close calls before he got his no-hitter... a lot of publicity during that run raised his profile for me.

He might be a lock if he'd survived the 1992 season. Too bad he missed both rings, but his return to Toronto in 1998 after being out of the game for five years gives his case a slight boost.

[BBTV]

It's hard to pick a face of the Blue Jays because if you home in on those two championship teams, they were loaded with talent, and loaded with guys who flourished in plenty of other places. Joe Carter, Jeff Kent, Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor, Jack Morris, Dave Stewart, Al Leiter, John Olerud, all these names, none of them you can really say belong to Toronto. Maybe you just have to give it to Cito Gaston. Maybe the face of the franchise is the goddamn SkyDome. I dunno.

EDIT: upon further consideration, I actually would say it's the SkyDome.

Rob Ford.

[GriffinM6]

•Arizona Diamondbacks - Luis Gonzalez
•Atlanta Braves - Hank Aaron
•Baltimore Orioles - Cal Ripken Jr.
•Boston Red Sox - Ted Williams
•Chicago White Sox - Frank Thomas
•Chicago Cubs - Ernie Banks
•Cinncinnati Reds - Pete Rose
•Cleveland Indians - Bob Feller
•Colorado Rockies - Todd Helton
•Detroit Tigers - Ty Cobb
•Florida Marlins - Jeff Conine
•Houston Astros - Craig Biggio
•Kansas City Royals - George Brett
•Los Angeles Angels - Rod Carew
•Los Angeles Dodgers - Jackie Robinson
•Milwaukee Brewers - Robin Yount
•Minnesota Twins - Kirby Puckett
•New York Mets - Tom Seaver
•New York Yankees - Babe Ruth
•Oakland Athletics - Jimme Foxx
•Philadelphia Phillies - Mike Schmidt
•Pittsburgh Pirates - Roberto Clemente
•San Diego Padres - Tony Gwynn
•San Francisco Giants - Willie Mays
•Seattle Mariners - Ken Griffey Jr.
•St. Louis Cardinals - Stan Musial
•Tampa Bay Rays - Evan Longoria
•Texas Rangers - Nolan Ryan
•Toronto Blue Jays - Dave Stieb
•Washington Nationals - Andre Dawson

[BigBubba]

It's hard to pick a face of the Blue Jays because if you home in on those two championship teams, they were loaded with talent, and loaded with guys who flourished in plenty of other places. Joe Carter, Jeff Kent, Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor, Jack Morris, Dave Stewart, Al Leiter, John Olerud, all these names, none of them you can really say belong to Toronto. Maybe you just have to give it to Cito Gaston. Maybe the face of the franchise is the goddamn SkyDome. I dunno.

EDIT: upon further consideration, I actually would say it's the SkyDome.

Curious as to why you'd say that Carter and Olerud don't "belong" to Toronto.

Heck, even Alomar, as he's wearing a Jays cap in Cooperstown.

[dbadefense1990]

Los Angeles Dodgers - Jackie Robinson

Um... Jackie Robinson was a great player but he never played for LA. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, same team, but not really. Because he never played in LA I gotta go Sandy Koufax, Tommy Lasorda or Kirk Gibson.

I facepalmed so hard at your suggestion of Kirk Gibson as the face of the Dodgers. How can people remember his three seasons with the Dodgers before they remember his 10 years with the Tigers? He's from Michigan! I know about his '88 World Series home run, but tend I think of him more for his "You don't wanna walk him" home run off of Goose Gossage in the 1984 Fall Classic.

Even being a Dodgers fan, that 1988 team is one of the biggest flukes to ever win the World Series. The overall team bating average was a puny .248. Gibson was beginning to go over the hill. The only other straight-off-the-bat recognizable Dodgers from the lineup were Scioscia and Steve Sax (and maybe Mickey Hatcher) and both hit below .275 for the season. They shipped Pedro Guerrero by the trade deadline because they were idiots. It's one of the biggest shocks in all honesty that they were able to beat the Mets and Athletics with all that.

Yet, everything about that 1988 Dodgers team is beaten to death with a drum. It's the most overdone gushing of a past championship team I've ever seen. The way the team today honors 1988 makes it look like that Dodgers team had a feared lineup, when it was anything but. This gushing has affected Kirk Gibson of all people. He's had enough of that home run against Eck, to the point of selling that World Series ring, refusing to catch 1st-pitches from Hershiser, and promptly telling his Arizona players as manager to plunk any Dodger batsmen when given the chance. This guy's turned into a completely ass even with his home run. The casual fan will remember Gibson more because his stint in LA but true baseball fans will see him as a Tiger, because of his many connections to the region, and his many acts of disrespect towards the Dodger organization after what he's done.

[The_Admiral]

Curious as to why you'd say that Carter and Olerud don't "belong" to Toronto.

Heck, even Alomar, as he's wearing a Jays cap in Cooperstown.

Carter had distinguished years with Cleveland, Olerud with Seattle, Alomar with Baltimore and Cleveland.

[Norva]

For the Rays I would put Carl Crawford, but Longoria will almost certainly surpass that by the time he is done here.

[CubsFanBudMan]

I don't think of Alomar as a Blue Jay, but looking at his career it does make the most sense for his HOF plaque.

But not for him to be the face of the Blue Jays... he's a bit of the anti-Steib: only there for the "right" years. When you can just as easily think of him as an Oriole, Met or Indian..

[BigBubba]

Curious as to why you'd say that Carter and Olerud don't "belong" to Toronto.

Heck, even Alomar, as he's wearing a Jays cap in Cooperstown.

Carter had distinguished years with Cleveland, Olerud with Seattle, Alomar with Baltimore and Cleveland.

Well, Carter played 200 more games with Toronto than with Cleveland, played in all five of his All-Star Games while here, and won back-to-back championships. It's safe to say he's a Blue Jay.

Olerud is in the same boat. He played 200 more games with Toronto and won two rings here. He's more of a Blue Jay than a Mariner, though perhaps not "as much" of a Blue Jay than Carter.

I don't think of Alomar as a Blue Jay, but looking at his career it does make the most sense for his HOF plaque.

But not for him to be the face of the Blue Jays... he's a bit of the anti-Steib: only there for the "right" years. When you can just as easily think of him as an Oriole, Met or Indian..

That's why Alomar is a bit trickier. If anyone, he was a Blue Jay - played here longer than anywhere else and was part if those championship teams. But he played only five years here (about a third of his career), so it's not as clear-cut. Again though, he played longer here than anywhere else by 250 games and won two titles. He's wearing a Jays cap in the Hall for a reason.

That said, I don't think he deserves to be called the "face of the franchise". I'd go with Carter...and maybe one day Bautista, if he can win a World Series.

[BBTV]

THE iconic moment in Blue Jays history was *sigh* Joe Carter leaping in the air after hitting the HR off of Mitch Williams. That's pretty important when having discussions like this. He was good in other places too, but that's not only his signature moment, it's the whole franchise's too. There are probably plenty of players who had more hits, or HR, or RBI, or games played, or... etc. for the Blue Jays, but nobody had that moment that gets replayed *sigh* all the damned time.

While thinking about this, I just remembered that Roger Clemens played for the Blue Jays. Wow - that happened.

[illwauk]

•Los Angeles Dodgers - Jackie Robinson

Um... Jackie Robinson was a great player but he never played for LA. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, same team, but not really. Because he never played in LA I gotta go Sandy Koufax, Tommy Lasorda or Kirk Gibson.

This. I really think you have to separate the Brooklyn and LA versions of the Dodgers for something like this.

That said, I could make an argument that the true face of the Brooklyn Dodgers was Duke Snider. Obviously Jackie Robinson was the more significant ballplayer for the reasons we all know, but he played his best years for the Kansas City Monarchs. Duke Snider's place in baseball lore is a perfect allegory for the Dodgers themselves, who were usually cast as the scrappy, blue-collar underdog of the three New York teams. He happened to be one of the greatest centerfielders of his era, yet was constantly overshadowed by the other two centerfielders in town, Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays.